Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-10-25
"HER ELoPEMENT."
By Barry Pain.


He Was middle-aged man, in
tensely respectable in appearance
and inclined to portliness. On his
return from his Office in the evening
he found a letter waiting for him
on the table In the hall He took it
into the library with him, selected a
comfortable chair in a good light
and adjusted his reading spectacles.
Here followeth the letter:
MY dear George, have eloped.
II say 1t in this plain and direct
way without perophrasis and with
out breaking it to you gently it Is
because you must for some time past
have been expecting something OF
the kind. I credit your intelligence
with that.
We have been married ten years,
and, as you pointed out the other
day. we have never exchanged one
angry word with each other. Some.
how that seems to me to speak for
itself. The dead level of decency has
never been disturbed. You. as a
correct and orthodox solicitor, regard
this with intense satisfaction. I con.
fess that do not. To me the dead
level has well, pretty dead
ly. 1t sounds perhaps an exaggera.
ton, but l almost wish that you had
on some occasion completely lost
your temper with me and used me
violently. Perhaps 1t would have
been better still If you permitted me
to lose my temper with you. Yon
never did. Your discretion and tact
are beyond all praise. At the same
time they have proved fatal to the
woman who Ia your wife. | have
been through ten years of it. The
time Is up!
There is really good deal OF
broken contract about ii on both
sides. Ten years ago was pretty
and you were romantic. 1t was
understood between us--tacitly, /
admit--that this kind of thing would
continue. II has continued. At the
present moment | am quiet well pre-.
served and you are a solicitor and
we never exchange an angry word.
Nor do we ever exchange word of
affection which could be called
hysterical or idiotic.
The ract Is that for the better part
of ten years have been acting a
part magniflcently. have acted the
part of housekeeper SO splendidly
that at times have deceived myself
and believed that really did take
an interest In the tradesmen's books
Perhaps the self-deceit went further
than that. deceived myself into
believing that really enjoyed the
portentous and extremely dull din
ners that we give every month.
deceived myself into believing that
our well regulated and rather som
nolent affection was the placid hap
piness of married lovers. But all
the time romance has been alive In
me and the flame on the altar is moi
yet burned out. my poor George
what on earth will you make OF that
sentence? Metaphor always did
middle you.) The flame will no,
burn forever. One gets older and
older The cold night is coming.
have an hour still to enjoy.
An this came to me after you had
left for the office this morning. You
will never know how very nearly
dashed your silk hat from your hand
kicked II across the hall and went
into Mysteries. That hat had some
how become the symbol OF my ugly
well-groomed respectable life.
went into the kitchen and gave the
orders q was able to get the red
mullet after ALL. and then Wen
upstairs and packed. have told the
servants plausible story and you
may be able TO save scandal II you
back 1t. Really. there is nothing "a
be surprised about. Given gray
monotony and romantic woman
and another man. what else can be
expected?
"And now YOU ask who the man is
Your eye flashes back over your Wis
iting list. Which of the men that
have eaten your bread and your salt
at your portentous dinners can have
done this treacherous thingg You
may make your mind easy. George.
There is no man in the question. |
have lately come to the conclusion
that men are good deal overrated.
! am clipping all by myself and |
think 1t win be perfectly beautiful.
| need not worry about money. MY
own $500 a year will not give me the
carriage with two fat horses and the
big house and the portentous din.
ners, but have grown to value these
things very little Two hundred
pounds viii be quite enough for me.
BY the time that you set this letter
| shall be In Paris. shall not write
another letter. bat you shall know
my address from time TO time. This
will facilitate the work of the private
detectives. II you are idiot enough
to waste any money on them.
And seeing that | go all alone,
perhaps II should not be called an
elopement, but simply holiday. And