WOMAN'S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 79, 12 July 1910, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD.

WARNED IN TIME. I Outside everything looked sodden and ( dreary. A chill rain beat against the pane, and now and then sharp gusts of wind shook the naked limbs of the trees and sent Hying the few withered leaves that still clung to the branches. It seemed to Eliza'beth, sitting at the window, that the day was typical ol her own life, for the rain of discontent beat in upon her soul, and the gusty | winds of adversity shook her faith in mankind and sent scurrying through the , void the dead leaves of her withered j ideals. | To-morrow she would go back homehome to the farmhouse in the country

where she had toiled and slaved through all her young life—back to the drudgery ( of baking, sewing, and the thousand and ' one tasks of domestic life; yet in her

hand she held a letter which offered ' her a cessation of the drudgery that

had borne- in upon her soul ever since

: she could remember. I Until recently she had been content, | ftr she kuew no other lot. Then had I come an invitation from 'i.;r sister i pay a long visit to tho !ar,t«f'j gi ! London home. Margaret, her elder sis-

ter, had married for money through the | kindly offices of a family who had spent ' a summer holiday at the farm, and had . taken an interest in tho clever girl. Her husband, Mr. Tobin, was compel- | led to remain in London this summer i that he might be under the care of a i famous specialist, and, deprived of her , accustomed holiday on the old home i farm, Margaret had asked that Eliza-

beth might come to her. | For four months Elizabeth had mov- ! Ed through a dream life in the expen- ! sively furnished home of the Tobins. i There was a maid to wait upon her and i luxury in all her surroundings, and life : was for the time all pleasure. I There were always guests in the evening, for Richard Tobin entertained lavishly, though he was forbidden the rich foods that he loved -to set before those who enjoyed his hospitality. One of | them had called it "Eating Tobin's din--1 ner for him."

Elizabeth had laughed at the time, but she could not help feeling sorry for this gaunt-faded man whose simple tea and toast only served to accentuate the lavishness of the meals he could not enjoy save by proxy. And now she was to leave it all, to go back to the dull routine of the farm until, in the spring, Bob Rawlings should claim her -as his wife. Marriage to Bob would mean only work in a new home; perV.aps o\en rr.oro work, for his farm wa* siimll, and a heavy mortgage hail been left upon it by his father, Hugh Harper, too, had written her an offer of marriage, and the letter lay in her lap as she looked out of the window across the park. Harper was an intimate friend of Tobin's—a dry, withered, money-making machine, wbose first wite had died—so it was said—because of the privations she had endured in Harper's early days of money-making, when every penny was put back into the business to be" turned ; over and over again, multiplying itself until at last Harper was at once a ! widower an/1 wealthy. And now he honored Elizabeth by offering her his hand and' fortune. He wanted someone, to preside OJvrer his home as gracefully as Margaret played the hostess for his friend. It was a

business communication rather Shan a love-letter, but Elizabeth preferred it so. . She could not have endured it had ho spoken of love. As it was, she rose at length arid crossed the robin to the tiny writing-desk. There was no real ewgage- | ment with Bob, and in a few short j words she expressed her appreciation of .' the honor Harper had done her, and ae- | cepted his offer. I She still sat at "tier desk, the letter i sealed and stamped, lying ,before her, when Margaret entered. Something' in the tenseness of her attitude alarmed the /ouiurcr =istcr, and she sprang- to her sisters side. 1 "What is it, Meg?" she cried, as she threw her arms about her. '.'Wkati &M happened?" ' ' Margaret bent and kissed the girl's white "lips. "Richard is dead, thank Heaven!" she said simply. "He was seized with an attack, and died before we could i?et the doctor." Elizabeth recoiled at the harshness of the tones, and softly murmured, "Thank Heaven?"' Margaret turned to her pas-, sionatelv. "Yes, thank Heaven!" she cried.. "Bess, vou don't know what I have gone through. No one will ever know what I. have suffered unless they, too, sold their lives for comfort and wealth.

' For six years I have been tied to a man I did not love, who did not love me, denied even one word of love. Now I have my reward. I am rich and I am a widow* but—Heaven help me!— V rrr> longer have a heart. , It is dead within me, killed by my loveless life." Gently Elizabeth led the hysterical womari to a sofa, and while the household, upset by the occurrence, hurried about to see that needful things were - done, Elizabeth sat with her sister, vainly endeavoring" to comfort the- stunned womari. ■At last with an effort Margaret roused herself. "I must go and see that flowers are ordered. I must keep up appearances to the bitter end," she said dully. "Bess, you will wait until'—until afterwards, won't you?" "I shall not go until you no longer need me," promised the girl, as she put her arm protecting , about Margaret. Slowly they moved toward the door, but on the threshold Elizabeth paused and ran towards the desk.

In the tiny grate a cheerful Are burned to offset the disagreeable dampness of the -weather, and on the glowing eoals she laid the letter she had written to I Mr. Harper. "Bob is not rich." she whispered to herself, "except ire his love J —and that is the best of all'.:'' LOVERS DIE IN THE SEINE. Paris-, May 16. The bodies of a man and woman were found tightly roped together in the

Seine, near the bridge at Choisy-le-Roi yesterday. The man was identified as Robert Leger, who was engaged in a shop in Paris. Some months ago he fell in love with a woman employed at the same establishment as himself. His parents opposed the match and induced him to marry a woman they had chosen for him.

The marriage was an unhappy one, and a few days ago Leger left his home. MARRIED IN JEST. , New York. May 10. Mrs. Rose Theur, of Hartford, Conn, and Mr. Paul Sehiff, of Newark, made what they regard as a mock marriage at a party, the ceremony being performed -by the local magistrate. They now find that the marriage was registered by the magistrate who olKciated in the city records, and is legal. Mr. Schiti', wlio is engaged to another woman, has instructed a lawyer to take proceedings to annul the proceedings. The minimum cost of this will be £2O.

SINGER BREAKS DOWN. ADA CROSSLEY OVERCOME BY EMOTION. J .-union. May 20. Mme. Ada Crost'e/. 'he famous contralto, was so ov■ rcome by emotion while singing "O Rest in the Lord" at the "In Memorian r " concert at Queen's Hall yesterday aftcrr ~>on that she utterly broke down. It was towards the close of the ario. ."id though Mr. Henry J. Wood held up the Queen's Hall orchestra, expecting Mme. Crossley to recover, they had finally to finish without her.

It is not surprising that the singer was overcome by the sight before her, apart from her own feelings, for Queen's Hall was a mass of uninterrupted black —a sea of black chiffon and crape. So. great was the demand for seats that the programme, which contained Tschaikowsky-'s "Pathetic" symphony and Wagner's "Trauermarsch," will be repeated next Monday afternoon. A portrait of King Edward adorned the programme music.