The Washington herald., 1914-11-29
tcorynrht. iaLl

- the lesser slight to leave hir
out of the z,5oo who receive,
the double-enveloped engravings Their
was a certain distinction in being omit
ted, and she knew that he could not &C
count il an oversight She had beei
tempted to write him a letter. Sh,
scrawled of a dozen and tore them vi
in turn. What she had to say could no
be put on paper Besides, it would b
hideously indiscreet
But Forbes was present in hel
thoughts. He was the chief wedding
guest in her soul. He seemed to knee
between her and the groom and try tc
shoulder him away. This added las
terror to the multitude of her frights-
frights ranging in importance from &
fear that she might kneel on her veil
and pull it askew to namelesS terrors OF
the bridegroom
She had blurred sense of returning
to the carriage and to the house, and
of the mob there, the clatter of tongues,
the price-mark appraisal of gifts, the
SwiniSh greediness about the buffet, the
Smirking repetition of the same banal-
tiles, the lines of drifting hands, the
faces that floated up like melons on a
stream and spoke and sometimes kissed
her. But what did it matter who kissed
her now? They were Willie's cheeks
and Willie's lips. She was all Willie's,
now and foreyermo
Eventually, when she was white
mouthed with fatigue and eager to
swoon out of the pandemonium. some
one took pity Ion her, and she Was spir-
tied away to her room and her bridal
livery taken from her The weight of
the veil and the train had been greater
than she knew. The blossoms were
lifted from her head. and in their place
little black straw hat with a frill of
black tulle was pinned And in place
of her white satin simple Callot gown
of sage green cloth was fastened about
her girlhood the last time
She had been swept and spun in a
maelstrom. an eternal crash! crash
crash! Then suddenly she was alone in
a room with this little man She heard
the thud of the door like a coffin lid.
She heard the lock click; she saw him
peering at her with a fox-like slyneSS
He was whipping off his coat and
waistcoat and fumbling at his scarf.
And his words were in his whining,
oboe voice:
We'll. that's over. And thank God.
! can get out of this damned collar be-
fore it chokes me!'
That was mis- first comment on their
solitude! But it was better thar the
love speeches he tried to make next. |!
She sank into chair: but he was
wrapping his arms about her. He was /
irving to say pretty things, and making .
a complete fiascu He was kissing her
with ownership. and she dared not turn .
her lips from his, though all her soul .
was averted.
He was tugging at her hatpins and
pulling her hair naggingly. She rose,
controlling her impatience, and spoke
with meekness that amazed her:
"Nichette is there. She will-help
me"
He grinned peeviShly.
"Nichette, eh? / thought we were
to he alone-for once? Well, send her
away-aS soon as you can.
He spoke already with command, and
shc said, with that sick meekness:
All right, Willie
She skunk away and was afraid to
meet the eyes of Nichette And even
Nichette wept at her ministrationS. And
then she sent Nichette away At the
door Nichette paused to stare through
eyes OF water. then ran back and |
ClaSped PerSis and kissed her, and ran
ont and closed the door I
\s Forbes had once surveyed the .
tide OF Fifth avenue from the upper !
deck OF notorious. so now. from a
ship he watched the I
throngcd traffic along the spacious ave ;
Uuc OF the hudson River and the broad I
plaza OF the hay 4
Nmung the tugs noisy and rowdy as I
ncwsbuys. the waddling ferry boats, the 1
harges loaded with refuse or freight v
trains. the passenger boats and eNcur- |
SION boats. and the merchantmen from \
many ports. a few yachts picked their \
way supercilou>ly. their bowsprits like
upturncd noses, their trim white flanks
like skirts drawn aside
Among these yachts. though Forbes
" as unaware OF it, was the Isolde,
known to those who know such things
As a ridiculOuSly luxurious craft, a
floating residence Persis had chris d
ened the yacht at Willie'S request. and c
ne had accepted the name as a good a
Imen, since he said: q always have a
perfect sleep when Isolde is under "
way" Fl
Never dreaming that Forbes was on "
he liner that had gone down the bay 81
few minutes before. Persis fastened II
Ter binOcular on the island and tried to
,ick him ont from among the men II
whom distance rendered lilliputian. She II
elected some vague promenader and +
ent him her blessings If he ever re- tc
,eived them he never knew whence W
hey came
Today's PerSiS en- the boat was alto br
either another woman from yesterdays 81
'ersis. The toll and fever of prepara- it
ion, the bacchantic orgies of purchase, 81
he dressing TIP. the celebration of the st
were the joys of the al
cedding to her, and she had drained o,
hem to the full They left her ex- in
auSted and sated. The anticipation W
,as over, the realization begun. 81
In some wiser communities the bride to
nd groom separate for a day or two in
fter the ceremony. But Persis had
o such breathing-space Persis was ily
elivered TO Willie Enslee in a state of he
lgged-out nerves, muscles, and brain. T.
o him. however, the weeks of prep to
ration had been a mere annoyance, a m
a prelude too long, too wi
rnate. And when at last the prize an
as his he found the fact almost intol- it
-abIy beautiful. He possessed Persis
nSlee! She had no longer even a I'M
anne of her own Miss Cabot had beeu ! oe