Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1908-09-22
CHAPTER XIV.

There was no delaying now at The
Hook. She hastily placed the letter in an
envelope, wrote a passionate note to Miss
Fausset, telling her she knew all, and then
set out for Enderby. Her husband was
sitting by the fire in the library, and did
not know she had come till he fond her
kneeling at his feet.
Mildred, what does this meant"
1T means dear, that it was all mis-
take, and that am here to stay with you
forever
Then she told him of her discovery of
the letters, but she did not tell him whose
child Vivien was.
He was content to have her with him
once more, and, as he folded her to his
breast, the peace of Heaven fell upon the
reunited couple.
| -
Mildred took the earliest opportunity
| TO visit Miss Fausset, and then she learn
! ed the whole miserable story.
Listen to me patiently, Mildred" she
began, land do not judge me too harshly.
How shall 1 speak of the man who de-
stroyed my life? loved him, Mildred
loved him with a foolish, inexperienced
| i
tons. l believed all he told me.
| flung myself, blindfolded into the net.
1t was his genius l worshiped. He was
at the height of his success. The Milan
csc raved about him as a rival to Doni-
zetti his operas were the rage. Can you
wonder that l, a girl passionately fond
| of music, was carried away by the ex-
| citement which was in the very air
breathed? / went to the opera night after
night. l heard that fascinating music till
| its melodies seemed interviewer with my
| being. l suppose I was weak enough to
| let the composer see how much | admired
him. He had quarreled with his wife,
and the quarrel-caused by his own mis-
conduct-had resulted in a divorce. There
may have been people in Milan who knew
that he was a married man, but my chap
eron did not, and he was careful to sup
press the fact from the beginning of our
acquaintance.
HE used to join me at the Cathedral
at vespers. l knew it was for my sake
| he went there. Our hands used to meet
and clasp each other, almost unconscious
| ly, when the music moved us as it went
soaring up to the gorgeous roof, in the
| dim light of the hanging lamps before the
| altar. 1t never entered into my mind to
| doubt Paolo Castellani when he told me
| that, although we could not, as Papist
and Protestant, be married in any church
| in Milan, we could be united by a civil
marriage before a Milanese authority, and
| that such marriage would be binding
| all the world over. l crept out of the
found my lover waiting for me with a
carriage close by, went with him to a
dingy Office in dingy street, but which
had a sufficiently official air to satisfy my
ignorance, and went through a certain
formula. hearing something read over by
an elderly man of grave appearance, and
signing my name to a document after
Paolo had signed his.
THAT is nearly the end of my story
Mildred We went from Milan to Como
and after a few days at Bellagio crossed
the st. Gothard, and sauntered from one
lovely scene to another till we stopped at
Vevay For just six weeks l lived in
FOOLS paradise. Then Paolo deserted me-
By that time my brother had traced US
to Vevay-having learned all that could
fore he started in pursuit of us. 1 never
saw my husband again. You know ALL
Mildred, now"
at would have been better to have
cared for your own flesh and blood" Mil
dred said Il loved Fay. remember, aunt.
l can not forget how bright and happy
she might have been. l can not forget
the wrongs that warped her nature"
"You are very hard, Mildred-hard to
a woman whose days are numbered"
"Are not my days numbered, aunt?"
cried Mildred, with a sudden burst of
passion. "Was not my heart broken when
left this house last year to go into lone
illness and exile, abandoning a husband
adored? That parting was my death
blow In all the long, dreary days that
have gone by since then my hold upon
life has been loosening. You might have
sent me back to my home rejoicing and
you would not. You cared more for your
own pride than for my happiness. You
might have made your daughters life hap
py-and you would not You cared more
for the worlds esteem than for her well
fare. As you sacrificed Eer, Your daugh-
ter, you have sacrificed me- your niece. |
know that l am doomed. Just when
heaven has given me back the love that
makes life precious, l feel the hand of
death upon me, and know that the hour OF
| parting is near
II have been sinner, Mildred, but l
have SUFFERED have suffered. You
ought not TO judge me. You have never
known shame"
That last appeal softened Mildred's
heart. She went over to her aunt's
chair and leaned over her and kissed her.
LET the past be forgotten, she said
''and let us part in love-
And so, a quarter of an hour later, they
parted, never to meet again on earth.
Miss Fausset died in the early Winter,
cut off by the first frost, like delicate
flower. She had made no change in the
disposal of her property, and her death
made Mildred Greswold very rich wo-
man.
MY aunt loved the poor" said Mildred,
| when she and her husband spoke of this
increase of wealth. 1--WE are both 50
much richer than our needs, George. We
have lived in sunshine for the most part.
/ When l am gone l should like you to dc
some great thing for those who live in
! shadow
MY beloved, I shall remain upon this
earth only TO obey your will
He lived just long enough TO keep his
promise. The Greswold Hospital remains
a monument of thoughtful benelieencs, in
one of the most wretched neighborhoods
south of the Thames; but George Ores
void and his race are ended like tale
| that is told.
THE END.
Refvfxf md Between.