Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-01-09

Mime. u A yIlafeI iIltlt ujItSu IN
self, Beatrice became suddenly pa.e.
locked at her with frightened fxitJ,
q feeble CONFUSION moved her lips.
she leaned against the trel.is, lost ALI
her strength, and fell to the ground.
The Nicomtesse cried ont slightly,
seemed to hesitate for a second, ana
then, realizing that she was 100 lruca
alone to be heard, she kneeled Yer the
tainted young woman. and made he
smell her bottle of smelling-salts and
covered her with kindly words. Beat
rice regained consciousness little BY
little, and, as she arose with an aston
ished and bewildered air.
What has happened to me?' sh2
murrnured
She quickly resumed her 4ompoS
tire, and her pale face became purple
oh, / remember"
DO you wish me to call your nus
band?" said Nine d'Aymaret, assist
ing her to a seat.
NO, no; besides, he has gone TO
Paris. Have you the despatch?'
Here it is"
Beatrice read the telegram, anG let
her arms fall in a gesture Of despair.
oh, Heavens!" said she in a hall
voice. ut is to kill me-"
And as Nine d'Aymaret looked at
her stupefied:
do you think me insane?' she con,
tlnued. You can not account for the
emotion that the death of that woman
causes me-
1T is true. do not understand
absolutely do not"
well, you may understand; bur
promise NE upon your honor that that
which [ shall tell you shall rest with
us two
4 promise. You frighten me, What
IS the matter?"
The matter is, my poor Elsie, the
trouble is that I love the Marquis de
PierrepOnt; | have loved him all my
life. I refused him my hand because
his aunt told me she would disinherlt
him if I should marry him. And now
she is dead-yOu understand, dead
few months after my marriage Win
another; and had l waited these few
months | might have been his wife.
And now we are separated foreVes
and | have loved him all my life!"
She hid her face in her hards and
sobbed.
To Nine. d'Aymaret, who had al
was believed that until that instant
Beatrice had married Fabrice because
Of love for him, that revelation was
so unexpected, so Overwhelming, tina.
at first she could answer nothing for
her confused ordinations of astontsh'
Inent and pity.
"Oh, is it possible! My poor friend,
.E0or dear, why did yora not tell ME ot
that at the t;me?"
Beatrice then told her, in words
broken by sobs. all that passed be,
tween her and the Baroness less than
a year before; the promise that she
| had made to be silent; and the en-
gagement death had just broken.
And then" she added, had been
at liberty to have confided my secret
! to you, | would not have done so.
know you; you would have kept 1t.
| should have braVed the Indignation o.
| his aunt and misfortune would have
| come. should have been the cause 81
| his ruin, ana some day he might have
! reproached me for it. No; you see my
only mistake has been in not follow
| irg my first inclinatiou-that of en-
tering the convent instead of making
this unhappy marriage and of deceiv
! iTg an honest man.
But" said Nine. d'Aymaret, Ca.
you not love that honest man just a
! little? He is Il man Of great heart and
great talent
Il have tried. have already failed
Think, now" Beatrice replied, with :
sort of passion.
Being affect:onately Intercepted by
her friend, she told her in confidence
about her domestic troubles, of hel
| continually wounded sensibilities, Of
her secret disgust. Nine. dAymare
affected to laugh at these little wor
rie5, compared with the serious sor
rows of life She represented very
! Justly to Beatrice that he would BIZ
| pleased by her desire to efface the
| slight inequalities OF education be
| tween herself and her husband By
giving, kindly and pleasantly, some
lessons i'll perfect correction, which NJ
would certainly receive with GOO
grace. The true pair that Beatrlc;
had was that stl onger love which sht
had borne, notwithstanding her desire
into her own home, it was that love
that deprived her of all courage
which poisoned all things to her, ani
Which she Should freely cacrifice.
Easy to say" Beatrice rlurmured.
Nine d'Aymaret, assuming NOR
confidential tone, told her that sht
herself had, some years before, occa
sion to make a sacrifice of the same
kind, and that she knew it was diff
cult, but not impossible.
And you will admit, my DEAR she
added, that I should have had bette
excuses than you.
And how did you do it, Beatric
asked, as the mysterious Circumstance
interested her Did yoG cease to Sc.
Eim?"
My dear, cease to see him is
vain word. One never ce; SEES to Sc.
when one is of the same society. NJ
just simply changed my love Il
friendship. In that way the hear
loses nothing
Beatrice looked into the depths 0
Ter eyes.
WAS it Pierrepont:" said she