HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Herald, 1909-09-17, Page 3THE WOOING
OF ERNA
"You are cruel!" he cried, vehemently,
"No," she replied, "1 am trying to be
:just to you and to myself. There is a
great gulf between us, Lord Aubrey.
Your wife lives. She has the first claim
upon you. After her, . Lady Gertrude
has a claim, which her angry words of
just now do not absolve you from. You
asked her to be your wife, not loving
her. If you are an honorable man, you
must, when the time comes, give her the
opportunity to be the Countess of Aub-
rey. As for me, I am a widow, whose
husband yet lies unburied. Can you ask
me to listen to words of love from you?"
There was something so inexpressibly
noble in her words and demeanor that
the earl was silenced. He had indeed
forgotten all the things she spoke of,.
"Forgive me, Erna!" he said. "The
only thing I knew was that I loved you.
It is a madness. All that you say is
true; and yet I must ask one little ray
of hope. When I have fulfilled all my
duties, may I then, if 1 am free to do so,
come to you, and be sure that -.1 shall
find you heart -free?"
She smiled sadly.
"The future must take care of itself,"
she answered. "I will not promise."
She would have given her right hand
then to have spoken freely the feelings
that made her heart throb; but
she held steadfast to her idea of duty.
She felt that the present duty was to
snap every fie • between them. .
"At least say that you love me, Erna,'
he pleaded.'
"I cannot say that; and it 1s wrong
of you to ask me," she replied.
"Have I been mistaken?" he exclaim-
ed, in anguish. "Do you not love me,
then. Oh, that is not possible. My heart
could not have told me a falsehood.
Erna, can there be any- harm in saying
just the Marco little words, I love you."
"`.]'here would be harm for me to say
them. Yes."
"Dare you say that you do not love
me?" he suddenly demanded.
The color rushed to her face in a tide.
He believed he had entrapped her. She
drew herself up proudly.
"I say nothing, Lord Aubrey, and you
have no right to put your own construc-
tion on my silence."
How magnificent she looked then!
Never iiad she seemed so worthy a true
man's love. The earl could not but honor
in her the resolution which kept her
faithful to her ideal in the face of his
pl.eadiug.
"And must I, to please you, do as you
have bidden me?" he asked.
"You must do it to satisfy your own
honor, my lord," she replied. "How long
since is it that the Earl of Aubrey's
honor needed a mentor?"
"Sino my brain was bewildered by
your witcheries," he replied.
She shook her head.
"A love that would drive out honor
could be no love at all," she said.
He looked at her as he would have
gazed at a deity.
"It shall be as you say," he said. "I
will follow your orders, though to do so
were to caary me to my grave in unhap-
piness. You are right, Erna. I will ad.-
mit
d.mit that I believed you to be. But I
warn you that should my deliveranee
come to me, I will seek you, and nothing
shall keep us apart. Why should I ask
you to speak the words when I can read
them on your heart? Erna, my dear
one! You shall be my angel for good"
He caught her hand before she could
draw it away, and carried it to his lips.
He held it there a moment, and then
turned and left her. She watched him
until he turned again; then she waved
her hand, as if to bid him farewell, and
resumed her own way.
The earl returned to the Castle and
was met by a servant, who informed him
tbat Lord Moreham awaited him in the
library. He was rejoiced. Something
must be done at once, and Lord More -
ham .was the person to consult with.
His Lordship had evidently been in-
formed of the important fact which had
just been imparted to the earl, for he
was marching up and down the library
in a state of great excitement. Indeed,
he was so perturbed that he lost for the
time his awe of his prospective son-in-
law.
"Aubrey, Aubrey!" he cried, "what
is this Gertrude tells me?"
Aubrey became cool in proportion as
the other was excited. It often happens
so.
"If Lady Gertrude told you that the
unfortunate woman to whom I was mar-
ried, and"whom I believe ddead, is alive, ,
she has told you no more than the
truth," he answered, neither lightly nor
flippantly, but indifferently.
"It is an awful thing, Aubrey! awful!"
Lord Moreham groaned. "You should
havo guarded against such 'a thing."
"It would have been better," admit-
ted Aubrey, rather impatiently. "But
the only thing I could bave done to be
more sure than I was, would have been
to kill her myself."
"Of course," said his lordship, "I don't
mean to reproach you. But consider my
position! Everything ready for the
wedding, and the announcement must
be made that it is off."
It occurred to Lord Aubrey that Lord
Moreham was treating the matter as if
it was something akin to a horserace;
but it was not because he did not feel
seriously enough about it.
"Lord Moreham," he said, "I can see
but one proper mob out of the affair.
It must be, made clear that Lady Ger-
trude is iii no .manner compromised by
the turn affairs have taken."
"But how? Hew? If you could see the
state she is ineNobody can do anything
with her.":
,"My suggestion would be," said Au-
brey, with are xery good grace internally,
but extornallyx without a sign of dis-
favor, `,`chat you should say frankly to
the gue_sts-.that I had been married
abroad,•,a;id . aid supposed my wife dead.
But that �. h hiss unexpectedly appear-
ed in tune i'o'revent the wedding"
t`��y'el>a," 'said Lord Moreham, who had
bei "thinki ng' of the same thing, but.
had; ifq lis i the courage to propose. it,
"if ytru sa.'y so:"'
"Certainly. It does not matter to me
what the.' gesajps see fit to make of the
story."
"Of course not. But about Gertrude?"
It was that that most troubled his
lordship. His daughter had let fall some
very trouble -provoking words concern-
ing the future intentions of the earl.
"Well," the earl rubbed his chin. "It
seems to me that under the circum-
stances it will not be improper to say
that my wife is dying; and that, after
a decent interval, I shall come to claim
Lady Gertrude."
"Awl"
"I suppose," said the earl, a little more
anxiously than he wished to betray,
"Lady Gertrude will not be induced by
the unpleasant circulpstances to :change
her mind."
"You may depend upon her constancy,
my lord," said her father, in a tone of
conviction.
The earl had hoped for a different an-
swer. But whdt else could he expect of
a father? Perhaps the daughter would
not- be so easily disposed of now as be-
fore. Certainly it would be awkward to
marry a woman who had -been betrayed
into such language as she had that
morning used.
"Very well," he said, "you may use
my name with perfect assurance. I shall
go now to see my unfortunate wife; but
I shall return to see Lady Gertrude as
soon as circumstances will permit."
"Quite right. I will tell her what you
say. She will be greatly soothed, nu
doubt."
"You will make my excuses to every-
body?"
"Certainly," and Lord Moreham bade
good-bye to the earl in far better spirits
than he had deemed possible but a few
minutes earlier. '
CHAPTER XL.
The unfortunate Countess of Aubrey
lingered several days in unconsciousness,
after the arrival of the earl by her bed-
side. She never roused sufficiently to
even recognize him; and the earl could
not bring himself to feel that he would
have,had it otherwise.
Ile fully and freely forgave her for all
she had done to injure him; but he
could not even respect her, and he would
not have pretended to do so.
After her death—before it, indeed.—
he gave the utmost publicity to the story
of his wretched marriage. He acknowl-
edged her as his wifee and, when she
was dead, treated her in all respects as
he would have done a beloved wife.
This he did in order that Lady Ger-
trude might be set right before a gos-
siping world; and he found his reward
in doing so in the certainty that Erna
was secretly applauding him for it.
There was no difficulty in having the
story spread. The daily papers wore
but too eager *for such a sensational tale
f:,wtsn„
•x
11i5Caltnearasors: ann.
PURE FOOD
INSURES
GOOD
HEALTH--
y MAGICBAKING POWDER
INSURES
PURE FOOD,
MADEIN CAlIA
17PIA sr;
COTIN
You can painlessly rem
hard, soft or bleeding,.b
Qorn Extractor. It never
eonfalns no acids; is ha
only of healing gums and
use. Cure guaranteed.
26e. bottles. Refuse sit
PUTNAM'
CORN E
to spare'.any s
earl refrained f
played by his f
way the papers
it; and that, t
This led'to m
little by little
for an'unwor
the ,end! his
Clear of the
danger, as
that he wou
into a saint..
He did his dut
and retired fro.
short time after+
tense of mourning,
be hypocrisy to do
of the chance to bur
is order that he m.ig'
for the further task
Erna, and admitted by:
right course.
At Aubrey he spent
Selim, tend in hauntin
dear to him now by
them. He found it easy
many things from .his b usekeeper; and
he sometimes 'pa led sa y as he found
himself rejoicing in the doings of the
madcap. girl.
He remembered the tune when he con-
demned such things, and when he repell-
ed the sweet, girlish confidence whici
had been so frankly offered to him. if
he had not been such a self-satisfied dolt
at that time, he told himself, Erna might
now be by hisside, helpi ig him plan the
many reforms in the condition of his ten-
ants, which he now saw were sorely
needed.
His repugnance to returning to Lady
Gertrude grew with his sojourn at
Aubrey,- where all the associations
reminded him of Erna; but
when the time fixed for his
return came, he did not hesitate. Some-
how it semed to make it easier to think
of Erna; and he often wondered at the
great change which had come over her,
and which had transferred her from a
wayward, willful hoiden into a woman
so calm. and self-contained that she
could command his violent passion by
her very silence.
Erna had not entered the gay world.
of London at the opening of the season,
but had taken advantage of the formal
period of mourning toremainin retire-
ment at Romley.
Lady Gertrude, however, had thrown
herself heacllong into the swirl, and was
already, in the absence of her more be-
witching rival, the reijning beauty. Her
romautienliy intern'' edding with
the Bari had served, !make her an
object of greater interest; .and even at
far away Aubrey the earl -heard of -her
social
fhersocial triumphs.
Down in his heart he hoped, when lie
heard of the eager attentions of the men,
that site would find some pee of them so
superior to him that she would give him
Itis release But no word of such a thing
carne to him; and at last he was fain to
set out for London, to once more lay hes
name at her service.
At another time he would have con-
demned her conduct as that of a co-
quette, but in hiseagerness to have her
find another mate, he overlooked that
now; and when at the club the first day
of his return to town, young Montague
said to him that he had just come in
time to save his bride; he only asked,
with hardly concealed eagerness:
"Why do you say that?"
`Oh,' answered young Montague, with
a laugh, "the Earl of Rockingham is
making desperate love in that quarter;
and it is said he he a made a bet of two
to three in hundreds that he will got her
from you."
It should have mortally offended him
that any man should dare to make such
a bet; but he outwardly ,'shLugged his
shoulders, and inwardly hoped the earl
Wright win his bet.
In other ways, now, ne began to hear
of how Lady Gert .i,i. was exerting all
her powers of fast^ration to keep the
most eligible men ai ter feet; and his
heart leaped with et. joy of the hope
that she was malting ready to refuse
him. h .
"I was foolish," he ell to himself, "to
have come to town. Perhaps if 1 had
given her more tithe she might have
forestalled my rene7eal of the offer of
my name."
Then it occurred t•
merely wish the p
him with such a st
as he now knew sl
was with such a `
he ,went. to the 1
afternoon of his
He say Lor
ed with an
bine no hope
if Lady Ger.
refusing hini,
knowledge ,of
"Lady Gertr
see you," he salt
ed. the purpose o.
your trouble ve
endeavored to d
or—gayeties of t
A faint smile -
face at this saes
Gertrude's deep p
It wee quite plain
pared to carry` et.
gramme.
Lady Gertrude' cam down after he
had been waiting w . y half an hour,
showing, as the earl l,." ught, a studied
intention of making him .understan:d
that she was not; pleated. The longer
he was made to wait, thehigher his
hopes rose. 'It makes so much difference
what one's desires are. At another time,
and under the other cirenntstances, he
would have been indignant.
URE'
24 Hietsne
y corn, either
Ing Fee:ein's
leaves no scar,
;use composed years In
all druggists
LESS
OR
. The,
part
some
dge of
1, and,
rifles
In {
rely
as
elf,
rted
wife,
zefor a
e no pre -
it would
was glad
t Aubrey,
pose himself
''upon him by
elf to be the'
time in riding
e places made
'na's love for
enough to draw
that she might
of rejecting
•ornful words
able of. It
breast that,
sion in the
receiv-
t gave
-tainly
ion of
oht the
leslited tO
y mention -
'he has felt
live- en-..,
by the--
t>,
Aubrey's
• n of .lady
dissipation.
?haat be pre -
e original pro-
He smiled with something like real
pleasure when at last Gertrude sailed in-
to the room. He was quick to note the
change in her. Her blonde, statuesque
beauty lent itself ,very readily to an im-
perious carriage; and the earl noted. that.
there was nothing in Lady Gertrude now
of the unformed girl,
It was as if she had passed completely
through the finishing process. She was
a proud, imperious woman of the world;
and, however fascinating, and soft she
might be when she pleased, it was plain
that she could be iciness itself.
She returned his greeting coldly,
though with perfect courtesy; and his
hopes rose higher and higher. She had
not forgiven him and she was hardly like
not forgiven hint, and she was hardly
likely to accept him as a husband. He
plunged at once into his busines with
her.
"Lady Gertrude," he said, as she seat-
ed. herself, "you have doubtless heard of
the death of my wife."
She bowed Iter head, but did not
speak.
"When we last met there was some
heat of anger on your part, and you at
that. time, laboring under a misapprehen-
sion, I think, gave me my dismissal."
Again site merely acquiesced. Her face
was absolutely a closed book.
"Had it not been for your words, still
the fact must have remained that in the
existence of niy wife, there was a barrier
between us."
Once more a bow of acquiescence.
"It was a situation I greatly de-
plored," he went on. "For myself, I cared
nothing. I have borne the misrepresen-
tation of the world in silence for a long
time; but for yon I felt a responsibility
which caused me to say to your father
that I deemed it my duty to hold myself
bound to you."
"He told me so at the tune," she said,
briefly.
"In order to keep your right before
'the world, I afterward gave my whole
wretched story to the world."
"That, too, I know. I understood why
you did it."
"Now I have come to renew to you
my offer of marriage, a sufficient time
having elapsed to render such an action
not unseemly. Will it please you to
become the Countess of Aubrey?"
He asked the question, and waited
anxiously for the question. Lady Ger-
trude seemed in no haste to give h. For
a moment she cast her eyes down, as if
to hide some expression she could not
control. Then she looked up at him
out of her cold, blue eyes, and answered,
slowly:
"Lord Aubrey, I have listened to all
you wished to say. In your turn listen
to me; but first let me ask you a ques-
tion to which I request a free& and
full answer. Do you make me this offer
in good faith? Do you intend to abide
by my answer?"
"Your question is surely needless," he
replied, as icily as herself. "I offer you
my name in good faith, intending to
,abide by your answer."
(To be continued)
f
Worth Knowing.
The best hardwood floors for every -day
usage are those which are either waxed
or oiled. A floor that is shellacked, as a
great many hardwood floors are, does
not wear well. It shows the marks of
boot nails and is easily scratched. Un-
less it is carefully covered with rugs it
5 as much of a nuisance as carpeting.
The waxed floor is really the ideal floor
for all rooms except the kitchen. The
ordinary oiled floor is the best for the
kitchen, where there is so much hard
usage. It does not show boot marks,
and can be easily washed. It will often
remain, under ordinary circumstances,
very clean and neat looking for half a
year or more, without renewing the oil.
The proper oil to use is boiled oil; and
it should be rubbed into the floor until
the pores are filled with it. In time it
becomes oxidized, so that a permanent-
ly glossy surface h produced.
A fire extinguisher, which may be
easily made at home and kept in a bot-
tle ready for use, consists of three
pounds of salt and one and one-half
pounds of sal -ammoniac dissolved in a
gallon of water.
Wet umbrellas should be stood on
their handles to dry. This allows the
water to run out of them, instead of in-
to the part where the ribs and the silk
meet, thus causing the metal to rust
and the silk to rot.
For earache bathe the ear in a strong
decoction of camomile flowers, then drop
a few drops of warm sweet oil into the
ear, and a strip of flannel warmed and
tied around the head.
A thin coating made of three parte
lard, melted, with one part resin, and ap-
plied. to stoves and grates, will prevent
them rusting, when not in use.
0
Kitchens for an Army.
Two thousand movable kitchens ha e
been ordered for the Austrian army.
Each kitchen consists of a four -wheeled
vehicle drawn by two horses and weigh-
ing about half a ton. The equipment
of each includes four coppers: an oven,
cupboards, tables and various other
facilities for cooking in the field.
Don't accept a fever from the fel-
low who will never let you forget it.
Distress in the
Stomach
Hundreds of Thousands cf Bot-
tles of Nerviline Used Every
Year for Curing Cramps,Dia-
rhoea & Stomach Disorders.
Deadly cramps—the symptoms are
not to be mistaken. Suddenly and with-
out warning the patient experiences
such agony in the stomach as to contort
the countenance and eause him to cry
aloud for help.
LETTER
o.
4 ::77
Then it is that
the wonderful
power of Nervi -
line can make it-
self felt—it cures
so quickly, you
would think it
was made to cure
cramps, a n d
cramps only.
"Last summer I was stricken with a
frightful attack of cramps. I feared the
pain in my stomach would kill me.
"My eyes bulged out and the veins in
my forehead stood out like whipcords.
"My cries attracted a neighbor, -rho
came to my assistance, and in a moment
or two handed me half a teaspoonful
of Nerviline in some sweetened water.
"It seemed as if an angel had charm-
ed away the pain. In ten seconds I was
well. Nerviline has a wonderful name
in this locality, and is considered best
for cramps, diarrhoea, flatulence, ?stom-
ach and bowel disorders. I urge all my
friends to use Nerviline.
"MANLEY M. LEGARDE,
Williamsburg."
No home h safe or can afford to miss
the manifold advantages of having Ner-
viline on hand in case of accident or
emergent sickness. 25c, per bottle, five
for $1. ,Ali dealers, or The Catarrhozone
Company, Kingston, Ont.
o_•
FISHING FOR SHARKS.
Large Experiments Caught on Lines
Along the Mexican Coast.
The shark fishing season is on here
now and furnishes quite a pastime for
those addicted to such dangerous sports.
The sharks seem to be bolder than usual,
very large ones coming into the bay,
while generally they keep out toward
the entrance.
'Yesterday quite a large one was
caught from one of the piers. It meas-
ured over two meters in length and
caused quite an exciting battle before
the fishermen got the second harpoon
into it. This morning another much
larger one was caught by some fisher-
men in a boat. It was only subdued af-
ter a hard struggle and finally towed
alongside the sea wall and hoisted out
with a derrick. The animal was near
three meters long and was still alive '
after beim hoisted out onto the dock
and it slashed around at a lively rate,
causing the crowd that had gathered to
see it to scatter in all directions to avoid
its enormous tail. After being killed
the animal's liver was removed and it
measured more than three feet in length.
This furnishes a very fine transparent
oil that is used for many purposes.
Only a short time ago Capt. Wash-
burn, of the Ward Line's tug Neptune,
caught one of these monsters, and came
very near losing out with him, as the
fingers of both hands were se badly
burned by the line which held the shark
that he was laid up for several days
with bandaged hands.—Vera Cruz corre-
spondence Mexican Herald.
Odd Facts and Figures.
Half the zinc of the world comes
from Prussia.
Sixty inches h the annual average
rainful all over the world.
A cubic foot of solid gold weighs
1,210 pounds; of silver, only 655
pounds.
All German soldiers must learn to
swim. •
Most Dutch cities are several feet
betovr the sea -level.
Montreal, with its winters of great
severity, is 350 miles nearer the
equator than London.
It takes eight times as much
strength to walk upstairs as it does to
walk on level ground.
More than 125,000,000 pounds of rub-
ber are used in the world each year.
Nine -tenths of Germany's popula-
tion can be fed by products of her
own soil.
Fifty-five million square miles is
the area of the pacific ocean—the
same as the earth's land area.
Before it is completed, a champagne
bottle passes through the hands of
forty-five workmen.
On the east coast of Ireland it rains,
on an average 208 days in the year!
in England, about 151) days.
Turkey has more aged people, in
proportion to her population, than any
other European country,
Nearly 80,000,000 gallons of water
aro used annualy to cleanse the
streets of the city of London.
O4 lb
The Care of Awnings.
"Your awnings," said the awning
man, "would last longer and look bet-
ter if you'd dry 'cm out when they got
wet.
"Some folks will leave their awnings
down to, soak and drip all through a
heavy rain. I never could understand
why people do that; of course it doesn't
do, an awning any more good than it
would any other fabric to soak it in.
that way, and then drip may fall on. the
awning from the roof and flying soot
may lodge on it, and so if you keep your
awnings demi in the rain the first thing
,you know they are faded, discolored and
dingy.
"If yon want to preserve your awnings
you want to haul them up when it rains,
but if they get wet, why, thou when
theair is right you want to lower them
and let them city nut, *IA be Cure they'-
re dry when you furl 'eni before you g�
away in the summer. "---New York 5,��