Year: 1878

murdered at thirty-two she was still
true to his memory,


Is any one forever utterly true to an
others memory out of romance-any
one who does not die young fear not.
In this the lspsing summer Of the WON.
ans lite, when she pretended to believe
that autumn had actually come, tempta-
ton to Inconsistency assailed her. For
many years fine house upon the neigh
boring estate had been empty, but now
there came to take possession of 1t gem
tleman not yet forty. A widower with
plenty of money and no children, hand
some man, well-built and stalwart, with
magnificent black hair, and eyes that
were like black diamonds. Spanish eyes
indeed he called himself a Spaniard,
and his speech betrayed foreign accent.


The dark eyes and tho blue ones met,
few neighborly words were exchanged,
a call followed soon, Mrs. Halitont felt
new emotion creeping into her heart. She
felt pleased and battered by this strangers
admiration. Then she knew she was
loved, and rejoiced so discovered
that she herself loved again.


At first she was angry with herself,
then she kept over her constancy, but at
last she yielded utterly. After all it was
the love that made her untrue-since she
had loved she could never pride herself
on being faithful again, and so she listen
cd to the sweet words that, despite her
self, made her happy and promised TO
marry Colonel HUMPHREYS.


When a widow does marry a second
time she generally contrives to mako
fool of herself.


Mrs. Haifont had really not dore
rs toolishly us some widows do. She had
neither chosen little boy, nor titled
Italian without money enough to keep
himself in macaroni. Her future hus-
band was older than herself and too rich
to be suspected of any intention of being
fortune-hunter but, after all, no ono
knew him. Ho was stranger, a foreign
er. He came into the neighborho0d
without letters of introduction TO any ono,
and whether he won his fortune by trade
or whether ho came to it by inheritance,
remained a mystery.


There were those who shrugged their
shoulders and declared that Mrs. Hall
font would regret not having chosen some
one of whom more was knowN-some re-
tired merchant, some gentleman Of fort
uno, whose father had been known to
her friends. Nothing to bo suro, could
be said against this Spaniard or Cuban
with the English name but who knew
anything in his favor .


However, no ono said this to Mrs. Hal
itont. aud ii any one had, words never
changed weman's fancy yet. Mrs.
Halitont believed in Colonel Humphries,
and meant to marry him.


Indeed, tho trousseau was prepared,
the wedding day fixed, all was ready,
and Ida Halfont believed herself to be II
very happy woman. She once more
built castles in the air. Her old sorrow
seemed to fade away in the distance. She
was n girl again.


At last only twenty-four hours lay be-
tween her and her wedding g-day.


She was busy in her sewing room on
this last day, finishing some ruiiies in
lace and ribbon. and singing softly to
herself, when suddenly tho house was
filed with sharp cries.


An old man-servant, while cutting the
grass upon the lawn, had wounded him
self seriously. The doctor WAS sent for
( nj once, but he was not at home, and
meanwhile poor Zebedee was bleeding to
death.


Suddenly Ida Halifont remembered
/ that Mr.. Hunphries had said that he un
derstood wounds a. we'll as though he
had been bred surgeon. Without this
| it would have been natural for her TO call
upon ono who was SO soon TO be her pro-
tector in moment OF anxiety. She
would call him herself, that there might
be no delay and seizing her garden hat
she ran along little path that led from
her grounds to that Of Mr.. Humpbries,
elm bed low fence, to save time which
would have been lost in reaching gate,
and so gained the rear Of the dwelling, of
which to- morrow she would be mistress.


She thought herself terrified and dis
tressed. She felt rather injured in that
such an unpleasant thing as The wounding
of poor Zebedee should have happened on
the eve Of her wedding day. Ten min
utes after she thought Of herself at that
moment as utterly at wondrously
happy-for rs she reached those windows
and peeped half timidly through the cur
tains, thing happened that made all she
had evor suffered appear as nothing.
| The room, the window of which she
had approached, was one that opened out
, OF n conservatory. Within the cOnserv-
atory she saw Colonel Humphries, busy
with some rare plants he had just set ou.
/ in the warm sunshine that fell through
| the glass. lie had taken off his coat and
rolled up his sleeves. Now no left the
conservatory, and coming forward pro.
ceeded to wash his hands in basin of
water that had been set ready for him.
lie was close TO Ida Halfont. He did
not see her, but she could have reached
out her hand and touched him. Why
did she sink down upon her knees and
clasp her hands and tremble like an as
pen leaf? Alas the awful reason was
this Upon that arm to which she was
about To give the night to clasp her in the
tenderost embrace she saw rod aad ter
rble mark-a mark she had seen once be-