em surprises me. I have the highest opinion of our
Scottish marriage law. A man who has betrayed a woman under a promise of
marriage is forced by that law (in the interests of public morality) to
acknowledge her as his wife."

"The persons here present, Mr. Moy, are now about to see the moral merit
of the Scotch law of marriage (as approved by England) practically in
operation before their own eyes. They will judge for themselves of the
morality (Scotch or English) which first forces a deserted woman back on
the villain who has betrayed her, and then virtuously leaves her to bear
the consequences."

With that answer, he turned to Anne, and showed her the letter, open in
his hand.

"For the last time," he said, "do you insist on my appealing to this?"

She rose, and bowed her head gravely.

"It is my distressing duty," said Sir Patrick, "to declare, in this
lady's name, and on the faith of written promises of marriage exchanged
between the parties, then residing in Scotland, that she claims to
be now--and to have been on the afternoon of the fourteenth of August
last--Mr. Geoffrey Delamayn's wedded wife."

A cry of horror from Blanche, a low murmur of dismay from the rest,
followed the utterance of those words.

There was a pause of an instant.

Then Geoffrey rose slowly to his feet, and fixed his eyes on the wife
who had claimed him.

The spectators of the terrible scene turned with one accord toward the
sacrificed woman. The look which Geoffrey had cast on her--the words
which Geoffrey had spoken to her--were present to all their minds. She
stood, waiting by Sir Patrick's side--her soft gray eyes resting sadly
and tenderly on Blanche's face. To see that matchless courage and
resignation was to doubt the reality of what had happened. They were
forced to look back at the man to possess their minds with the truth.

The triumph of law and morality over him was complete. He never uttered
a word. His furious temper was perfectly and fearfully calm. With the
promise of merciless vengeance written in the Devil s writing on his
Devil-possessed face, he kept his eyes fixed on the hated woman whom he
had ruined--on the hated woman who was fastened to him as his wife.

His lawyer went over to the table at which Sir Patrick sat. Sir Patrick
handed him the sheet of note-paper.

He read the two letters contained in it with absorbed and deliberate
attention. The moments that passed before he lifted his head from his
rea