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Show 5ARTBEOJLIFE. INTERNATIONAL PRESS ASSOCIATION rt'.MTItt IlI.-ffMTisrrn., "Perhius It would be hotter for me not to change my dre-s. If I am likely to Infringe upon ibe dinner hour." said Constance, at In r (i au l.or door. "Oh, 1 do mil think my coiuln would approve of Mill" cx.-himcd her ein-phallc ein-phallc cnn.lui tress. Then she nnieniled her Inulvertin.e "nf course, Mrs. Withers la tlm pinper Judge of her own actions, and 1 main not appear to dictate, dic-tate, bin my i'oiimh is punctilious on some points, .m l iln. matter of ladles' attire Is one of tlo- e. 1 hae knawn him so long that 1 am runversnnt with all his amiable po. ui:niitle. I am confident con-fident he would lie pleaded tn see Mrs. Withers assume Hie head nf her table In full dinner toilet. Hut aa I remarked, I do net presume to dictate, to advise, ad-vise, or even suggest. Mrs. Withers Is undisputed empre.s here." Having run trippingly through this speech, she Inflicted In-flicted a third remarkable courtesy upon the novice, and vanished. "Hhe Is underbred and a meddler," decided ( onstance, while she made a rapid toilet. "I hate to lie addressed In the third person. 1 thought It a form of speech ronllned. In this country, to klti lion maids and dry goods store clerks." I Ilcfore h could Invent herself In (ho dinner dresi that lay uppermost In her trunk the bell rang tn summon her to the evening meal, and three minutes thereafter the footman knocked at her door with the message that Mr. Withers With-ers had aent for her. "I ahnll be down directly. Tell him not to wait for me," she said, hurriedly. hurried-ly. She dU not expect lo be taken at her word, but upon her descent to the dining room she behold her husband ies led at the foot of the board and Miss Field at the head. The latter laid down the aoitp ladle and Jumped up, fussily, "Here shell, now. I resign my rhali to one who mil fill It more worthily thon I hsve ever done." "Keep your place, Harriet!" ordered hor klnsmaa. "Mrs. Withers will waive her claims en this occasion, since she Is late," dnlrnntlng a chair at hla left as that Intended for Constance's orou- : pancy. "We would havs waited for . you. Constance, had I heen leas faint and weary. My physician has repeal- i edly warned me that protracted abstinence absti-nence la detrimental to my digestion. Hnrrlot, here, understands my constitution consti-tution so well that I am seldom, when at home, a sufferer Irom the twinges of dyspepsia, Uuit have afflicted ma In my sbsence." I "Those UnrrtMe public table." cried Mrtlet."f ansure you I neter sat (Iowa to a meal when you were away without sighing over your evil plight In being subletted to the abominable cookory and Intolernnie nours oi ooieis. ' "I dd not know you were a dyspep-1 tic," sbBerved Constance. '('You seemed ' to enjoy good health during our tour." ' "Ttat waa because Mrs. Withers' does lot yet comprehend your marvel- ) ous patience- the courage with whlrh you bear puln, and the unselfishness that Iteds you to conccnl lis ravages from the eyes of others." explained Mlrs I'Vld. ogling the Interesting sufferer, suf-ferer, who was discussing a plate of excellent whits soup with a solemnly conscious air. "Now that you are safe under your own roof, we will soon undo Ibe mischief that has been done. You do not know what a prlte you have won, Mrs. Withers, until you have Been him Is the retlrary of ho.iie. Hla vlr-lura vlr-lura an such ss Nourish In perfection In the shadow of his own vine and fig-ree; fig-ree; sn-d their sweetest perfume upon the domestic hrurth." "Aa you perceive, my good cousin's . partiality for me tempts bor to become j soetlrally extravagant in bor expres-tlont," expres-tlont," Mr. Withers said to his wife, In pretended apology. looking well pleated, nevertheless. "I could not have a more patient auditor aud-itor thn Mrs. Withers, I nm suro," rejoined re-joined Harriet. "Mrs. Wllhe.-s will never tsk exception to my tiouest n-'hualasm," CHAPTER IV. Jf ONSTANCE an-' W swered by her ster-Jfi ster-Jfi eotyped, languid l 'a. smile, wondering vyJ.J' only ut the compla- cency wllh whlrh a IlI'ijC man of her spousu's rH'-rVavBv years aud shrewd-'vV- ness hearkened to the bold flattery of his parasite. The exhibition eeescd to astonish her before she hnd lived lo the same house with the cousins cous-ins for a month. Within the came period pe-riod she was gradually reduced to the posltloo of a cipher In the management of the establishment. After that first day Mlu Field bad not ottered te abdicate abdi-cate the seat at the head of the Uble, except st the only dinner party they hud given. Then tbe handsome Mrs. Withers appeared In penrl-colorod satin sat-in and diamonds aa the mistress of cer-ctnunlnto cer-ctnunlnto a duzen sulistuntlul citizens snd their expensively attired wives, endured en-dured tbe two hours spent st table, snd the two duller ones in the great parlors, par-lors, where tho small company Boomed lost and everybody lalked pa If afraid of his own voice ."m was no gayer tlinn the toat by the time thn entortulnuiont was half over. The iitmo-nhore of respectable re-spectable stupidity ws Infectious, and tnls pervaded every noul; ef hor now borne, la btr brother's liout.o sbo bad had young visitors, and there was, at ' the dullest, the hope of release to con- , sole her. No she was "settled In life," j could elt down with Idle hands and spend hor days in contemplation of her grandeur. Hhe had married well. No- I body lookrd nskance nt her when old , maids were the subjects of pity or rldl- j rule. The mint censorious rould not couple her name with the dread word j "dependence. " She had no household euros. Mr. Withers and Miss Field relieved re-lieved her of nil such. And the mlsiresa of the mansion was left to her own devices? Tty no moans. If her husband were fastidious, he was also tyrannical. He dictated not only what dress bis wife should nppenr In 1 dally, but also what laces and ornaments orna-ments she should sport; at what hours ho should take the nlr: whom she must visit and whom Invite: what songs alio should sing tn htm when he asked for music In the evening, and when Iho day should close tho day so wenrlsome In Its similitude to nil that had preceded and those whlrh should follow It, "My cousin Is s man with aspirations above the frivolities of fnshlnnnble life, nml excitement Is Injurloiui to his hrallh," Miss Field nollfled the hrble that day after her home-bringing. "I fear Mra. Withers will tire of the even tenor of our way." I "I like quiet," Constance replied. I Hut sho did not mean stagnation. She was mnrrled In April, and on the llrst of July the trio removed to Mr. Withers' country seat. Hero Constance waa to find that the dead level of her exlatenee had yet a lower piano of dullness. dull-ness. There waa not a neighbor within 1 four mllea, hardl a farm house in sight. "We recruit here after the dissipation dissipa-tion of the winter," Mlsa Field suld, ' ! enjoylngly. "Tho aolllude Is enrnptur-1 enrnptur-1 lug. One csn sleep all day long If she ! likes." This proved to be her favorite method meth-od of recuperating her exhausted energies. ener-gies. Mr. Withers, too, liked a postprandial post-prandial siesta, "prescribed by his phy-slrlun phy-slrlun as eminently conducive to digestion." diges-tion." Constance was nol more lonely when they slept than when they were awnke. The horrible sterility of her life was not to be ameliorated by their Bo-'clety. Bo-'clety. If commonplBcenraa lie a crime, I Mr. Wlthera and his cousin were offenders of-fenders of an aggravated type. Hnrrl-let's Hnrrl-let's affectations snd F.lnathan'e pletl- tildes were to the torturod senses of the I third person of the party less endura-' endura-' Me than the rlrada's shrill monotone 'through ths hot summer day, and" ta katydid's endless refrain at night, Hor ! chains, which had hitherto paralyied her by their weight, began to gall and fret Into her aplrll. Bho grew unequal In temper, nervous snd restless, under the restrictions Imposed by her spouse. An Insane Impulse beset her to defy his J authority and set at naught his counsels: coun-sels: to rush Into some outrageous freak that should shock him out of hla ' propriety snd provoke the prudish load ! cuter to nrMurul speech snd action. I This madness was never stronger i than on one August afternoon when aha I escaped from the house, leaving the cousins to the enjoyment of their recuperative re-cuperative napa In their respective chumbera. and look her way to the mountain bark of the villa. She had never explored It. tempting as waa Iho shade of the hemlocks and pines that grew up to the summit, snd the walls of gray rock re ruled throng! the rifts lot the foliage. A current of fragrance, the odor of the resinous woods, flowed ! down to greet ber ere she reached the (outskirts of the forest, snd the lulling murmur of the wind In the evorgreen boughs wsb like tho sound of many and wooing waters. The lender green tassels of tho larches tapped her head ss she bowed beneath their law branches, branch-es, snd the wide hemlocks were spread j In benediction above ber. Bho was i alone with nalttrsfree for one abort hour to think her own thoughts and, act out her dealrea. She laughed aa a bushy cedar knocked off her hut at the Instant that she tore ber dresa upon s bramble. "They are leagued wltb my legal proprietor In the commendable business of repressing tho lawless vagarlca of those who cannot get tholr fill of nat-I nat-I ural beautlea throusih the windows of la stato chariot. Hut I shall have my ' frolic all the same." I Another and a higher peak tempted jher when ahe had ant for awhile upon a boulder crowning the first, revelling j In thn view of valley and hill, Includ-j Includ-j Ing tho basin In whlrh nestled the i house, and the plain opening eastward j toward (he sea and civilisation. The second height waa precipitous, In some places almost perpendicular. From treading fearlesaly and rapidly from crag to crag, ahe came to pulling herself her-self up gravelly banka by catching at the stout underbrush, and steadying j herself among rolling atones by tufts of wiry grass. Hut she kept on, and forgot aching feet, scant breath and blistered hands when she stood finally upon a broad plalrau hundrcda of foot above tho house, that had dwindled Into a toy cotlago. and the environing ' plantations of trees llko patches In an 1 herb garden. i "This Is life!" alio rrled out In a and-don and-don transport, nml dim Bat her down upon a ou:diliui of gray moss In the slmdiiw nf a cod ir, to gaze and wonder mid rejoice. She made n ill.uovory presently. A sorlriK, cVar and Imtieluous, hurst jfioiu bctuc-n two overhanging rocka, i - s valley, babbling with sll Its little I might. It wns Joined, before It bsd I, gone many foot, by ottier rivulets, and , from a point midway In the descent, e here the cliffs were steepest, camo up j the snout nf a waterfall. This, snd the tireless murmur of tho evergreens, mnile up the mue of this upper sane- Li tuury, until Constance's voice rose front ' , the rooky table, sweet, full, exultant: - "Tho wild streams leap with headlong . sweep In their curliless course o'er the moun- t 1 tain ateop; All fresh and strong they foam along. Waking the rooks with their cataract f song. I; My eye bears a glance like the beam on f a Innen ' As I watch the waters dash and dance, I burn with glee, for I love to see f The path of anything that's free. I love I love -oh. I love the rreo! I love I love -I lovn the free! r, I "The skylnrk springs with dew on his ' . w Intra, ! And up In the arch nf heaveu ho sings I 'Trn-ln-tra-la" Oh. sweeter far J, I Than the notes that come through a j, golden bar. The thrall and Uie stato of the palace f gate Are whit my spirit has learned to hate." The strain eenped abruptly, snd. In I place nf the rapt musician, borne sbovn the power of earthly woes to crush and petty vexations lo sting, a woman grovelled grov-elled upon the mossy cushion, weeping hot, foei tears, and beating against the rough rock with a rbild'a folly of des- 1 peratlnn Ibe whllo hand that wore the 1 badge of her servitude. What wsi she but s rngod bird, bidden bid-den to preen Its feathers and warble the notes Its masler dlrtnted between golden bars? A slave to whom stnte snd thrall meant one snd thn snme abhorrent thing? What had she to do henceforward with dreams of beauty and freedom she, who had sliieii away her liberty of aplrll and pnrann. . voluntarily accepting In their atead i the most foul rupllvlty a pure and up- right woman ran know? Hhe felt hor- , self to be utterly vlln plague-spotted ': In soul snd flesh In the lonely subllm- j Ity of this mountain temple a leper. , condemned and Incurable, constrained ' lo cry out at the approach of every ( passer-by, "Unclean! unclean!" It ! would have been better for her to bog ber bread upon tho doorsteps of the J wealthy, and, falling that, tn die by the wnynlde with starvation and cold, than j to live the life of nominal rnspectabll- I I Ity and abundance, of real degradation .' i and poverty, whlrh were now hers. .. - - ( The toars were dried, but ahe atlll ant " . on ths gray carpet, clutching angrily at It and the wild flowers pruning , l through nm crevices of tho r.)ck, rend- . , Ing them as passion had torn her: her , bosom boavlng with ths unspent waves i of excltomenl and a mutinous pout upon her Hps, when a crackling among? j the brushwood thrilled her with an uncomfortable un-comfortable sensation of alarm, Ilcfore ahe -ould regain her feet or concert her scheme of defense or flight, the nearest cedar bougha were pushed aside, and a man stepped Into the area fenced In by the hardy mountain moun-tain evergreens. Wllh subsiding fours, ss her quick eye Inventoried Ihe vsrl- " ous partlrulHrs of hla neat traveling; suit, gentlemanly bearing, pleasant ' conntennnco and -deferential aspect toward herself, Constance arose, visibly (, einhnrrassed, but dignified, and await- 1 ed hla pleasure. The stranger betrayed neither surprise nor confusion. Walk- j Ing directly up to her, he removed hla i , hut, bowing low, with a bright, cordial J smile. "Unless I itn greatly mistaken t I have the pleasure of seeing my broth- j er's wife. And you are more familiar , with my name and my handwriting j than with my face. I am Mdward With- I ers!" (to aa coxtihus i.i ( |