Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-30
Slmonetta started UP remorsefuiiy.
pardon, signora-" she exclaimed.

But Clodagh cut her short.
"You can CO." she said. Good night
| The woman looked at her for moment |
| in doubt and reluctance; then, instinctveiy
realizing that argument was useless. moved
softly to the door. -
| as CIodagh made no response she departed |
i silently closing the door.
Left alone, CIodagh moved aimlessly to |
| the center OF the room, and stood there as
! II seeking some object which might distract
| her mind. Her glance passed vaguely over
| the dressing table laden with familiar per
! sonal objects, then strayed to couch' on
| which lay an open book that she had maoe
! a fruitless attempt to read during the not
hours of the afternoon: at last, attrac,eu
| by the light of the lamp. 1t turned 70 the
| writing table. on which was placed the
| heavy leather writing-case that had De-
| longed to her mother and that hao re-
manned with her through all her wander
| ings since the time of her marriage. 1t lay
J unlocked. as she had left 1t the evening pc
| fore, the contents protruding untidiiy from
Innate and friendly in the shabby object
! appealed to and attracted her. "ithout
| considering the action. she went Slowly
| forward and laid her fingers hes!taungiy
| upon it. ALI the small records that consti-
tuted memory lay side by side IN this "oIn
leather case. Her check-books-her let
ters-the few souvenirs her life hao pro-
| vided.
She raised the flap lingeringly and lifted
out the topmost papers. First to her hand
| came a bundle of Laurence Asshlins
|
spirited records of trivial doings, ill-con-
| structed from literary point OF view,
shrewdly humorous In their own peculiar
way These she tossed aside. as things or
| small account. and turned almost hurriedly
to the papers that lay Immediately beneath
They proved to be her sisters letters.
dating from the time of their parting IN
London, when Nance had been sent 10
school. For space she held them In her
hand, while curious expression. haitian
tagonistic, half-tender touched her face;
then, with a little sigh. she laid them down
again without having turned a page.
The next object that she drew forth was
the faded telegram that years ago, at the
time of Denis Asshlin's accident. had
brought the longed-for news that Milbanke
was on his way to Orristown. She opened
it, read it. then folded 1t and replaced IL
with something of uneasy haste; ana again
burying her hand in the recesses OF the
case. brought to light another link with the
pasta large envelope Into which were
, crushed number of things, among them
the first invita- ton from Lady Frances Hope
, in Venice; a ribbon that had tied bou-
| Quet of flowers on the dinner-taDfe at the
\ Abbati restaurant: Venetian theater pro-
gram; a couple of dry roses that she mao
worn on the night when Gore had taken
her home from the Palazzo Ugochini very
slowly she drew these trophies forth. Eacn
breathed the romance Of things gone by.
| vet each possessed the poison OF present
dsillusion. AS she lifted UP the roses her
, expression became suddenly panied and re-
; sentful. and with fierce impulse she
| ",
fingers flung them from her across the
room, and hurriedly lifted the next object
| from the writing-case. This last was large
bundle Of papers tied together with piack
ribbon. ..
Lifting it into the light. she looked at 1t
for long time without attempting to unite
= the string. 1t was the collection OF her
fathers scanty correspondence and fil-as-
: sorted business letters. which she had
I bound together the night before her mar
. rage and had never since opened
A curious feeling assailed her now as she
| looked at these following papers, eloquent
= | of dead days. and at the mourning RIBBON,
significant of emotions keen and bitter IN
= the living, but buried now under the weight
u | of newer things. How strange. how distant
. | and impersonal the pages seemed! And yet
the time had been when every written line
- | had played its part in some human. per-
=, | sonal endeavor! Each document had rep
resented loss or gain to some individual:
e | each letter had conveyed Its fragment OF
earthly sentiment. Moved suddenly by the
suggestions of the moment, she united the
| string.
A faint, dry odor rose from the loosened
papers-the Intangible scent that indicates
- the past. It seemed that some world. dls-
e tant and forgotten, had suddenly put forth
a shadowy hand, pointing she knew not
l. whittier over her brain. favored from the
nights excitement. fell stillness--an ar.
. | resting calm; across her thoughts. distorted
70 by mistaken struggles. glided a memory-a
- picture She saw herself as she had beer
y before her marriage, in the far-of. isolated
|
!. when the world outside Orristown had beer
a golden realm lying beyond the sunset
How young she had been then! How ex
r traordinarily. indescribably young: nov
- in her Judgments! AS the old existence
~ pressed about her in cloud of images, sh'
: opened the first letter, but so unsteadily. 81
=, agitatedly that, in the opening, hve or 81
- of the pages slipped from the packet ant
a. A. fluttered to the writing table bringing will
- them a small. unframed Ivory miniature
ttnc CHI fG
- The thin. fragile picture dropped with
H. faint tinkling sound. Clodagh bent for
Nv ! ward to recover It, then paused ieanlnl
~ over the writing table In an attitude OF at
y, tention The miniature lay face upward
-, -, and In the strong light of the lamp its OUT
~ line and coors shone forth distinctly. l
~ represented the head and shoulders OF
nc man in a scarlet coat and hunting stock
~ a man of thirty, with a handsome, dehan
r. face. fine eyes and an obstinate. unreliabl
nd mouth.
lu It Law looking up into her face. while sh
III stared back at it as though a ghost ha
risen from the faded letters. On the nlgt
NJ before her marriage she had come upon thl
20 miniature of Denis Asshlin; and In irenz
. of renewed grief had thrust 1t out of sigh
%, among the papers she had collected. The
Gu the picture had seemed pitifully sad IN II
"s presentment of the dead man in the day
I'D of his strength: now. as she looked upon
W in the light Of subsequent knowledge.
70 seemed a thing instinct with portent an
on | dread.
- death receded from Asshin's memory. 81
y. | saw him as she had seen him In life-se
"a aS fish, obstinate. and yet weak And. quic
e. as the vision came. another followed-tf
en vision Of herself-of her own attitude t
-, ward her existence and her responsibilities
.ua In silent, intent concentration she gaze
or upon the picture. until at last. seized by
WI ungovernable impulse. half-instinctive rea
ization, Interpretations dread. she caug
- up the lamp and walked to the dressiI
're table. There, lifting off the colored shad
she laid it upon the table. and, lifting Il
hu mirror looked fixedly at her own refectio
~, | intensified by the crude. strong light.
;ne For several minutes she stood quite m
LIS tionless, her questioning eyes searching Il
H., eyes in the glass. her pale face confrontiI
ny its own reflection. And as she looked, e
81" pressions of doubt. of fear. of convictit
:. -, | chased each other across her features.
., / The image that confronted her was
III fathers image, softened by differences
49,. age and sex, but fundamentally the same
'r.- the image of one who had wasted his III
NJ ignored his duties, squandered the su
we stance Of those who were dependent up'
-, him; one whom even his children n;
O." learned to despise
rod With a sudden sensation OF physical fam