Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-26

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|, A Mothers Sacrifice
kxsTANCE nodded. Her face had
II 4 uddenly become drawn and hag.
&ssj Il seemed az though a false,
:iatins influence had passed and
SS,SHr weak and trembling. She sat
ljTs .hall give her up. Ella ~ Her
gG.a.. rss low and almost toneless. ut
5s ~ heat for her. God knows what
Ssviii mean for me. ! have already
&srsd negotiations for the sac of the
SESs A committee has been formed
.TX. members and they will float a
|;ssisSa company. The thing Is settled
ssss~t - for the actual routine work."
sfou have practically sold the Eros
eyes, I shall 20 away
\ y .Where shall you so?'' Aunt Ella
~ vio'ently agitated. She loved Con-
2sncs more than Constance knew.
'ssi don't know" The deadly hope.
sness Of 1t brought tears to Aunt
Sis's eyes. II shall decide-after
Ssra.' w. -,
Lf4Unt Ella ChWe ONeE ~ hcE. Ahc
|hplttins fell, unheeded and tangled, to
20 viii come with you, Connie. We
Lrns not leave each other after we have
i11t our little girl. !"
'sGhe stood over her worldly wise sis.
|kf.fa quaint, frail figure in her little
/ TSIke can and out of. date dress, and
| |i,onstance, broken at last, buried her
|Sssd AGAINST her skirt and sobbed as
J child might sob in its mothers arms.
| AN hour later Constance wrote q
|)6lflr in the seclusion Of her room. 1t
- very short. and the envelope was
haddrcssed TO Lord C0nningtOn.
aMy dear Geoffrey--I have decided
| 4 surrender Audrey to You uncondi-
| tonally. | shall await your reply.
e "CONsTANCE.'
NE rang for the maid, and told her
| h most the letter at once, and added:
ThAs you 20 out will you ask Miss
lpdfey to come to my room at once, as
| 1 have something very important to say
b. sher?"
Audrey came to Constance, and found
her mother standing by the window OF
|hm room, looking out on the sun kissed
eatden and the wide sweep Of the green
Inns. Constance turned as she entered
Ahd said: "Shut the door. Audrey, and
III down. have something very i'm
portant to tell you
Audrey Obeyed. Her heart was beat
| ~ 4 little faster than usual, and In
| la eyes was q great wonder. Never in
| ~ life had she seen her mother SO se
hbus or so dreadfully composed.
| fConstance leaned on the back Of q
&1ir and faced her. ngt"s ..l
}TI will tell you the story as clearly
a. can, and without any attempt tC
color the circumstances. In short,
wtll try to make 1t a plain narrative OF
vents, on which you yourself can de
liver judgment"
Audrey nodded. She was more than
Dus.led. and rather frightened.
Many years ago continued Con.
stance, Lord Connington married.
Audrey started at the mention of the
1Ane. Constance went on. '"FIe mar
hed the daughter of a southern coun
y family, which had earned some no.
ter!ety by the recklessness Of its men
and the modernity Of its wOmen--at
ealt, some Of its women.
The girl he married was ultra
ne4ern. She had always lived an ex
Seeptonally gay life, and had a freedom
q artion which was impossible to hel
ann marriage. Conningt0n was, and
arrays has been, man of somewhat
austere views. To him life was some
thing to be lived seriously a capital
Placed into the hands of its possessOr
fer Investment. But to his wife life
wls just game. She had never seen
W. as 1t really is. One does not live
y tie shooting boxes of the Highlands.
~ dance rooms of Paris and London,
M the casino at Monte Carlo. One
nSsts-a delightful existence, perhaps.
n one never faces facts. Do you
uedetstand my meaning?"
Yes Audrey whispered the word.
~ was in the grip Of an awful sus.
For some years Connington and his
M!e kept up semblance of married
e4ls. They never actually quarreled,
eut, though child had come to them,
were was an acknowledged gulf be-
wen them. which was gradually
saening. The gulf--and l can say it
Solestly-was dug by the hands OF
lAdy Connington."
Mamma
constance did not heed Audrey's in
1luptlon. AT last ConningtOn
ssesed to be husband except in name.
y seldom saw his wife. and she was
qIilly Indifferent to him. The mad
Iesiessness of her family became more
nc more pronounced in her behavior
she met another man. and he happened
SDe an unprincipled scoundrel. Lady
bennington was more than indiscreet,
ne Lord ConningtOn filed a petition
~ divorce. The other man vanished.
: eeiieve he is dead now"
eAair back.
After the divorce--the suit was un-
aueaded-Lord ConningtOn refused the