!" He took his stand before the stove, in which the
remains of a fire still glowed. With folded arms he stood gazing down
upon the woman who had been the curse of his life. In the midst of his
terrible anguish it flashed across him that not a feature of her face
gave evidence of the seven years that had passed since they had been
separated. She even appeared younger, more girlish and more
unsophisticated than when he had first known her. Nothing could be read
on those soft lips or on that clear forehead but a sort of curiosity,
an innocent wonder as to what was coming. Her soft, quiet hand had
taken up the scissors again, and was playfully opening and shutting
them.

An almost unbearable thought, a crushing sense of shame suddenly rose
within him, as he realized that this mask had once deceived him; had
excited him to mad passion, and had flattered him into reposing in it
an undying faith--this smooth lie, this cold smile, that did not desert
her even now, when he whom she had so bitterly injured had to put forth
all his strength in order to pass through this hour manfully.

"I am here," said he at length, "to--to make an end of this. I hope you
will not make it more difficult for me than is necessary. I will not
ask you the reasons that have led you to act against our agreement, and
to cross my path again. You have a fondness for masquerading, and I
must let you indulge it as much as you like; all the more as I, for my
part, give you up utterly. I merely wish to warn you that if you ever
again feel a desire to approach me in any kind of disguise, take care
not to lose the mask. I could not bear to see your face again, and my
hot blood might play me false."

She bent her eyes upon him with a perfectly unembarrassed look, as if
asking whether he was really serious when he said these words--whether
he really could not bear the sight of this gentle face.

"Have no fear," she answered, softly, in an almost bashful tone. "I am
not coming again. I have seen all that I wanted to see. It was
certainly a pardonable curiosity that made me want to see what kind of
a face one must have to find favor in your eyes; and if I--"

"Silence!" he interrupted, imperiously. "You shall hear me to the
end--to the very end. If, as I hope, you are not unmindful of your own
interests, and will listen to reason, our last interview will end
peacefully, and I will give you my thanks for having brought it about.
I will then take my child away w