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I DARK | 1 STREET? I Or, | THE ACTOR S | DAUGHTERS.| By F. W. Robinson. | irrepressible author. I would nfck vou to atop Inside, Mr. Lissumer, but?" "Pray do not let mo detain you," I said; "I will see your sister for a few minutes, If she will allow mo." "My sister Is not In this evening," Aid Delia nt once. "Indeed!" I said, betraying very clearly my astonishment at this statement. "She Is not likely to be with rac for many a long day, I fear," Delia continued, with a little sigh; 'but perhaps you had better stop In and hear the story. You arc one of ths family now, you know," she added, rery cheerfully, "und I have been enjoined by George to trust \ou always, and I can do that?Inip'Acltly." "I hope so," 1 replied. 1 "This is hardly etiquette," she aid, leading the way into the parlor, ;whero an oil lamp was burning, "but oclety will not make n stir about It In our case. Sit down, Mr. Llssamor, while I tell you what has happened. I will not detain you many mlnuteo." She pointed to the chair I had ocfiiiiifod last nlirht hv thn f\rr>Rlrlr? 1 took It, noticing that the flic wns burning brightly, and that the lamp had not been turned low, as a prudent housewife would have done had he been going to loavo the house for awhile. Delia Nash seomed to read my thoughts with surprised quickness. " "When I go out I don't like to leave the Impression to any one who may be lurking in 'Dark Street' that the house is deserted,' Bhe sshl; "so ninety-nine puts on its brightest and yest aspect when there Is nobody I at home." "I see," I answered slowly. "And now about Hyaclntha," said Delta, very readily. "Well, that book you took away with you htBt night In answerable for my sister's tllttlng. But then we do flit to uud fro?liko the batB." I was silent. "That horrible, ugly, bloodcurdling book, reeking of the hospital and the slaughter house, Is the motive force," Delia continued. "She has gone to Northborough?to your .wlae friend, Tracey?with a recommendation from Mr. Fairfax to bo (? ! .. *" * hear II ' >') loiiv _ 11 " Sh- did noi ?! o; lu tio la.- nl>. it .had ftl.t 1 houf 11 it ' [? it possible " though, as I told George that it .would when he was foolish enough to lend it to her; and George hud spoken of the possibility of cure. too. 'And so"?shrugging her shoulders? "this is the result. I am alone in the great city, my lover and my sister having both deserted me." "When did your sister go?" "This morning," she replied. "George Fairfax might have escorted her for some part of the Jour*ey last night." "Oh, no! she would not have gone With him," Delia looked a little grave as she said this; then she said, "Hut It has happened for the best, though I am always nervous when IKactntha takes those audden tits into l^y head, and goes away without warning." "sno la very impulsive, evidently." "She makes up her mind suddenly, | and not always unwisely," hu1?1 Delia; "and here seemed a chance akin to salvation, if the man Tracey were to bo believed. And so she hurried away, and it may be for the best, as I say, for I should have had to leave her too much alone here, and the neighborhood is not lively, and this 1b a dull, dead house enough." "It will be especially dull for you till she returns." "I shall not mind. I do not grieve as Hyacintha does, and George will not be long away. And there are my rehearsals, and presently the acting, to keep me busy. And I am not obliged to stay here if I get afraid of the place. I can share rooms with one or two of the girls In the company. I can go? But you lire not Interested In my plan of action, are you?" she Id, starting to"her feet, "and time 4a oft t Vift ralww# ? ? ?1 ..iv niup, auu u iiiuntigci wilt) has been kopt waiting Is a terrible thin# to confront. You will excuse me, Mr. Llssamer, ! nrn sure." Hho wus anxious to be gone now. Her faco wuh flushed, and there was a nervousness In her manner that Twas new to me. She talked with the rapidity and fluency of last night, but she kept her dark eyes flxed upon me, us If to make sure of the effect her words were conveying words "which seemed to have framed themselves Into something like excuse?., and those far too numerous to lull suspicion?rather to create It, had I been Inclined to reegard the matter suspiciously. I was sensible of a sud- j dr>n antauronlstlc feeling to this fair rnifi turn oc ton&S woman controuuug tun Kl rho wU anxious?natural as that n? might uO?to get me out of the house. >jc "I am sorry I have detained you :t 30 long," I said, rls'.;??, "yours U n painful position, and I do not, as ni George Fairfax's friend, care to conElder you as the only inmate of this K, house, 1 am Euro George would not ( like it." ^ I "Ho knows 1 can take euro of my- >)1 self wonderfully well," situ said, with a light laugh, "and I am not subject to nervos. I have fought too long v! and hard a battle since 1 have been aa woman to give way over ugaiu." :jc nn? fhiM'.. ? : nn KAnnanItu t.. your nerves to the test. You are m completely alone In this house, you !'. tell mo?" ha "Yes." an "Will you allow me from the fam- SV1 llles of my poor und respectable pa- j tlents to select for you a fetnnle com- ,v? oanion or servant?some one who ,k can assist you. and take off your ?o hands? " "Oh! thank you?no," she enld, Vj, Interrupting me. "That is like your ,jo old kindness, your consideration for 'o< us. You are very good. Mr. I,issn- <\c iner, but I would prefer to bo alone y hero." jh "It Is u strange preference." v. r "I can leave the houee nt any mo- a meut If I get too dull," she said: tin "but I shall not bo much In the house j|< ?hardly at all. And I have plenty ho of female friends of my own, end ? he But I have said all this before. And tin you will not understand mo, or you m< profess not to understand mo? no which is it?" she cried, petulantly. ar. "I have no more to urge," I said, ch la mild reply, or reproof. "1 was thinking that George Fairfax would ti not adiulre the petition in which j ou ro ar? pluced." ?vj "IIo would let me have my own way; ho would not argue with me; at be is good and kind and bravo and gy generous and trustful. God blest1 r.o lini for the bent man I over mot!" th dio exclaimed, with sudden and deep hi pathos, as she turned away her head, tii and passed one gloved hand rapidly av leross her eyes; "and yet if lie had nn never met with me it. would have th been so much the better. Ho do- uo served some one so much b'dtei than rni [ am. It-? llut there, 1 am a l'ool," dy she said, frankly; "1 am giving >on n fo bit of my hlstrionle powers instead (-j of hurrying you off the pivmi s end Betting away to the theater." Ull "I am ready," I said. th \V.? . ... .... ... .. .. .4* w?' |?t? x I in with the pa lor door open and tlio lamplight streaming from the room. t-s Iier hand was ou tho lock of tho m, Btroot door before 1 could take tho office upon myself, when * :d lonly ttV there was a noise above . Irs a scuttling, unmistakable noi.e tint rrr was too real to be Ignored, and which held her, us well ns me, spellbound. She stood with her hand upon tho lock, looking back toward tho staircase, her face full of a new fear and J surprise, and 1 could see her panting (j( very much, like a woman who had been running. y< "Miss Nash, there Is someone la Ht the house," I said. of "No?no ? impossible!" she exclaimed. "It is you who are nerve.is, g, pot I. 1'rav let us be goinir \i> I t?? ' " - . ,, at "Come away," said Delia, laintly; U1 "It Is no concern of yours, ir." I;1 "Miss Nash, you have deceived mo for some purpose of your own. 1 am |? here as a friend ?as Fairfax's friend |-j ?as yours, if you are in need of ;ip one, Miss Nash. If you will onl> ? f, plain. ar "I have nothing co explain to yrtu," she cried. "I must Insist, Mr. Idsaa- t.o mer,. irpon your leaving my house." qj "No, Miss Nash," 1 sai:l, stonily; "1 am going to soo who is In hiding .,s in the rooms above. There is a mys- ' in torv here; I have already beeti warned of danger lurking here, and at till t,;) hazards I will go." tu "You dare?" "1 dare." lo "Go, then," she said, angrily. But the Instant afterward she tot- o lored toward the room we had ro- kV, ceutly quitted, and 1 heard u faint cry of grief a wail as it won- of de- ;jr spair escape, as I went slowly and doggedly up the uncarpeted stairs. "For George Fairfax's sake," I ni( muttered to myself as I passed up ,a into the darkness that had followed hn the light there. "I CHAPTRR XIV ?? IX TIIK fl'ST-WUS ItOOM. 'a< IWIONT m\ way slowly and cau- ,a tiously up the uncarpeted stairs, a man upon guard. When I had turned ,r the corner of the first flight it became n more Impressed upon my mind that I was not ait lug wisely. 1 was at the j mercy of any unprincipled man: 1 was unarmed and in the dark, a strange house In an unpopulated i, street. I knew so little of these T Nashua, and what I did not know after all, was fraught with suspicions. Still, 1 gropeY my wa dog- .r godly toward tin- ton floor, in th front room of which it man was lurk Iiil' 1 felt my heart bfiitln. a iiir faster, as though '1"' niyster.. which I was surrounded, or the r.:;- I certainty of what mliiht lie before I ,. me, or be presented in the next lew j , moments, had shaken I It,it strength j ,, of nerve of which at times I hiid been ' , j Just a trifle vain. 1 was at the top of the house at i .( lost, wondering ?\hnt I should do if w( I found the d< or locked against me. | T did not. ic-.-uj.te, however; I felt like a man who would decide quickly p., for M' and pet it over. 1 must TOBEfr tow the worst, or ooai?aim mt ?u id to it. I did uot oven knock at the door fore I turned tlio handle and stood last within the room. Politeuess, ider tho circumstances, seemed too uch out of place. It was a bedroom upon which I id intruded, and. lying in bed. with torn coverlet drawn closely up to s chin and held there by two trera** lug, daw like hands, w as u muu ;k unto death. It was the man with the green face io lt.nl watched me down the street t night, and who now lay watching > again, with every expression of Miln 1 and moral trepidation that a ntcd, half-demented animal might ipl.iy. Thero were some shabby agings to the forepart of the bed, d they and tho curtain ring* from liclv they were suspended shook th tho terror of tho Invalid. IT.1 in a man about my own age, probly, and might have possessed at me time or other a full share of od looks', but It was a wasted, astly, horror-3trlekon countenance w; a galvanized corpse would have iked like it. possibly. The eyes re de p set In tho head, and hard distinguishable from tho black n lows underneath them. The room is nlmo t destitute of furniture; on wainscot washstand In a corner of c room a fragment of a tallow onn) was dickering oat Its last haH ar of light?a symbol, as it might , of the fitful life before me. On [> mantelpiece wore two or throe div ine bottles, ono of which was arly full, and bore tho Inscription d th? written Instructions of a oral ' .it t'amberwoll. Tl. . was bare ami Ill-kept ioi , a lire burning In tho narw ;;i,i' \ anil a kettle on the hob >u palling forth a jet of steam. "At last! you have found me out last, then," said the man. In no ttural and gasping a tone that It undod as If his own death-rat) was acting as Interpreter for m. "Well, you're n bit behind ne, us usual, and I can't bo tflkon fay. It wouldn't bo human to drag : away in this condition?It's more an im life's worth, and you dare it do it. Mind you, it would bo ardor---willful murder, for I am in;;: you can see that plain enough r yourself, and so you'll let me dio peace, won't you? For the Lord's ko, sir. say you will." He grew are excited in Ills pleadings and e wooden curtain rings clattered i lr accompaniment as lie lay shmlring there. It was my task to 10>,uro him, by way of comment ecuit. "I have not come to take you my," I said "Thank flod!" answered the man, atefully. "I 51111 linro I ll/llif O felmul ' T Idod. "Aren't you til the police?" "No." "Not In the police!" h<> woniringlv. "You pledge your iminor1 soul you are not In the police, on hope you may he struck dead, gliding there, nt otne, if you're one hat lot. Hay that, will you? Thin n't a trick, a new dodge, to get >ld of mo?" ?out n.' uy in-iveii. i uon t ace it, id I don't want to he worried any ore." I shut the door, nt which 1 had en standing, and advanced toward :n cautiously. He begun to tremble ;nln us I approached and the curIt i iip?v !i1i<iv*a* hte.wl f a pint tor rosh. "You are In tin- police," he mutred. "It i. a trick- 1 knew It was. ' .-ill the cursed liars?" "What Is the matter with you? ' I ked, taking hold of his thin wrist il feeling his pulse. My touch "tiled to reassure him, and he went r':< with 11 swing?as of a penduiii to hN sullen and defiant mood. An., i ting you like to call It; It s not matter. It ends la grim nth, and that's sufficient and coneng." lie added, snatching his hand ay. "You have been suffering from dolum tremens." "What If I have?" "You require more careful trentnt and vigilant nursing than you .1 get here. You should he In the spital." "Ah!" lie said phlegmatlcally; t h tu iit i iv. .miii wiuit riK"v ve you to come up hore and jaw to :?! You know nothing about my re except what I have told you. If were not dying 1 should go Into ml servitude, and that's about as iod a lookout as tho other. I'd as on (ii I'd rather die and make an tl of It. What the foul (lend has It 1 to do with >on?" "Who says you are dying?" "T'i re's not lunch doubt of it. Is en?" he aid. with a fresh awakilng of interest. "I cannot say at once." "If 1 liio -ilt then was the ghost a e banco that I could pull Vough," i aid, In a low tone of . "If fare weren't so many at Ions; If I had more than ; if my brain were clear; if 0 ild crawl about less like a toad; 1 did not fool half dead already; if o: o accursed cranii s did not come ir.a i.ie night and day and day and nht, and rack the soul of me; If I d not see such horrible thlnjrs, end iv to fi^ht with all of them; if I are oni> h ?1 f the man 1 waa before married l )t-lIn " Yo.i! You are Delia Na h'a husa 1! Say that again " "I'ni.U \ nil believe It?" be said. .k? fl,ji JL^ { 15th . "Oh, they haven t toiu you i I then! Whtit's that for, I won ! What tlie devil does that mean "1 am not in the eonlldence ol Bisters," 1 said, "aud I have eeeti Delia twice In lay life." "Why did ehe send >ou up ho me, thou? Who did she tell y was?" "I have coino u pat alia against wish," I replied: "you watched from this house last night and 1 apprehensive of some danger." "You are curious," uald the i very sullenly again. "Had I what 1 was oveu last week, it w have been as much as your life worth to come spying upon Hut I iilll onlv il child I nan do what ho ltkei e.nd inauu mo. i tho sick llou, and the foxes asses couio to my den to spit at It's the way of the world. I ( care?I don't euro?1 don't c.ire "You must not excite yoursel sold. |>ossil>ly my professional all predominant; "you are desire your chance." "ilv vdj.-cn?*" ar screamed, still higher hay. "'7ou say I have a chance, then? -My t is it possible is it r< ally poasl I>ld you say a chance for life for ITow do you know? What makes think ko? What can have put it your head that I can live? Hy II (mj! If it's true, I'll remember yo the first prayer 1 will teach my out of eternal gratitude tor till win. I?? He came suddenly to a full i and lay and gasped for breath, struggled desperately, till 1 rt his head higher upon ills pillow, i trl "1 to speak again after I had * I mi>, uui n \\:>s noyontl nI?> po i and when 1 raised my linger to to be cautious, tho effort cease 1, he lay watching iue very earn and breathing very hard. "What am they giving you lr way of medicine?" 1 said, procei to the mantelpiece and taking u| : bottle which I hud already no ! was nearly full and had the u< i label,on it. "is this tho last? i J try to speak yet, but nod If 1 j right." Tho man nodded, and I read Inscription, the chemist's nana', the Instruction as to time and <i tity, before I held the bottle to llj-cht, took the cork therefrom, smelted and tasted the coat* Then there was a long and sol ' pause. I felt faint for a moment covered myself and that conipo from which 1 had been startle* though I had been Beared by a ! Iron. "What Is it?" he whlspi huskily. "Nothing." "What's tho matter?" "Nothing." I "What are you?looking like for?" he croaked, slowly. lie was a man of keener obsc tlon than 1 had thought; but he watching nie like a l\nx. "tfoil't keen talk tin;, man." I i sharply. "Have I not told yoi keep quiet? I will ehange this n cine for you; this is no good." "Nothing does any good to i he murmured. "It you had too-?wit j grave ind new hoi ; for 1 ady that t j was a 11 the vial w I heh and that man's en plotted wailed | TION. I"* Hit feature of m rk Street which !y unprep. What t ?>i such e goncy i occur to nit was be .ether to k what v lit. What my dut in jeopard this 111; ild not so once. 1 leaned against the mailt* lj and tlit ?1 to think it oat t un! methodically; to set the alt ma the first place in my thonyhts, to put aside tin host of do hi BUSplclortS COtlt.t lea . illi tan Bisters Nash?with tnou. l'ai ?with all th*' Incident., of t:ie two nights which I had spent in I don. It became clearly lrJ; < . > r i my mind that this nan f<> coveted by some om- viio. t. ; a I tlve of self-inter st, I d not * : i | to aim at Its destrnclia |* did seem difficult to gues he t. <ti\. 8ttr? ly lay before me, w> < ear distinct, in red letters. ; *,i hloo was terrified, but I w;? ot unn i I had risen to the sitiutlon, as phrase ran. "Do you think you lave stre enough to get away ir.m her* nsKGii. :nou your livnilaunin fjprnli." Hut ho dlsr< garde 1 my In i tions. "When?" ho . :.< ;l "At once." "What <1<> you want in? to 1 for?" he said, more in I i o] i of voice. ! "The place and lo Mir.oand arc not healthy for jon i . i much bettor away. 1 can a rh for you, out ot tills ho is " "And If I hoop to it "You will die." "You need not ask ; <? w.d. t\f\ flu HI ' 1 * ? '-iil ? by a rucUIpii short 1.i i: tliat singularly liko 11: bar of a t "although. mind n??n. U H i> IKJ , 16th, lint# t of this 1* ? risky piece of DOglasss." dor7 i know itt but I hope you will chance that." r the "You aowni dovlllsh anxious about OT*'>* nie all of a sudden" "Yours Is au Interesting oas , and re to J should like to try iny haud ut It uiyou I Belf." "Oh' make experiments upon mo. her yon mean?" I mo "Yes, if they will help to save your was life. Why not?" "Another reason. Because ?let's man, have It." he said, insolently now. b'en "1 may offer you another reason ould presently." was "But?" mo. "But I am not going to allow you to la"c- when so much talk Is bad for " von: I am going downstairs to buk' g. st this change to jvui ..I."-. niiu B0(, jj- approves of it," I said, in m? as matter-of-fact a way as it was ', !.n 1 possible for iue to assume. f( "Ah. yes; see what she anys, and ' tell her that you think if will be best, will you? That I'm agreeable r.nx i!'B iouS. That she can nurse me as well iu any other house as this. Then she 111 won't mind; then " ' ' ; lint he run on too fast, and was compelled to come to mi abrupt con' elusion. He lay panting again for his "" ' breath, and unable to articulate ou further. IIo was terribly weak. 1 11 ? was not so sure that I could save Mm. Was 1 even sure that he was u " worth savlng?--looklng down upon ] him critically, and watching his B" I scowling, sin-steeped countenance. I "I will retuta shortly," I snld to j him. crossing to tho door. nn? j Ho nodded in assent, his eyes fol1 i lowlmr everv movement that 1 made. ll? I When I had opened It In* found the llo,i0 ! strength to scream at me. to sit up wor: 1 in be suddenly, and point with one ,1,m , lone shaking finger to tho medicine nm* i vial, which 1 still held In my hand, cstly ; "What?what?" "I am takinu this away." i tho I "To put something In It! My GodJ ding I see now you urc- " !? the ' I went hack to his bedside. At my tiood touch iiiiou bis .shoulder he fell back west into a. recumbent position, lis though ion't I had struck him down to It. am "Von must not excite yourself in this way," 1 said, very sternly; "If the you value your life, you risk its Inst and chain i do you hear nio??your lust iniii- chance, by going on in this insane the fashion I must take the medicine and away; 1 have no fnith in it. 1 am very its sure it Is doing you more harm tliun inn good. I will not even trust you with v*>. it WflHvct I fitli nntvn cln<Hu *' sure will not touch It when -when It 1 ,v: cOmes hack again. Not I!" ho gasphot j g& out. "Touoh nothing more in this led, house." I said. lie strangled Into u Hitting position again, till I put him gently back Into his luce. On his face 1 saw the warning which I had conveyed? that which 1 ' ought it my solemn duty to convey t ,e effect at once. It hud rva- hardly mod possible for those was 1 foai i res : . ssume u more unearthly j greenish hu than they hud hitherto said, presented, hut they did. I was eoni to scions at on. o that I had said too iedl- much; that regards this sufferer I had made a n islake. I haste-nod to mo." rectify it so i as it lay In my power. n 111 I a a i u-v "11 sen-repression and your imro|.. plli.it obedience. Otherwise, 1 fall." liorc ' l'''s Vt'iy earnestly with lileh 111 1 x, > n.\? (l on hlni, as a mesmerist thi;- I,ll; ' N,> done, anil he succumbed and '-v "lv ,<jrci> of will. He seemed to cower from me at last. "\'< r> wi ll," he said. "K M-p quiet till I return." "I will " 1 went fi<?iii the room and closed the ' 1 "" upon him. Had there been for a "x '" ,!m 'tH'k I should have lockired ,(' f'? "l"? trust had 1 even mer- l'1' " '11 ' 1 w ord. I descended the , U stair, in the darkness to the room on now " ' """""I lloor; 1 knocked, and rewas < iiia no response to enter I turned ns tli. handle and went Into the parlor j ,tt uninvited 1 had t;> find the room . empty, ! . ...a Nash gone, hut she ' v.:.- at the table, before u ( i writing rapidly, her bonnet " and mantle lying on the floor at her I ' ' ' feel, where she had Hung them In her new determination not to leave ,uo the house. Site did not look up as I li!,x entered, but eotitinucd to write on In great haste. She was a fluent eorre- j (,n~ 1 spondent, It was evident, and with no ' ) laek of Inspiration; the pen traveled 1 ipon over the paper with a rapidity that was seemed marvelous to me. She was mo- very white, and the face was hard l,! '1 i Bet the faee of n woman who had not made up her mind as to the next step ' 'I to be pursued. When 1 was standing at her side. ' she looked at me for the first time, resolute ami defiant, and with a cont lie tempt it was not pleasant to confront , on the face of a beautiful women, m;th Her demeanor took me off my ! guard, and for a little while I did not l<Ul't tin ! ...... I . I ? i. i .. i ??i- - 1 i i wiiiii wiiii 11iifii inn ii iii ih r. W?*11p" she salt], "an* you satisiriu fi.'d No. in idauu?; I'ar from satisfied." I!.iv. (iu l omo to an- for furth* r j e\ I'lanat ion ?" l-'< r tin- fullest Information," I f lid, recovering myself "You mlist ask it of your friend George Fairfax; not of me. I mu not 111. y to i xrhanr'' many words with a.ice you; rest assured of that." \ro you writing to him?" ' I am." .Mm iciiiuK mm inai 1 am nero?" h ! " Y< a." Ix>ch ho know of tho man ui> v; Btali H?" SMo did not Answer lno, and 1 ro. I ? 1 tho onostlon. 17th7A He will when he gets this letter, he condescended to reply at lasi. "Do you ttvtnk I would keep any. thing back from hlmt.'1 "Yes." ? The dark eyea flashed at me an extra degree of anger for an Instant, thou they wandered to the closely written sheet before her on the desk. "Perhar? I would?perhaps I would," she murmured almost to herself. ""God knows I have kept too much back nil my life, and not for my own sake always." "You have acted a strange part. You ?" "Oh, sir, I am an actress," she said, interrupting nie. "Have you forgotten that It Is my profession not in F?l? "ill II" I irmi} olll, IJUl lO lOOK and lulk and breathe, ir possible, iuo some one else?" "I wish to speak of the sick man u pstulrs." "And 1 will not speak of him to you. I)o your worst, and say your worst, Mr. Lissamer. It Is not my duty, I upprehend. to uatlsfy your curiosity." "I think It Is." "I know It Is not," was the quick retort. "To Oeorge Fairfax I_ tell everything?the whole, miserable, heartbreaking story which ruy life has been. I have not kept everything back from him; ho knows already as much as I dare have told him und kept his love for me. But nothing matters now. Here will ho 'the full, true, and particular confession,' " she said, touching the letter on the desk, "which your Interference has extorted from me." "You do not know " "And you do not know, sir, what you have done yet. You will In time, perhaps, and regret It. My sister Hyaclntha thought you one of the best men whom she had ever met; I shall always consider you as one of tho worst. Oh! if Hyacinth a had not left me!" she cried, giving way for the first time now, "and left me to tight this battle all alone?and with you, hard, exacting, merciless, guessing only half the truth ?the worst half -and influenced by it to my discomfiture! But," she added, with a petulant stamp of her foot ,"1 will not explain to you. l'lense go away and leave me to myself." "1 do not ask an explanation now; at some other time I may demand it of you." "You- demand it!" she said, with the old scorn of me once more apparent. "I wish to explain," I said, "and I must beg you to listen patiently for the next few minutes." "1 will try. I am your prisoner lu this house, and can do little in n?v own defense. But 1 warn you?" "What ?" "That I will not answer your questions. and that I dlsnute vonr to put tliein to mo." "I wish to state what Is my next step, and whether you approve of It. To-night I will be content with one answer." "C'.o on. What Is It?" "Your permission to tahe your hushand away with me at once." Shu stared at me long and steadily, as If she di<l not understand ????* from this house." "And placed under your care?" "Yes." "You think that?" "I do." "You are wise in your conceit, Mr. Llssamer," she said satirically, "being unaware that Hyaclntha and I have called In one of the most skillful of physicians to pronounce his opinion on the case." "May 1 ask his name?" She gave it me readily the name of one of the highest ami most famous of niv own profession, and I did not think for an instant that she was deceiving me. much as 1 had reason -to distrust her: and, strange as It may seem to the reader, It was dlfllo.ult to look into her face, and meet the steady light of those dark eves, and believe in the enormity of that offense with which my judgment had condemned her. "When did In- come?" "Yesterday," she said. Then she added. Impatiently, "But 1 said I t\o:ild not rosnoiwt to :inv of >'? I ? " *V J questions and will not answer any more of them. I will say, though, that Herbert At-ton will die hero in peace with ine alone with his injured wife, and with tn.v forgiveness for the life which lie has dqne so much to wreck. 1 do not understand hi w .s11 to go a\va\ if it is Ids wish. I understand still less your wish to late- I'i111 with yon, and 1 do not care fo: any solution you can offer me for this trange proceeding." "Still I must offer It, under theso drcn instances," As you please; hut pray understand I will not let him go," You do not wish htm to live," I said sternly. That is true enough," she replied "His return to life would not mean any tiling but a return to Indignities and enmities and horrors you cannot guess at His death means release and a new life to me. He knows it a* well as I do. He Is prepared for It It Is the only reparation he can make to me to die." ' You own that? You dare to own it?" " Yes." "And to him too?" " Yes." "And he is resigned?" "Yes," she answered, for the third To l?c Conti e<l > ND 1 8 ' * ?r ? T 1 "Tipping'' IH Europ*. According to InimdiPOHul usa^e. Koropean servants *r?? entitled to tips a* an assured part of their Income. At the hotels the theory Is that the landlord furnishes a guest a private rooui and the use of the public rooms, heat and light, food and dishes, hut not mental servive. For convenience ho keeps at hand a corps of servauts who will re*i*>nd to the guest's summons, but at his expense, in ?m times travelers \s ere atteuded by their own servants to wait on them. The modern custom echoes the aucleut. The traveler uo longer carries with him a retinue of servants, because he cau hire temporarily those of the landlord. Tho customary fees are the payment. To avoid feeing Is really to cheat the servants, who noed all they can get. heaven knows. A chambermaid at the beat hotels receives as wugos only about $2 a month. Tipping servants In America Is a regrettable Imitation of the L?uio - |>ruu luniuui nniiuui us resting ua U!C reasonable basis of the foreign Institutions.?Tru wl Magazine. Told Who H? Was. The game warden of Colorado was walking out in the mountains on one occasion when be met a hunter with his gun. The ottlclul suggested that that ought to be a good eouutry for hunting. "It certainly Is," said the hunter proudly. "1 killed one of the finest bucks yesterday I ever saw, and he weighed over two hundred." It was the season when deer may not be shot without subjecting the hunter to a heavy Hue. "Well, that is a line one," said the warden, "and do you know who you arc : .lklng to?" Being nssur cd lb.it he dul not. the official said. "Why, I am the chief ime warden of ; Colorado." The hunter was only taken aback for a moment, when lie asked. "And do you know who you are talking to?" The warden didn't know. "Well, sir," said the hunter, apparently much relieved, "you ure talking ) to the biggest liar in the whole state t of Colorado." Kansas City Star. The Primitive Violin. In Its primitive form the violin was a direct development of the lyre and monochord the strings front the former and the elongated 1k>x, with its sound holes, linger hoard ami movable bridge, from the latter. The history of the violin began with the invention of the bow some time before the thirteenth century, when the voile, or vtelle, used by the troubadours, made its appearance. This Instrument underwent many changes until the middle of the sixteenth century, when the true violin model appeared. The primitive violin had little or no contour. It was not until the thirteenth century that the Me lie was scooped out at the waist. The corner blocks were added In the lirtcenth century and arc attributed to tierinnny. Tor nearly a century the Hound holes were shifted all over the instrument before they were eut iu their proper place and the bridge llxod between them.- Circle Magazine. Two of a Kind. A revival meeting was In progress, and Mister Jones was called upon for testimony, ltciiig meek and humble, for his testimony and, following the example set by Sister Jones, said: "I, too. have been a sinner for more than forty years, and I do uot think It wduld be fitting for me to stand before this ussemhly as a model. I think my place Is behind Uie door, In a dark corner, with Sister Jones." And he wondered why the meeting was convulsed with the laughter of those who came to pray. Tipping the Cook. In old times to dine with u nobleman COSt more In ?.? tl>? . ?i ..j... w ?mi ov? ? iun? man | n r!ul? dinner. Lord 1'oor, a well nam- | oil Irish peer, excused himself from dining with the I Hike of Ormond upon the ground that lie could not ail'ord it. "If you will give me the guinea I huve to pay your cook, I will couie as often as you choose to ask me" ?which was accordingly done. The duke, however, had not tin* pluck to stop the tipping practice. Lord Taafe. a general otllcer j In the Austrian service, did what ho could, lie always attended his guests to the door. When they put their ha mis into their pockets he said: "No. If you do give it, give it to me, for It was 1 who paid for your dinner." To Sir Timothy Waldo must l?c given the credit of putting an end to the monstrous practice. After dinner with the 1 Hike of Newcastle he put a crown Into the cook's hand. It was rejected. "I do not take silver, sir." "Very good. And I do not give gold." This coil rngcnus rejoinder "caught on," and j tlie day of vails to cooks was over.? I j St James' (Jazctte. Strenuous Chivalry. It is complained that modern conditions are killing "the chivalry of the middle ages." Hut mediaeval tales and romances show what that chivalry really was. Wife beating was a common Incident on the part of those knights and gentlemen whose gallantry was a mere convention. The Chevalier do la Tour-Luudry In his book of counsels to his daughters tells tin in the storv of a woman who used to eoutra diet her husfumd iu public. One day, after expostulating in vain, he knock ed her down, then kicked her face and broke her nose. "And so," comment* the good chevalier, "she was distigured for life, and thus, through her lit behavior and bad tempty, she had her nose spoiled, which was a great misfortune to her." Mill not a word is said i about the hit bund's I ratal,ty. th.