LOVE'S GUIDING HAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12609, 25 June 1904, Page 3 (Supplement)

LOVE'S GUIDING HAND.

ISM 1 |, Of "Th« stalft Pf Qm,? "KarJori«'« PB* CKAXMBB W. HATHAWAY,,,, ! or of " The Stain of GwlC " Wwioiii'i weethenxt," '• Jo«e»li Bani's Dlplo* Fffi^ 1 rancy," "Tlit laherHaac» of - v -'~■ Shame,"- Etc., Etc.

I ill#/ V CHAPTER XV. BBS:/' A SUUIST OP TO-DAT. |Jl Gerald had spoken of Miss AlBfr' i«, Varion M his "former fiancee" lie might , ImTe added, "now Dudley's ■ fiancee," f for ; jjias Varion had become engaged to Dudley, goui?vrhat to Gerald's chagrin, 1 though he iras wise enough to conceal his feelings. V The truth was, neither Alice's engagement to Dudley nor Gerald's marriage with Bessie Heath, had made much difference in Gerald's regard for Mis# Varion. He was |fas much in love with her as ever, and she flirted with him m a playfully protesting way that only made matters worse. '' Si r Dudley Stonehurst and Miss Virion came Jl'ak mid-day. Gerald had returned, by that IliP'time, but there was no change in his man' Iplgner. He came in like ~a man who had ; accepted his destiny, and he looked at Bessie as if she were the destiny ho,had accepted; life'- he was cold, stately, and stern, with a sense |Pjp*of injury upon him, and she retained her .proud tranquillity with the quiet indifferJ ■ wee of a neglected wife. , |at# No words passed between them. Though her heart might break- Bessie would not r tell him he had broken it. He was silent, '§M§ ; and she was silent, too ; both eager and willIpfp'ing to take the first step towards reconciliation ; but each with a cowardly want of ffiM moral courage, afraid of taking the first IjPfatep for the cowardly fear of being thought * coward. 1 ' . llflS Dudley Stonehurst made his'appearance, lift? and with him Miss Varion, the lady who had caused Bessie so many bitter tears. jjlgsy: Bessie longed to. see her.. She had heard the girl was beautiful, and she knew, by 'Lfk Gerald's own- confession, that he had loved " her very dearly once; he himself had'told i? 4', > Bessie the whole story how after telling Miss ©If Varion ho loved her * she had told him that she loved him, but would not, could not, marry a poor man. He had told her of the pedestrian tour that followed, and how he 'MiM nad met Bessie at the dear old place, her Iff; S father's home—the quiet tavern on the cliff. Ife* And he had loved Miss Varion first; he „ had told Bessie so in the most ; frank and Hpsimple language; it ; was ; to:get rid of .her memory that he went on that quiet walking Mfend yachting . tour.: which landed him ; ultimately at the old tavern; and here he fell in Sfeleve with her pretty face and splendid ,'fjt '■* figure, and made her marry him. Iflfl I • But for that unfortunate sketch of hers— K| V- 'the beautiful, aristocratic face that haunted her in her dreams and filled her waking thoughts—this would never , would have hapfk..l pened. In the bitterness of her soul, the girl §§&<■? wu sorry that she was his wife, to be the I $0: ©other of his child, and be despised. || j She waited, with all a wife's anxiety, to f- *; fee the lady who had been her rival." Ru§j:. • mour, that tells the truth with fifty of its hundred tongues, had said that she was very pi''' l ' beautiful— a lady who had been to Court' and ; held rank with the highest. Her aunt was ft baroness in her own right,; her father a peer of the realm, and for cousins she had viscounts and countesses, . honourable* ' and i| right honouaables; ther»were two dukes distantly connected with lie. family, and, that .; startling anomaly to the Christian creed, an uncle who was a bishop, and, as vicar of Christ, held his seat in the House, of Lords. 1 % : Miss Varion came with Dudley. Bessie f#£ had made her brilliant toilet to, phase Gerald; "she tried herbest, to .please him, al- !• V y: though she knew be was .so angry with her. p>. The girl, proud in herself, would not be. outdone by this high-born lady , who had once gpi* been her rival; >' and she looked her best in a trailing drapery of pale blue velvet, richly trimmed with lace, a costume that fitted her 11: > like a riding habit, and made Miss Varion, '■} I beautiful as she was, = look her inferior in

eryryrespect. v> ■•';•■ *■:.;■ * ■■■'.; : -V : ■.; _ r-. :■;< - Missvarioa&fM very beautiful, Bessie confessed that to ] herself the instant Dudley's fiaasee entered the room; but the old sea < captain's daughter ;. was ) not without * » , senses* her own where beauty was, concerned, and no woman can deny thatrttta to'herself; every woman knows that she has her pretty daf« and her plain days—days j when her eye* are full of brightness and her face in perfect contour—days when her eyes arc dull, her face unattractive. '■' Bessie felt that this waa one of her good days..■;.;•■'■ So she went towards the lady who was introduced to her, and I received her with a :'grace as -easy.:' and stately as ■ was.Miss Yim-. lot's very own. Captain Humphrey Heath a daughter did ; not feel herself :at all out of place with this -patrician daughter of the Various- * - . . ~ .. • ,\. i Ibis was the woman he had loved, ana stiu did love she saw; it in the passionate eyes be bent upon her; and what, she asked[hermit, with wifely indignation, was was Vani on, fakes, individually; stripped of her titled relations, better than she was? Woman for i woman, in I beauty, intellect and education, Bessie was mow than her equal. - . Had Gerald Stooehurstfs wife been a duchess she could not have received Miss vanon with ; more quiet grace, but CouM.n^ play a. part; tits straightforward, truthful i spirit of the proud old seaman was bora with her, and she could not be a traitress. At the firsii dance Gerald and Miss Varum exchang- ! Ed Bessie saw that they had not yet forgotten that they had loved each other. ...... Miss Yarion took possession as if sn» stiu ; belonged to him: she called him Gerald, totally indifferent to the fact that till wife, and her own affianced husband were there; i'she hung upon his arm « and spoke with such tenderness about the beauty of his. pjmtinn: and then they wandered away into the outer drawing-room, where, a fanrj ftttgM later, Bessie and Dudley heard the,*at.the I piano, .playing and singing one of Mendelssohn's sweetest duets. ; ;'; ij-'J-i P »lf I were not so sure that he loved you, i m- Utile cousin. I should be almost realous "' him "said Dudley, with a treacherous smile; "do you know, my dear Bessie, I "ever thought he would make such a good "K'very kind tome," said Bessie, with . siS : it seemed fie if these words were air wayfo'n tongu, She was too proud to tell a He, so she always said Ho is very i*ftSl yel" *«* Dudley, with tender, del ferential erace, "you do not seem very happy. iTope & reV« kind to you, that there is nothing ugly in the background-no reUS"o*d[fancies, none of the stumd anv fitions he used to have; of course he gave all these op when be married you. _ _ Bessie glared toward the piano. In the far distance «be could see the two shadowy faces verv close together. Was it her lancy, &% see her husband, when the song ended, touch Miss Varion's face with his bp? The flash in Dudley's eyes might have told her that she was not mistaken. -> -"Sit *m? Mr. Dudley;Stonshunrt said .as she was about to rise. bib «till and listen, but do not seem to listen. ; ■■... She obeyed him; there' to a quiet firmneaabort this man that she found itJUffi- j St to resist; be was always very gentle ■ S3 deferential to her, trusted her with a kind of pitying compassion V^ n ? a 3 , ?S th °i: Gerald as if it were an accepted fart that ne [a used Lr; she obeyed him, and toed in the intervals while he pretended to talk, for he was listening, too. thef heard him •< Whv did I marry hev?" they heard him 1 „a ; " von ask me that. VHw did I marry her? What does it matter? ts .one woman verv much like another woman I When we lose belief in the Tote that comes of in--Biration we try to be content with the love that comes of habit. How Web j did1 yon care whether I broke my heart or-died when vou told me you could not love me because 1 was poor?" .. ' ... ... „ "I did not say so," she replied, with. reproachful softness. *1 did not. say 1 could not love vou. When have I ever ceased to love you,' Gerald? What I dsd say was that I could not marry you while you were; so poor, while I was* poor, too ; but you might ' have waited." ..'... Though she spoke in her lowest voice, touching the keys of the piano meanwhile, every word-was distinctly heard. Dudley smiled like a demon a* in the half-light he saw Miss Varion turn her lips towards Gerald's again. . - ' ... "J will leave him." said Bessie, with trembling accents. " You, Mr. Dudley, will tell what cause I have. I will go back to my father's home—l will not stay here since my husband no longer loves mo.!'_ " Dudley's answer was a low laugh. . '"Do not feftr. little girl," he said. "Miss Alice is a born coquette. The wise way to : fi>ht a woman of that sort is to treat her .with scorn. If you want revenge, Bessie, \ leave that to me, for lam going to marry feer'"

CHAPTER XVI.

'A DISINTBRESTSD PJUEND. Dudley talked to Bessie as a father to a child: Hei was a man of the world, and tow all of society's ham. He gave the be. wilder*} wife a lew: shreds of homely wis- 3 dom that Bessie profited by later oh. I Presently Gerald returned with' Miss Varion, and Bessie gave no, sign that she had overheard that whispered conversation. > "I have had * delightful ; time, dear/Mrs. Stonehurst," said ( Miss'Variosu „ "And 1 am going to trouble you with my presence more often now that I know where your Icvely-i little home <is to ;be found,'' ■'■ " •'•v-Bessie merely bowed and muttered something that Alica at once translated into an effusive invitation. f - , .'■ l " You are very kind," she said. ' " Gerald is painting my picture, you know. Foolish fellow, ft he not, to fancy there ft anything about my face worth putting on '.. canvas? But such is the case, and I shall come hero for my sittings, to save him the trouble of coming to me." ■ ■•-."■' . '' j > Still Bessie was unmoved; : the hand she placed in Miss Various did not tremble, and Alice drove away with Dudley, in a puzzled frame of mind. •, "You and my cousin Gerald played a pretty little comedy to-day," said Dudley, as he took his seat beside Alice in the Varion carriage, " Did you wish particularly to be seen and heard by his wife?" V , "Were we heard?" : asked Miss Varion carelessly. "I do not think we gave it a thought.' . i .;'■"=- " That was quite apparent," said Dudley, in, a calm, "sarcastic voice. "Some wives would have made a scene, but Mrs. Gerald takes things in a quieter way. ■'!'. To kiss a young husband within sight of his wife, is rather a strange proceeding even for you." - ; '■ "I thought the curtains were closed," was the languid observation. " What a mistake • poor ; Gerald has made. He tells me the creature is absurdly jealous of him, and will not him visit without her—as if, even for his sake, we could receive her, with her gauchcrie and low breeding 1" ~ .'. ; "She hae neither one nor the other, my dear Alice. Gerald's wife comes of % good old Kent' >h family, that has given England an admiral in its time. r As for the girl herself, ■ she has beauty arid intelligence, arid is more refined than a large number I have met in the rooms of a duchess." "/'l,wonder you did not fall in love with her." :, .. ■■'i" I did partly," ;■ he confessed,; " hut my j : intentions would not have met with •* her j | father's approbation, and girls brought up | as she has been are riot to be deluded by a ! pug dog, or a hired brougham, with a furnished villa in: St. John's Wood and some jewellery on credit. Following the example of : their "high-bom sisters, they { arrange clandestine meetings insteads of elopements." "Really. Mr. Stonehurst,,the ways of these people do not concern me." He smiled ironically, U "Do not ■ talk nonsense, my dear Alice. Is it : curiosity : : or virtuous indignation that takes yon into the park, when yon know that the' prettiest . pair of ponies and the finest horse ] will belong to v someone whose name yon never heard in society, but whose photograph you can see in every window? -Why do you criticise their costume, imitate their hats, and envy, them their grace with the reins and their ; seat in 1 the saddle?" > "'*:l "'Are you trying to annoy me because yon are angry and jealous?"'; - \-'^ • "Jealous,'- my dear Alice,", he said, with a laugh; "because yon coquetted with an old lover and gavci him a kiss or two that set him dreaming! The English husband of the twentieth century ft never jealous unless he can see his way to heavy damages, and you would never give ma a chance 'of that; you are too clever arid too heartless ever to put yourself in a man's power." ,-1"If you think this, why say; you low me?" ■ . ' . ■ ,■ ■ '.. j ;? Pardon me; -I asked you to be my wife; at your own requestl left love out of the question j we marry for rank, position and wealth; our liberty will be but slightly im-. paired by the change. I should detest a sentimental woman, just as you would be insufferably bored by a sentimental man, and I should have every faith in you, just as you know I should never disgrace you by a low liaison. *As for love"—he gazed at her with a moment's burning passion—" you have only to tell me when I may love. „ .* Yon are a strange fellow, Dudley, she said, touching his face with her. fan. '. I wish you wero going to inherit the : title .as well as the property. Ido not like the idea of giving precedence to that sailors daughter " . jj, i,• , , * - "Do riot fear,.Alice; if I could prophesy about myself I si mid »▼ that I am on my way to the title already.'

"Well, what do you think of Alice?" asked Gerald, when his visitors had gone, He had waited for his wife speak, and, somewhat nettled by her silence, ho put,the question bluntly, and with » snap of : his teeth that told he was prepared to endure a curtain lecture. t ■•..._, , ■--'■'■" Mis» Variioh has been created beautiful," said Bessie slowly. 1 "It is a pity she does not realise that beauty has its iimitatloGerald frowaed darkly, and opened, his lipe to speak, but she held up her hand. ,-r i" Stop! I hare something to say to you, Gerald," she went, oc. "Miss Varion said she intended to come here for sittings. Was it at your suggestion the made this arrange-m«nWeU-er—no, not exactly," he said, hesitatingly... "Yon see, she thought it would save me time and trouble. . _ o " I see Well,; will you please tell Miss Varion that your wife objects to her coming here unless accompanied by her chaperon?, Gerald St-ioehurst stood thunderstruck. ; " Oh, come, Bessie!" he said, with a forced laugh. ' " Do not be childish. Alice and I are old chums." • , , ; „ ~ T & " I will ' not discuss the point, Gerald, l have told you my wishes. Please yourself about bow yon act." -, ~ That was sOl she would say, and Gerald took himself off to his study to smoke and to think. ■ . ■■?■-' , , , ■ ys„ He felt sorry for what he had don«. ■;-A.o man can be m artist without possessing a keen instinct but, by one of- those para,, doxes which Nature; seems to delight in, the artistic temperament is one that never takes the warning of its instinct.. A man blessed or cursed with * gift he does not use is not , a rare thing to see during the pilgrimage of ;'■!■■ He felt soiTV, for he was sensipve; and regret always follows the wmgW %* sinful impulse; but he could not tell the woman he had wronged that he was sorry. He longed to take her to his heart and ask her forgiveness; but her words had offended his dignity, and the plea forgiveness had died away in unheard whispers behind the locked lips. ■•<•'. ';■■ . ' ~ „ " I made a, mistake," he said to himself, bitterly, "and I must bear it to the end, 1 suppose. If I ask myself whether I love Bessie best the answer comes, as it should— ' ves.' without reservation; but when the question has to be asked is the answer worth giving or receiving?" /_ . ' . ■ Bessie knew that twice a week he went to Mr. Varion's house, and she never by a single word asked him not to go. A single word, except when the fascination was upon i him, would have kept him away, and so destroyed the fascination; but Captain Humphrey Heath's daughter was too deeply hurt to sipenk that word. The spirit within her was roused. _ unaley's little talk had not been in vain; it was an active power working on a latent feeling, »nd it gave strength to her some time vague idea of leaving him. But she would not leave him conquered bv this woman. Bessie felt that she was Miss Varion equal to the full; not bv birth, perhaps, if the accident could make a difference, which God does not recognise, but by beauty, intellect. and education; and by the unsullied purity m her womanhood she was more than Miss Varion's equal, *', , , , , ■ n The sailor's daughter thought out her resolution and was confirmed in it—first, to make this high-born beauty her friend, ret to the very* heart of the mystery of her nature, let 'Gerald see what a slave and a fool she mad© of him ; and then, when she had done this, leave him to his fate; let him see what a worthless shadow he had worshipped for the substance he had dropped—a- shadow that would mock at him and fade from him. At times she had gentler, feelings—a desire to tell him what her womanly instinct knew; but then there was the tear that his proud impatience would repel her. A he me she lived was almost too much to endure, hut for her baby's sake she must endure it °The bitter, barren truth laid bare told her that for two years she had been the wife of a man who thought himself immeasurably her superior and despised her family. ;> . , "If I had someone to advise me. she thought, " for I do not want to trouble any-

one at home with my wretchedness— j i purely disinterested friend, who would tell r, ins what to do." , . That purely disinterested fridnd-came in | : , the shape of Nathaniel Silvcvton. He was |';' not a frequent visitor, and : could ■ Gerald, ■■;* ', Without losing his little courtesy, have made ' , it too unpleasant for him to come he would I, not have been a visitor at all.' But the Aus- ,r tralian was true to his trust— friend of j" : Jack.Heath meant to keep his place by Bessie's side, as ho promised, for. the sake of {■ auld'lang syne. ■ I Ho called, in Gerald's absence, when Ger- J aid, ;as she knew, ; had gone to spend the ':', morning, and perhaps the day, with ; Miss , Varion; Bessie was sorely in need of sym- ' pathy just when Mr. Sileverton came. But I: for the little babe that loved her bo, in its i pretty, innocent way, stroked her face with f its tiny hand, and put up its rosebud mouth to be hissed, as if it knew she was in pain when her eyes were full of tears—her heart must, have broken. fNo one knew better, than Nathaniel Silverton how matters- went on in the tiny villa. Not an incident escaped him, though he made no sign of knowledge/ He met Gerald very often, for, by some mysterious means, this brusque and careless colonist went into the best society } and more strangely still, as Gerald thought, he bore himself like one accustomed to it. t > , " There is something strange shout that fellow," Dudley told his cousin. "I do not believe he is what he seems. -How is that he appears so thoroughly at home with Lord Stonehurst?" ' " _ "You had better ask for yourself," said Gerald, drily. There is generally a hidden page in most family histories, and ours is not without one. I dare say his lordship would enlighten you." : v • .."Has he enlightened you?"- . ■ "No; Mr, Silverton was good enough to do that, You have, I daresay, very often wondered how it is that the income of Inver leigh is paid away to some mysterious stranger •,y :: . : .'.,: \. : y:-- f : : • : >■■ "Yes; a gentleman named Haslewood; a name, by the way, that looks like a line in a melodrama-, and suggests a virtuous peasant in velveteens and gaiters'. . ' ' "On the contrary, he is a very substantial personage, of English parentage, I believe, and is worth hall a million, at least. His stepson, called Seaborne.Hazlewood, because* he was bora at sea, is, in reality, a Stonehurst—Lord Stonehurst, in fact, should he ever care to assert his claim, and he able to prove it." K ■ -- 1 "And Mr, Silverton told you this absurd story?" said Dudley, with a. dusky change of countenance. "Did you believe it?" "■■" Every word." .- :'■ "I never : gave you credit for so much simplicity." "I believe it, but I do not say that I accept it," said Gerald, "though ""the story, complicated as it seems at first, is c'ear enough when looked into; but, if C had any interest in the matter I should feel inclined to contest it." ' "If you had any interest?" ;■■'.- ; . "Well, perhaps 1 have. Since Lord Stonehurst. himself cannot make any disposition of the property ,it falls to me as next of kin, unless this gentleman turns up at or before his lordship's death. - So, after all, his threat of disinheriting me was child's play— threat held out to force me into a marriage with a certain young lady." . ; "I should not have required much 1 coercion," Dudley said, "and certainly in going farther you did not fare better.' •. "What did it matter?" said Gerald, with suppressed bitterness. "I had my way, perhaps, because I was opposed, I was a fool, I know, but, after all, I have a purer and a better woman than you will find in "Alice Varion." :" Yet von are in love with her still?" , As much as I ever wasi Love for her is a madness, a fever >of the blood, like that which comes of. drinking too much wine. There have been sirens since the days of Ulysses, and she is one of them. She knows love but her own passions; there is no limit to her cruel vanity.;. She is the kind of woman who would let a man commit a crime for her, i»nd like him the better for it. l Her only virtue is her pride; otherwise she would be as reckless as Nell Gwynn." '■■ " Thanks for your complimentary opinion of my future wife," laughed Dudley. "I must - confess you are right, though. Yet there is many a man who would be glad to lay a coronet at her feet if he thought she would accept it. We' ; do not like a woman less,for a spice of diablerie in her composition. It is something '.to be her master and tame her to our own paces." I I* It is easy to think you are her master. But the woman who required .taming was never tamed yet; the weakest woman is stronger in her will than any man, with all our strength. As ehe is when yon marry , her,' so she will be always; and unless you can endure her the only remedy is death or separation." Dudley knew that there was a covert allusion to Bessie in the angry tone of the last words: The fetters bad, begun to gall deeply of late. ' "So soon," he thought 5 ' well, so much the better." , , „ " You have told me a very strange story, ; he said, after a pause. "I scarcely know what to think of it, Gerald. Should Lord Stonehurst die you say the title and estate fall to vou." " In the natural. of succession, yes; except for this possible claim, and.that I do riot care a jot for." ■ ■* "I do/' said; Dudley, reflectively; "there is always danger in these things. The mere fact that the revenue of Inverleigh has been paid over for so many years would have its weight. Still, as you say, it would be open to a contest; and I daresay, at the worst, he would be open to a compromise. I am sorry we stand in such an equivocal position, Gerald. It would be satisfactory, at least, to know what the fellow intends to do. ' ~; Gerald shrugged his shoulders as if it mattered very little to him. • . . " How are you progressing with the picture?" *"" '« ~ - ~ " Not very rapidly. , ' ' "Why did you decline to give her sittings in your own studio?" . #i ■;., ""Mrs. Stonehurst objected to it, as the 1 lady came without a chaperon," said Gerald, . between his teeth, " and I have been married long enough to know that an objection on ' the wife's part means argument or submis--1 sion on the husband's-endless argument, • and at the. end a scene that does not bear ; reflection." S ' „,,. ~ n„ AM ■ " And this after two years?' said Dudley, reproachfully. "I am sure, Gerald, ehe is a ! very amiable little thing." , . - m ■ "Yes; - she does not need defence. Aam » selfish and exacting and negligent, I know; but when a woman plays .$e role of the in- : jured wife she does not make ; a man more ■ anxious to repent; yet lam sorry. _. 1 "Tell her so; it will mend everything— 1 even that flirtation at the piano, and the kisses she saw." • "Did she see us? " ;> 1 "As clearly as I. did." t *'And never said a word! _ ' "That would have been to give away her 1 nower. and, woman-like, she holds it m re--1 serve. You will hear of it one of these days, "in conjunction with some other thing. Wo--1 men never forgive; they only wait tall they 1 Wy;cllSetotnightbeforothetwopart--5 It was late that night before the two part; 1 ed Dudley kept on very friendly terns with ■ his cousin-made himself necessary in fact, 1 and Gerald, though he had no faith ratal • nature, had implicit belief in his friendship. Dudley was singularly frank, after his own - fashion; ho affected no virtue that he did not ! P °" So'it will be yours when Lord Stone- ' hnrrt dies will it?" mused Dudley, as he • watehed hi. cousin depart "There^ many ' a slip between the cup and the lip, my «W » Gerald; and unless my brain has lost its ' Sing, I am ready to swear that the uu- } likely will happen'."

" CHAPTER XVII. ¥HE FLAM® OF A LAWLESS LOVE. When Gerald arrived home that night it was very late indeed. The house was quiet 2d inTartness, except for a light left burnIn. for him in the hall and .another in the ffine-room. He was tired,' but found no SS in a book, no pleasure .m an SETS* «* scarcely tasted % flavour of the brandy he put liberally into his seltzer water' He was moody and discontented, he felt himself the slave of a woman he despised, for all the glory of Alice Various beauty did not blind him to her real nature. When he could take his mind from her and think of Bessie he was touched with remorse. Since Dudley told him that # she had witnessed what took place at the piano he could understand much that had mystified him in Bessie's behaviour, An automaton, endowed with movement, could not have been more passionless and free from emotion than the girl whose love was ome so ardent tiud impulsive.

It was none the better ,for Gerald's peace of mind that he knew and r felt the sin be was committing when he gave way to ins unholy and treacherous infatuation tor : Alice." The sight; of a wan :; in the,: agonies 'of delirium tremens does not keep a brandy. '"• drinker from his dram :i< the opium-eater does riot give tip his cherished drug because he knows it must kill him; and.he who has once let the fire of a passion for a heartless woman : burn its way into ;! his soul ..is lost irrevocably, unless some purer creature has power to redeem, him., • Gerald had said truly that the picture did not' progress rapidly, though those morn-, ing sittings were' invariably protracted;-tbjS painter was impatient of interruptions, and it soon became tacitly understood that no one was to intrude while the artist was there. So far as it had gone it gave promise of a faithful likeness, and now and then a few magical touches showed an advance in the Work but out of the time spent m the apartment fitted up as a temporary studio very little was spent by him at the easel; they were lovers once more, as much or more than ever; for them Bessie and Dudley might as well have had, no existence. ',-.-: ■ ." . '•'•. " < , ', " Ynu certainly did me an honour by your choice," Miss Marion said to him; "ana ! you made haste to put a bayier between | us, Gerald. Of coarse you are very happy. „ i This was at the first sitting, when both j had kept themselves under restraint, till Gerald in a fit of anger dashed clown his brush and mahlstick, and stifled herewith a torrent of kisses. He could not sit and look long at her without being maddened. "I went away to cure myself," he said, sitting down beside her, "and like an idiot came back to you, to find myself weaker than ever. ; Why do you not tell me to never see you again?" .; * i'. "Why should I? Because; I said I. could not marry you? My poor Gerald, how -minded you were to leave me in pique and throw yourself away upon a girl who might at most have served you with a little idle pastime." ; ', "I put the question to yoa seriously, Alice, he said, gloomily. 'X . . "And did I not tell you I loved you? If ever I have loved anyone in my life, you are the man." < "I should have waited had I seen a gleam of hope," he said; "but I did riot know then what I know now. I thought his lord-,j ship had power to leave every penny away from me, and make me a titled beggar." " And has he not the power?" she asked, with a quick and startled glance. " Not an atom! Whenever his death occurs I take his place." ... ] , ;. Miss Varion put her hand to bet head as if her brain was bewildered, " Then Dudley will be poor?" ~. ! ; ' *' No," he said, with a bitter smile; " Dudley shall not be poor, for your sake—tlsat is, if you care to marry him but if you do that we must be strangers, for I could not be a traitor to a kinsman. I have only myself to thank for raj: present ,misery. Strangely enough, I love the poor girl I took from her quiet home, ; but I cannot endure her society. The simple sweetness that would make some men adore her palls upon me, and I am glad she has a babyto amuse her." / v ' i " You do not give the poor girl much of your time." ' " What time can I spare from you—and would I be away a single . hour if I could help it?" "Some men would see their way,' she said, slowly. "If I were poor and fettered I think I should make myself rich and free* If you love me as you say— I think ."you do—you would not let our love be a crime and a danger to us both. You have set me thinking, Gerald, ami I do not see what lies before us but to part.'* He crushed her to him in the strength of his passion. • - ■.-,.' -> • "Too late!" he said, with a fierce laugh, "Some men would see their way. Wall, I will see mine.. Poor and fettered as I am now I will soon bo rich and free. ; Our love shall not be a danger, Alice; and.as for crime, is anything a crime that clears the path?" "This is madness, Gerald," :"Then there is'. method in it; but f mark, no more of Dudley he is my kinsman, and we cannot wrong him. Let him go 5 it will not break his heart." , j - .. t " Tell me that when you are ; free," she said. . . , ,

Gerald forced himself to calmness ; in ; ; a moment, and went back to his easel as Mr. Virion entered. ~ Women are, rarely taken by surprise, and the easy grace of attitude into which Miss Varion threw herself would have defied all suspicion. \ Her father, did not* dream of what had passed less than an instant before. " I suppose it is necessarily slow work," Mr. Varion said, with a smile; " but its is a beautiful picture. : : Stonehursfc, are some inspired touches in it, really.'-' v . "Some subject® bring their inspiration with them," said Gerald; " the strength and Bweetnesa of a posm are in the thought, not the verse." " He loves her still," thought Mr. Varion. "What a pity the money did not go with the title; he would not have thrown himself I away then." In his secret heart Mr. Varion liked Gerald better than Dudley, but he was not so rich a man as people chose to think him; he had the reputation of being rich, and so his credit was unlimited. While Alice spent freely on dress and millinery, she thought her father,a millionaire, " If; I had married her," Gerald said to himself, " her dressmaker alone would have absorbed all my income and all .my earnings. She has the figure of a Juno and the face of ; a saint, vet she thinks it indispensable to dress like a stage duchess, when a simple drapery of silk or velvet would be the most perfect costume she could wear. I wonder when beautiful women will begin to understand how little they require in the way of ornament? And as for the rest, it is like buying a gem picture in a mass of gilded framing." „ It was after this that he went out with Dudley, and had what he called a, "rollicking time" at various clubs and resorts for men who were cursed with the demon twins, idleness and money. : He never saw how subtly Dudley led him on in this way. Gerald had never drunk heavily as yet; he liked companionship, and would drinks his share with those around him, but he rarely went beyond the power of self-control. Oil; one or two occasions, however, he had gone i home in a condition that would have made j it difficult for him to account for what he ; had said or done, or how he had spent his • money. - -.■■;•"': -':■■.' ■■. ' ,' - When Bessie saw him so she treated him, with calm contempt., Not a word escaped her that he could take exception to} but her manner was doubly eloquent. . l : She tried bard to think there was still hope, but it seemed going from her day by day. , * When they met at breakfast he was sullen and gloomy; Bessie, tranquil and collected after a night's rest and a long, serious conversation with Nathaniel Silverton ; she had spoken to him about leaving Gerald, but the Australian was strongly against this plan. •* "That should be your last resource," he advised. "I will nob believe your husband is past reformation. Warn him of this infatuation, Bessie. I can well understand how powerful it is to a man of his temperament, and how painful to you; but take Dudley's suggestion in this—do not let her triumph over you; I know Miss Varion and her history; she is at heart one of the most unfeeling of her sex. Meet subtlety with subtlety. Bring all your womanly courage to your aid, and fight quietly against her." (To be continued on Saturday noxt.>

Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, inherits in a high degree the artistic taste of her family. The duchess inclines to subdued tints in dress and in house decorations." She is, like her mother, Queen Alexandra, a gifted pianist, and the duke is very fond of music. The duke and duchess are equally devoted to the welfare of their daughters, the Ladies Alexandra and Maud Duff. The duke spends a part of every day in teaching his children. Though the' duchess, is a devoted wife and mother, she does not forget those dependent on her, and she is never happier than when giving pleasure to young people. While at Mai Lodge, in the summer, the duchess, who has a great love for the Highlands, indulges in her 'favourite pastime of salmon-fishing, for she is an expert anglerLast summer the King never entertained a distinguished guest at Balmoral without I taking him to spend an afternoon at Mar ! Lodge. The duchess is a woman of strong 1 character and individuality, though she I prefers to exercise her sway quietly, and ldoes not wish to lead in, society. .-: