Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, May 26, 1909, Page 6

= BY GUY THOR R evenge The Thrilling Story of a Mother’s Love NE and a “Sweet is revenge, especially to a woman.”—Lord Byron. CHAPTER V.—(Continued). She went noiselessly to the door and listened carefully. Not a sound was heard in the galleries beyond, and with a sigh of relief she walked into the center of the room, stood still for a moment, and then moved swiftly through the communicating door into the bed room. Against one of the walls she found a long, thin pole of ashwood, headed with a brass crook. It was one of those tall poles which are used for pulling down very high windows from a ring in the top of the sash, and was certainly eight feet, in length. What such an apparatus was doing in her room no one in that du- cal household would have quite un- derstood, had they seen it. The two windows of the sitting room, which, as has been said, looked out into Pic- eadilly, were long French windows, opening in the center on to a low stone balcony, while the single tall window of the bed room was precise- ly of the same pattern. The pole was one of those which were used for the tall windows in the back part of the house, and at first sight it could have no possible use or meaning in Miss Decies’ rooms. She carried it into the sitting room and then looked upwards towards the roof. Some four yards from the right hand window a heavy Venetian lamp was hanging by chains from a stout iron hook which had been screwed in- to a beam of the ceiling. This lamp was a somewhat -recent acquisition in the sitting room. It had been sent to Miss Decies from abroad, and was of fine Italian work- manship. The duchess, to whom her aunt had shown it, had suggested that the electric wires should be connect- ed with it; but the old lady had ex- plained that it was purely decorative in its effect, and she did not intend to use it as a method of illumination in a room which was already so well lighted as hers. The duchess, who had a great eye for effect, had sug- gested that the lamp should be hung in the center of the great room and not, as it was, considerably to the left of the center line of the ceiling, and, in this rather odd position, before the window close to the bedroom door. Miss Decies had snapped her fingers at the proposal, saying that she pre- ferred it where she had designed it to be; and the younger woman, with the sweetness and patience that she’ always displayed in dealing with the elder, had said nothing more, and. re- garded it simply as a whim of her somewhat ecentric chaperon. Miss Decies took the pole, carefully inserted the crook in the topmost ring of the chain, lifted it off the hook in the ceiling, and, with extraordinary strength for her years and the. most scrupulous care, balanced it for a mo- ment above her, shortened the pole in her hands, and gently lowered it to the ground. When the great iron thing with its panes of stained glass rested safely upon the carpet, Miss Decies carried it toa distant corner of the room. This being done, with swift deliberate movements, but yet with wonderful absence of misdircted haste or flurry, she returned to the bed room, and presently emerged with a long, thin coil of rope and a large pulley of shining steel. The pulley was about the size of a soup plate, and {ts deep groove was lined with india rubber. From the axle on either side rose a long, arch-shaped hanger of steel crowned with a ring for sus- pending it, which took the place of the ordinary block. The old lady threaded the thin rope of cocoa fibre into the groove of the wheel. Then, once more, she brought the pole into play. and lifted the pul- ley high above her, and in a moment or two had it securely hung upon the hook from which the Venetian lamp had lately depended. She pulled at the rope, which ran easily and noislessly over the wheel, and then, satisfied with her opera- tions, she once more entered the bed room. Once inside, she closed the door with a curious shiver of excitement, and walked up to a huge mahogany ward- robe which stood against the wall by the bed. ¥ This piece of furniture was one of those vast early Victorian triumphs of cabinetmaking which are of great height, width and solidity. The two doors on the right and left were mounted upon heavy mahogany pedes- tals. The wide center doors rose from a deep drawer, quite four feet long and three feet from the floor to the bottom boards of the wardrobe proper. Miss Decies knelt down, fumbled at the gold chain around her neck, and found another key. With a litle gasp of excitement she inserted the key and drew out’ the drawer. The deep box showed nothing but an expanse of white tissue paper for a moment. Then she caught the pa- per in her long, thing fingers, pulled it out with a loud crackle which made her start and gaze round apprehen- sively, and looked down upon what lay beneath. The little duke of London, in a night- gown of gray flannel and covered by a folded dressing gown in the fashion of a quilt, lay asleep, with his head upon a pillow. Woman’s Hate The child’s face was pale, and he breathed more heavily than the or- dinary gentle sleep of childhood. His mouth was half open, showing the pearly teeth, and there was a high, ; unwonted color in the baby cheeks. Miss Decies felt under the impro- vised quilt for one little plump arm, withdrew it from its covering, and placed her thin fingers upon the pulse. “It's all right,’ she whispered to her- self. “It’s all right. Dr. Ludwig knew exactly the strength of the drug. It has not injured him, and it will not inure him. He will awake in ten hours ’time, feeling a little sick and without any knowledge of what has passed. And now, and now—” She rose, leaving the drawer open, and went to a cupboard at another side of the room. From this cupboard she took a large square of material, heavily quilted with eider-down upon the inside. The out side was of black and white mackintosh, very much like those holdalls with which ladies travel sO much nowadays, and with the usual confining straps. ; Miss Decies laid this in the center of the carpet. Then she stole back into the sitting-room and glanced at the clock. It was now exactly twenty minutes to two. Then, for a moment her resolution and courage seemed to fail her. She tottered to an arm chair which stood by the bedside and sank down upon it. Her head fell forward and she lifted her thin, sinewy old hands and covered her face. bp “What am I doing?” she moaned to hercelf. “Oh, what am I doing? Leo- pold! Leopold! it is for your sake; it is for your sake, my son, that I am committing this frightful crime; that I am turning upon the hand that fed me, that I am bringing misery and ruin upon a great house. My son, it is for you!” She rocked backwards and forwards in a piteous agony of terror and re- morse. And as she did so a faint moan came from the child who lay in the deep coffin shaped box protruding from the wardrobe. She rose with a swift movement and went to the drawer. The little Duke had but turned uneasily in his sleep. One tiny, chubby hand was raised toward the rounded velvet check, and a deep sigh came from be- tween the little rosebud lips. Miss Decies knelt down once more, and as she did so a sudden impulse came to her. he bent over the coffin- like box and lightly kissed the little boy upon the brow. “Poor little Fitz,” she murmured, “poor Beatrice. But it is for Leopold; is is to save him. I must do it. I—” The tears had begun to trickle from her eyes, when she quickly jerked her- self upon her feet, almost ran into the sitting-room once more opened the oak cupboard and filled the tinted glass with courage. She drained it, shud- dered again, and then, with slower steps, went back int the bedroom, just as the clock upon the mantleshelf, with its muffled cathedral chimes, beat out the message that it was a quarter before two. She bent over the drawer and with a supreme effort lifted out the sleeping child. Staggering towards the quilted covering in the center of the room, she placed him upon it so that his head projected a littl from the upper edge. Then, with purposeful fingers, she rolled the thing about him and strapped it carefully until the little sleeping boy resembled nothing so much as one of those long bundles in which the Indian woman carries her papoose. The unconscious boy moan- ed again uneasily as the long, thin arms of his betrayer bound his secure- ly in the padded prison. When the strapping was complete, however, he remained motionless, and no more sound came from him. Then Miss Decies took a woollen ‘skull cap and placed it upon the curl- ing chestnut hair, tying it beneath the ; chin with its silken ribbons. Finally . she lifted the whole burden by a leather handle in the center, to which a ring, lineqd with india-rubber, was attached and carried it into the sitting room as if it were a mere bundle of rugs and umbrellas, She laid the bundle down just un- der the. straight fall of the rope which depended from the high pulley above. The bundle, with the little project- fng head half covered with the woolen cap, lay upon the floor with the ghast- ly suggestion of a corpse. The woman looked at it steadfastly for a minute or two, and as she did so all the hesi- tation and remorse seemed to die out of her face. The eyes began to glow, not now with grim determination alone, but with the fierce and horrid light. of madness. She pointed one long, lean finger at the bundle, and chucked dryly in her throat. “Ah!” she whispered, with a fright- ful leer, “theré you are! The great little duke, heir to untold millions. You who were going to be a mighty prince of England. There you are, }knowing nothing at all! Mine! Mine! and Leopold’s! Mine and Leopold’s and Sophia’s! Sophia, who once was my own charge, my little stubborn pupil at Landskrona. My terrible, un- relenting mistress now! All the world will talk of you tomorrow—will talk ae of that silly little bundle. From San meee spr taieagl i England to New ‘York, the whole world will reverberate with your name! Nobody will know anything about it. You will be wiped out of all the known life of civilization: as if: were dead. And I—I, who stand here, honored and _ respected, your great aunt!—sah! ah! your great aunt—will never be suspected.Nobody will know! Nobody will know that I have set the hs of the world vibrating, that I—” She went up to the bundle with mincing steps and lolled out a mock- ing tongue at it as it lay upon the floor. An evil hysteria was master- ing her, something outside herself and not of her; some power stronger than she seemed to have rushed into the frail tenement of her body and to be controlling it and shattering it to horrid and maniacal purposes, The clock struck two. She stiffened suddenly at the soft warning sound, and the evil paroxysm passed away. Placing both her hands to the throbbing temples she fought for a moment with her mind and called it back to action from the dark places whither it had gone. “Come back, come back!” she said to herself in a startled voice. “The moment is at hand. Gather yourself together; remember all the lessons you have learned in the house at Chiswick.Nothing must go wrong now. The swing must be absolutely precise. You must do exactly the same as you have done wit hth edummy for weeks. Pull yourself together—now!” She crept across the room to the little bureau, opened a drawer in it, and took out a long, heavy-handled hunting knife sharpened to a keen edge. Putting this down upon a ta. ble, she eaught the hanging rope and inserteq the swivel clasp into the ring upon the leather handle in the center of the bundle. Then, retreating, she took the other end of the rope and hoisted the sleeping boy in his pad- ded covering until] the bundle was nearly two yards from the ground. Holding the hoisted rope with tense arms, she walked with it, pulling it out towards the opposite wall of the room, and fastened it securely six feet above the floor to the oak pillar which supported the shelf above a massive sideboard. The bundle was now swinging gen- tly backwards and forwards, some four yards from the long curtained window and some two above the floor. Miss Decies went to the door of the room and switched off the electric lights. Then she hurried to the tall casements and pulled aside the heavy green curtains, finally releasing the hasp and opening the door-like win- dows. The fresh night air rushed into the room as she did so, and as she crouch- ed, half out upon the low stone bal- cony, listening with the intentest ears, she caught the distant sound of pon- derous hoofs. , With swift, careful movements she peered out down Piccadilly. The projecting bay windows of the club upon the right obscured her view, but she caught the sound now more dis- tinctly, and knew that the great wagon of hay was approaching. She went back into the center of the room and stood by the bundle, which swung gently in the dark, a little above her head. To Be Continued. FLING SQUIRRELS RARE. Once They Were Common in the Up- State ‘Woods. Several flying squirrels were seen in the woods in the central part of Utica, N. Y., the other day. They are not very common and few of them are seen in that section, although thir- ty-five or forty years ago nearly every old hollow birch tree had its family of little striped air navigators. The fiying squirrel, be it explained for the benefit of those who have un- doubtedly never seen one, does not “fly” in the proper acceptance of the word, but is able by spreading the weblike strips of thin skin that ex- tend from its fore to its hind legs on either side of its body to sail several rods on a gradually downward’ slant from the top of one tree to a point lower down on the limbs or trunk of another. Then by running higher. up the tree it has alighted on it is able to repeat the performance and thus avoid its enemies by sailing.from tree to tree. These squirrels were once numer- ous in northern New York, but like their kinsmen, the black squirrel and the fox squirrel, have all vanished from the northern woodlands. Not Finished. Once on a time a lonely little boy began praying to the Lord to send him a baby brother. Regularly every night pefore retiring he got down on his knees and offered up _ his petition. Finally he suggested that he had waited a long time, and hoped the Lord would hurrp up matters. In a few days the “little brother” arrived. Looking at the baby a little bit, the “lonely little boy’ ‘said, “Gee! He’s a great looking thing! Can’t talk, can’t walk, ain’t got any hair, and he ain’t got any teeth—he ain’t finished. Wish I hadn’t been in such a darn hurry!” ‘ An Age of Kindness. The progress of human sensibility is amazing; we give soldiers better food and lighter acoutrements, and less work to every one. The regime in prisons is milder; charity is ever increasing, and our children have less to do and-longer holidays. “My father used to make me smoke.” , “Surely you're joking.” on a bit of it. He used a shin KEEP CLOTHES NEAT CONVENIENCES WHERE SPACE IS LIMITED. Home-Made , Device Will . at Small Cost Enable One Always to Present a Neat Appear- ance on Street. In the average flat the clothes closet is generally nothing more than a sug- gestive cranny with a methodical row of hooks in it. It remains for the ten- ant to supply such conveniences as best suit his need and purpose. In the first place, those invariable enameled wire and steel hooks set at regular intervals in the horizontal pine slat do not admit of the neat, con- venient and proper hanging of clothes: To prevent clothes from sagging and getting shapeless and wrinkled, the coat hanger is indispensable, but much space is wasted this way, and when the hooks are set close together there is too much crowding. Where this ex- ists it is better to ignore the hooks al- together and resort to this device: Take a wooden portiere or curtain pole, or some rod of similar propor- tions, and cut it down to a length ex- actly corresponding to that of the closet. Have it fastened about five feet from the floor and about eight inches from the wall, parallel to your row of hooks. Hook all your clothes hangers on this rod. There will be room for almost three or four times as many clothes as you can accommo- date with the ordinary hooks. Besides you can take down and replace your wearing apparel without difficulty or annoyance, as the hangers slide easily along the*-rod. Where the wardrobe is large and closet space limited, this is not only a handy but a necessary recourse, No closet is complete or satisfac- tory without two shelves—preferably one above the other—an upper for storage purposes, the lower for hats, muffs and boas in season. For these stout pastepoard boxes boxes will do. Scrupulous housekeepers have dis- covered various simple devices to avoid the unsightly conglomeration of shoes, slippers and waterproofs in the closet. Perhaps the most desirable arrangement is that of a denim cov- ered box with a lid and three compart- ments for shoes, leggins and rubbers respectively. This can easily be fitted into one end of the closet and lightly nailed to the floor. : Another good device consists of a piece of colored canvas with a wide hem and six capacious pockets, into which shoes and slippers are inserted perpendicularly. This is hung square- ly against the inside of the closet door or against the closet wall, where there is some vacant space. A closet is not entirely commodious unless it offers some good receptacle for laundried shirtwaists—which, of course, should not be hung up with coat hangers among the colored gowns nor stowed away in a dresser among a variety of other articles. Where the shallow drawers of the chiffonier are not available, a dry goods box running the length of the closet floor, lined with white and cov- ered with dark material, can be readily converted into a roomy shirt-waist box that is not in the least in the way. FOR MARKING LINEN. Here is a simple letter suitable for marking house or personal linen; it should be worked in satin stitch with fine embroidery cotton. ONE OF THE NEWEST SHADES Chic Gown Constructed of Blue Cloth —One-Piece Empire Model Is Used. One of the odd new shades of blue cloth was used to build this chic gown, which, as the illustration shows, is a one-piece empire model. Bands across front of bodice are gray bengaline; narrow gray braid and silk-covered buttons are profusely used in bodice and skirt. The two large buttons in front of bodice are gray cord and the flat collar of silk opens over a jabot of white lace matching the frills in stock and sleeves. The back of the frock is seamless and there is a sash of silk starting from under each arm, passing under a strap on each side at waist line and falling to middle of the back, where it is knotted. Ends are confined in silk tassels. The Matter of Hats. In Switzerland they seem to have more foresight than in America and any woman wearing a hat with a di- ameter of more than eighty centime- ters must pay for it as if it were a bicycle or a cart. But really the worst foes of the big hat are the women when the hats are worn by other wom- en, and nothing could be funnier than the way they glare at one another when the hats dispute the space of street cars or sidewalks. the hand slightly. GET READY FOR THE SUMMER Now Is the Time to Make Handbags, Indispensable with the Linen Frock. Girls with clever fingers can easily make for themselves the linen o1 pique handbags, which are quite a smart accessory of the linen or pique frocks for the coming summer. The bags are made of white or of a color, being of the same material as_ the frock or suit with which they are worn, and they may be attached to the belt or carried in the hand as one pre- fers. In size they measure about six inches, the lower corners being rounded. The bag is lined with butcher’s linen to give it stiffening, and both sides are ornamented with soutache braid, which may be put on as simply or as elaborately as one likes, the edge of the bag being pret- tily finished by a loop pattern, which is put on to come a bit below the curve of the linen. The handles may be double or single as one fancies, and are made by braiding the soutache into strands the length desired, dainty little loops being formed at either end to cover the place where the handles are sewed on to the bag. Troubles with Dyes. Sometimes when gowns or trim- mings are dyed, not all the little laces or embroideries come out alike. At first this seems an unsurmountable calamity, but a clever woman may work wonders with the fabrics if she will spend time and patience over it. A saucerful of dye may be mixed up, and by trying several combinations it is possible to match the shade ex- actly. Then with a paint brush, very lightly and daintily, she may go over the parts which did not take the dye. She may have to go over it several times before it will take well and, al- though the process takes time and is tedious, the splendid results are well worth the.effort. New Appointment Card. One of the prettiest devices intended to jog the memory with regard to ap- pointments is a card of rough art card- board with a clock dial some four inches in diameter, and clock hands, which can be moved to point to any hour. This dial occurs in the center of the card, and above it in fancy lettering are the words: “Don’t forgeé that ap- pointment at—.” The time of the en- gagement is, of course, supplied by the hour to which the clock hands point. The rest of the decoration is in crafts- man style, consisting of conventional- ized bay trees. The card is inclosed in an artistic frame of stained wood, severely plain. To Clean Chamois Skin. An excellent way to restore cha- mois skins that havé become stiff and soiled is to rub them through a strong solution of cold water and household ammonia, later rinsing thoroughly in clear, cold water to soften. Pin to the line to dry in the sun, rub through Cured by Lydia E. Pink- ham’sVegetableCompound Milwaukee, Wis. — “Lydia E. Pink- ham’s Vegetable Compound has made < me a well woman, and I would like to tell the whole world of it. I suffered fromfemaletrouble and fearful painsin my back. Ihadthe best doctors and they all decided that I had a tumor in addition to m female trouble, an {advised an opera- tion. Lydia E. m’s Vegetable Compound made me a well woman and I have no more backache. I hope I can help othe by telling them what Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound has done for me.” — Mrs. EMMA IasE, 833 First St., Milwaukee, Wis. The above-is only one of the thou- sands of grateful letters which are constantly being received by the Pinkham Medicine Company of Lynn, Mass., which prove beyond a doubtthat Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Com- pound, made from roots and herbs, actually does cure these obstinate dis- eases of women after all other means have failed, and that every such suf- ering woman owes it to herself to at least give Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegeta- ble Compound a trial before submit- ting to an operation, or giving up hope of recovery. rs. Pinkham, of Lynn, Mass., invites all sick women to write her for advice. She has guided thousands to health and her advice is free. For camping tnps rei. uc. whiz Syrup. To pray to be delivered from our trials would be to seek escape from our triumphs. A Cure for Colds and Grip. There is inconvenience, suffering and danger in a cold and the wonder is that people will take so few precautions against colds. One or two Lane's Pleasant Tablets (be sure of the name) taken when the first snuffly feeling appears, will stop the prog- ress of a cold and save a great deal of un- necessary suffering. Druggists and dealers generally sell these tablets, price 25 cents. If you cannot get them send to Orator F. Woodward, Le Roy. N. Y. Sample free. THE WITCHES’ TREE. Curious Superstitious Regarding the Influence of the Elder. County people speak of the elder tree as “The Witches’ Tree,” and planted it near farm buildings and dairies to keep off witches. They also say that the roots should never come near a well, still less grow into it, or the water will be spoiled. Evelyn's opinion was also unfavorable. He says: “I do by no means commend the scent of it, which is very noxious to the air. “We learn from Biesius that a cer- tain house in Spain, seated among many elder trees, diseased and killed nearly all its inhabitants, which, when at last they were grubbed up, became a very healthy and wholesome place.” Cattle scarcely touch the elder, and the mole is driven away by the scent. Carters often place branches on their horses ’heads to keep off flies. Noth- ing will grow well in the company of the elder, and when it has been re- moved and all its roots carefully grubbed up it is some few years be- fore the ground becomes perfectly sweet and good for anything. The berries, besides feeding the birds, make excellent country wine, delicious with soda water in summer or taken ‘hot in winter; the wood is particularly good for skewers and the curious jews’ red fungus grows on elder stumps. A species of elder in the Tyrol is covered with beautiful scarlet berries. THINK HARD It Pays to Think About Food. The unthinking life some people lead often causes trouble and sickness, il- lustrated in the experience of a lady in Fond Du Lac, Wis. “About four years ago I suffered dreadfully from indigestion, always having eaten whatever I liked, not thinking of the digestible qualities. This indigestion caused palpitation of the heart so badly I could not walk up a flight of stairs without sitting down once or twice to regain breath and strength. “I became alarmed and tried dieting, wore my clothes very loose, and many other remedies, but found no relief. “Hearing of the virtues of Grape- Nuts and Postum, I commenced using them in place of my usual breakfast of coffee, cakes, or hot biscuit, and in one week's time I was releved of sour stomach and other ills attending indi- gestion. In a month’s time my heart was performing its functions naturally and I could climb stairs and hills and walk long distances. “I gained ten pounds in this short time, and my skin became clear and I completely regained my health and strength. I continue to use Grape- Nuts and Postum for I feel that lowe my good health entirely to their use. “There’s a Reason.” Nuts and by making Postum accord- ing to directions, it tastes similar to mild high grade coffee.” Read “The Road to Wellville,” in pkgs. “ like the delicious flavour of Grape- ~ ~~