Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1906-03-15

F.! tHlsi anu uJW want 10 40 SometniH5
more for-for Lord Auchester."
He looked up. His face was red
one moment and pale the next, but
she kept her eyes, the half-proud, half
appealing eyes, upon his.
He is in great trouble. and-and
danger-a worse danger than none
tary one
He smiled.
Can there be worse?" he said with
city mans incredibly. we live in
prosaic age, Lady Eleanor, from
which we have dismissed the midnight
assassin and all the other romantic
perfIs which made life and history
so interesting In the Middle Ages, and
the only dangers we run. now are
from a railway or steamboat acct
dent
She tried to listen to him patiently.
1T is not of that kind of dangers
was thinking" she said. is it not
possible for q man toto ruin and
wreck his life in--in many ways, Mr..
Duncombe?"
He looked at her still half smilingly.
''Oh, yes; a man may enlist as
common soldier, or forge check, or
marry his cook, but | do not imagine
that there is any risk OF Lord Auches-
ter's committing any of these-shall
we say follies?"
"Of all the things you have men
toned it seems to me that the last Is
the worst" said Lady Eleanor, bitter
ly.
"Yes?" He raised his brows
again.
AT any rate, it. is punished more
severely than the Others" she said.
Yes" he assented thoughtfully.
"But'-and he smiled-"Lord Auches-
ter does not contemplate marrying his
cook, does he?"
ms cook? No, but he is in dan
ger of marrying almost as lar beneath
him" The retort flashed from her
with hauteur Mr. Duncombe, when
man of Lord Auchester's station
marries beneath him he Is utterly
ruined; his life is as completely
wrecked as if he had committed for
gerry or enlisted as a common soldier
He leaned back and listened with
sedate polteness, wondering whittier
all this was leading and what IL was
she would ask him to do
"A man of Lord Auchester's rank
has only one life-the social one. He
has no business, no profession to fall
back upon TO employ his thoughts, to
engross and solace him. He must
mix in the world to which he belongs,
and he can only do so as an equal
with his fellows. When he marres
he is expected to take for a wife
lady of his own rank or at any rate
lady who is accepted as such in the
circle to which he belongs She must
! be one whom his friends can re-
ceive and visit; one of whom neither
he nor they will be ashamed. His
life may then continue In its old
course; he will still have his friends
and relations round him, still have his
place In the world, his niche, be it
high or a moderately high one
She paused for breath, and put up
her hand to smooth back the delicate
silken hair from her fair forehead.
But If he should forget himself
and all he owes to society and marry
beneath him-then, as | say, he is
utterly wrecked and undone. His
friends will not receive his wife; or,
If they do So it is with a coldness
which she and he can not fail to notice
and resent. He sees men look plying
" upon him and scornfully upon the
woman he has made his wife, and he
feels that he can not take her among
them so he drifts from his own
class, and either sinks into the one
below it--where he Is wretchedly
miserable-or lives like a hermit. In
the latter case he has plenty Of time
In which to get tired of his life and
of the woman who has, in all in
nocence, severed him from his old as
sociates, and who still, in all limo
cence, has degraded him The re
suit, be it quick or slow in coming
is inevitably the same. He is always
thinking Of the sacrifice he has made
In marrying her; she Is always con
scious that he is SO thinking, and
sooner or later they grow to weary
Of and to hate each other. She has
ruined him wrecked his life, and
both know it, am not speaking by
theory; | have seen it-seen 1t in half
dozen cases-and say that man
had better throw himself into the
Thames than marry beneath him..
She dropped back in her low chair,
and put her hand TO her head. She
had talked swiftly. passionately, and
her brow was burning.
Ralph Duncombe looked up.
"All that you say is very true. no
doubt, Lady Eleanor, and Lord Au.
chester
is thinking of making such a
! match" she said in low voice.
Ralph nuncombe looked at the car.