THE STORY-TELLER.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 975, 21 September 1878, Page 2

THE STORY-TELLER.

[ WIPE IN NAME ONLY; l By the author of " Doea Thoene," "On Her "Wedding Morn," "Ke-

DEEMED BY LOVE, " A WOMAN S 3 Wae," &c &a. J (Continued fi'om last Saturday's issue). r — %— [ CHAPTER XXIX. ' I have only to add, my darling, - that if money, luxury, and comfort Qgn give you happiness, you shall haveT them all. You shall have respect and t honor, too, for I will take care that the whole world knows that this separation arises from no fault of yours. Promise me, darling wife, that, when the smart ! of the pain is over, you will try to be happy.' She bent her head, but spoke no word. 'Promise me, too, Madaline, that, if sickness or sorrow should come to you, you will send for me at once.' ' I promise,' she said. ; ' A few words more and I have done. Tell me what course you wish . to pursue towards the Duchess.' ' ' I have no wish m the matter/ sho replied, directly. ' She was kind to me once, and for the sake of that kind--1 ness I forgive her. She forgot all that I must suffer m her wish to punish you. I shall leavp her to her own conscience.' ' And I,' he said, ' will do the same : voluntarily, I will never see her or speak to her again. 7 There remained for him only to say farewell; He took her little white hand ; it was as cold as death. ' Farewell, my love,' he said, • fare- , well!" , He kissed her face with slow, sweet reverence, as he would have kissed the face of a dead woman whom he loved ; aud then he was gone ! Like one m a dream, she heard the wheels of the carriage rolling away. She stretched out her hands with a faint cry. ' Norman— my husband— my love ! sho called, but from the deep silence of the night there came no response. He was gone, Madaline passed the night m watching the silent skies. Mrs Burton, after providing all that was needful, had retired quickly to rest. She did not think it " good manners " to intrude upon her ladyship. AH night Madaline watched the stars — thinking, and. during the course of that nis?ht, ihe best part of her had diod—- youth, love, hope, happiness.

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Strange ■ thoughts |o her|— ; SiQ^Sts that she could nbt cpft^l. Why was. M so ( cruelly ; punished ? Wbat bad sue done ? .SRe hA^g! 4lSd livek tlUt had "^fW^n endinga. She had read' of. sinful men , and wicked women,whose. crimes, even m this world, had been most terribly punished. She bad read of curses following sin; But whatehad she doneP No woman's lot surely had ever been so bitter. She could not understand it, while the woman who _ had loved her husband, who had practised fraud and deceit, and lied, went Wuaished Yet her case was hardly .that, for ; Norman did hot love her. Daughter of a felon- as she— Madaline- was, poor, lowly, obscure, he had given her his heart, although he could not make her mistress of his home. . There was aome compensation for human suitering, some equality m the human lot, after all. She would be resigned. . There were lots m life far worse than ( jicrs* * • ( ♦I will submit,' she said, ' I will leave my fate to Providence. .< With regard to Lord Arleigb : Once out of the house, he seemed to realise 1 for the first time what had happened ; i with a gesture of despair, he threw < himself back m the carriage. The | footman came to him. •Where to, my lord^to Beech- • "--groveP' „ 1 ■ 1 'No,' replidLord Arleigh, « to the railway station. I want to catch the i night mail for London.' # . ' Lord Arieigh was just m time for the train. The footman caught a < glimpse of his master's face as f the r train went off: it was white and rigid. .< 'Of a}l the weddings m the world, „ well, is the queerest,' heexclaimed, , : to himself. 7, , ; When he reached fieechgrove, he : told his fellow-servants what had hap- , -'. .pened, •, and • many were the comments ', offered about the marriage that was yet no marriage, the wedding that was no wedding, and the husband and wife < who Were so'miny miles apart. What could' it mean? , „ : /Three days after Lord Arlieighs most Inauspicious marriage, the Duchess ef Hi'zlewoocl sat m her drawing-room alone. 1 Those three days had changed her, terribly j her 1 face had lost its bloom,, the; the light had ! died, from. her dark eyes, 1 theilV were great lines of pain round her lips. She sat with; her (hands folded listlessly, her eyes full of dreamy ; sorrow, Bxed on the moving foliage' of the woods. Presently, Lady Petera ebtered; with an '•'open newspaper m her hand. /, 'Philippa, my dear,' she said, 'lam very uncomfortable. Should you think this paragraph refers to^Lord Arleigh? It seems to do so - yet J oannot believe . it.' ■ f The deadly pallor that was always the sign of great emotion, with the Duchess spread nowseven to her lips. -, ' What Jibes it say ? she asked. LadyKP#ers held the paper out to her ; " but hej^haM^trßmbled so that she could not takedW^ ■'"'' % alnHßtV;tead It,! she said, wearily. , Bff3!iMme. , 7 And then Lady Peters read— , . •';■-.• SCANPAL 1 IN HIOH LlFß.— Some strange revelations, are; shortly expected m aristocratic circles.: A ; few day b since,] a noble lord, bear? /g . one ( of the most • ancient titles m England was married. The marriage tr yk place under circumstances of great ' jystery ; and the mystery has been increased by the separation of bride and bridegroom on their weddingday. What has led to the separation is >' at present a secret, but it is Expected that' m a fow.days all particulars will be known. At present the affair is causing a great sensation.' 7. „'. ': / ''^ | A fashionable paper which indulged largely m personalities atep had a .tellinp article on Lord Arleigh's marriage., , No names were mentioned, but the references were unmistakable. A private marriage, followed by a separation on the same day, was considered a fair mark for scandal. This also Lady Peters read, and the Duchess listened with white, trembling " lips. •It.must refer to Lord Arleigh,' said Lady Peters". 'It cannot,' was the rejoinder. ' He was far too deeply m love with his fair^.. ; faced, bride to leave her. ' *I never did quite approve of that marriage,' observed Lady Peters. ' The scandal : cannot be about him,' declared the Duchess. 'We should have heard if there had been anything;wrong.' The next day a letter was handed to hen She recognised the handwritingit was Lord Arleigh's She laid the note down, not daring to- read it before Lady ■•■--, Peters. What had he te ; say to her ? When she was alone she opened it. ' You will be pleased to hear, Duchess, that your scheme has entirely succeeded. You have made two innocent people who have never harmed you as wretohed as it is possible for human beings to he. In no respect has your vengeance failed. I— old friend, playmate, brother, the ■^son of your mother's dearest friend— have been made miserable for life. Your 1 revenge was well chosen. You knew that, however dearly I might worship Madaline my wife, however much I might love her, she could never be mistress of Beechgrove, she could never be mother of my children ; you knew that, and therefore I say your revenge was admirably chosen. It were useless to comment on your wickedness, or to express the contempt I feel for the woman who could deliberately plan such evil and distress. I must say this, however. All friendship and acquaintance between us is at an end. You will be to I me henceforward an entire Bfcrange«-. I could retaliate. I could write and tell your husband, who is a man ot honor, of the uhwdrthy deed you have done ; but I will not do that^-it would be unmanly. Before my dear wife and I parted, we agreed that the punishment of your sin should be left to Heaven. So I leave it. To a woman so unworthy as to plan such a piece of baseness, it will be tatief action to her to know that her scheme has succeeded! Note the words 'my wife and I parted'— parted, never perhaps to meet again. She has all my love, all my heart - all my unutterable respect and deep devotion ; but, as yon know, she can never be inietress of my house; May Heaven forgiveyou ! , 'Abmioh She could have borne with his letter if it had been filled with the wildest mectives -if he had reproached berj even cursed her • his dignified forbearance, his simple acceptance of the wrong she had done him, she could not tolerate. She laid down the letter. It was all over now-^the love foi -which she would have given her life, the friendship that had once been so true, the vengeance that been so oare ally planned. She had lost his love, his friendship, bis esteem. She should see him no more. He despised her There came to him a vision of what she might have been to him had things been different-bis friend, adviser, counsellor - the woman upon whom be would have looked as the friend of his chosen wifethe woman whom, after her, he loved best - his Biiter, his tiuest confidant, al this she might have been but for hei revenge She had forfeited it jUnow. Her life would be spent as though he did not exist ; and thete was none but hersell to blame; . Still, ehe had had her revenge j sh«

smiled bitterly to herself as Bhe thought j ';of th»t. She had punished him. The i beautiful faoe/Rrew r pale Ai and,the darb eyes shone through a mist of tearß. «I am not hardened enough,' she said to herself, mockingly^ '* to be quite happy , pver, an evil deed. I want something more of wickedness, m my composition. She par tied skilfully all Lady Peters questions ; she piof eased entire ignorance of all that happened. People appealed to as Lord Arleigh's friend; They asked 6 ? What does this mean? LordArleigh was marriedquietly, and nmufa l from his wife the same day. What does i^ mean ?' , •'. • ■ « I bantiot tellj'but you may rely upon it that a ieasonable explanation of the circumstances will be forthcoming, she would reply. * Lord Arleigh is, as we all know, an honourable man, and l Knew "^Bu^'what oan.it mean V the question i ers would psrsist.,. i „„„.- --«I cannot tel',' she would answer, laughingly. ' I only know that we must give the matter the best interpretation we can.' ' So Bhe escaped ; and no one ever asso. dated the Duchess of Hazlewood with Lord Arleigh's strange marriage, tone f knew that when her husband retU^ea she would have' to 1 give/ some kind o explahatien ; but she was quite indifferent about that. He); life; >he said to herself, was ended. 7 , 7 7. «* Wben the Diike did come home, after a few pleasantweelts blithe sea, the^rst 'thing he heard w^as the story about Lord Arleigb. tt' astdundeld biin.' His friend CaptMn;Ailßtin relatedltto^m-Maoo as he had landed. -7 ./. • f « WHbm did you sfty he marri«d < J quired tne mystified Dnke. * Rumour said at first that it was a distani" relative 'of yours,' replied the Captain } « afterwards it proved to be some young lady whom he had ihet at a small, wateripg-plabe/", rt ' .■,'"__.. .',' "' . ; „' ' 'What washer name ? Whovwas she ? It was no : 'relativeof mine;! haTeVery, few ; I have no yonng female relatives at 'all;*'' '*' !<li ' '' ""■' :: '' ""'■'"' '" ?:: ' ; ■' '" ' » Uo — that was all a mistake ; I cannot tell you how'lt arose. ; He married a lady, of the name of Dornham.' ; ; • ' Dornham I' said the puzzled nobleman. 'The name , is 'not unfamilar to n\e. f Dornham— ah, I remember J' He said no more, bht the Captain saw a grave expression come over nis handsome face, and it occurred to him that some unpleasant : thought : occupied; his companion's mind. „ ■'. h .■ . . , fj \ Id be Continued. When you wish to Furnish your House obtain a Book: Catalogue. from the City Hall Arcade, which contains valuable information, not only enumerating what can be obtained there but sho wing the cost of Furnishing a Three, Four, Five, and Six-roomed House ; also, Drawingroom i separately* apd: Bachelors'. Rooms,; Just received, some magnificent -alb wops Kidderminster Carpets, for Dining ann Bedrooms ; very cheap Tapestry, BrusselandFelt Carpets : the; largest stock m -Auokland.' All kinds of House ( Furniture, and an immense assortment of Bedsteads m Iron, Brass, Kauri, Cflar, Mm, Mottled Kauri ; with W>rdrqbes, Drawers, \ Washstands, .and., Taibles to match.' Dining and Drawihg'robm Suites to suit all classes. Several new designs inlLinOleum •, iOildlothS) ajl widths, for Rdonis7'Halis, ,( Sfair8 J &c.-£ Arfy ; kind of Furniture made to .order. Hptela.and Pablic Buildings Furnished throughout. Catalogues sent Post Free. Ladies and. Gentlemen about to 'Furnish are invited to stroll through the ' Arcade,' where, m, addition to" flbuse-Furnishing Goods." will be seen Drapery, Clothing, Millinery, Jand; Fancy teoodsi^HoLtoWAY^TGAE- ' Lick'i and 1 CkANWBLt,^ , proprietors; City Hall Arcade, Queen-street,' Auckland.

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