The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-05-29

addressing you you will find in the
inclosed rough draft of a letter,
which I have reason to believe never
reached it's destination. came upon
it by accident this morning in a blot
ing book at secondhand, belonging
to a member of my college, lately
deceased, and I lose not a moment in
putting you in possession of it. In
all human possibility no eye but my
own has ever seen it. I need not
tell you that I know how to keep
the secrets of those I respect, and
when you have destroyed 1t, you may
regard it as never having existed. I
am detained here upon business for
a few days, but on my return to
Cambridge shall hope to- have the
pleasure Of seeing you. Yours most
faithfully, JOHN ADAIR."
The Enclosure was a. rough copy
Of her husbands letter to his father,
which she had destroyed without
reading it, but the original Of which
she recognized at once. A mercen-
airy, coarse communication enough,
announcing his union to her without
the pretense Of any qualification in
it, save for the fortune it conferred
upon him, and which his greedy fin
gers were evidently eager to clutch.
If she had had any illusion still left
concerning him-the least hope that
his love might have been reawakened
this would have been quite sufi-
cient to dispel them; but she had had
none. His words Inundated her, but
had no power to give her pain. What
shocked her, terrified her and had
dragged her down from that height
of fancied security to the lowest
depth was that other letter, which
ever since it's receipt she had carried
about in her bosom, where 1t lay like
an asp-Adair's letter. 1t was not
only that it showed all her precau-
| lions had been useless, and that the
secret she had striven to keep with
| such pains and loss Of s~elf-respect
was no more her OWE; but the terms
of his communication were also ter
rible.
Poor Sophy had, indeed, her COM
forter, and one of a more CHEEKY sort
than those whom Job had, In her
waiting maid. Jeanette did not re-
mind her how she had once warned
her young mistress mot to boast"
nor, under pretense of sympathy, did
she expiate upon her misery, as it is
the habit of her class to do. She
took a practical view.
well Miss Sophy" (she always
| ignored the fact Of her mistress mar
| rage, even when they were alone),
things look bad, no doubt; but they
might be much worse"
Worse" murmured the unhappy
| girl, like an echo from some totter-
ing ruin; how could they be worse?"
"Well, ma'am, you might have
been so situated that you must have
told the canon OF got somebody to
marry you of-hand, to save your
character"
With a flush and a SILVER like n
in a fever, poor Sophy moaned &C
| uuiescence. Untoward fate had GER
tainly shown some mercy to her in
that one particular; but the stress
| Jeanette had placed upon the word
"off-hand" disquieted her. 1t seemed
to suggest that marriage at some
time or another, though not perhaps
Immediately, was the only way out
of the difficulty even now.
Don't talk of marriage" she ex-
claimed, with bitterness. L will
never, never marry again"
Never is a long day, Miss Sophy,".
said Jeanette, cheerfully.
"One says the same when people
die, we shall never, never forget
them yet somehow, n gets over
it."
II hate men," continued Sopny,
fercely-"a cowardly, false, greedy
race"
They're all that, miss, no doubt;
yet life would be dull without EN-"
Il don't mind dizziness; I desire
it. Oh" she moaned, as if in physi-
cal pain, "oh for my last year OF
life again."
"Why, bless me, Miss Sophy, one
would think you were on your death
bed! If you did have it back. you
would be sure to do something fool
ish; it's only natural. What's the
good of crying over split milk? Wipe
it up, and start afresh. What Is it
that makes you so harsh with this
Mr.. Adair? He couldn't help find
ing Mr.. Perry's letter; and, having
found it, what was the poor young
man to do? If he had said he had
torn it up, you wouldn't have be-
lieved him"
"No, not upon his oath, I would
Mt" was the energetic reply.
well, there it is, you see; hit
high or low he can't please you"
ut was an unfortunate metaphor
under the circumstances; but, like a
good many other folk, Miss Jean
nette Perkins used quotations as
they came to hand without much re-
gard to their meaning.) HE has
sent you the original document,
which, if he had wished to brighten
you with anything, he could have
kept and held over you. There's
many a one as would have done that,
you may depend upon it,"
II dare say" sighed the unhappy
Sophy. Her faith in male nature was
at it's lowest; to her mind, all men
were tyrants, and all women, who
were not wise and prudent, their
slaues Still this last view of The