Year: 1874

Ny very hnu'rs gone,


A fabric, fancy-raised. when some rude
wind sweeps away the main support and
skaters the creation Of mind which has
been dwelt upon and fingered over with
rapture and interest, b, ,comes but a triiie,
lis varied Inconsistencies and frallties be
ctme visible, and in disappointment, the
builder Of the fanclful edihce bemoans the
evil fate which has destroyed his fancy and
ruined his hopings and work.


- it seemed To Beatrice Vernon, the
evening preceding her proposed wedding
with Colonel Adams. as she retired To rest.
There was every reason for believing her
plans destined to fail, and sanguine rs she
was # her ability to carry through plan
where even the most ordinary chances
werc apparent, she was not IN very great
expectancy Of her present plot. Not that
she was i'll any expec ancy Of the marriage
being prevented, but she was not entirely
easy upon the score Of an exposure of her
former dupllcity after the wedding with
Colonel Adams.


And yet she walked into the drawing
room leaning upon the Colouefs arm As
self-posSessed and apparently as loving as
"A bride in the years Of womanhood could
very well be. Charming in every point,
she borr the palm Of wltehood of amid a
score oi congratulations and the openly
expressed admiration Of the guests


A brl,f journey had been planned, a
| sojourn n the capitol for few days, and
then return to Myrtle Villa, and Myrtle,
although repeatedly urged to accompany
them decided not to go on the trip. She
was not i.nd of travelling, and in the new
found happiness of beautiful and an ap
/ parently loving bride, Colonel Adams wa
sufficiently lndulgent to excuse her from
accompanying them.


To casual observer the new bride wa
in all due happiness and very good humo
with all the world. She was not at all dis
composed As to her exposure she wa
woman Of the world enough to know tina
no person made a move for vengeance o
for gain but that the actuating impulse wa
that Of lenefit Indirectly or immediate
to them. She believed her enemies to b'
vindictive and numerous. Not so vindiC
tive that she did not defy them, however
and not too numerous to be kept count 0
upon the fingers Of her jeweled hand.


Her marriage with the Colonel had t
her mind placed barrier between hersel
and foes, as unsurmountable as was he
new position Of fancied security. Sh
knew that Nane Evelyn would turn an
sting her i'll the very instance of her no
meeting his pecuniary demands, and thi
new foe, -Cyrille Eyting was too full
aroused to abandon the affair without
sly mslnuatlon as to her former life.


Robert Garrison and his companion
Thomas Barton, she did not fear She re
he'd on her imperiOus beauty for sufhcien
guard against any attack from them
they should confront her She onl
thought Of Eugene Allerton, and she medi
tated deeply as there was recalled to he
mind Nane Evelyns words as to his bein
bent upon bringing her to grief for he
duplicity at the Acton Hotel but fe'
years back.


Washin gton was not as gay as during tn
winter season when the Colonel and hi
newly made wife were received as occu
pants Of the bridal suit Of apartments i
one of the most aristocratic hotels Of tn
capitol. Yet there were many there VIII
had sought the summer for time Z
general looking around the gay metroI
oils of the South. They were tn
center of an admiring group, and Colons
Adams enwrapt IN n fervent admiration oi
and a very strong love for the peerles
Beatrice, was too fully engrossed in hi
tender solicitude to supply all her tim
with amusements and frivolities tn leav
her for more than a few moments at
| time.


The time for the return had been ixe
for a week after their arrival in the capt..
and Beatrice had made herself a geners
favorite with all whom she met. On
afternoon she was out by herself, havin
gained her indulgent husbands consent
crafty her pet fancy for q ride alon'
and she had driven along one of the mai
avenues in pleasant drive, when as sh
turned TO look at fine house surrounde
by grounds which were adorned in th
highest decorative manner, she started Z
she saw gazing at her from the pavement
man. One glance, and hurried one I