The Washington times., 1909-04-13
By MABEL HERBERT URNER
Copyright. ls@ by B. DODGE COMPANY.
Registered at stationers' Hall Rights

and presses an electric bell A servant
enters.
You will bring the mall to me here
at once-all Of it"
Yes, sir" The maid returns, lays
the mail on the table and leaves the
room.
Tie man glance hurriedly through
the letters and t.Ien turns to the wo-
man. who is leaning against the wall.
her face buried in her hands.
1T is not hereT'
mot hsrs?" L er voice is full of ter
ror.
The maid is recalled and questioned.
She s1ys she brought all the mail ex-
cept two letters for Mrs. Hampton,
which she herself took out as she was
going into the breakfast room.
As the maid withdraws the man
starts violently at some sound in the
hall. "Carrie-my wife-she is coming
in herei" he murmurs hushly.
mol no. It would be too horriblel
Don't let it bei"
1T is 900 late now,' he answers. and
even then the door opens.
Quickly the woman slips behind a
heavy curtain. The wife holds an open
letter in her hand. her face quivering
with joy and tenderness.
"Oh, Richard-Richard-w a beauti-
ful letter. That you should have re-
membered my birthday in this wayi
Yesterday 1 was afraid you had for
gotten, and today-oh, It was the most
wonderful gift yCu could have sent
And you had the envelope typewrftten
so the surprise would be more com
plete! She clings to him lovingly.
showering on him caresses and endear-
ments, crying out that she had been so
unhappy Of late, that she felt he was
growing farther away from her. that
he no longer cared. And there had been
terrible fear in her heart that there
might be some one else: but now she
knows that she was wrong, she knows
ne loves her still. or he could not have
written that letter
He gently soothes and quiets her and
leads her from the stage.
In the next act follows a wonderful
scene or remuneration. Realizing rs
never before the piteous. clinging love
Oh ms wife, and feeling that they could
never come together over the grave of
her happiness, they resolve to part.
Only once during the play did I see
Horace's s face, and then it was when he
stopped to pick up the program nv
nerveleS fingers had dropped. He was
very pale.
We left the theater in silence Ont
side II was misting. He motfoned 10 q
"ab and helped me IN. I was filled wifi,
IN intense longing for him to speak-to
say some trivial. commonplace thing
anything but this silence. which seemed
subtle ACKNOWLEDGMENT willingness
that should know. We were almost
nome before he spoke. and then # was
cnly 10 ask II he should draw down
the curtain. IL the mist was blowing In
on me.
When we reached the house he made
Sonhe remark about being tired. bade me
goodnight. and went at once To his
ROOM what did mis- silence mean? Did
ne Intend II for an admission Did ba
want me to construe K that wav? VII
Old he not talk casually of the plaT
comment on the acting or the constr1Ic-
do.l SiOn Oh the plot as We have always
II is almost 3 o'clock. But how hone
less 10 try 10 sleep!
August 10th.
mat ne, too has not slept ! felt that
1 would regret h that / would make
a mistake If l made any reference to
the play, ana yet the hope that he
make me feel that ne had not wished
10 convey by his silence what I had
tnOugnt last nighC, drove me to fry 20
Iorce from him some expression
do you think such things end that
ually.
How do you nean?' quietly.
The parting n the last act II
man really loves another woman. do
they often renoGune her for the sake
or their wife?' I did not look up; 1
Kept my eyes on a crust I was crunb-
ling on the tablecIoth.
There was a slight pause. and then
he answered slowly:
Il should think that would depend on
the mans strength"
But If he had much strength" my
voice was measured. would he have
ever allowed himself to love another
woman"
No; I presume not"
waited, but he said nothing more.
In Few moments he glanced at his
watch, and left for the Office. My ef-
forts had been futile-his voice and
manner had betrayed nothing.
August 11th.
Am 1 tpo self-centered? DO I give
way to my grief too much? Would an
other woman under the same circum-
stances have more strength? I know
now dangerous Is this constant brood
irg. 1 know that I am losing all sense
OF proportion. His slightest word and
action / now bring to bear always upon
one thing l know that I draw suspi-
cions from perfectly innocent causes.
My mind Is so c5lored that l am able
to see nothing else
And yet how can I help it? 1 have
tried to fight against II, to force an
interest in other things, to drive my
mind 10 things outside myself And
yet always the background Of my
/ thoughts remains the same. Never for
/ a moment am / wholly free from the
consciousness that my husband is
I drifting away from me-that ne loves
another woman. That poisonous
/ thought is always with me.
August 18th.
| More and more I have come to take
a morbid, feverish interest In news
/ paper accounts Of divorce scandals and
/ intrigues. Such things have always re-
pulsed me; until lately, 1 would not
even read the headlines. But now
now read all the details with a con-
suming interest. ] will even read the
varying accounts of the same case in
the different papers. It all fills me
I with loathing, and yet II has this fear
/ full hold upon me
These things that I have always re-
gaTded with such horror are now
touching so closely my own life Not
/ the vulgar publicity, of course; that
feel Will never come. But the nm
derlying cause Is always the sar1e-the
I love of a man for a woman who is not
/ his wife. 1t terrifes me when I think
/ that everything in life now seems bear
I ing on that-nOvels. plays-thev are all
/ built on variations Of that theme