The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-15

and the arts of La Rue, the poor girl con-
 sented. But no sooner had she made her
 rash promise than she repented of 1t.
 "Why!" cried La Rue when Charlotte
 began to bewail the fact that she had
 agreed to fly, just now you said that the happiness of Montraville was what you prized most in the world. Now you re- pent having insured that happiness by agreeing to go with him to America"
 Indeed I do from the bottom of my soul," replied Charlotte, but while dis cretion points out the impropriety of my conduct, inclination urges me on to ruin." Ruin, fiddlesticksl cried La Rue, lam I not going with you and do I feel any disquiet?" "You do not renounce ten der father and mother" said Charlotte.
 "No but l hazard my reputation. an swered La Rue, bridling. Charlotte went to bed, but sleep was a stranger to her pillow that night. In the morning she received a letter from her parents.
 Mir Temples father was the younger son of an English peer and had selected for Temple rich bride. But Temple re- fused the marriage and instead married the daughter of retired army officer, man whom he had rescued from debtors prison. His noble relatives were of course disgusted But even after paying off his father-in-law's debts, contracted through no fault of the officer, he had enough property of his own to live on quietly at a little cottage in the country where a garden, a COW and his poultry took up what of his time he did not de- vote to study or to the enjoyment of the soicety of his family. Mrs. Temples father lived with them and smoked his pipe in peace and modest comfort in the yine-clad arbor at the foot of the garden walk. It was a happy, contented house. hold in which all the beatitudes were not only taught but practiced. It was from such a home that Charlotte had gone to boarding school to fall under the evil in- fiuence of La Rue and the Vaccinations of Montraville. Mime. Du Pont was an excellent lady, mother to all her pupils, and had she had any idea of the true character of La Rue would have been the first to have cast her out of the Eden of innocence into which she had crept.
 The morning after <Charlottes s1eepless night Mme. Du Pont sent for her and placed in her hands the letter from home. It was a tender epistle from her loving mother in which she said that the mor- row being the birthday of Charlotte the people at homo had arranged a little marty for her. Her girl friends of the nefghborhood had been invited and they were to have games and refreshments in the garden, And so 1t ran on in that simple loving strain as if Charlotte were sun m innocent child and ended by say ing that Mme Du Pont had been written to asking that Charlotte be granted a holiday and that Chariotte's grandfather would drive over in a oflaise and fetch her. What change few weeks had made in Charlotte Temple, Tho missive which short time before she would have received with delight. now caused her the most exquisite torture, She realized that she could never be again the same simple, innocent child she ones had been,
 But she summoned all her resolution and declared to La Rue that she would go to her parents, that the path she had been treadng in she would tread no longer, she saw too clearly the dan- gers into which she had been allowing. herself to be drawn, It was in vain that