, 1915-10-14

-
She Tried to Imagine That Letters
Coming to Her-Then. Thirty
Years Aaoi
been certain, Judith, Of your heart.
Sometimes l have thought you loved
meme only-as / love you Last
night when / saw you wearing my
cape jessamines at the ball, / was
almost sure Of 1t. But when you made
me promise, whatever happened, not
to lift my hand against him, then /
doubted. Was 1t because you feared
for him? Would to God at this moment
I knew this was not truei For what
eve the fact, I must love you, dar.
ling. you and no other, IS long as
liveI"
When she had read thus far, she
closed the letter, and pressing a hand
against her heart as II to still its
throbbing. locked the written pages
in a drawer of her bureau. She went
downstairs and made Ranston bring
her chair to its accustomed place I'M
der the rose-arbor. and sat there
through the falling twilight.
She and Shirley talked but little at
! dinner, and what b said seemed TO
| come winging from old memories-her
own girlhood. It's routes n picnics
and harum-scarhm pleasures. And
there we're long gaps in which she
sat silent, playing with her napkin,
| the light color coming and going in
her delicate cheek, lost in revery. Ii
was not till the hall-clock struck her
usual hour that she rose to go to her
room.
Don't send Emmaline," h said
81 shan't want her." She kissed Shir-
ley good night. Maybe after a while
you will sing for me; you haven't
| played your harp for ever-so n
In the subdued candle1ight Mrs
cambridge locked the door of her
room. She opened a closet, and from
the very bottom Of a small haircioth
trunk, lifted and shook out from Its
many tissue wrappings a faded gown
of ~rose-colored silk, with pointed bod
ice and old-fashioned> puff-sleeves. She
spread this on the bed and laid with II
a pair of yellowed satin slippers and
a little straw basket that held a spray
of what had once been cape 1essa'
mine.
In the pickering light she undressed
and r~earranged her hair, catching ita
silvery curling meshes In q low soft
coil. Looking almost furtively about
her, she put on the rose-colored gown
and pinned the withered fower-spray
O n its breast. She lighted more
candles-in the wall-brackets and on
the Observation-Disclosures the reading
lamp on the desk. Standing before
her mirror then, she gazed long at the
refection-the poor faded rose-tn'
against the pale ivory Of her
neck. and the white hair. A little
culver ran over her lips.
whatever the fact she whispered
e you and no as ioni
as l live"
She unlocked the bureau-drawel
then, took out the letter, and seating
herself by the table. read b remain
der:
"I write this in the old library and
Bristow holds my horse by the porch
He will give you this letter when
am gone.
Last night we were dancing-al
of us-at the ball. l a scarcely be
lieye 1t was less than twelve hour
agol The calendar on my desk has
motto for each leaf. Today's is This
EVERY man carries his tate on a RIB
and about his neck Last night
would have smiled at that. perhaps
today l say to myself. 'Itis true-it'
true!' Two little hours ago l coul'
have sworn that whatever happene'
to me Sassoon would suffer no harm
Judith, / could not avoid the mee'
ing. You will know the circum
stances, and will see that 1t was force'
upon me. But though we met on tn
held. l kept my promise. Sassoon df'
not fall by my hand"
She had begun to tremble 80 tina
the paper shook in her hands. an
from her breast, shattered by he
quick breathing. the brown jesssmin
petals busted down in her lap. 1t wa
some moments before she could CALI
herself sufficiently to read on.
HE fred at the signal and the she
went wide. l threw my pistol on tn
ground. Then-whether maddened b
my refusal to FIRE, l cannot tell-h
turned his weapon all at once and she
himself through the breast. 1t wa
over in an instant. The seconds di
not guess-do not even now, for
!, happened but N hour ago. A u