The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1914-11-05


lamented, had not enjoyed the best of
regulations when Mrs. Stefferson mar
ried him. She was warned how it
would be. She might have forgotten
1t. but all her friends told her so
They knew that the kind of son Stef-
ferson had shown himself to be would
not make the best kind of husband.
The undutiful son had proved to
be faithless husband. Marriage, 80
far from curbing his appetite for
strong liquors, seemed to have re
moved any slight restraint he might
have felt
He was relieved of the necessity of
working for living because Mrs.
Stefferson had money. Luckily, 1t
was tied up in such a way that she
was unable to touch the principal
1t was nearly two years after that
Mrs. Stefferson had altogether dis.
carded her mourning. The rest had
done her good. She was getting COM
fortably stout and had regatned quite
little of her youthful good looks.
She was sitting In her prettily fur
nished little parlor attired in a par
ticularly becoming house gown. A
large Angora cat was purring in her
lap, occasionally turning lazy yellow
eye up at the cheerfully trilling Ca
nary. The piano was open and there
| was music on the rack. A vase on a
bookcase held some vivid La France
roses and on the sill of the sunny bay
window there were embroidery mate.
/ rials and box of bonbons.
Mrs. Stefferson laid down her novel
when her visitor was announced and
got up, to the profound disgust Of the
cat. The visitor was an elderly, gray
haired woman, with a decided chin.
, Mrs. Stefferson embraced her quite
| affectionately and asked her to take
off her things.
/ mo, thank you, my dear" said the
elderly woman. I've only very few
minutes to stay. No; no tea, thank
you My, but it's pleasant in here!
It looks little different from
Bessie, that's what called to see
you about. / heard something today
/ that shocked me more than / can tell
you. | didn't believe it, and l won't
believe it, until you tell me it's true.
Bessie, dear, you're not going to get
married again, are you?"
Mrs. Stefferson smiled, blushed and
nodded
The visitor gasped. But not-not
| Mr.. Crawley? Oh. Bessie, hope you
are not going to do anything SO foolish
as that"
Mrs. Stefferson colored again, but
this time with indignation. Il think
am the best Judge of whether 1t is
foolish or not" she said. Il don't con-
slider that it will be foolish at all.
expect to be perfectly happy and If I'm
happy don't think it is anybody else's
business"
But you can't possibly know what
you are doing" persisted the elderly
woman. Bessie, you know that l am
! friend of yours and l wouldn't have
you anything but happy You may
not think it's my business, but | feel
it is my duty to tell you that Mr.
Crawley is bad, bad man"
| "Oh, not at heart"
AT heart and all through My dear,
do you know his habits? Do you know
his character? Neither could be worse.
! It's my plain duty to tell you that. and
II you have the least doubt of 1t can
prove it to YOU"
/ 'I'm not going to listen to you," said
Mrs. Stefferson. you don't know him
as | do. Nobody does. I've heard all
those tales about him, and don't say
that he has been perfect, but what he
needs, and always has needed, Is a
good woman's influence"
"Pah!" exclaimed the visitor. "Bes-
sic. you must be fool. Is 1t possible
that after all the misery you expert,
enced in your first marriage you can
still delude yourself with that idea?
Did your influence help Stefferson?"
Mrs. Stefferson sighed. you forget,
my dear, that he died." she said gen
tly. DO you know, / often think that
II he had lived might have made him
see his faults and repent of them. Who
knows but he might have become a
thoroughly good man?'
| Altogether an extraordinary case,