The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1921-06-23
T T WAS a.close and sultry night ear
ly in August. And I, Walter Hart

right, master of drawing, aged
twenty-eight, was walking from Hamp-
stead to London In n moment every
drop of blood In my body was brought
to q stop by the touch of a hand laid
gently on my shoulder. There, in the
middle Of the high road, stood a wom-
an dressed from head to foot In white
garments. She asked me the way to
London. I told her; and we parted.
Ten minutes later a carriage passed
me and q few yards beyond stopped
near a policeman. A man put his head
from the window and asked: "Have
you seen a woman pass this way-a
woman In white9 She has escaped
from my asylum" At q shake of the
policeman's head, the carriage drove
rapidly on.
The next day I was at Limmeridge
house, Cumberland, In the service Of
Frederick Fairlie, Esq. / was there
to instruct his two young nieces in the
art of painting. I found Marian HAL
combe to be dark and ugly, but intel
ligent. Laura Fairlie, her h~alf-sister,
was light, pretty md dependent. They
were devoted to each other, and be
fore my engagement was up, I admired
the n and loved the other.
Ny feelings were the cause Of my
leaving Limmeridge house. Marian
Halcombe brought to me a realization
Of my own heart. "You must leave"
she said, mot because you are only a
teacher of drawing, but because Lau-
ra Fairiie is engaged to be married"
A few days before I left Cumber-
land. while walking alone in the eve
ming, I was confronted by the same
face which had first looked into mine
on the London high road by night.
But I was startled less by It's sudden
temperance than by my immediate
recognition Of an ominous likeness
between this fugitive from the asy-
lum and my fair pupil at Limmeridge
house. Still greater was my conster-
nation when the woman admitted hav-
ing come to the neighborhood for the
sole purpose Of thwarting the proposed
marriage OF Laura Fairlie. ~
/ left Limmeridge house, and soon
after embarked on an expedition to
Central America. The same year Lau-
IA Fairlie became the bride Of Sir
Percival Clyde, Bart, and with her
sister went to live at Blackwater park,
her husbands country estate. Count
Fosco, an audacious and domineering
Italian, and his wife were guests Of
the household. But all was not as
harmonious as an English country par
u should be. Lady Clyde and her sis.
ter, as inseparable and confding as
ever, felt q perceptible GOODNESS rising
between them and the two gentlemen.
Goodness turned to suspicion and soon
TO fear.
Then 1t was that Lady Clyde met
the Woman in White. The mysterious
person stole noiselessly up to her IN
the twilight one evening and whis-
pered: 'If you knew your husbands
secret, he would be afraid Of you. He
would NOT dare use you as he has used
me. I ought to have saved you before
it was too late" But before the Sc.
cret was told there were footsteps IN
the distance and the woman moved
stealthi1y away.
Sir Percival learned Of the brief In
terview, and q afraid Of his wife.
He demanded, begged, threatened her
to tell him all she knew. What had
been, d battle Of wits between the two
sisters and the two men became q
struggle Of strategy, and the women
lost the fight. Lady Clyde was de
coyed into leaving Blackwater park
Tor Count Fosco's London home. Less
than two weeks later a tombstone IN
Cumberland bore this inscription: "Sa-
cred to the memory of Laura, Lady
Clyde y
On my return from Central America