The New York herald., 1921-07-24
Pierre Benoit.

P1erre benO1C.
tic patriotism. With an exiled friend
of her fathers she sought refuge In
the United States. Her protector mar
ried her and then died, leaving her his
fortune. which consisted chiefly OF
property in Utah. In settling her af-
Pere d'Exiles, her confessor, mis-
sionary to the Indians.
1t was the period of the Mormon
troubles, on account of which the
Government had sent troops to the
Territory. Lieut.. Rutledge was quar-
tered at Annabel's house. Here is the
picture she offered to his enchanted
eyes as she came home after the Cen
erals reception:
| "She let fall long, dark wrap from
her uncovered arms and throat. Her
costume was without crinoline, made
with enormous paniers Of taffeta,
blue as the sky at night The jewels
on her neck and wrist were opals.
Blond curls framed her small face.
She smiled as she looked at the Lieu
| tenant, letting her gray eyes rest
heavily upon him"
We perceive the beginning of an
idyl in the dangerous glance of those
gray eyes from the lady who wears
no crinoline in 1856. She was young,
she had never loved and she was
made for love. The devoted affection
OF Pere dExiles was no longer enough
to fill her heart.
! But the idyl is only the prelude to
the tragedy. Enter the villain in the
person of an army chaplain. called
Gwinett He is lodged with a Mormon
elder, Ridgon Pratt, poor as Job, but
well furnished with wives and chill
dren. One of Pratts daughters, Sarah,
dryhearted and ambitious, has become
acquainted with Annabel Lee, whose
goodness wakens in her a brief and
shallow sentiment neutralized by envy
of the young Widows wealth.
Sarah finds in Gwinett a kindred
spirit. She leads him to accept the
Mormon faith-and herself. This Is
Benoit's account of one of their inter-
views:
"The spirit of Gwinett was overcome
by an extraordinary restlessness. In
the presence of that emaciated girl his
emotion rose to great heights. Was
she not his mate? All the hardships
of his poor student days, his bitter re-
ligious conflicts, his doubts, his unre-
lleved hatreds, his establishments,
his dark ambitions-he felt them
burning behind the narrow virginia.
forehead under its woven bandeau; be-
hind those lowered lids, under that
strict corsage where a frenzied heart
must beat with sudden strokes"
And when he asked her what she
was doing in this land, where the po-
sition of woman was so questionable,
she answered with a dry laugh:
81 shall not lose my freedom except
by my own choice. Even married to
Mormon, shall be free still. A
woman with a mind of her own will
always manage these poor wretches
that make up her husbands harem.
! She will know how to make model SER
wants and money savers out of them.
| AS for the rest of it"--and she smiled
with disdain-'it's better to make the
law fit the facts without hypocrisy.
But there are details that an unmar-
ried woman shouldn't discuss"
1t is plain after this that Gwinett is
absolutely in Sarah's hands, as Anna
bel is to fall INTO his.
Their intrigue works out according
to the plan. Gwinett is admitted to
Annabel's house, appears to fall seri-
ously i'll and is anxiously cared for by
his unsuspecting hostess. Then he Sc
cretly marries Sarah and, guided by
her diabolical cleverness, dominates
the imagination of Annabel until she
actually gives up her former faith
Pere d'Exiles having been sent away
and becomes Gwinett's Mormon wife.
She finally turns over to him her en-
tire fortune.
1t Is only on the day after her mar