Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-03-15
CHAPTER X.
Continued.

SI1Al LII
=" Continued.
was born in England in the year Of
Christ, 1900, that year being the forty.
first Of the reign Of the virgin Queen
Elizabeth, in my brothers house.
where I ut present live-which Is to
say, in the manor house of Holden.
hurst, by st. Edmund's Bury, In the
County Of Suffolk-and am the young
er Of the two sons Of Christopher
Trueman and Barbara, his wife. The
two manors of Holdenhurst, bestowed
on my family by the eighth Henry,
would have supported the dignity of
baronet; but my father, unlike his
predecessors, sought for no public EN-.
ployment, and viewed with indiffer.
ence the acquisition of the highest hon
ors by men Of meaner birth, living in
peace and content upon his paternal
acres at q stirring period when the
fate of his country trembled in the bal
ance. Both my parents having died at
an early age, my brother succeeded to
the estate and treated me with extra
ordinary liberality. permitting me to
share with him equally in all that he
had-except the anXieties and veXa-
tons which accompany the possession
Of property. and those he generously
kept for himself. When he took to
himself wife my brother abated
nothing of his kindness to me, but
was deprived of much Of his company.
This event took place in 1920, the
twenty-fifth of my brothers life and
of mine the twentieth.
Now 1t so chanced that Immediately
or soon after the marriage of my
brother conceived very violent and
all-absorbing passion for certain
maid, who, even at the time l was so
seized, l could not but acknowledge
possessed nothing uncommon in beau
ty, talent or fortune. Nevertheless, for
some reason which remains unknown
to me to this day loved her with an
intensity of devotion which might be
eQualled, but could never be exceeded.
My suit was we'll received, and one
day. in response to my request that
she would become my wife she sent
me a missive, couched In loving terms,
wherein she prOfessed herself very
willing to accord with my wish, sub
scribed, 'Your loving wife that is to
be-" The messenger who brought this
gratifying epistle could hardly have
returned to her ere l received another
letter from the same source. 1t ran
thus. or nearly thus: "Think Of me no
more-try to forget me. Do not write
or come to me. l can never be your
wife," and appended was the sigma
ture of she whom had preferred be-
fore all women. l knew not what to
make of this, SO paused, thinking one
of us must be mad, and endeavOring
to decide who was that one, but l
failed. Then followed the only occa-
sion in my life when l went where l
had been definitely told l was not
wanted. l sought my promised wife,
found her and talked with her. but
she would not acquaint me with the
cause of her perjury, contenting her
self with the assertion that 1t must be
not bring myself to that-but with a
cynical albeit Illogical, contempt for
all women-contempt which l retained
for many years after the intense feel
ing once had In this matter had died
out. Shafts propelled by the envious
fates against the young and vigorous
do not often probe deeply. but for the
most part fall to the ground blunted.
Not many months had elapsed ere l
begun to consider myself fortunate in
having escaped an alliance which l
had recently contemplated with so
much satisfaction, perceiving that n
woman who will deceive one man will
cs readily deceive two or more men;
go that when soon afterward learned
OF her marriage to another my only
emotion was sympathy for the man
who had won her love-that Is, sup
posing that she had any love in her ma
ture, or, having it. suffered 1t to con-
troll her in her choice of husband.
But contempt for women had become
ingrained with me. l recognized them
as maternal necessities, but could not
regard as serious anything any wom-
an might say; Mt the same time hold
ing 1t right and proper to employ any
means for their subjugation to my de-
sires. l am aware that my conduct
was as illogical as that Of the apocry-
phal debtor who robbed Peter to pay
Paul, but such 1t was, and 1t must be
noted as we'll as other circumstances
of my career.
With his usual kindly solicitudc for
my welfare my brother advised me to
travel, conceiving that familiar inter-
course with strange nations, and the
view of distant cities and wonders of
nature. was medicine suited to my
malady (fOr had fallen into a melan-
choly mood, and to that end gave me
thousand pounds. and took great
pains to furnish me with letters of
recommendation to persons of consid.
Grafton abroad. The Earl of Arling-
ton, whose estate lay contiguous to
the Holdenhursts, was our friend, and
being high in the Kings counsels it
was in his power to help us much. The,
Earl generously lent his aid, and pro-
cured for me letters to the English
Ambassadors at Paris and CONSTANT.
nople. and to the most considerable
merchants in the principal cities of
Europe. Of which it Is only necessary
that I should specify one-that ad7