Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1903-04-16

own shaken powers. she had reache,
a point of helplessness and weakness
at which both mind and body SCENE,
TO nave relaxed their hold Oh life il
self
If the young doctor had merely
broken off Crosmont's hold upon hi.
wife, and left the helpless mind t.
struggle back to health unaided. it i:
doubtful whether Alma would eyel
have entirely recovered from the un
natural strain to which she had beer
subjected. But Armathwaite was
not content with that He had had
ample means of understanding hel
peculiar temperament, and the cir
cumstances which had affected it; he
took the most loyal and earnest inter.
est in her recovery. With heart and
mind strenuously devoted to restoring
her to the health and happiness she
had, through no fault of her own. so
completely missed be easily gained
such an influence over the sensitive
( woman, that one look into his honest
and kindly eyes as he entered the
room on his morning visit would re-
store the confidence and hope in her
which a sleepless night had broken.
Thus, in little more than a fortnight.
he had not indeed completely neutral
ised the harm her husbands treat
ment had done her, but put her on the
high road to perfect recovery, both of
body and mind He had even succeed
ed in lessening her fear of her hus-
band, and in replacing it, in some
measure, by pity. This was the less
dit1cult as the usual relations of hus-
band and wife had never existed be.
tween them. To establish those re-
lations was the final aim of Armath-
waite's endeavour He knew that
there was no chance of permanent
happiness, scarcely even of peace. be.
tween Ned Crosmont and Alma until
the former was released from the In
fatuat!on in which an unprincipled
woman held him bound. and his eyes
opened to the womanly charms of
the wife he had so long neglected and
illused. AS for the apparent incom-
patibility of the two natures, that
out of every hundred, and though it
might prove an obstacle to ideal
felicity, it need not prevent a reason
able domestic peace. So Armath.
waite argued with himself. sparing no
pains to bring about the difficult con-
summation.
When, therefore, on the morning
after his visit to Crosmont, Frank
Armthwaite failed to make his usual
call, Alma, at first greatly disturbed
by this breach of custom, and thrown
into a state of nervous excitement in
which clear thought was impossible,
decided, as soon as she grew calmer,
to apply to her husband for an explain
alton of the circumstance. He would
not be at home until the afternoon,
she knew: for he was going to lunch
at The Crags. Armathwaite encourag-
ed her to make up her mind decidedly
in little matters, and lhen unsw earv.
ingly to carry out her purpose, how
ever insignificant. So. kept repeating
to herself phrases Armathwaite had
used injunctions he had given her. as
a child repeats to itself at play scraps
of hymns, mixed up with any incon.
gruous words which have caught its
fancy.
"Don't be melancholy: there is an
other person in the house who has
much more reason to be depressed
than you" she quoted to herself. And
then: There's a tuft of snow-drops
growing little way from the road
just before you come to the Falls, Mrs
Crosmont,"
So she whiled away the time, ex-
cited, unhappy, unable to rest, certain
only of one thing--that it was by her
husbands mandate that the doctor
had stayed away Oh. she would beg
Ned to let him come back. If only for
a day or two. until she felt stronger.
calmer, more like the old self that she
seemed already to espy again fitfully
as if in dreams-the light-hearted girl
who had been touched by Ned Cros-
monts show of passionate affection,
and had never guessed what mock
cry his professions of love would
prove to be. DR.. Armathwaite. whose
Judgment she accepted as final. said
she must not condemn Ned too harsh
ly; that his roughness, his rudeness,
his neglect were more the result of re-
morse than of hardness of heart; that
she herself must work to subdue her
fear of him. When four o'clock came
therefore. and she crept along the hall
and knocked timidly at the study
door, she tried to conquer herself, TO
be brave and calm. to subdue the eA.
element which made her CULVER from
head to foot at the sound of her hus-
bands rough voice as he said; Come
! in"
/ She turned the handle with diff
Guilty; her fingers were clammy. and
for a moment strength and resolution
seemed alike to fail her. When she
entered and stood before her husband
she was quite white. and so cold that
she shivered even in the warm. close
atmosphere of the little room. The