The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-07-09
Bv MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL

much choice OF residence. and the little
old house in Bienville at least gave them
q shelter. So they had come. bringing
their remorss with them. likewise their
love.
The wages OF sin in their case was not
luxury. They lived as poorly as gentle
people could live and exist They kept
no servant. and as it was painfEi for
them to have 10 dine at the cafes, Sophie
with the assistance OF one old woman
who was still active at seventy-five. pre-
pared all their meals. With her own
hands she made those cheap and simple
black gowns whose fit and style were
the despair and admiration Of the pro-
fessional dressmakers in Bienville. In
this matter Of her dress and appearance.
! Sophie retained ali the pride which Ind
! ever been hers when she was, as little
Lucie said, the gayest and best-dressed
woman In Chalons. Il was part OF a
duty that she owned Ravenel. for with
the fine generosity OF a woman she
reckoned herself much in Ravenel's debt,
and felt she should lose as few as posi-
BILE Of those charms that had won him to
his downfall She never lost her ap-
pearance OF elegance by dint OF an in
genuity, little short OF miraculous. She
uttered no complaining word. and no day
/ passed over her head that she did not
tell Ravenel he was the best man in the
world.
There was wheezy old piano in the
little house, and on this she played to
/ him the airs that had charmed him in
the days at Chalons. She wac externally
the most modest and reserved woman In
Bienville.-and who shall say that she
was not the same in her soul? Be not
too free. you vlrtuous people. to con-
denim this poor lady; there are sinners
and sinners. If you please.
AS for Capt Ravenel. hts wrong
doing had placed on him. according 20
his way of thinking. an obligation Of a
| life most spotless. He had always been.
as Col Duquesne had said, a man Of
| high character. but when love and misery
and fate had made him. in a way. the
/ destroyer OF the woman he loved and re-
spected most on earth. It raised him 10
a pitch OF herloo virtue. Like Sophie.
no drudgery was too great for him
and when she was preparing their
modest dinner. Capt Ravenei was
| digging IN the garden. BY the labor
/ OF his own hands. he raised the
most beautiful peas, potatoes, and melons
that had ever been seen. He would have
worked every hour OF the day. except
that he felt as Sophie did with regard
O. n - AZ 90
graces and habits OF a gentleman which
had first made her love him. In the
afternoon he dressed himself In his we'll
/ brushed frock coat and together be and
Sophie took a walk and sat and listened
10 the band playing IN the park. This
was their chief recreation. At night he
sat up many hours addressing those en-
velopes and circulars which he took 10
the post-office early IN the morning and
for which he was paid a pittance. Like
Sophie. no complaint escaped him. and
for every protestation OF love and graft
tude she made to him. he returned IL
twofold. They we're not happy-life had
no happiness 10 give two souls like
theirs. situated as they were-but they
would have died If they had been torn
apart
II was q portion Of Sophie's self-fm-
posed punishment that she should never
so fully into a church. hating. as Paul
Verney had noticed. Just within the door,
and. like the publican. not daring so
much as to lift her eyes 20 the altar,
but calling herself sinner and feeling
herself to be the greatest sinner on earth.
Another part OF her punishment was the
separation from Lucie, the little half
sister whom she had attended from the
hour Of her birth with mothers care.
and toward whom she had taken a moth
er's place. But she made no complaint
OF this. nor OF anything else: and when
Lucie. by her own ingenuity, had cen
trived to come back to her. If brought
CLEAN of Joy into Sophies life such as
she had never expected to feel again
Nine. Bernard remained unforgfv-
ing. As Lueie had truly said. although
as stern and uncompromising ia looks as
the monument in the public square at
Bienville and old Marie who sat on the
bench and knitted sternly. Mime. Der.
nard was. at heart, greater coward
about people than little Toni She knew
II she once saw Sophie everything would
be forgiven. and so she avoided seeing
her. and dared not even write to her.
Little Lucie had had no real difficulty in
accomplishing her object Of seeing Sophie
by the means she had rz. led to Paul
and otherwise wrapped the stately Nine.
Bernard around Der little finger.
Lucie, who was accustomed to luxury.
adapted her self with ingenious per-
versity to the plain way of living of the
Ravenels. She even learned to make
omelets herself. and with her little Lace
trimmed gown tucked up around her
waist, TO the horror Of Harper, the
nursery governess, actually learned TO
broil chop as well as Sophie could.
Lucie was a child OF many passions.
Her attachment TO Sophie was one OF
the strongest, and Sophie alone, of every
body on earth. could bend Lucie to her
wfli,-that is. as long as they were to-
gether, for, childlike, Lucie forgot all
the gentle commands and recommends
tons laid upon her by Sophie when they
separated. and remembered few OF the
admirable things which Sophie asked her
to do But she loved Sophie with a de-
temined constanoy that none OF Nine.
Demands Establishments nor all the bon
bons In Paris could change.
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW.