Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1907-08-29
Lady button's Mard
BY
BY BERTHA M. CLAY.

halui oAAy III nOIuSulS VI SACllSlueEl,
be they sorrowful or pleasant, speech
comes naturally. not song"
Which of all the operas do you
ike best?" asked Lord Bayneham,
amused at her opinions and ideas.
Norma she replied "If | were
as unhappy as she was, l should like
to die"
In after years those words came
back TO him, and he knew they had
been spoken truly.
While Claud spoke to Hilda. drink.
ing in the loneliness of her face and
the music of her voice, two persons
watched them. One was Barbara
Earle, who read her fate that evening;
the other was Captain Massey, who
loved Lady Hutton's ward more deeply
than words can tell
When the last song had died away.
and the curtain fell, they rose to leave
the house, and Barbara Earle heard
Lord Bayneham say, in answer to
some remark of Hiida's mo, 1 think
not. 1t will be many years before i
come here again. The memory of
this night will suffice for me-
These words told no new story to
Barbara. On the night of the ball,
when she first met Hilda, she guessed
all that she now knew.
That evening, long after every one
mad retired to rest and a deep
unbroken silence had fallen upon the
house, Barbara Earle stood, pale and
still, by the window. The breeze
came in from the park and played
with the thick coils of her hair, cool
ing the brow that seemed to Durn with
dull, heavy pain. Barbara had wapt
until the fountain of tears was dry
her sorrow was exhausted now, and
the faint moonlight fell upon a face
that was sublimely beautiful in its look
OF calm resolve. A few stars cleaned
In the quiet, night sky, all Nature
was sleeping; the birds were husheo.
the flowers were at rest, and the wind
seemed keeping watch over them
The puiet, holy calm soothed Barbara
The storm had passed,-one of wild.
tempestuous sorrow; but the silence
of Nature brought rest to her. The
world and all in it looked little and
mean under the light of the solemn
stars
While she stood there, Barbara ..arle
held, as far as mortals can hold, the
destiny of three lives. Had her de-
cision on this evening been different.
her life and other lives would have
been changed She knew now that
Claud Bayneham loved another better
then herself She knew, too that he
was honor itself; he would never seek
for release from his promise; he would
keep it at any risk, and so lose his
llfe's happiness. There could be no
doubt of this His face changed when
he looked upon Hilda; a light she had
never seen there before came upon
it. HIS eyes were full of silent. hone
less love. She had seen him turn
pale and tremble when Hilda touched
his hand
Barbara Earle bit her lips, and a.
rush of hot angry pride filled her
heart, when she remembered how he
had wooed herself. Not so would he
speak of love to the golden-haired Girl.
whose face was like music. Even at
the time she had felt it. but she had
the time she had felt it. thinking that
Lord Bayneham was of calm. unde
monStrative nature, and that he would
love her better Wen he understood
now dearly and deeply she loved him.
he asked her to marry him as
cody and as calmly as he would have
asked her to paint him a picture. or
sing a song. His whole soul seemed
TO tremble upon his lips when he said
go"d-evening, a few hours ago to
Lady Hutton's ward. There could be
no mistake about it,-Lord Bayneham
had learned to love at last; but it
was not she who had taught him the
lesson
Barbara Earle's life lay wrecked be-
fore her. AS long back as she could
remember, every thought of her good
noble heart had been given to CIaud
Bayneham. She had no wish. no
plan, no hope that did not begin and
end in him. His future career had
been her study for many years He
had great talents, and she longed to
see them usefully employed, not wasted
in dreamy, elegant id,eness. Now
from the future which she had SO
proudly mapped out she was excluded.
Her keen, womanly instinct told her
that, far from being the brightest
hope in Lord Bayneham's life, she was
the one cloud that darkened It. Bet
ter anything than that; better that she
should suffer from duty. and not from
love. while his whole heart was given
to another.
That morning. when breakfast was
over, Lady Bayneham said she had
some shopping to do;so the carriage
was ordered. and Barbara invited to
join her; but Miss Earle said she had
a