Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-25

gOld repeater, JeWeled INLET tor the hair
now that | had no need of anything any
All! Was Mrs. Cobb proud of these gifts,
and did she arrange them where none could
pass them by,-"Le Marquis ct la Mar
quise de Vauquieres de Clugny, aComte
Dominique de Vauquieres de Clugny," ia
Duchesse Donairiere de Brochefort," and so
forth3 As to Aunt Elizabeth, she was to
bring her presents with her. It was to meet
her that we went to New York.
She was to arrive with Uncle Porthaven
and the three older girls (the younger ones
were left at home at Brent) on the sixth of
August. That evening there was to be a
dinner and theater party in honor of the new
arrivals, with supper afterward in the roof
garden of the Waldorf. Then we were all
to 60 at once to the Brunhilda, Mrs. Cobb's
big steam yacht moored at her dock in
North River, and to start early the next
morning for Mount Desert. Then the even
ing of the ninth there was to be formal
dinner of great magnihcence at the villa at
Bar Harbor, in honor of the Duke and
Duchess. Then the next day, the wedding
But didn't think of that: l lived in a
kind of dreadful dream, trying to let each
minute suffice to its own pain, without think
ing of tomorrow. had done what was right
mon Dieu! there could be no doubt of that,
since that was the reason had done it. But
just the same | was tortured by romance,
and by self reproach, no less perhaps than if
l had done what wanted to. Wherever /
went was haunted by the image of Mrs.
Stuarts face and of Henry CHASTITY eyes, as
with head down bent had followed Mrs.
Cobb from their house on that last terrible
night. What did they think of me? Would
they ever understand or forgive me? l did
not know, | had no word from them, only
little, little letter from Henry in which he
informed me that in order to avoid certain
coming events he was leaving Bar Harbor;
and that since in response to his telephone
message of the other night a cabin had been
reserved for him on the Lorraine sailing for
Havre on August 6, he had made up his
mind to use it even under the altered cir
cumstances and leave America for an in
definite period.
home, leaving America alone, without even
his mother! Poor Harriet! had repaid her
badly indeed for all her kindness to me and
for the long fidelity of her spirit She sent
me beautiful wedding present,-a little
gold writing table, style Louis XIV, the ex-
act reproduction-yes quite exact, of one
that had belonged to Papa. Yes, she re-
membered. She had loved too, poor Har-
riet; but no more than had she been per
mitted to show her love and fidelity by her
actions. So hoped she might understand
and forgive me.
But when Mrs. Cobb and l in our limou-
sine met her in her carriage in the prone
made Il forget its name) above the sea, she
gave me only little pale nod before turning
away her head. All! 1t was the mother in
her that could not forgive me, understood
that-while the other mother by my side
made little satisfied noise in her throat like
hen clucking over her chicks. When ar
rived home l threw myself face downward
on my bed and lay there for long time,
because it seemed to me that, if moved or
even thought, my heart must crack and
break.
AS to Victor, am bound to own that in
these days he behaved very decently; though
now, as the wedding approached, he took
toward me in public pompous airs of owner
ship that might have made me laugh-had
they not made me crawl Though when we
were alone together he spoke but little; and
on our dash to New York on the yacht.
when he was not in the pilothouse or bully
ing the sailors, he sat for the most part silent
and immovable, with his horrid little pipe
between his teeth. In the deeds of the
property that his mother was conveying
him, he had exacted the Brunhilda as part
of his share; and was already planning a
wedding triD to the South Sea Islands, /