Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1913-07-22

know was how deeply craven into his
being was that first marriage. Aga
tina was the rock on which their
short-lived happiness foundered, for,
strangely enough, the more content
ed with his present lot Geoffry
Hamilton became, the more her re-
proaches from the grave stung into
him.
just as in the first marriage
trouble ensued through slight misun-
derstandings, so here difficulties be-
gan through imperceptible shadows.
There was never a quarrel, never a
word of disagreement. But for the
dead Agatha this couple would have
been ideally happy.
AS it was, they drifted farther and
farther apart, and the dead hand
separated them. You may say he
was weak, and condemn him as you
will, but only those who have felt
the past rise up and hit them in the
face with recurring virulence will
understand the depth Of the tragedy.
There are certain things stronger
than ourselves.
1t was after dinner one night that
Hamilton nerved himself to the idea
of parting, and this time it was Eve
lyn who stood by the fire, looking
into it with vague wondering.
Geoffry came over to her and,
lifting her face in both hands, kissed
her very tenderly. There was silence
for a moment and then the woman
spoke
81 made mistake" she said. 81
thought that even if you did not care
for me then, l could make you care
Ia little"
81 do care, and that's the trouble"
"Why? What else matters?"
"You know my story?"
"Yes"-she smiled rather mirth-
lessly-"and | thought that together
we might write over the past-two
pasts, for mine was not very happy,
and honestly, quite honestly, l cared
for you, or, believe me, l should not
have acted as l did"
81 know" he said. 81 honor you
for it, and l love you for it. The
pity is that through no fault of yours
or of mine the whole sorry business
has come to grief"
81 have felt it would for long
time"
''Do you know what a palimpsest
is?"
"No."
."An old scroll on which a record
has been written, a record that cam
not be obliterated. Then later, when
that record was no longer wanted,
and when scrolls were valuable as
human lives, the old writing was, 30
to speak, whitewashed over, and a
new story written; but underneath
the old story remained, unobliterat-
ed, crying for stroke of the sponge
to bring it to light. That's the
trouble with me. / love the new
record, but the old writing insists. !"
The woman subsided into a chair
by the fire and began to cry quietly.
81 could kill myself" Geoffry
continued; perhaps that's what /
ought to have done, but all this is
stronger than myself. l don't ask
you to forgive me. l only ask you
to be little sorry"
'I'm sorry for your-I'm sorry
for myself"
He bent over ard kissed her.
"Never believe that | don't love
you, because l do. But we've got
to part. Pm more grieyed than |
can tell you for you, but be little
sorry for me sometimes, when you
think of me, a wanderer-lonely--
gripped by dead hand and longing
for human sympathy. That's my po-
sition. God pity us bothp
There was a sob in her throat as
she spoke. "But / do understand,
dear. Don't think don't under
stand. l do, because / love you
because of what l have been
through.
II wish I could set You free" he
said.
81 don't want TO be set Free" she
said bravely. "Some time-who