countered his glance without any expression. | America, is quite beyond me. Above all, I He merely sat and smoked and passed his fingers through his pendent whiskers. "Excuse me," said Dacres, abruptly. "Certainly, my dear boy, a thousand times; only I hope you will allow me to remark that your style is altogether a new one, and during the whole course of our acquaintance I do not remember seeing it before. You have a melodramatic way that is overpowering. Still I don't see why you should swear at yourself in a place like Naples, where there are so many other things to swear at. It's a waste of human energy, and I don't understand it. We usedn't to indulge in soliloquies in South America, used we?" "No, by Jove! And look here, old chap, you'll overlook this little outburst, won't you? In South America I was always cool, and you did the hard swearing, my boy. I'll be cool again; and what's more, I'll get back to South America again as soon as I can. Once on the pampas, and I'll be a man again. I tell you what it is, I'll start to-morrow. What do you say? Come." "Oh no," said Hawbury, coolly; "I can't do that. I have business, you know." "Business?" "Oh yes, you know-Ethel, you know." "By Jove! so you have. That alters the matter." "But in any case I wouldn't go, nor would you. I still am quite unable to understand you. Why you should grow desperate, and swear at yourself, and then propose South! don't yet see any reason why you should give up your child-angel. You were all raptures but a short time since. Why are you so cold now?" "I'll tell you," said Dacres. "It's a sore subject, and difficult to speak about." "Well, old man, I'm sorry for you; and don't speak about it at all if it gives you pain." "Oh, I'll make a clean breast of it. You've told your affair, and I'll tell mine. I dare say I'll feel all the better for it." "Drive on, then, old man." Dacres rose, took a couple of glasses of beer in quick succession, then resumed his seat, then picked out a cigar from the box with unusual fastidiousness, then drew a match, then lighted the cigar, then sent out a dozen heavy volumes of smoke, which encircled him so completely that he became quite concealed from Hawbury's view. But even this cloud did not seem sufficient to correspond with the gloom of his soul. Other clouds rolled forth, and still others, until all their congregated folds encircled him, and in the midst there was a dim vision of a big head, whose stiff, high, curling, crisp hair, and massive brow, and dense beard, seemed like some living manifestation of cloud-compelling Jove. For some time there was silence, and Hawbury said nothing, but waited for his friend to speak. At last a voice was heard-deep, solemn, "Oh, bother, as if I ever laugh at any thing serious! By Jove! no. You don't know me, old chap." "All right, then. Well, to begin. This wife that I speak of happened to me very suddenly. I was only a boy, just out of Oxford, and just into my fortune. I was on my way to Paris-my first visit-and was full of no end of projects for enjoyment. I went from Dover, and in the steamer there was the most infer Hawbury sprang to his feet as though he had nally pretty girl. Black, mischievous eyes, with been shot. "What!" he cried. "I'm married!" "You're what? Married? You! married! Scone Dacres! not you-not married?" "I'm married!" "Good Lord!" "I'm married!" Hawbury sank back in his seat, overwhelmed by the force of this sudden and tremendous revelation. For some time there was a deep silence. Both were smoking. The clouds rolled forth from the lips of each, and curled over their heads, and twined in voluminous folds, and gathered over them in dark, impenetrable masses. Even so rested the clouds of doubt, of darkness, and of gloom over the soul of each, and those which were visible to the eye seemed to typify, symbolize, characterize, and body forth the darker clouds that overshadowed the mind. "I'm married!" repeated Dacres, who now seemed to have become like Poe's raven, and all his words one melancholy burden bore. "You were not married when I was last with you?" said Hawbury at last, in the tone of one who was recovering from a fainting fit. "Yes, I was." "Not in South America?" 66 Yes, in South America." "Married?" 'Yes, married." "By Jove!" the devil's light in them; hair curly, crispy, frisky, luxuriant, all tossing over her head and shoulders, and an awfully enticing manner. A portly old bloke was with her-her father, I afterward learned. Somehow my hat blew off. She laughed. I laughed. Our eyes met. I made a merry remark. She laughed again; and there we were, introduced. She gave me a little felt hat of her own. I fastened it on in triumph with a bit of string, and wore it all the rest of the way. "Well, you understand it all. Of course, by the time we got to Calais, I was head over heels in love, and so was she, for that matter. The old man was a jolly old John Bull of a man. I don't believe he had the slightest approach to any designs on me. He didn't know any thing about me, so how could he? He was jolly, and when we got to Calais he was convivial. I attached myself to the two, and had a glorious time. Before three days I had exchanged vows of eternal fidelity with the lady, and all that, and had gained her consent to marry me on reaching England. As to the old man there was no trouble at all. He made no inquiries about my means, but wrung my hand heartily, and said God bless me. Besides, there were no friends of my own to consider. My parents were dead, and I had no relations nearer than cousins, for whom I didn't care a pin. "My wife lived at Exeter, and belonged to rather common people; but, of course, I didn't "Yes; and what's more, I've been married care for that. Her own manners and style for ten years." "Ten years! Good Lord!" "It's true." were refined enough. She had been sent by her father to a very fashionable boarding-school, where she had been run through the same "Why, how old could you have been when mould as that in which her superiors had been you got married ?" formed, and so she might have passed muster "A miserable, ignorant, inexperienced dolt, any where. Her father was awfully fond of idiot, and brat of a boy." her, and proud of her. She tyrannized over him completely. I soon found out that she had been utterly spoiled by his excessive indulgence, and that she was the most whimsical, nonsensical, headstrong, little spoiled beauty that ever lived. But, of course, all that, instead of deterring me, only increased the fascination which she exercised, and made me more madly in love than ever. "Her name was not a particularly attractive one; but what are names! It was Arethusa Wiggins. Now the old man always called her "Arry," which sounded like the vulgar pronunciation of "Harry." Of course I couldn't call her that, and Arethusa was too infernally long, for a fellow doesn't want to be all day in pro- "After our marriage we spent the honeymoon in Switzerland, and then came home. I had a very nice estate, and have it yet. You've never heard of Dacres Grange, perhaps-well, there's where we began life, and a devil of a life she began to lead me. It was all very well at first. During the honey-moon there were only a few outbursts, and after we came to the Grange she repressed herself for about a fortnight; but finally she broke out in the most furious fashion; and I began to find that she had a devil of a temper, and in her fits she was but a small remove from a mad woman. You see she had been humored and indulged and petted and coddled by her old fool of a father, until at last she had grown to be the most whimsical, conceited, tetchy, suspicious, imperious, domineering, selfish, cruel, hard-hearted, and malignant young vixen that ever lived; yet this evil nature dwelt in a form as beautiful as ever lived. She was a beautiful demon, and I soon found it out. "It began out of nothing at all. I had been her adoring slave for three weeks, until I began to be conscious of the most abominable tyranny on her part. I began to resist this, and we were on the verge of an outbreak when we arrived at the Grange. The sight of the old hall appeased her for a time, but finally the novelty wore off, and her evil passions burst out. Naturally enough, my first blind adoration passed away, and I began to take my proper position toward her; that is to say, I undertook to give her some advice, which she very sorely needed. This was the signal for a most furious outbreak. What was worse, her outbreak took place before the servants. Of course I could do nothing under such circumstances, so I left the room. When I saw her again she was sullen and vicious. I attempted a reconciliation, and kneeling down I passed my arms caressingly around her. 'Look here,' said I, 'my own poor little darling, if I've done wrong, I'm sorry, and-' "Well, what do you think my lady did ?" "I don't know." "She kicked me that's all; she kicked me, just as I was apologizing to her-just as I was trying to make it up. She kicked me! when I had done nothing, and she alone had been to blame. What's more, her boots were rather heavy, and that kick made itself felt unmistakably. "I at once arose, and left her without a word. I did not speak to her then for some time. I used to pass her in the house without looking at her. This galled her terribly. She made the house too hot for the servants, and I used to hear her all day long scolding them in a loud shrill voice, till the sound of that voice became horrible to me. "You must not suppose, however, that I became alienated all at once. That was impossiI loved her very dearly. After she had kicked me away my love still lasted. It was a galling thought to a man like me that she, a common girl, the daughter of a small tradesman, should have kicked me; me, the descendant of Crusaders, by Jove! and of the best blood in England; but after a while pride gave way to love, and I tried to open the way for a reconciliation once or twice. I attempted to address her in her calmer moods, but it was without any success. She would not answer me at all. If servants were in the room she would at once proceed to give orders to them, just as though I had not spoken. She showed a horrible malignancy in trying to dismiss the older servants, whom she knew to be favorites of mine. course I would not let her do it. Of "Well, one day I found that this sort of life was intolerable, and I made an effort to put an end to it all. My love was not all gone yet, and I began to think that I had been to blame. She had always been indulged, and I ought to have kept up the system a little longer, and let her down more gradually. I thought of her as I first saw her in the glory of her youthful beauty on the Calais boat, and softened my heart till I began to long for a reconciliation. Really I could not see where I had done any thing out of the way. I was awfully fond of her at first, and would have remained so if she had let me; but, you perceive, her style was not exactly the kind which is best adapted to keep a man at a woman's feet. If she had shown the slightest particle of tenderness, I would have gladly forgiven her all-yes, even the kick, by Jove! "We had been married about six months or so; and had not spoken for over four months; so on the day I refer to I went to her room. She received me with a sulky expression, and a hard stare full of insult. "My dear,' said I; 'I have come to talk seriously with you.' "Kate,' said she; 'show this gentleman out.' "It was her maid to whom she spoke. The maid colored. I turned to her and pointed to the door, and she went out herself. My wife stood trembling with rage—a beautiful fury. "I have determined,' said I, quietly; 'to make one last effort for reconciliation, and I want to be heard. Hear me now, dear, dear wife. I want your love again; I can not live this way. Can nothing be done? Must I, must you, always live this way? Have I done any wrong? If I have, I repent. But come, let us forget our quarrel; let us remember the first days of our acquaintance. We loved one another, darling. And how beautiful you were! You are still as beautiful; won't you be as loving! Don't be hard on a fellow, dear. If I've done any wrong, tell me, and I'll make it right. See, we are joined together for life. Can't we make life sweeter for one another than it is now? Come, my wife, be mine again.' "I went on in this strain for some time, and my own words actually softened me more as I spoke. I felt sorry, too, for my wife, she seemed so wretched. Besides, it was a last chance, and I determined to humble myself. Any thing was better than perpetual hate and misery. So at last I got so affected by my own eloquence that I became quite spooney. Her back was turned to me; I could not see her face. I thought by her silence that she was affected, and, in a gush of tenderness, I put my arm around her. "In an instant she flung it off, and stepped back, confronting me with a face as hard and an eye as malevolent as a demon. "She reached out her hand toward the bell. "What are you going to do?' I asked. "Ring for my maid,' said she. and forced yourself here. Ring for my maid, and I will let her show you the door.' 66 """You can't mean it ?' I said. "I do mean it,' she replied. 'Ring the bell,' she added, imperiously. "I stood looking at her. "Leave the room, then,' she said. "I must have a satisfactory answer,' said I. "Very well,' said she. Here it is.' "And saying this she took the penknife by the blade, between her thumb and finger, and slung it at me. It struck me on the arm, and buried itself deep in the flesh till it touched the bone. drew it out, and without another word left the room. As I went out I heard her summoning the maid in a loud, stern voice. I "Well, after that I went to the Continent, and spent about six months. Then I returned. "On my return I She had sent off found every thing changed. all the servants, and brought there a lot of ruffians whom she was unable to manage, and who threw every thing into confusion. All the gentry talked of her, and avoided the place. My friends greeted me with strange, pitying looks. She had cut down most of the woods, and sold the timber; she had sent off a number of valuable pictures and sold them. This was to get money, for I afterward found out that avarice was one of her strongest vices. "The sight of all this filled me with indignation, and I at once turned out the whole lot of servants, leaving only two or three maids. I obtained some of the old servants, and reinstated them. All this made my wife quite wild. She came up to me once and began to storm, but I said something to her which shut her up at once. "One day I came home and found her on the portico, in her riding-habit. She was whipping one of the maids with the butt end of her riding-whip. I rushed up and released the poor creature, whose cries were really heart-rending, when my wife turned on me, like a fury, and struck two blows over my head. scars is on my forehead still. One of the question was settled. It was a terrible thing, See." but desperate diseases require desperate remeAnd Dacres put aside his hair on the top of dies; and I felt it more tolerable to have the his head, just over his right eye, and showed a house in ruins than to have her living there long red mark, which seemed like the scar of a while I had to be a wanderer. dangerous wound. "I "It was an ugly blow," he continued. at once tore the whip from her, and, grasping her hand, led her into the drawing-room. There I confronted her, holding her tight. I dare say I was rather a queer sight, for the blood was rushing down over my face, and dripping from my beard. "Look here, now,' I said; 'do you know any reason why I shouldn't lay this whip over your shoulders? The English law allows it. Don't you feel that you deserve it?' "She shrank down, pale and trembling. She was a coward, evidently, and accessible to physical terror. "If I belonged to your class,' said I, 'I would do it. But I am of a different order. I am a gentleman. Go. After all, I'm not sorry that you gave me this blow.' She "I stalked out of the room, had a doctor, who bound up the wound, and then meditated over my situation. I made up my mind at once to a separation. Thus far she had done nothing to warrant a divorce, and separation was the only thing. I was laid up and feverish for about a month, but at the end of that time I had an interview with my wife. I proposed a separation, and suggested that she should go home to her father. This she refused. declared herself quite willing to have a separation, but insisted on living at Dacres Grange. "And what am I to do?' I asked. "Whatever you please,' she replied, calmly. "Do you really propose,' said I, 'to drive me out of the home of my ancestors, and live here yourself? Do you think I will allow this place to be under your control after the frightful havoc that you have made?' "I shall remain here,' said she, firmly. "I said nothing more. I saw that she was immovable. At the same time I could not consent. I could not live with her, and I could not go away leaving her there. I could not give up the ancestral home to her, to mar and mangle and destroy. Well, I waited for about two months, and then-" "Well?" asked Hawbury, as Dacres hesitated. "Dacres Grange was burned down," said the other, in a low voice. "Burned down!" "Yes." "Good Lord!" "She was now at my mercy. We went to Exeter. She went to her father, and I finally succeeded in effecting an arrangement which was satisfactory on all sides. "First of all, the separation should be absolute, and neither of us should ever hold communication with the other in any shape or way. "Secondly, she should take another name, so as to conceal the fact that she was my wife, and not do any further dishonor to the name. "In return for this I was to give her outright twenty thousand pounds as her own absolutely, to invest or spend just as she chose. She insisted on this, so that she need not be dependent on any annual allowance. In consideration of this she forfeited every other claim, all dower right in the event of my death, and every thing else. This was all drawn up in a formal document, and worded as carefully as possible. I don't believe that the document would be of much use in a court of law in case she wished to claim any of her rights, but it served to satisfy her, and she thought it was legally sound and actually inviolable. "Here we separated. I left England, and have never been there since." Dacres stopped, and sat silent for a long time. "Could she have been mad?" asked Hawbury. "I used to think so, but I believe not. She showed too much sense in every thing relating to herself. She sold pictures and timber, and kept every penny. She was acute enough in grasping all she could. During our last interviews while making these arrangements she was perfectly cool and lady-like. "Have you ever heard about her since?" "Haven't you ever tried to find out?" "Yes. Two years ago I went and had inquiries made at Exeter. Nothing could be found out. She and her father had left the place immediately after my departure, and nothing was known about them." "I wonder that you didn't go yourself?" "What for? I didn't care about seeing her or finding her." "Do you think she's alive yet?" "I'm afraid she is. You see she always had excellent health, and there's no reason why she should not live to be an octogenarian." 66 Yet she may be dead." to 66 “It caught fire in the daytime. There were but few servants. No fire-engines were near, for the Grange was in a remote place, and so the fire soon gained headway and swept over 'May be! And what sort of comfort is that all. My wife was frantic. She came to me as me in my present position, I should like to I stood looking at the spectacle, and charged know? May be? Is that a sufficient founme with setting fire to it. I smiled at her, but dation for me to build on? No. In a moment made no reply. of thoughtlessness I have allowed myself to for"So you see she was burned out, and that get the horrible position in which I am. But |