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MAX OR HIS PICTURE
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KNOCK Bounded on
tho principal's door.
"That's Florence," bIio
thought; and nho Blgh
od In tho Hamu breath,
Tho principal had se
cretly liked Florence
llulmund. tho best of
rf-TTVJ-
her two hundred girls, for
thrco yenra; and, sometimes,
nho BUBpectcd that Florcnco knew It.
MIbb Wing Bat at her desk. It w(ib a
lnrgo desk of oak, always kept In
blameless order. No ono could recall
fleeing nioro than ono letter nt a time
lying on tho blotter. Any others, yet
unread, lay In tho wicker trny to tho
Heft; tho letters read but not answered
were In tlio wicker tray to the right;
tho answered letters were In npproprl
ato pigeonholes or In ashes, Miss Wing
being a Arm believer In flro os n contl
Uentlal agont. About tho desk hung
Mo most Interesting object In tho
room, to tho school-girls; In fact It
would bo hard to gauge Justly tho In
Iflucnco this ono, muto and motionless,
had over their young Imaginations;
or how far It was responsible for tho
rose-tinted halo that beyond doubt,
felorlflcd tho principal for them. Tho
object was a plcturo, tho picture of a
young man In tho uniform of a captain
Jn the German cuirassiers. Ills thick
Eight hair was brushed back from a
Ine and candid forehead. A smile
Icreascd his cheek under the warllko
curl of his mustache. It was a smllo
iso happy and so friendly In Its hap
piness, that it won tho beholder. Tho
wyes were not large, but even In tho
black and white of a photograph (tho
(portrait wbb nn ordinary cabinet
carte) they Bccmed to sparkle. Tho
young fellow's figure was superb, and
held with a military precision nnd
'Jauntlness. Ono said, looking at tho
whole presence, "This man Is a good
fellow." Viewing him more closely,
ono might add, "And ho 1b In lovo."
Tho plcturo was framed handsomely
In a glided frame. On tho desk below,
an exquisite vaso of Venice lifted a
single, perfect rose. For 1C years a
flower had always bloomed thus. Ml. is
rWIng had hung tho plcturo herself, 15
iyears ago. Then, she was tho new
principal, and tho school was but half
Its size; and the vlllago people ex
claimed at trusting "such a girl" with
o much responsibility. During those
15 years tho new building had been
built, the school had grown and flour
ished; and tho gray had crept Into
Margaret Wing's bright hair. Sho had
eo often put on mourning for her near
kindred that she1 had nssumed It ns
her permanent garb. To tho certain
i(and ecstatic) knowledge of the school,
he had refused divers offers of mar
irlage from citizens of good reputo
and substance. Hut during nil tho
changing years, tho plcturo had kept
Its place nnd tho fresh flowers had
'bloomed below. No girl could remem
ber tho desk without tho picture; nnd
-when tho old girls visited tho school,
1helr eyes would Instinctively seek it
in Its old place; always with a llttlo
moving of the heart. Yet no ono
ever alluded to It to tho principal;
and no one, not her most trusted
' teacher, nor her best loved pupil, had
ever heard tho principal speak of It.
Tho name of tho pictured soldier, his
etory, his relation to Miss Wing; Miss
Wing's nearest kindred and friends
know ob much about all these as tho
school and that was nothing. Never
theless, the school tradition reported
part or a name on tho authority of a
dingle Incident. Years ago an acci
dent happened to tho picture. It was
tho principal's custom to carry it with
her on her Journeys, however brief;
always taking it down nnd putting It
back In its placo herself. On this oc
casion tho floor had been newly pol
ished, and In hanging the picture her
chair on which sho stood slipped and
sho foil, whllo tho picture dropped out
of her grasp. Ono of tho girls, who
was passing," ran to her aid; but bIio
had crawled toward tho plcturo and
would havo it In her hands beforo she
allowed the girl to aid her to rise a
circumstance, you may bo sure, not
likely to escape tho sharp young eyes.
Neither did these snmo eyes miss tho
further circumstance that tho Jar had
shifted tho carto in the frnmo and a
line of writing, hitherto hidden, was
taring out at tho world. The hand
was tho sharp, minute German hand,
but tho words wore English; tho girl
took them in at an eyobllnk, as she
handed tho plcturo to Miss Wing;
"Thino for over, Max." Miss Wing
made no comment; perhaps she sup
posed that tho girl had not seen, por
haps In any case sho was silent.
Of course, tho new light flooded tho
school gossip Immediately. But there
never camo any more; overy new girl
was free to work her own will on MIsb
Wing's romance. Was "Max" dead?
Had they parted because of any act on
the woman's part? Suroly ho could
not havo boon falBe, to rccelvo that
dally oblation of flowers. It was moro
likely that bIio thus expressed an im
perlBhablo regret. Youth, ever fanci
ful, played with nil manner of dainty
and plaintive variations on tho thomo..
ilta very mystery was its poignant
charm; since each tender young soul
created a new romance nnd a now ap
peal. Eluslvo and pathotlc, It hovered
on tho edge of these young lives, like
&JP
fly OCTAVE THANET
Author of
Tfce Man of the Hour." "The Lion's Shire,'
"tty Inherlunce," etc
Uobta - Merrlll Co.)
tho perfume of n flower. And Hb in
fluence was the more potent thnt It
asked for nothing. It Is not too much
to say that tho spectacle of that gen
tlo and reticent fuithfulncHB was tho
st longest clement in the school at
mosphere. Certainly, becnuso of It,
Mlsn Wing had greater power over
her scholars. Sho was a woman of
ability and gentlo force; by nature a
llttlo aloof, a little precise, ablo to
feel deeply, but not nblo to express
her sympathies or her pain. Without
her mysterious sorrow, sho would
have seemed to young girls a thought
too admirable; they would havo been
chilled by her virtues; but nB it was,
their perception that she had lived
doeply, that sho had suffered, that sho
had been loved nnd had Wed eternal
ly, opened their hearts. They would
havo admired her, now they adored
her. Dy degrees, and insensibly to
herself, sho becamo the confessor of
her llttlo world. After they left Bchool,
her glrlB brought hor their perplexities
of tho heart ,
Today, however, MIsb Wing sat be
foro tho plcturo which so many young
eyes had studied with such vague, yet
ardent, sympathy, nnd pondered over
a confidence that had not come. Tho
lack of its coming hurt her; and the
tnp on her door was welcome, for bIio
thought, "It is she coming to tell me.
Oh, I hopo ho Is tho right man."
At her response, tho door swung
open with a Jerk, and the dark-eyed
girl who entered was catching her
breath, although sho tried to mako tho
quick Intakes noiseless. There waB a
look of palo resolution on her features.
"Havo you como to let mo congrat
ulate you, my dear?" Bald tho princi
pal, rising. Tho girl colored scarlet.
"I'vo como becauso I had to, because I
couldn't deceive you," sho blurted.
"Miss Wing, it isn't so. I let , Miss
Parker think bo; but I'm not engaged
to him." ,
"Sit down, dear," said MIsb Wing.
Tho soft cadence of her volco did not
roughen. Sho sat down when hor guest
sat, and leaued back In her desk chair,
folding hor slim, whlto handB. There
wore flashing rings on her hands; and
the girls used to wonder which ring
"Max" had given her. They favored
the Bapphlre, set between two dia
monds, becauso of its beauty ("a real
Cashmere, you know"), and because,
whether sho woro other rlngB or not,
this nlwaya kept Its place.
"Now, tell me," said MIsb Wing.
"I had a letter from him this morn
ing; It was Just a note In ono of Helen
Grler'B" tho girl's litho form wna
erect In tho chnlr, every muscle tense;
Bho looked past Miss Wing to tho wall
nnd Bpoko In tonelcsa volco; no ono
could seo that she was driving straight
on to her purpose, over hor own writh
ing nerves "all ho said was that ho
had been called back to Germany "
"Ib ho a Germnn? MIsb Parker said
hlB nauio was Cutler."
"It Ib nutler," tho girl said, flinging
her head back, while a Bpark crept in
to her liquid, troubled, dark eyes, "but
ho is a Gorman. Don't you know the
ButlcrB In 'Wnllcnstcln?' You know
ho was a real man; and ho founded a
family. He my my friend Is tho
Count von Butler." MIsb Wing's chair,
llko other desk chairs, was set on a
pivot; Bho turned very slightly and
slowly, at tho same tlmo resting hor
elbow on tho desk. Tho girl ventured
a timid glance at her, and thought
that she looked sterner, whereforo her
heart Bank; but Bho only continued
tho faster: "Ho Isn't in America Just
to travel; ho was Bent by his govern
ment to watch tho Cuban war. He's
very brave; and ho Isn't a bit llko a
foreigner and hasn't any nasty Buper
clllous notions about women. Mr.
Grlor says ho has a future. And real
ly, Miss Wing, ho Ib Just llko a a a
kind of knight."
"Where did you meet him?"
"At Helen's last summer. And ho
was going out to Minneapolis to seo
papa, I I think. Hut ho got a cablo
or his unclo'B death. And his two llt
tlo cousins dlod last year; so now ho
is tho head of tho family; and ho must
go to Germany at once. For IiIb father
Is dead, you know. So ho wrote (In
Helen's letter, becauso ho is so so
nwfully proper!) asking to let him
como hero and tako mo to drive in
tho American fashion. I know who
put him up to that Bchomo; It wns
Helen. I had to ask Miss Parker, be
causo you wcro out; and sho said If
ho wasn't a relation or tho man I was
going to marry I couldn't go. 'Or
courso, If ho wcro tho man you expect
to marry,' sho said, nnd and I I said,
'nut ho Is!' Just like that. I can't
fancy how I camo to say bucIi a
thing, but when It was said I didn't
know how to explain; nnd I was so
awfully ashamed; and, besides" she
lifted hor eyes In tho frank and direct
gazo that Miss Wing always liked
"besides, I do want to seo him."
"And do you oxpect him to ask you
to marrjr him?" said Miss Wing, with
a deepening of the color on her cheek,
which went out suddonly llko tho
flnmo of a lamp In the wind.
Florence Ilnlmund blushed ngaln,
but this tlmo Bho laughed: "I don't
know. Ho Ib bo nwfully proper," said
she, "nnd ho hasn't had n chanco to
ask papa; but I think ho wants to."
I m luuk tunv-i idu i it u tuu iuuu nuuiu
you expect to marry?" nsltod Miss
Wing dryly. "Hut It wna deceiving
her Just tho snmo. I am glad you
came, Florcnco."
Miss Wing stifled a sigh; it may bo
that sho was not so auro of the firm
purpose of a lover; sho spoke more
gently: "It Ib only tho disappoint
ment, then, ir you can't boo him?"
Tho girl's race quivered a llttlo.
"Perhaps I am foolish," said Miss
Wing, "but I think it would bo a dis
appointment very hard to bear. Still,
you must admit that parents do not
send their children to school expecting
them to becomef engaged to bo mar
ried; on tho contrary, thero is a tacit
plcdgo that wo shall protect our wards
from any entanglement. Hut this did
not happen at school; tho only ques
tion Is, ought I to provent It going any
farther? My dear, do you havo confi
dence In me?"
"Yes, Mlsn Wing," said tho girl.
"Of courso, I do not think thnt I
ought to consent to your driving alone
together."
TJio girl drew n long sigh. "I sup
pose not," Bho breathed, in dismal
resignation.
"Hut I Bhould llko him to como
here, to boo me; nnd then, If I find
him to bo what your father would ap
prove, you may boo him hero; and wo
Hliall all havo to explain things to
gether, 2 fancy, to your father."
Tho girl drew another, a very dif
ferent, Blgh, and Impulsively kissed
Miss Wing's hand. She tried to speak,
and could only murmur, "Oh, I do love
you!"
"And bo, if you will tell Graf von
Hutlcr what Is his Christian name,
Florence?"
"Max," said tho girl, very low, for
Bho felt tho presence of tho picture,
on which sho had not one turned her
eyeB.
Mies Wing stood' In tho center of
the room, smiling, until tho door
closed. But then In a second she was
at tho door, almost fiercely, but noise
lessly, twisting tho key in tho lock.
From tho door sho passed to tho win
dows nnd dropped tho shades. At
last, eafo from every chanco of eBplal,
sho Bat down again In her chair be
foro tho desk, leaned her elbows on
tho desk, and looked desperately, mis
erably, Into tho JoyouB faco of the plc
turo. Sho did not speak, but her
thoughts took on words and sank llko
hot lead into her heart. "Max But
ler! Max Butlor! The llttlo nephew
he told mo about And ho has been
allvo all these years; and happy; with
llttlo sons, whllo I I havo lied to
these trusting girls. It was wicked
and shameless., I deceived myself;
then I deceived' them. I wonder why.
I knew what they were thinking. How
dared I look that honest child in the
faco! I Bupposo she wonders like tho
rest why I havo not told anyono of my
romance. And It is simply that thero
was nothing to tell. Nothing." Sho
looked Into tho soldier's happy eyes
while her ,llps curled and sho mur
mured, drearily and bitterly, "I haven't
even tho right to bo angry with you,
poor lad. What did you do? You are
not my Max; I only mado him up out
of my heart like children playing a
game!" Her mind drifted dizzily
through shapeless and inconsequent
visions of tho past. She was seeing
again tho grim pile of tho ruined cas
tle, tho masses of broken shadow, the
intricate carving on arch and archl
travo and plinth, tho wuverlng masB
of limbs and tree-trunks on tho green
sward; and she, with her twisted
ankle, was kneeling, trying to peer
through tho shrubbery for her lost
companions. Did ho come by chanco?
Sho had Been tho handsome young of
fleer dally, for a woek. HIb great
aunt wna Margaret's right-hand neigh
bor at the" pension table d'hote, a
withered relic of Polish nobility with
line, black eyeB in n faco like a hick
ory nut; who woro shabby gowns and
mngnlflccnt Jowela, frankly smoked
cigarettes, and Bcemed to havo a
venomous talo ready to fit any name
mentioned In conversation with ono
exception, her nephew's. Margar
garet'a first sight of him was not un
der the shelter of conventionalities.
It happened that tho countess' feroci
ous pet (and the terror of the pen
sion), a Great Dane, was trying to cat
up a llttlo girl, but fortunately had
begun with her pottlcoats. Tho court
of the house was tho aceno of the
fray; a large, timid cook, tho only -witness,
wns waving a copper kettle full
of tho meringue thnt sho was beating,
in ono hnnd, and tho great wire whip
In tho other, while she shrieked im
partially on heaven and tho police.
Margaret heard tho din. Sho ran to
tho spot. Being a New England wom
an, sho didn't scream; one swift
glanco went from tho child's writhing
body nnd tho dog's horriblo hend to
tho walling cook. In two strides Bho
caught tho kettle out of a fat and agi
tated Gorman hand and hurled tho
wholo Bttcky, whlto mass full at the
dog's eyes; then, as tho blinded and
astounded beast flung his head back to
howl, and spattered tho world with
meringue, sho snatched up tho child
and sent hor flying into tho door and
tho cook. Tho dog was smenred with
meringue, sho was smeared, the child
wns smeared, tho cook was smeared;
and now a. beautiful whlto and gold
olllcer, who bounded over tho wall nnd
fell upon tho dog with his Babor and
two heels, was smenred tho most lav
ishly of all I No wonder Frau Muller
(vlslblo aloft, tn an artless German
toilet of caso and without her teeth),
f tho countoss (who wns a gazing stock,
for tho samo reason), and Augustine,
her maid, tho thrco Russians on tho
second floor, nnd tho threo Americans
on tho third, filled tho windows with
polyglot constornntlon! Tho conse
quence of it nil was that when the
Count von Hutlcr was formally pre
sented to Miss Wing that evening, she
blushed. Sho was too palo and list
less to be pretty, but when Bho blushed
sho was enchanting. Remembering
the meringue, sho smiled and ventured
an upward glance; and, for tho first
tlmo in her life, met the admiration In
tho eyes of a man. At this time Mar
garet was thirty years old and had
never been asked in marriage. Sho
had spent most or tho thirty years In
a boarding-school, nB pupil or as
teacher; and sho hnd brought from
her cloistered llfo a single vivid feel
ing, a passionate friendship which
death had ended. Tho sapphire ring
was her poor friend's last .token.
To bo thirty and never to have been
sought like other girls, leaves a chill
In tho heart. It may bo lonely never
to have loved, but It Is bleak never to
have been loved. Margaret remem
bered her delicate, girlish dreams with
a recoil of humiliation; they Rcemed
to her almost Immodest. Sho thought
sho was too old to wear hats, nnd
wondered whether sho ought -not to
discard the pinks nnd light blues
which poor Elly hnd liked on her, for
moro scdnto colors. Hut alio wore
pink nftcr she mot Max Hutlcr. Yet
ho never Baw her save In tho pres
ence of others. Ho was full of little,
graceful attentions, but ho showed tho
snmo attentions to tho portly clergy
man's widow nnd tho meritorious but
cross-eyed teacher of fifty, who formed
MIbb Wing's "party"; it wbb only his
eyes, his eyeB "nlwaya following her,
approvingly, delighting, admiring,
pleading, speaking to her as they
Bpoko to no other woman. Sho told
herself that it was Just tho pleasant,
foreign way; nnd sho wroto to her
friends In America, "Tho German or
fleers havo very agreeable, deferential
manners; I think they nre much more
gentlo and polite and havo a higher
respect for women than tho French or
Italians." And ho said no word, even
br friendship, until that afternoon at
the Hcldelberger Schloss.
Ho came upon her almost Imme
diately, scrambling up tho bank at a
rato which had worked woe to his uni
form. He was torn, ho was scratched,
ho was alalncd with mud apd grass;
and ho .was beaming with delight. "I
havo seen you rrom below," ho ex
claimed in his carerul English, "so I
camo up. Will you excuse?" Then
his mood changed, perceiving her
plight, and he Insisted on tearing his
handkerchief into strips to bind her
nnklo. It Bemed nbsurd to refuse his
aid, which ho offered quit simply;
but hlB hands trembled a llttlo over
tho knots. "It will bo most easy, I
think," said he, "that you should let
mo assist you a small way, to tho res
tauraclon; bo I can get tho carriage,
and you can have somo ico cream.
Again, to-day, Ib It burned "
Sho had laughed and Bald that Bho
never had heard of burned ice cream.
Ho laughed, too, and explained that
it was burned as a custard, and some
how under cover of this sho let him
put her hand on his shoulder and his
arm about her waist. Sho was grate
ful to him for tho matter-of-fact man
ner in which he did It all, Baying,
"You will have to bo my comrade that
haB been wounded, and I will help
him off tho field; so I did, once, with
my colonel; It Is better than to wait
until I could bring help." In this fash
ion they walked for some twenty min
utes. Ho told her of his country and his
home; and how ho loved tho hills
that his fathers had always owned,
and tho rugged, simple, faithful peo
ple; he told her of tho plans of his
father and himself for them; ho told
her of his father, who had tho bost
heart in the world, but was credited
with a flerco temper Blmply becnuso
his voice was loud; and his mother,
who was bo gentlo that every ono
loved her; and his handsome Bister,
and his brother, who was a diplomat
and far cleverer than he; and his llt
tlo brother who died and would have
no ono carry him in his pain but Max
By now they were rattling through
the modern town of Heidelberg, tho
plain walls of which looked bare after
tho lawless pomp of carving and form
on the old castle; they had not even
the bizarre, affected grace of the ar
chitecture then decking American
countrysides. But Margaret thought
how homelike and honest tho houses
looked; staunch 'and trusty, llko the
German. Butler, Just then, was prais
ing American buggies, from which he
mado a general transition to the cus
toms of society. "In America, is It
not," says he, "tho young ladles drive
alone with young men?"
"Yea, very often? But not with
you?"
"Oh, no, meln frauleln, this Is the
first tlmo I am alone with a young
lady!"
' She had called herself old for so
loug that there was a distinct pleas
ure in being "a young lady" to him,
and aho had not time to remember it
partook or tho nature or deceit, be
causo ho Bont a wavo or confusion
over her by continuing: "In America,
also, ono would propoBo marriage to a
lady, herself, bofore to her father?"
"It la our custom," agreed Margaret,
"but" with her prim tcacher'B air
"your custom Is far moro docorouB."
HIb face fell, then promptly bright
ened. "PerhapB It would bo best to
speak to both, bo near tho sumo time
one can. But this is another thing
you must explain mo. How is it most
preferable to tho lady, that ono shall
write or shall come "
"Oh, write," said Margnrot quickly.
"Look!" ho exclaimed, "at tho sun
set. Ah, is it not lovely?"
Of a BUdden they woro looking, not
at tho sunsot, but Into cachothor's
eyes; and all about them was that
wondorful, transfiguring glow, and it
seemed as if there were nothing In
tho wholo world thnt ho had not said.
"Ib it to tho right, Herr Captain?"
naked tho driver, turning on his Beat
to dlvldo a benign and seml-lntoxlcat-cd
smllo between them.
Then It was hardly a moment until
tho yellow stucco of tho pension
Jumped 'at their ayes, around a cor
ner; nnd thero were tho clergyman's
widow and tho teacher at tho door.
They fell upon the carriage In a clam
or of explanation und sympathy; thoy
wero at her side when ho bowed over
her hand and kissed it, saying, "Auf
wledcrsehcn." That wbb all. There was never nny
more. Ho did not come again. Or If
he came, she was not there, since tho
next day they were on their way to
Bremen, summoned by cablo to her
sister's deathbed. Sho never heard
from him or of him again. Yet Bhc
had left her American address with
his aunt for any letters that might
need to bo forwarded, and a stiff little
note of thanks nnd farewell a per
fectly neutral uote such us any friend
might give or receive. Thoro followed
ncss (tho slater was a widow without
children, and sho shared her c3tato
weeks crowded with sorrow and busl
with her other sister); and Margaret
imputed hor deep depression to these
natural nnd sulllclent causes. She rat
ed herself for vanity In reading her
own meanings Into a courteous young
man's looks nnd his Intelligent Inter
est In national difference of manners.
Sho fostered her Bhamc with tho Now
Englnndcr's zest for Helf-torture. Hut
one nfternoon, without warning, there
fell upon her a deep nnd hopeless
peace. It was as if somo invisible
power controlled and chnuged all the
currentB of her thought. She know
that her friend was not faithless or
careless; he was dead. Sho began to
weep gently, thinking pitifully of his
old father with the loud voice, and his
fragile mother and tho sister nnd
brother and tho llttlo nephew. "Poor
people," Bho murmured, wishing, for
tho first time in her life, to make
somo Btgn of her sorrow ror them to
them, sho who always paid her toll of
sympnthy, but dreaded it and know
that she wna clumsy. She remem
bered the day at the castle, and went
over again each word, each look. A
sensation that Bho could not under
stand, full of awe and sweetness, pos
sessed her. It was indescribable, un
thinkable, but it was also irresistible.
Under its impulse Bho went to a trunk
in another room, from which Bho had
not yet removed nil tho contents, and
took out her Heidelberg photographs.
Sho said to herself that sho would
look at tho scenes of that day. In her
search sho camo upon a package of
her own pictures which had como tho
morning of tho day that she had gone.
Sho could not remember any details
of receiving them, except that she had
been at the photographer's the day
before and paid for them. When they
came she was in too great agitation
(they wero just packing) to more than
fling them lnto,n tray. Sho could not
toll why sho took tho cartes out of tho
cnvolopo and ran them llstlesbly
through her fingers ; but at the last
of the package Bho uttered a cry. The
last carto was a picture of Max, with
tho inscription In his own hand,
"Thine for ever." It is not exact to
say that with the finding of the plc
turo her doubt of his affection for her
vanished; for in truth, she had no
doubts, the possession wars too abso
lute. But tho sight enmo upon her bb
the presence of a mortal being, nllvo
and visible, comes on ono when ho
enters a room. And thero is no ques
tion that It was a comfort; if she bad
really loved Max, at this time, tho
knowledge of his death would have
been her crudest shock; for then she
could havo no hopo to meet him ngaln
in tho world no hopo of aomo expla
nation and tho happiness of life to
gether. But sho was not in lovo with
tho young German, sho was touched
by his admiration, Bho admired him
tenderly, she felt tho moving or a sub
tle attraction which she called friend
ship and which might pass into a
keener reeling; but she did not lovo
him Not then. Therefore, Bho felt a
sweetness in her pain; Bho could re
spect herself once moro; she had a
new and mystical Joy; for was she not
beloved abovo women? Had not her
lover come to her, through what
strange paths who may know, to com
fort her? This la tho story of the
picture. She could not tell it. Nor
did she; but she hung Max'a portrait
on the wallB of her little parlor; and
sho hung opposite a picture of tho
castle; and rrom that day, never a day
passed that it did not influence her.
Sho used to think her thoughts be
fore it. Sho came to it with her grief
for tho loss or kindred and friends,
with her loneliness, with her anxie
ties, with her aspirations, her plans,
her careB ror others, her slowly dawn
ing interests and affections. She was
a reticent woman, who might never
hnve allowed her heart to expand to
her husband himself, beyond a certain
limit; but she hid no'thing from Max.
In time, she fell into tho habit of talk
ing to the picture. Sho called him
Max. The first tlmo sho spoke his
name she blushed. She mado her toi
lets for him moro than for tho world;
but whether Max could ndmlro them
or not, it Ib certain that the girls know
every change in her pretty gowns.
Now sho began to paco tho room,
trying to think clearly. Was it her
duty to tell Florence tho story and
let her tell tho girls? Tho red-hot
agony of tho idea seemed to her ex
cited conscience an intimation that it
was her duty rrom which she shrank
becnuso sho was a selfish, hysterical,
.dishonorable coward. Horriblo as
such abasement would be, If it wcro
her duty, Bho could do It; whit she
could not, what sho would not do, was
to tear tho veil rrom tho pure and
mystical passion which had been tho
flower of her heart. "Not if it cost
mo my soul," sho said, with tho fro
zen quiet of despair; "it Is awful, but
I can't do HI" Ono thing did romaln;
Bho could remove tho picture. That
false witness of what had never been
Bhould go. No eyes should ever fall
on it again. It Bhould, never deceive
moro. Sho walked toward it firmly.
She Uftsd her band and it fell. "I
can't!" nho moaned. "I'll do It to
morrow." Sho could not remember, In
years, so weak a compromise offered
her conscience.
But she felt a cense of respite, al
most relief, onco having decided, nnd
sho recovered her composure enough
to go to her chamber and bathe her
eyes. Whllo she was thus engnged
sho heard a knock. "It Is he," sho
said quietly; "well, tho sooner tho bet
ter." It was he; he had come earlier than
he expected, he explained; he was
most grateful for Miss Wing's kind
message. He looked llko his uncle, as
tho members or a family will look
alike. He was not bo tall; ho wbb not '
bo handsome. Perhaps most pcoplo
would call him moro graceful. And
hlB English was faultless; ho must
havo spoken it from his childhood. Iu
tho midst of his first Rentcnccs, be
fore they had permitted him to take a
chair, his eyes traveled patft Miss
Wing's face. She perceived tbt Uo
saw tho plcturo; she know that nlit
grew pale; but, to her amazement, a
calm llko tho calm which had wrapped
her senses on the dny of her finding
the picture, closed about her again.
"I beg pardon?" said he. ,
"Yes, that la Count von Butler's por
trait," said Bhe, in n clear voice, with
out emotion. He wbb not bo com
posed. "Then it was you," he said.
Following her example, ho took a
chair and looked earnestly nt the pic
tured fncc. "When MIsb Raimund
spoko of you so warmly, I noticed
that the name was tho same, and I
determined to Inquire, but It Bcctncd
to me unlikely. Yet It Is. Miss Wing,
I hnvo a message to you, from my un
cle." "I was with him when ho died."
That wnB a strange thing to bear
when the message of his uncle's death
bad come to him in another country;
she hoped that her brain was not go
ing to play her false.
"It was fifteen years ago last July,
you know. I never knew how many
details you received, or only tho bar
fact In the papers."
Fifteen years! fifteen years! What
was that dato ho was giving? That
wbb tho day on which sho sailed for
America, the day after what was that
story ho waB telling of a visit and a
flro and a child rescued and an ac
cident? But still Bho listened with tho
samo iron composure. Tho noxt
words sho heard distinctly.
"It was like him to lose his llfo
that way; and he did not grudge it.
Yet it was hard that I should bo tho
only ono of his blood with him. Ho
could speak with difficulty when h
told mo to tako a lock or hair and hla
signet ring to you. He dictated tho
addrcsB, himself, to mo. 'You must bo
sure and tako it,' he said. 'It is to
tho lady that I hoped would be my be
trothed; you muBt tell grandmamma
about it, too. 8ne has my plcturo and
she knows but tell her and then, I
think his mind must havo wundercd a
llttlo, for ho smiled brightly at me, say
ing, 'I'll tell her myBclf,' and then tho
doctors came. He said nothing more,
only once, they told me, ho murmured
something about his betrothed. But I
had the ring; he took it off his finger
nnd kissed it and gave it to me. Child
ns I was, I know that it was sacred. I
wrapped it in tho paper, and after
ward I put the lock of hair beside It
So soon os I could, I went to Heidel
berg, to tho pension. You had gone
and there was no address, no trace "
"I left my address with tho coun
tess "
"My aunt Is dead," Bald tho young
German gravely. "I would not criti
cize her, but Bho had her own cholco
of a wire for my undo; I do not think
one could trust her with addresses."
"Wo all gave ours to her to give to
Frau Muller." .
"That Is why, then, I could not Had
you. ,My grandmother also tried. But
you were gone. I thought of the
banks, long after, but I found noth
ing. Often it has Beemed dreadful
that you should learn of' this only
through the papers. But I could not
tell whether anything. When I camo
to America, I confess It was alwayB In
my mind. I always carried my un
cle's llttlo packet with me. I Mil
have It sent to you."
"Excuso me," said MIbb Wing gent
ly. "Will you plcaso bring me the
glass of water I am afraid I can't
walk to it"
But she would not let him pour th
water on his handkerchief to batho
her head. She sipped tho water, and
very pale, but quite herself, brought
him back to his own matters. Sho
found that it was a cousin, miscalled
an uncle, In the German manner, who
had died. It did not seem to her that
Max's nephew could be unworthy of
any girl; yet sho conscientiously ques
tioned him .regarding hla worldly af
fairs, for Florence waB an only daugh
ter whose father had great posses
sions and a distrust of adventurers,
and nt last she Bent him forth to walk
In tho grovo with his Bwoethcart
"And speak to her," she said, with a
look that sank Into his heart; "it la
tho American way; don't wait to
write, tho American way Ib beat."
So, at last, she was alone. Alona
with her lover who had always been
true;, whoso lovo many waters could
not quench, and It was stronger than
death.
Sho nover touched tho picture, save
reverently to dUBt It, to tako it down
when sho wont away, to replace it in
its station when sho returned. But now,
trembling, yet not blushing, sho took
the plcturo Into her hands. Sho looked
long Into its eyes; Bho kissed It with
a light nnd timid kiss, and swiftly hid
tho smiling fnoo against hor heart,
pressing tho framo in both hands, nnd
touching It with her cheek bont over
It, whllo sho whispered: "You did tell
mo. You camo back and told me. I
lovo you. Max, my knight my hus
band I" ,
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