The Brussels Post, 1886-11-12, Page 22
THE BRUSSELS POST
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VAG'R.A.NT WIFE.. He She k e "she thought to herself, and
too d
an
So
Wer
"I thought you saiid'I shoutct moat that Choy delight fn'roman victiws, a
one of any late companions," the re, yon might add, ii you dared; that
was now eighteen. a was auxaous, vow m ,
to learn whether he still retained would bo clfs'usto if I were pointed marked to him when he shook hands pursuit of them as an exciting sp
remembrance of her. out to him as�is `wife." then you will ask if the para
her last words to ie a, does nothold ggoo
o a repetition of her injunction to When William arrived lin a thaes n
he answered. Cooke is lore somew era "baked I shall say nothing so 0
her
la st wor mSo p with her, C l l somewhere," and tl by' l good."
Br i. Wnnuux. d Colonel R hon to she cried to sleep.
bring him to the theatre without any next day, ho was eye:. ass u• a o " Oh Mr. Cooke I" she echoed, m a monplace, 111,as Langton. 1 al
Author o iiia must{ o b tiler Barry oz,
"A'r rum W 's lili'rer " 1+.ro I d'd t doubt that be would know her, friendly terms. For he looked upon the
0iT N =IN 1112.1181f,"
ORI .. , a no. ou ,
especially as he was the one member latter as being the cause of Annie's exile
acqualntanoe. He bore Mise .Langton � of the family who knew she was on the —so got he
therefore chose
toaidoas tho revvoluntary ai
no ill -will for repeated unmerited snubs ' stage. •
---tbe caprices of women are infinite, . The season was nearly over now, and of all her struggles and the terrible al -
prettier and less prim women abounded, . night after night she scanned the midi. tendon in her looks. So the lad avoid.
and he could revenge himself so easily ease anxiously, in the hope of seeing ed his brother as much as he could until
by an epigram—not a slanderous ono, those two faces she know; but it was dinnertime, when there was n0 help for
but none the less outting—fa the dross- not until the very last night of all that, their coming in contact with each other,
ing-room. , as she came on the stage, she saw a as their places were sot side by side. An
When Annie first recognised Colonel ' tall young man in the stalls half rise unlucky accident brought the name of
Richardson as he crossed the road to- ! from his seat, with the exclamation,' the half.forggotten wife into the congver-
wards her, her impulse was to walk on; just loud enough for her to hear— satio . Wi f ea not been rallied is yo ngeet
but anxiety to hear something about the " Annie I"
Elms
family at the Elms changed her baton. At the cud of the street William met for sumo time, upon being " so confoun.
tion, and she stopped, shook hands with bei, and could hardly be restrained r dedly abstemious."
him, and allowed him to walk down the from embracing her, regardless of 'ap- " One would think little Annie wore
street -with her. pearances. He was broader, manlier in still horn reading you sermons across
" I knew you the moment you came figure ; but in his manner to her he was the table with her pretty eyes," said
on," said he. " It was a happy thought ' exactly the same as before. She was ' he.
to 'go on the stage ; I admire your , thankful to sea that be did not look dis- Tho blood rushed to the lad's face, for
courage." • sipated; and he hastened to assure her Harry uttered an oath at the mention of
'' I don't think it was courage that that he had observed all her commands, ' his wife.
sent me on ; and at present I have had : that he read a groat deal and " quite " I wish we had never frightened the
no reason to congratulate myself on my liked it." He bad not lived much at the ' dear little thing away," Wilfred went
.attempt, I assure you, Did Mrs. Fat- Elms, having passed most of his time on, in a maudlin manner. " She was
0oner know me 1" with his uncle, his mother's brother, in 1 our little bit of righteousness. It made
"No. She did not care for the piece, Ireland. ! me take to bad courses, her going away
and was not paying much attention to "And, Annie, I'm not going to lead en II did."
was not a happyspeech, and it
it. She does not know you are on the idle life. I'm going to be a soldier." P
stage, for she told me she thought " Well, that is tiie next thing to it," was followed by a minute's silence on
you had become a governess some. "No disrespect to the Army, 1 beg, the part of all three of his brothers;
where. You have done better than madam. It is very hard work to get in Stephen was not Caere.
' that." at all nowadays, No Braithwaite evex " Why don't you hunt her up, Harry 2"
"los. And the rest of the Breath. had to study so much before as 1 shall went on Wilfred, who either wished to
waibes? Have you seen any of them have to do to pass the exams. I'm sure irritate his brother, or had less tact than
since your return ?" to be ' plucked' the first time, of course. usual. " I wouldn't let my wife leave
" No ; but Mrs. Falconer gives a very and very likely the second. I must get me in the lurch, if I had one, and go
bed account of some of them." through the third time, you, know, of tramping about all over the world amu.
" What does she say ? Tell mo else it will be all up with me." sing herself without me."
quickly, please." "You must get through the first " She may go to the deuce for what I
" It seems there have been quarrels time," said Annie indignantly. " If you care, if she isn't gone already 1' burst
among the brothers lately, about mouey. don't, I will never speak to you again." out Harry.
matters, I believe. Sir George and " Oh, yes, you will I If I don't pass, William clenched hie"fists and tried
Harry are the chief disputants, and Mrs. you will have to console me, and, if I do to keep still. The injured husband
Falconer never knows what the next pass, you -will congratulate me. Oh, went on—
news about them may be. But I ani Annie, I wish 1 had been old enough to " A little sly vagabond governess, glad
paining you—" marry you, or that you bad married enough to entrap a gentleman into max.
" No, no; I want to hear everything. George, so that you might come back t0 rying her, and then cutting away and
Will you tell me all you know about my the Elms again!" bringing disgrace upon his name!"
husband 2 Is he well 2 Is he no No suggestion that she should go back " Disgrace!. cried William, turning
steadier ?" to Harry, however. Annie looked up at with flashing eyes upon his brother.
" I believe he is web now ; but he was him quickly.. " As if any wife could disgrace you! As
ill some months ago." " How is Harry ? He is not anxious if Annie, who was a thousand times too
" Ill! What was the .matter with for my return, I suppose ?" good for you to black her shoes, could
him ?" " Ob, to think of your being his wife have any worse disgrace than to be your
Colonel Richardson hesitated. if intolerable.. He is not worthy to look wife le
' "You know his habits are rather irre. at you. Sometimes he is sorry, inn "You hold your tongue, you young
gular, and he had ridden too much and maudlin sort of way, that he can't see oub 1" said his brother doggedly. " 1
excited himself too much, and I believe you, and complains that you have de say she didn't deserve a decent hue -
he was ill from the effects of over -ex- sorted him, and that you are the only band.„Well, she didn'tget one "—this from
oitement. But why do you wish to woman he ever cared about. But that "
know these things ? You are happily is all nonsense, and he says it only when Wilfred.She didn't deserve a decent husband,
spared the wrangles and disturbances of he is drunk. He drinks worse than ,i
that unlucky household now. You have Wilfrid. And a few months ago— and she couldn't be expected to stay in
the interest of your own career to Deno- Well, never mind that 1 You mustn't a respectable house."
py your mind; it is much better for yon trouble your head any more about " What respectable house ?"—Wil.
not to concern yourself any more with him." frod again.
the doings of that barbaric Drew." Annie listened in silence, her heart Harry went on without noticing the
" Don't say that. Every word you aching with remorse. She knew well interruption. .
say makes me reproach myself more. euough now that she had doneirrotriev "It was natural that her vagrant in -
I am not heartless, though I see now ably wrong in leaving ' her husband, stincts should get the better of her s-
how selfish it was of me to sneak away whom at least she could, at the entire gain, and she should take the fixat
as I did. You wiil hardly believe that ' sacrifice of herself, have kept from tilt. chance of going off on a tramp."
I thought I was doing what was best for But it was too late now, she told her. " You infernal liar 1" shouted William,
my husband as well as myself. I self. If she returned to him now nn. too much excited to be careful. " She '
thought he was too young to be burden• bidden, with the feeling of repulsion is no more a tramp than you are. And
ed with a wife. We did not suit each towards him a thousandfold strongex as for her ' vagrant instincts' you stn.
other; I seemed to irritate him to worse than ever, she could not expect a wel- pid ass, they have led her into much
brutality ; we were spoiling each other's come, she could not even repress the better society than she would ever have
lives and our own.' disgust she felt, got into with you at her heels 1"
" You were quite right to come away. She told William that she was going All the others were startled, and Wil.
He would only have crushed yourlife out to leave town and travel with a theatre• Ilam checked himself as he was going
by his coarse cruelty before now, if you cal compauy,to gain experience in better to say more. Barry brought a rough
had stayed -with him. How could you, parts than she could hope to play in hand down on his shoulder.
with your sensitive feelings and oulti- London yet. He walked all the way "So you are in the secret, aro you?
voted tastes, bear with that uncouth home with her, and, looking at her .Come now, out with it ; where is she ?"
boor ? I used to wonder at your pa- gravely as he stood saying the last words " Out of your reach, luckily for her."
Bence with him when I first knew you to her, he complained that she was thin " Yes, but you are not, unluckily for
in town with him." and pale, you 1" said Harry thickly, rising to his
a I was wrong, though," said Annie " Do you know, Annie, that you are so feet and standing threateningly over his
gravely. If I thought I could do much altered I should hardly have oromer, not needing Sir Georges voice
him any good, I would go back now." known you. You ,have lost all your crying" Sit down 1"
"I beg you nob to do anything so pratty colour, and your eyes are not Now then, where is she?"
rash," said Colonel Richardson hastily, half so bright as they used to bo. It is William thrust away his chair and
" Your husband is worse than au un- all that beast Harry, making you have faced his tipsy brother steadily,. ,
oouth lad now ; he is a coarse savage- to work for your living! " he broke " I would not help to put her in your
tempered man. Lilian—Mrs. Falconer out passionately. "He deserves to be power again by telling you whore to
his own sister, is afraid of him ; and kicked 1" find her, even if I knew, if you were to
you know she is not meek -spirited." "Come, be reasonable, William ; that tear me to pieces!"
" What does he say of me? Does he is not Harry's fault. Women must ex -
"
x• He stepped aside quickly to avoid
never speak about me? Do you peat to ' go off' in looks, you know, as the lunge IIarry made at him, and left
know ?" � they get older." the room.
"The last time his sister CMS' him, " But you are not old. That is non- "Bravo, young 'un I" said Wilfred.
be told her that, if he ever met his ; sense!" The baronet afterwards tried gentler
wife again—and he used language which 1 " I am two -and -twenty. When you an mea s
•
neither she nor I could repeat to you— � last saw me, I was not nmeteen." .
he would ' crush the beauty out of the "Well, you ought not to have changed
'face that made a fool of him.' For. so much in less than three years.
give my repeating his words to you; Never mind,' added he affectionately,
1 think they will be the best warning seeing that his words seemed to depress
1 can give you to keep out of his his sister-in-law—" 1 love you just as
warning that be would see her. She usual to moot bas ro
tone of disappointment, maintain, to begin with, that boa:
Now Aubrey was standing in the women are not cruel. It is not t
shadow only a few feet away from her, fault if wo crowd round them in
He was always particularly quiet when numbers that they mix us up a 1
he was not remarkably uolsy, and, lieu- and hurt our feelings by forgetting
Mg nobody to talk to at the moment, be I have a great advantage over mos
had been still as a statue, and had my rivale in one rospoot—my OPP
heard every word of this short colloquy ane0. I heard a lady pall me the
and noticed the tone of Mise Langton's day the nice quiet young man who
exclamation ; and be was nettled by it. SO stupid. Sho was aslcang a eau n
For be had made up his mind that she Colonel Richardson who I was."
was decidedly the most attractive of the " Colonel Richardson ?"
'adios of the company, and had resolved "Yes, He 15 a gentleman w1
to pay her the compliment of devoting always meet at Mrs. Falcone
his attention to her during the tour. very old friend of the family, I bel
But, after this unconsciously-admi- Now Aubrey,Cooke had, noted
nisterod rebuff, he had to resort to tho without appearing to remark it,
other ethernet! —of basking in the pression of pato and anxiet
moreeasily. won smiles of tho leading passed over Annie's Paco as he m
lady, Miss Muriel West. All that Annie that Oolonol Richardson was a
could see of this lady in tho dim light Mrs. Falooner's. But, not ha
on the stage was that she was very least suspicion that she basal
handsome, with great winning velvety the popular beauty, he misundors
brawn eyes. shaded by long black lashes, the cause of hor distress, and connects
and that she was very badly. drossad, it with the fact of the meeting he an
apparently in odds and ends from her Gibson had seen a little way from the
stage wardrobe, stage -door some nights before; and he
They were rehearsing .Shr. Stoops 10 woudered whether she knew that Colo -
Conquer, and Miss 'West played Miss nel Richardson was married, and
Hardcastle, while Annie herself was whether she had heard certain old soca.
Miss Neville. Annie discovered iu the dais connected with his name.
course of the morning that Miss West For the first few weeks of the tour
had a sweet rich voice and a kindly man- Aubrey saw very little of Miss Langton.
ger, an unrefined accent, and a rather She had taken his advice and drawn
heavy touch in comedy. During the back, as civilly as she could, from the
succeedingrehearsals she further dis- proposal of living with Miss West, whom
covered that Miss West was good-bu- she soon found out to be a coarse
mound and amusing, and that she al- woman of not too reputable life, whose
ready exerted a strong fascination over beauty and a certain rough good.humour
most of themen of the company, Aubrey made her dangerous to many men. She
Cooke, foremost as usual where a saw through the motive of Annie's
charming woman was concerned, being shyness at once, and said, with a
absent from her side only when he was laugh—
wanted on the stage for his part of " 1 suppose I am not good enough for
Tony Lumpkin. you, little Puritan 2"
The rest of the women were uniute- But she shorted neither anger nor
resting. There was a common but clever bitterness about it, and was consistently
girl of about her own age who played kind, after her fashion, all the time the
old women; she called herself ' Lola tour lasted, to the quiet little girl to
Montrose," but did not look like it, and whom she had taken a capricious liking.
was dressed in clothes which would So that Annie could not help a sneaking
have been neat and appropriate if she liking for her, especially as Miss West
had not tried to " smarten herself up a showed, in parts requiring dramatic
bit " with large bunches of cheap but power, a rough force wb.ioh in some
brilliant artificial flowers. And there scenes kept 'Annie spell -bound at the
was a web -born and well-educated girl wings watching her, and asking herself
who had gone on the stage against if this ivere not genius. And then Miss
the wishes of her friends, and who West would destroy the illusion by corn -
stayed on it against the wishes of ing off at the side scolding tbeprompter
the audience; she played chambermaids; for not being at 1'is post, and calling fox
but, though she could make witty speech- stout or for brandy -and -water.
es of her own off the stage, she always Annie therefore chose to live ,alone,
failed to extract the wit from any speech the only girl of her own standing in the
she had. to make on it. And there was company being the amateur chamber.
also a curiously incapable girl who was maid, who was so ostentatiously poor
the manner's niece. and aggressively economical that Miss
On the day of the last rehearsal, be- Langton felt that life with her would bo
fore the tour began, Aubrey Cooke fol- a sort of voluntary martyrdom.
lowed Annie to a coiner of the stage, She had some trials with lazy land•
where she was standing quietly, as usual, ladies, eltortionate landladies, maids of
rather apart from tho rest. all -work who did not give her enough
"I bog your pardon," said, he shyly— attention, and others who gave her too
Aubrey was very shy sometimes— " I much. They had been travelling some
hope you won't thin': what I am going weeks, when, in a certain town which
to say impertinent ; but I couldn't help is ono of the oldest in England, she got
overhearing part of your conversation into some lodgings where the landlady
with Miss West this morning about— was always out, and, being a bone
about your living together." widow who kept no servant, sometimes
" Oh, yes! She was suggesting that left her lodgers to wait upon themselves
we should lodge together, as it is so more than was meet.
much cheaper than ving apart. And Aubrey Cooke had rooms above An -
she knows all abot'tt touring, and 1 know nie's in this house, and, on reaching the
nothing at all about it. I thought it door, tired, hob, and buugry after a long
was very kind of her," rehearsal of a piece which had just
" She meant to be land, I have no been added to their repertory, Annie
doubt," mumbled Aubrey. " But Idon't found her follow lodger 'ticking the paint
think arrangements of that sort ever viciously off the inhospitable portal.
answer, unless people know all about " It is of no use, Mr. Cooke," said An -
ono another ; and, if you have not settled Me resignedly. " The stupid old woman
anything, I would strongly advise you has gone to market, and we shall kava.
to try lodging for a weak by yourself to wait till she comes back, unless we
first ; and then, of course, after that you go and hunt her up where she is making
would know all about everybody, and her bargains in stale cabbages.'
be able to make arrangements with any "But it is abominable to make her
lady you like. I leaps you will forgive lodgers stand kicking their heels in the
my interference; I could not help seeing blazing sun white she is haggling over a
that, as you say, you know nothing at ponn'orth of onions," said he with an -
ail about touring yet," other lunge at the door,
Annie had scarcely time`to thank him Annie meanwhile had been prowling
for his advice before ho had raised his about.
hat and left her. Aubrey Cooke woe's "lo you think you could open the
gentleman, and, in spite of het apparent kitchen ,window, Mr. Cooke ?" she ask -
prejudice against him, be felt sympathy ed dubiously. " We might get in there,
with the forlorn Tittle lady. When it isn't far from the ground."
Annie left the theatre that morning, It was a small window, just low
Mise West was coming out at the same enough for him to teach the fastening
easily. with his pocket-knife. In a , few
minutes he had pushed the fastening
aside, scrambled up on to the sill, open.
ad tho window,, and gob in, amid the
crash of timber.
"What have you douo ?" asked Annie
anxiously, as he appeared again, dia.
guised in flour and paste.
"I've fallen into a lot of things, it
seems," said be, "and I believe I've
sprained my thole."
" Oh, my roly-poly pudding 1" dried
Annie, not heeding his ailments in the
unhappy discovery.
"l'm afraid it's done for now," an-
swered Mr. Cooke, as he removed the
body of the uncooked pudding from his
sleeve. "It will do for a poultice for
"
' cheerful'
and
said D or"ho ,
v
mo bow y
both our
n in
'lire, Briggs will petit low
bills, so it won't be wasted. Wait ; It
give you a chair to help you up."
She got in ; and then they both began
to look about for something to make
dinner of. Annie went to the cupboard,
while Mr. Cook opened a door, and fell
down two stops into the back kitchen
with a ory of joy. He had knocked his
head aeamet a skinny -looking bird, al-
ready p'Iuoked, which was bangingdown
frcm the ceiling. But AIlmo shook
her head contempbuously when she saw
it.
"Itis one of Mis. Brigg's pre.bistorio
chickens, and ib would want a lot dive-
/Anti=
f pre•
proration before we could cook it. Be.
sides, I don't know how, and the fire is
out."
(1'O BI1 CONTINUED.)
As will be seen we are
voting a Column to Poetry,
Temperance, Farm Notes
and Varieties, respectively,
and giving more than our
usual amount of 'Local,
District and General news,
d subtlern to find out Annie s :time, and for the hist time Angle saw
hiding -place from the lad; but William ;her complexion by daylight; and the
reach."
Annie, sighed.
"You don't make me afraid of him;
you only make mo pity him as I would
a fierce hound wbo has been unwisely
treated. If Harry were to crush my
face, as he said, in a fit of savage pas-
sion, it would be the one thing which
would make bim treat me tenderly ever
afterwards."
Colonel Richardson looked surprised.
„You almostmake me bold enough
o--•'
tow wonder—"
" Why I left bim ? I suppose my
strongest reason really was that he was
unbearable to me. His tenderness was
odious as his auger and worse than his
neglect. 1 should dislike flim more
than ever now ;; but I should know how
to treat him more wisely."
Colonel Richardson understood wo-
. men too well to say more on that subject.
Ho turned the conversation,
" Mrs. Falconer expecte her brother
William next week," he said. " Shai1I
bring him to the theatre and see if he
knows you ? woman, and especially no actress, can
Annie caught eagerly at the idea of suffer the sense of lost beauty to be suit-
seeing her favourite William again. denly brought home to her without a
She had ing whore she nothing
as, and she was anxious to fear from his know- enough to makeAnnie's and vanity
he cry at aWilliam's
to find'out whether he wag growing into evident regret.
a•lesb worthless man than his brothers. „ perhaps Harr -V himsoif would not
much as ever ; and you will soon ge
back your colour when you get out of
London and forget all about Barry
again."
And he kissed her, and bade hot
ood-bye meet unwillingly; for the fol -
bowing morning ho had to go back tothe
Elms, to see George about the expenses
of a "coach" to Dram him for the
examination he would have to go
through.
Annie went upstairs to her rooms—
she could afford to have a sitting. room
now—feeling Bahama . of the pain his
remarks upon her looks had given her.
It was afoot she had known for a long
time now that her beauty had fallen off
so that there wore barely traces of it
left. A thin bxown face, without a tinge
of pink in the cheeks, and with scarcely
more than a tinge in the lips, oyes, from
which the brightness of hope and joy
had gone, andga weary, worn expression
were what leas than three years of
lonely work and disappointment had
left of her youthful prettiness. No
kept the secret safely.
Meanwhile the fugitive wife was pre.
paring for a new experience. She had,
as she had told William, resolved upon
leaving London for a while, hopingthat
practice in the country might mature
her talent and enable her at the end of
a few months to take a higher position
than she could aspire to at present. She
know very woll'that, once out of Lon-
don, it would be by no means easy to
get back ; but the feeling that she was
advancing no farther, and could not
hope to advance farther without more
experience, prevailed over every other ;
and she thought herself fortunate in
getting an
engagement,
em
onb, an a travelling
company ;limb about to start ontour, bo
play second parts in old comedy. It
was not going to what are considered
the boat towns in a theatrical sense;
bob it was a good company, and Annie.
had heard that one of the actors of the
theatre she had just left would bo fn it
too.
Sho had heard Gerald Gibson speak
of going into the country, and had come
at once to the conclusion that he must
be the actor alluded to ; she was very
glad of this, for he was one of her fa-
vourites.
When however she got on to the stage
of the theatre which had been engaged
for their robearaals, which was as dark
as most stages are in rho daytime, she
saw no face she knew among the people
assembled there, except that of the
manager who had engaged liet.
Iferce of Aubrey Cooke'a advice striae
Miss Langton at once, for the pick and
white and black of the leading lady's
beauty showed a differenceof tastes
between them which was more than
skin-deep.
CHAPTER `•.CII'.
Before the, company Annie had joined
started on tour, she had heard more bid-
inga to distress het about the Braith-
waite family. It was Aubrey Cooke
who brought them this time. He was
telling her that he had met their late
companion Gerald Gibson, at Mrs. Fal.
'ore.
dayof
nelsthob
co
"
oo?
know her t
Ohl Do you ow
"Yes; I have knownher muchlonger
than Gibson has.: He and I have long
arguments about her."
"I can guess which side you take."
" I always take the part of a beauti-
ful womau. And Gibspn really does her
cruel injustice, She might sit for the.
portrait of the favourite handsome pan•
ther-weman of the lady -novelist."
"I expected something more compli
mental+ than that. I don't call that
high praise."
Dont you? Well, I don't knpw
any pretty woman who would not feel
flattered ab being called a panther;
most of thorn only get as fax as to 131
like eats." -
"Now you are absolutely libellous ( I
know you will go on to say that paw
theta are as gruel as they ate gxaoefull
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