be Doetors feWire f BY Vt!SS M. CIIAPTRK XXVI. -(Continued.) lie told (twcmbdhie lor. from being half nmuspd, tin If gratified, by Mr, (fil bert's unconconle 1 Admiration of liltn. to nnivcly rcvenlod In every look nnd tone, It o had, llttlo by little, grown to find tlio Hole luippincM of bin life in those romantic meetings; nnd then bo poko of hh struggles with himself, renl cnrneit struggles hU fiight--his return bis presumptuous belief that Isabel wiild freely eotweiu to nny Htej be might propose bis anger nnd disappoint tnunt after the llnnl l-itervlew, which proved to him Inn- little be bud known tlio deptliH of thnt girlish sentimental heart. "She wns only n ehl'd plnylng with firo, Uwondoline," be .mid, "find bad not the smallest (1pm! re to walk through the furnarc. 'Phut was my nilsmko. She "wns a child, and I niintrnik her for womnn n womttn who saw the gulf be fore her, and was prepared to take the drspornto leap. She Venn (inly a child, pleased with my pro ty speeches and town-undo clothes and perfumed hnnd korehlofs a school girl; and I se my life upon the chump of bping happy with Jut. Will you try and think of hrr an he rcilly Is, Gwendoline not iih these Graybridgo ppople see hrr and be kind to her when I am de;id and gone? 1 ehould like to think she was sure of one wlsu nnd Rood woman for a friend. I have hern very cruel to her, very un just, very sollWi. I wns never in the ante mind about her for an hour togeth er sometime thinking 'tenderly of her, ioinctinios upbrahlhg and hating her bh a triclcHtreyn ami a coquette. Hut 1 can understand her and believe in her much, better now. The sky is higher, Gwendoline." If Roland had told Ills cousin this tory a week before, when his life seem ed all before him, she might have re ceived his confidence in a very different spirit to that in which she now accept ed it; but lie was I'ylug, and hIic had loved him and had been loved by him. It was by her own act that sho had lost that love. She, of nil others, had least right to resent Ids attachment to another woman. She remembered thnt dny, nearly ten years ago, on which ho hnd quarreled with him, htung by Ma roproacbes, insolent In tbo pride of her young beauty and tlio knowledge that he might marry a man no high above Itoland Iinusdell in rank nnd position. She n.iw herself ns sho had been in all the early splendor of her beauty, and Wondered if she really was the same cronturo na thnt proud, worldly girl, Who thought tho suprcniost triumph in llfo wns to become the wife of n mur Quls. "I will be her friend, Itolnnd," she aid, presently. "I know she is very childish, and I will bo patient with Iter nud befriend her, poor, lonely girl." Gwendoline was thinking, ns she said this, of tluit interview In the surgeon's parlor at Gr.iybrl Ige that interview in Which Isabel hud not scrupled to con fess her folly. "I ought to have been more patient," Gwendoline thought; "but I think I was angry with her because she dared to love Itoland. I was j;'a!ous of h's love for her, nnd I could not be kind or tol rnnt." OIIAPTEIt XXVII. Isabel found Gwendoline tender nnd compassionate to her. She only rnlsed her eyes to the hdy's face with n grate ful look. She forgot all about the in tervlew nt Grnybrldgo; what could she remember in tlut room, except thnt be Wns ill? in danger, people had told her; but sho could not believe thnt. The ex- fierlenco of her hushnnd's deathbed had mpressed her with an Idea that dnnger cua illness must ba nccompanied by ter rible prostration, delirium, rnglng fever, flull stupor. Sho saw Kolnnd in one of his best intervals, rensonablo, cheerful, o'.f possessed, nnd she could not be lieve that ho was going to die. She looked nt him nnd snw thnt his fnce wns bloodless, nnd thnt his head wns bound by linen bandages, which con cealed ills forehead. A fall from U horse! Sho remembered how she had een him once rldo upon tho dusty road, unconscious of her presence, grnnd and elf-absorbed; but nmong nil her mus ings she hnd never imagined nny danger coming to him in that shape. She had fancied him nlwnys ns n dauntless rider, taming tbo wildest steed with one light pressure of his linnd upon the curb. Sho never guessed t'ie truth. The med ical men who attended Itoland Lnus doll know thnt the injuries from which ho wns dying bad never been cnused by any fall from n burse; and they said as much to Ghnrlm Itnymond, who wns unutterably distressed by tho Intelli gence. But neither he nor tho doctors could obtain nny ndmlssion from the pa tient, though Mr. Kaymond most earn estly implored him to rovc.il tho truth. "Guro mo if you can," he said; "noth ing that I can tell you will givo you help in doing that. If It Is my fancy to keep the pause of my dentil a secret, it Is the whim of a dying man, and it ought to bo respected. No living cronture upon this earth, except ono mnn, will ever know how I enme by these Injuries. Hut I do hope that you gentlemen will be discreet enough to spnro my friends nny useless pnln. The gonslps nro nt work i1k.nrifltf 1 ilnrft enr amwml i fit,. n u tn what became of tho horso that threw me... For pity's sako, do. your best to top their talk. V t I 1 1 i 1 - J , it. 1 uaaui uuu iusi uji cuum ui lime since E. BRADDON 4 the sudden shock of her husband's denxh; nnd she did not pvmi know the dny of the week. She only knew that the world seemed to hive come to an end, and that it wns very hnrd to be left alone in n deserted universe. For a long time she knelt by her bed side praying that Itolnd I.nusdell might live only that he might live. Sho would bp contented nnd happy, she thought, to know tint all the world lay between her nud him. if she could only know that he lived. Childishly, ignor nntly. ns h child might supplicate for lite life of its mother, did this girl pray fur the recovery of Itoland Lniisdell. No Ihoug'it of her new freedom, no fore shiulowing of what might hnppen if he could be restored to health, disturbed the simple fervor of her prayers. She only wnntt'd him to live. The sun sloped westward, and still li 1 1 ne upon thnt kneeling ligure. Per Imps Isabel hnd a vngue notion thnt the Iciigih of her prayers might prevnil. They were only rambling, unorthodox petition. It is not every mourner who can cry. "Thy will be done." I'itirul and we.ik nnd foolish nro some of (lie Inmcntations thnt rise to tho Eternal Throne. At' last, when Isabel hnd been some hours nlone nnd undisturbed In thnt sun lit chamber, nn eager yeirning (o sec Ii'oland IjiuisiIoII once more came upon her to see him, or, at least, to hear tidings of him; to hear thnt a happy change hud come about; thnt he was sleeping peacefully, wrapt in a placid slumber that gave promio of recovery. All, whnt unspeakable' delight it would le to hear something like this! And sick men had been spared before to day. Her heart thrilled with a sudden rap ture of hope. She went to the door and opened it, and then stood upon the threshold listening. Ail wns silent ns It had been before. No sound of foot steps, no murmur of voice, penetrated tlio massive old walls. There was no passing servant in tlio corridor whom she could question us to Mr. I.nnsdell's state. She waited with faint hope that Gwendoline or the sick-nurse might come out of Roland's room; but she waited in vain. Tho western sunlight shining redly through a lantern iu the roof of the corridor Illumined the somber fact's of the de.id Lans.lells with a factitious glow of life and color; pensive fnces, darkly earnest faces all with some look of the mnn who was lying in the cham ber yonder. The stillness of that long corridor seemed to freeze Isabel's child ish hopes. The Happing of a linen blind outside tlio lantern sounded like the fluttering of n snil at sea; but inside i lie house thero wns not so much us n brenth or u whisper. Tho stillness und the suspense grew unendurable. The doctor's wife moved away from tho door, and crept nearer and no.ircr tho dark oaken door at the end of the corridor the ponderous bar rier that shut her from Rohiud Lans dell. She dared not knock at that door, iost the sound should disturb him. Some one must surely como out into tho cor ridor before long Mr. Itnymond, or Gwendoline, or tho nurse some ono who could give her hope and comfort. Sho went toward the door, and sud denly saw that the door of the next room wns njar. From this room came the low murmur of voices; nnd Isabel re membered nil nt once thnt she hnd seen an upnrtment opening out of thnt in which Itolnnd Lnnsde'.I lay u large, pleasant looking chamber, with n high oaken mantelpiece, nbovo which she had seen the glimmer of guns nnd pistols, and a picture of a horse. She went into this room. It was t mpty, nnd the murmur of voices came from tho ndjoinlng chamber. The door between the two rooms wns open, and she heard something more than voices. Thero wns the sound of low convulsive sobbing; very subdued, but very terrible to hear. She could not see the sick man, for there was a little group about his bed, and a group of bending figures, that mndo a screen bptween her nnd him. She snw CJwondoline on her knees at the bottom of tho bed. with her face buried in fho silken coverlet, and her arms thrown up above her bead; but in the next moment Charles Raymond snw her, nnd came to her. "Como nwny, my denr," he said, soft ly; "come with me, Isabel." "Oh, let me see him! let me speak to him! Only once more only once!" "Never ngnln, lsnbol never upon this earth any more! You must think of him as something infinitely better nnd bright er than you ever know him here. 1 never snw such n smi.e upon a human face as l snw just now on his." Slie hnd no need of nny plainer words to te.l bar be wns dead. Sho felt the ground reel suddenly beneath her feet, and saw the gradual rising of n misty darkness that shut out tho world and do?ed about her like the silent waters through which n drowning man goes down to denth. CIIAL'TKR XVIII. Gwendoline kept her promise; she re pented her Jo.ilous linger against her cousin; she bitterly lamented those occa sions upon which she had felt a mis erable joy In tho probing of his wounds. She looked back, now thnt the blindness of pnsslon hnd pnssed nwny with the pnssing of tho dend, nnd saw herself as sho had really been uiichrUtlnn, Intol erant. uoi8ui.(id uy jealous anger. She never knew thnt pho hnd sent tho man she lotel to his death. Indexible, to iho last, Hol.itid Lnnsdpll hnd kept the secret of that fntnl meeting In Neis borough llo'.Inw. Tho man who hnd entfed Ills denth wns Isabel's father. If Roland hnd been vindictively dispos ed toward his enemy, he would, for her sake, hvo freely lot him go; but ho very vengeful impuUo hnd sllrrod the failing pulse of his heart. Ho wns wnrcply angry with .Inck the Scribe; but rntlicr rec gnir.cd in whnt had oc curred the working of a strnnge fatal ity, or tlio execution of a divine judg ment. In splto of thnt murderous threat ut tered by him In tho dock, In spite of the savage violence of his nttack upon Roland Lnnsdell, Sloaford bad not per haps meant to kill his enemy. Mr. Siea- ford had only Intended to "punish" tho "languid swell" who had borne witness ngiinst him; to spoil Ills beauty for tho time being; nnd, in short, to give him just eat!H for remembering that llttlo amateur detective btisino. by which ho had beguiled tho elegant idleness of his life. Isabel's father had scanely in tended to do more than this. Hut when you heat a man about the head with u loaded bludgeon, it is not so very easy to draw the line of demnrcation between an iisB.itilt and a murder, and Mr. Slea ford did go n little too fnr, as he learn ed a few days afterward, when ho read of the sudden death of Roland Lansdcll, of Mordrod I'r.ory. The strong man, rending this an nouncement in the parlor of a low pub He house, felt an Icy sensation of fear that ho hnd never experienced boforo nmld nil the li.'tlc dutictilties nttendant upon the forcing of negotiable myo graph". This was something more than he hnd bargained for. This business was murder, or something so nearly re sembling thnt list nnd worst of crimes, that a stupid jury might fail to recog nize the distinction. Jack the Scribp, armed with Roland LanadoH's fifty pounds, hnd already organized n plan of operations which wns likely to ro fult iu n very eomfortnble little in come, without iuvolvlng nnything so dis ngreenblo to the feelings of n gentleman ns the il.egal use of other people's names. It wns to the science of money lending that .Mr. Sloaford had turned his attention; and during the enforced retirement of the last few years ho had woven for himself a very neat lit tle system, by which a great deal of interest, in tiie shape of inquiry fees and preliminary postage ntamp could be extorted out of simple-mindeY bor rowers without nny expenditure in the way of principal o:i tho part of the lend er. With a view to tho worthy carry ing out of tills tittle scheme, Mr. Slea ford had mndo nn appointment witii one of ills old nssochtes, who nppoared to him a likely person to net as clerk or undcrlng. and to double that character with the more dignified role of solicitor to tho Mutual Co-operative Frlend-ln-need nud Frio.id-lndeed Society; but af ter reading that dismal paragraph re specting Mr. Lnuslell .Inck the Serlbe's ideas underwent u considerable change. It might bo that this big pleasant me tropolis, in which thero is nlwnys such n nice little crop of dupes nnd simple tons ready to fall proue beneath the sickle of the judicious husbandman, would become, in vulgar parlance, n llt tlo too hot to hold Mr. Sloaford.. Ho obtained nil information about speedily departing steam vessels, nnd curly the following morning, burdened only with a carpct-bng and the smallest of portmanteaus, Jack tho Scribo left, unhlndore.l nnd uuobserved, bound for Africa. And here he drops out of my story, ns the nvenging goddess might disappear from n classic stage when her work wns done. For him, too, n Ne mesis wnits, lurking darkly In some hid den turning of tho sinuous wny nlong which u scoundrel wnlks. "If nny cnlm, n cnlm despair." Such a calm fell nt last upon Isabel .Gilbert, but it wns slow to come. For u long tlmo It seemed to her ns if n dreadful darkness obscured nil the world, a dark ness in which she groped blindly for n grave, where she might lie down and d!o. Was not ho dead? Whnt wns there left In all the universe now that ho wns gone? llnpplly for tho sufferer, there Is at tendant upon all mental anguish n kind of numbness, n stupefnetion of the senses, which in some manner deadens the ohnrpneRS of the torture. For a long tlmo Isabel could not think of what hnd happened within tho last few troubled weeks. Site could only sit helpless and tearless In the little parlor at Gray bridge. It was on the second dny after the surgeon's funeral, the day following thnt infinitely more stately ceremonial at Mordred church that Mr. Raymond came to see Isabel. He had been with her several times during the last few days; but ho had found all nttempts nt con solation utterly In vain, nnd he, who had so carefully studied humnn nature, knew that It Avas wisest and kindest to let her nlone. But on this occasion ho enme on n business errand; nnd ho wns accompan ied by n grnve-lookliig person, whom he introduced to Isubel ns the lnte Mr. I.nnsdell's solicitor. "I have como to bring you strnnge news, Mrs. Gilbert," he said. "News that cannot full to be very startling to you." Sho looked up nt Charles Raymond with n sad smile, whowe meaning ho was not slow to Interpret. It said so very plainly: "Da you think that any thing that can happen henceforward upon this earth could ever seem strnn'e to me?" " "When you -were with- him on tho last day of his life, Isnhel," Mr. Rny mond continued, "he tnlked to you verv seriously. He chnnged changed won derfully with the nenr approach of denth. It seemed ns if the Inst ten years had been blotted nwny, nnd hp was n young man again, just entering life, full of no- bit y,irn i:r.s nnl nsp ration". I pmy I G .d lb ."p :i dip v . .. tn iy never bo 1 countpd n:riiiit him. Hp spoke to you i very enrn s:lv. mv dpnr: nnd ho urged you, If ever great opportunities wero given you, which they might be, to uso them fnlthfully for his snke. I heard him ssy this, nnd wns at a loss to nn doritand his full nio.inlng. I coinpro bend it perfectly now." He pnnsed; hut Isabel did not even look tqi at him. The tours wero slowly pouring down her colorless cheeks. Sho wns thinking of that Inst day at Mord rod! and Ilnln llri'n Innitnrlv iitit'iinal fntf seemed sltlll sounding In her ears. "Isabel, a great charge has been in trusted to you. .Mr. Lansdcll has left you the bulk of his fortune." It Is certain thnt Mr. Rnymond ex pected some crv of unrnriae isnmo token of astonishment, to follow this announce ment; but Isabel's tears only flowed n little faster, nml her head sank forward on the sofa cushion by her side. "Hnd you nny idea that Roland In tended to leave his money in this man ner?" "Oh, no. no! 1 don't wnnt tho money; I can do nothing with it. Oh, give it to 5-omo hospltnl, ple.iso; nnd lot the hos pital be called by his namo. It wns cruel of him to think that I should enro for money when he was dend." "I hnve reason to believe that this will was made under verv tubulin r fin mil stances." Mr. Itavmond Knid. tn-p,.ii1v? "when Roland wns laboring under a de lusion about you n delusion which you yourseit tuterward dispelled, Mr. I.ans dell's solicitor fully understands this; Gen. Ituysdale and his daughter also understand It; and no possible discredit can attach to you from the inheritanco of tb's fortune. Had Roland lived, ho might very possibly have made somo alteration and modification of thi will. As it stands, it is ns good n will ns nny ever proved, ion are a very rich woni nn, Isabel. Gwendoline, her father nnd myself nro legatees to n considerable amount; but Mordred Priory nnd tho bulk of the Lnnsdell property are loft to you." Gwendoline hard promised to be tho frlond of Isabel; and she kept her word. There was no bitterness in Iter henrt now; nnd perhaps she liked George Gil bert's widow all the better on account of thnt foolish, wasted love that made n kind of link oetweeu them. So Mrs. Gilbert wns permitted to pos sess her now wealth In peace. She went away with Gwendoline nnd the general to those fair foreign lands foe which sho hid pined in tho weedy gar den nt Camb-rwell. Even during the first bitterness of her sorrow she was not utterly selfish. She sent money to Mrs. Sloaford and the boys money which seemed enormous wealth to them; and she instructed her solicitor to semi them quarterly Installments of nn incoma which would enable her hnlf-brotherj to receive n liberal education. And now Isabel Gilbert passes away into n higher region than that in which this story lias lain useful, serene, al most happy, but very constant to tho memory of sorrow she is altogether dill'erent from the foolish wife who neg lected nil n wife's duties while site sat by the mill stream at Thurston's Crag reading poetry. (Tho end.) A Profusion for Mice. " Not long ago the children of a well known reformer had the misfortune to lose some of their white mice by a cruel stroke of death. They found, some consolntion, however, by arrang ing a funeral, and after the services were over, the mother of the young mourners saw a gravestone carefully erected at the head of the llttlo mound. On this monument was scrawled In childish letters, "To the memory of our white mice. 'Of such Is the Kingdom of Heaven." "Oh, I hope not!" groaned the mother. "It's bad enough to have them on earth. I never could see what they wero mude for, any way." It has been dlfllcult to regard white mice seriously. One hears of their performing tricks, but that Is not a sufficient excuse for their being. Somo sing sweetly, but they are rare, and almost any one would prefer a bird. Rut with modern inventions comes a profession for mlcp so important that It commands government pay In tho English navy. Every submarine vessel carries a cage of white mice. At the least leakage of gasoline tho little creatures feel uncomfortable, and begin to squeal. Thin Berves as a warning, which Is quickly heeded. The mice are regularly enrolled on the books, as the seamen are, ,and tho government allows tuem ono shilling a week for food. She Wnn u IrUo. They stood In the deep gray shad ods of nn autumn twilight. "Darling," ho whispered, tenderly, "last night I pressed your hand nml now 1 press your Hps. Do you appre ciate it?" "Indeed I do," replied the beautiful girl, "nnd after our marriage I ahull return it." "In what wny?" "I will press your coat" With a wild thrill of Joy ho pressed her to his bosom. A Novice. Ethel Tins ho ever loved before? Edith I think not, ho seems sur prised to think It is costing him nay thing. When a mini Is long on energy ami short on tho ability to use It ho Is to bo pitied. TWO OPEN LETTERS IMPORTANT TO MARRIED VVONER- Mro. Mary Dlmmlck of WnohJngton toll! How Lydla E. Plnkharn'a Vogetablo Compound Made Her Well. It Is with great pleasure wo publish, the following letters, us they convince Ingly prove the claim wo have so many times made in our columns that MrS Pinlcham, of Lynn, Muss , is fully quail Red to gi vc he 1 pf u 1 u d vice t o sick womcnJ Head Mrs. Dimmick's letters. Her Urst letter : Dear Mrs, Pinkhnm: " I have been u sufferer for tho pnst elghO' j-enrs with a troublo which first originated) from painful periods tbo pains woreexcrticW jtmg, wfthintlumniation and ulceration of tho lOinule organs. The doctor suys I must havo in operation or I cannot live. 1 do not wnntf to submit to nn operation If I enn possibly void it. Plenso help mo." Sirs. Mary Dlmmlck, Washington, D. C. Iler .second letter .- Dear Mrs. Pinkhnm r " You will remember my condition when V !nst wrote you, nnd that tho doctor said t must have nn operation or J could not HveJ t received your kind Mtcr nnd followed your idvico very carefully and am now entirely well. As my case was so forious it seems a oiirnclo that I am cured. I know that I owe pot only my health but mv life to Lydla E.j nnkham's Vegetable Compound and to your idvico. I can walk miles without an acho or i pain, and 1 wish every miflVring woman ivould read this letter and realize what voil ran do for them." Mrs. MnrvDiinmick. 60th Mid East Capitol Streets, Washington, D. a How onsy it was for Mrs. Dimrnick to tvrite to Mrs. Pinkhnm at Lynn, Mass.. and how little it cost her a two-ccnb stamp. Yet how valuable was the reply J1 As Mrs. Diimnicksays itojivcdher life. Mrs. Pinkhnm has on file thousands of just such letters ns the above, and oilers ailing women helpful udviee. Whoever uyn little has littlo to "WotIIj Tvnovrlnnr that Allcock'a nro the original snfl fnly genuine porous plasters; all othJ n-callcd porous plasters are imitation It is an equal failing to trust every jody, and to trust nobody. Every man thinks his own burden .s the heaviest. (vivos niirl husbands u-nnlfl nko onrnn m pleasure as they go along, and no iegenerato into mere toilinH. iMchines. Recreation is necessary to keep tho heart in place, and to ?ot along without it is n big mistake), Natural Politeness: Tho secret oi ?ood manners is unselfishness. Thos tvho live a life of service for theil fellow men have no troublo about' their politeness. Women must them (elves set the example of courtesy t ?ach other if they wish men to trenl them courtesyly. The spcclouo arguments, "It is healthful". 'doctor's orders,," and kindred excuses employed by followers oj fads to justifj reprehensible habitt manners are too transparent to havo any weight With sensible people. Natural politeness springs from a kindly heart. The polish that if acquired from education is but s veneer, and cannot. vell stand thu wear and tenr of life. No nmount of education in courtesy, either nt homo or in Bchool, will enable tin average person to bear paticntlv aq unjust criticism or a disagreeablfl remark. Only the patience of o kindly spirit can do that. THE EDITOR Exnlnlnn Hovr lo Keep Up Stent nnd Ihjrlenl VlKor. A New Jersey editor writes: "A long Indulgence In improper foo4 brought on a condition of nervous dys pepsia, nearly three years ago, so se vere that I had to quit work entirely, I put uiyBelf on a strict regimen of Urape-NuU food, with plenty of out door exercise, and In a few months found my stomach so far restored that the process of digestion gave me plea ure Instead of distress. "It also built up my strength so tba I was able to resume my business, which Is onerous, ns I not only etl5 my own paper but ulso do a groat tleu' of 'outside' writing. "I find that the Grape-Nuts diet en jbles mo to write with greater vlgoi than ever before, and without tlic fecl lag of braln-fng with which I used t9 be troubled. As to bodily vigor 1 can nnd. do wnllr miles every dn' without fatigue a faw squares used to weary me before I began to Hv on Grapo N'uts !" Name given W Co., Uaf le Creek, Mich. , .. . , There's a reason. "n(1 tm mtl book The Hoad to WJv!1.0'",1" T