The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-13

bent on making Paul the Son to permit himself even the shadow of a thought that the boy might never succeed to the great house. So he looked up to the win dow and waited and watched and planned and hoped.
 They called Paul queer and old-fash- toned in the house. Old-fashoned in- deed he was, as he sat there dreaming, and much more old-fashioned he was soon to be, for little Paul was going fast to follow the oldest fashion in the world.
 There came the day when even pr.
 MT. Dombey turned away and offered his arm to Mrs. Skewton to lead her through the rooms. The beautiful lady released her hold on Florence. Then sud- denly she returned to her again and said hurriedly: Florence, you will not begin by hating me?' and went to join the others.
 That night Florence went to bed to dream that her new and beautiful mama would teach her to gain her fathers love, and while she dreamed Edith was stand- ing before Mrs. skewton and saying; "Oh, mother, motherl If you had but left me to my natural heart when I, too, was a girl-a girl like Florence-how different I might have beenl Hereafter share as you will in what we have gained. Spend, en- joy make much of it. Be as happy as you will. The object of your life is won. I forgive you your part in tomorrow's wickedness. May God forgive my own"
 Thus did Edith pass the night before her bridal.
 Coldly, impassively, haughtily, she went to the altar Coldly, impassively she set forth with MT. Dombey on their wedding journey. Coldly, impassively, haughtily she entered the house which had become hers, and received her husbands guests. He did not like it. MT. Dombey's friends were invited to his house in their ca- pacity as fellow monarchs-lesser ones, to be sure, but still monarchs. Not man less than an East India director or a bank director capable of buying up any, thing.
 That Mrs. Dombey should receive them with neither wish or pretense of pleasure, and without opening her proud lips after the words of introduction, offended him deeply Before the honeymoon was over he reproved her majestically in the pres ence of MT. Carker. who showed his teeth in his widest smile and bowed low to her when he withdrew after the scene.
 When husband and wife were alone, MT. Dembey waited for some outbreak. If did not come. He would have been equal to it; but the intense. unutterable, whitening scorn with which she looked at him, the ineffable disdain and haugh- tiness in which she sat before him, de- feated him completely. He left her with her whole overbearing beauty con- centrated on despising him.
 He watched her an hour afterward on the staircase where he had~ once seen Florence in the moonlight toiling up with little Paul. He saw her go into Florence's room, and he saw her come out again with a face so changed, so altered and softened, that he realized all the more how unable he was to subdue it.
 In it's utmost pride and passion Edith's face never knew such dark shadow as fell on his when he saw that c0anBe LIdt Cdule Oll ueI hlOu6H Florence.
 MT. Carke CT called on Mrs. Dombey the next day to apologize for having been present at the unpleasant scene. He treated it as lovers quarrel and en- larged on the beautifui affection that existed between the couple, till Edith, sitting there face to face with him while he rendered her false oath at the altar to her again and again, knew that he was deliberately stabbing her heart for his own purposes.
 From that time he lost no opportuni- ty to show her that he knew her in her true colors; that every degradation she had suffered in her own eyes was as plain to him as to herself; that he read her life as if it were a book. He saw her love for Florence, too, and promptly struck at her through it, by warning her that Florence was in the