Novelist. BRISTONDELL, OR AN UNLUCKY MARRIAGE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2766, 5 April 1890, Page 5 (Supplement)

Novelist. BRISTONDELL, OR AN UNLUCKY MARRIAGE.

7' =-' By MRS Vf. RATTRAY, "Mr Lastyeur's Visit to Auckland,"'■ Thfl Mystery of Sloane , ' Cottage," &c., &0., &0.,

CHAPTER XXII.— Repentance.

as you are so enchanted with Auckland, what do you'say to passing; the winter; :here ? I think wfl'sliairifki it better than either Gisborne or Napier." " Oh, db ! leb us stay, Leo. It's the most charming place I ever saw." t , . f is " Then'l suggest we make some excursions round-about, and see something of .surrounding country ; the hot lakes and all the 4tro?dlr# of -■ Jtliis » Ijind Before the welVeather sets in." Well»':',, said , Matthew, "the scenery tip here can't beat those exquisite views we had round the Sounds, and up ■ beyond Queenstown." r;r.i. " We cried, Rita, gaily, " you shall carry those beloved photographs you bought in Dunedin about with , you,. and whenever Leo and I rapsodise about the North' Island, ybui-rhusfc! 'slowly spread them out, and; ask, ' now, does.: it, come up to that ?!, Where shall we «o first 1 Do let it be by train, and we will get the tiresome part over first." , :v.V - ■- « \Vhioh do you c,all the tiresome P arfc? " „• i " The railway travelling, of course. It's £io ?haky and slow." , ' " But as tne scenery is so pretty, it "ives you plenty of time to ad'mfre-itj'and time is no'object to US- " All arrangements were made, and the next morning the party set out on their jtraivels , again. were late in reaching the station, and had barely time to take their tickets ftjid, jump, a saloon carriage was in motion. Leaning well back in the farthest corner. . pf« & second-class caMle, S teV tfucfc' veil down, trying to avoid 'being 1 seen, in case Mr Philip,, Brown should have,followed; her, was Miranda."' Her very precaiitiotfS Against 'being 'seen herself prevented her nbticing the Bristondell party* and, of course, they had no object in peering into secondcTSSfi' compartments even if they had fiiufthe time. A couple of hours passed, and the .pped on its way. Rita was pointing out some pretty peep, which* hadattr acted her attention, when the engine's thrill whistle Made her exclaim, " What a horrid riotse." The next moment she was

thrown violently against Matthew, who sat opposite her. In an instant, all was confusion, outcries and shrieks for help. Lionel and Matthew forced their way from their overturned carriage, and succeeded in extricating Rita, who was bruised and shaken, but riot otherwise injured. Matthew's wrist was badly sprained, but Lionel was unhurt. Placing Rita in a position of, safety, the two brothers proceeded to render what help they could to other less forturate passengers. No orie was killed, though some had sustained nasty cuts, and all were ; much shaken, Two or three females faiilted, and had to be dug out of the debris, being quite unable to helpi themselves. The prodded second-class carriage in which, Miranda,was travelling had suffered most from : its position near the engine, and to this compartment Lionel and Matthew bent their steps. , . " Here, Matt, can you. help me to lift this board ; it seems to have pinned this poor woman to the seat." Matthew rendered what help he could with one hand, and presently the inanimate form was laid gently and carefully on the bank. Water was procured, and at length she opened her eyes. Lionel was holding her head, and Matthew was endeavouring to force a little brandy and water between her lips. Her gaze naturally fell first an him. . , . " Matthew!" she exclaimed, and sank back in a dead faint. The little travelling tumbler dropped, from Matthew's nerveless hand, and its contents fell on Miranda's face, and served to partially restore her to consciousness. She opened her eyes for an instant, and tried to sit up, but sank back immediately with a moan of pain.

•Lionel quickly arranged a few wraps for a pillow, and told Matthew he would see if a medical man had arrived. Most: fortunately one was in the train, and was already working busily amongst the sufferers. ..

"Wonderfully little damage done," he said cheerfully, as Lionel came up, and he recognised him as being amongst the : little band of willing .worker's. " What, another case? ,Whero is she? " ..

He knelt down beside Miranda, felt her pulse, and shook his head) but made a brief examination, running .his hands lightly; over her limbs to feel if any were broken. Then he restored her to full consciousness, and' asked her if she was in pain.

■ Again Miranda tried to .sit up, but again fainted with the effort, and the doctor arranged, a stretcher to carry her to a neighbouring cottage, whose doors had been hospitably opened to receive her.

" Internal injuries," the medical mail told the anxious and wondering husband, "if she has any friends they should be sent for."

Matthew and Lionel held a brief consultation. If Miranda were

really dying, there • could not be the slightest use in proclaiming who she was. If they gave it out that slip was Matthew's' wife, the news would be sure to travel back to Bristondell, and raise all the scandal again that they hoped was gradually being forgotten. To, all intents and purposes, Miranda lay at the bottom of the deep Pool in the Bristondell grounds ;' no end could be served by declaring that she had run away from her husband and home, and had been living, no one ' knew how, at the other side of the world.

They were obliged to explain matters to the doctor, and he quite agreed as to the advisability of silence. Then there was Rita to be considered. She was already much prostrated by the shock of the accident, and any further excitement was to be certainly .avoided, said the medical man. So Rita and Lionel went to an hotel in the nearest township, and Matthew remained in. the cottage, and accepted the good woman's invitation to occupy a'sofa in the parlour that night. " , " Miranda had been unconscious all day. The doctor had promised to look in oil his way back from the patient whom' he was going to visit when the accident occurred, and he gave a very, unfavourable report that evening, telling Matthew that nothing could be done for his wife, and very probably she would die before morning. He had left his other invalid in a. very critical condition, and must return to her at once, but he would run down the first thing in the morning. If Matthew liked, further advice could be had from Auckland, but it was quite a hopeless case. The woman at the cottage watched by Miranda until two o'clock, when Matthew took her place, and told her she had better get some sleep. His thoughts were not pleasant ones .as he sat by his dying wife's bedside. He was going over in his mind the events of-.their short married life. Had he been neglectful to iherl Couldhe by patientgentleness have won her to better things 1 He had always rather avoided her; suppose instead, he had interested himself in her purusuits, and endeavoured to make her take part in his 1 Matthew sighed heavily, and remorsefully, and to his surprise, his sigh was faintly echoed from the bed. He rose quickly, and saw that Miranda was gazing at him with a sad, wistful expression. He imme-

diately administered some.medicine, and asked her how she felt ; ■ The sick woman's eyes filled with tears at the extreme kindness of his tone. " I am dying, , Matthew," she said slowly, " and," she paused to recover her strength, "I am so sorry." Her husband bent over her, and spoke such words, ofcomfort he could find. She' smiled faintly. " Tell Rita, that I would never have done it if I had known. Tell her I have suffered as she cannot even imagine any one could suffer. ' Oh Matthew, it' haS b|een such agony down I mean, surely I have expiated my sin, surely I can have no' more to bear in the next world ?" 1 M Matthew repeated his,attempts at spiritual consolation, arid Miranda seemed more satisfied. Sl*; el ay quiet for a .slioi;t tinie,, |;hen' she spoke again, sadly, and almost despairingly. j " Matthew, is it any use asking you to forgive me?" He assured her he had quite .forgiven her, and that Rita and Lionel had done so too. Then Matthe'w asked her how she had come, where she was, and she gave him an outline of her miserable story, adding, " But oh, it was that a\yful feeling of intense remorse that hurt me so; I could not get away from it, I could not shake it off. It was not sorrow, fer until you were so kind, to me, I never felt sorry, only that dreadful night has haunted me ever- since. Did Rita mind very much 1 Matthe.w's voice shook as he told her how Rita had suffered, but that now she was better. „... . Mifanda was again silent, and the only sound in ,the room was her laboured breathing. At seven o'clock Lionel came to the cottage, He found Matthew walking up and down outside. One .glance at his face and he knew all. He silently pressed his brother's hand, they took a few turns up and down without exchanging a word., At length Matthew said, " it was very peaceful at the last. She just said " Forgive us our trespasses," and fell forward into my arms." A short pause, and ■ Lionel said,. " Then she owned to having done itr, .. , " She seemed to imagine we quite understood all that. But that scoundrel Brown was on her tracjc again; I should like to catch, hitn now !" The brothers discussed' the arrangements for the simple funeral, land the doctor who just then arrived, helped, them. " I have been unfortunate," lie said, "my other patient has also died." A few remarks were made about the accident, which it seemed had been caused by a trolly, worked by two men. When they saw the approaching train, they made frantic efiorts to get the trolly off the line, which was a single one, but it was laden with tools and,iron, and they could not succeed, so they ran away just in time to save themselves. "Frightfully careless," said Lionel, and the subject was dropped. Rita was ill for some days after, the. accident, and Lionel managed to keep all the papers from her, so that she knew nothing of the inquiry: into Miranda's sudden death. Philip Brown, road them, and guessed wlien lie saw the evidence; givon by the brothers' Briston that they had found out who 'Miss Smith' really was, though so well did they guard their secret that he never knew for certain -whether, after all, she was Mrs Matthew Briston. Neither did the brothers tell Captain and Mrs Melcotton what the actual fate of their unhappy daughter had really been. They, had mourned her as dead a y6ar before. Why re-open the old; wound ? And so the two remained in blissful ignorance of all that' year had cost Miranda. The winter was : very pleasantly spent in Auckland, and in the summer they again visited Dunedin, and again the brother and sister-in-law re-fought their . battle of the superiority of Northern versus Southern scenery. Three years after they had quitted Bristondell found them onco more at home, and there they lived in great peace and happiness, whilst baby voices shouted in the well-occupied nursery, and. tiny grubby fingers were, thrust into uncle Matt's . willing hand,; with an entreaty, neyer disregarded, to "turn and see my mud pie." Cousin Nell, now Mrs Tom Shelters, and her husband were frequent visitors at Bristondell, for Nell had come in for a fortune, on the strength of which Tom gladly resigned a sea-faring life, and devoted himself, to J the onerous duties of a large landed proprietor. They made a very merry party on these occasions, and all united in forgetting that Matthew, kindest of uncles and best of brothers, had ever contracted an unlucky marriage. [The End.] ,