Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1869-10-14
g Capital GStorp.
FROM THE LONDON coRsHILL MAGAZINE.
Mrs. Merridew's Fortune.
lCoNCLUsIoN. !


We did not meet again for some days af
ter this, and next time ] saw her, which wa
ON Sunday at church with her children,
seemed impossible to me to believe in ih,
reality of the strange scene we had so re
Gently passed through together The calm
curtain Of ordinary decoiums and ordinary
iendliness had risen for moment from
Mrs. Merridew's unexclted existence, re
vealing a woman distracted by primitive
sense of justice rending her own soul, as i
were, in sunder, and doing, ia spite of her.
self and all her best instincts what she fell
was right. That she shonld have any exis
tence separate from her children had never
occurred to anybody before. Yet, for ont
day, had seen her resist and ignore the
claims of her children, and act like an indl-
vidual being. When ! saw her again she
was once more the mother and nothing
more, casting her eyes over her little flock,
cOgnizant. one could see, of the perfection
or impereclion of every fold and line 10
their dresses, keeping her attention upon
each, from little Matty, who was restless and
could not be kept quiet, up to Janci, whO
sat demure, and already caught the eye ot
visitors as one of the prettiest girls of Ding
lefield. Mrs. Merridcw remarked all with u
vigilant mothers eye, and rs gazsd across
| ut her in her pew. it was all bu impossible
| for me to believe that this was the same wO-
| mau who had clung SO cpnvulsivey to my
arm, whose face had been SO worn and hoi-
lowed out with suffering. How could it he
the same woman? She who had suffered
poor John Babington to love her, and then
had cast him off, aud married her friends
lover instead VINO had established 30 firm
an empire over mans heat, that, after
twenty years, he had remembered her still
with such Intensity of feeling. How Janet
would have opened her big eyes had It been
suggested to her that her mother could have
any power over mems heart or, indeed
could be occupied with anything more
touching or important than her children's
frocks or her butchers bill! fear did
not pay much attention to the service that
morning could not but gaze AT them. and
wonder whether, for instance, Mr.. Merridew
himself, who had come back from circuit,
and was seated respectfully with his family
in church, yawniDg discrcetly over Mr.. Da.
| merel's sermon, remembered anything at
all, for bis part, Of Matilda Darlington or her
brother. Probably he preferred 10 ignore
the subject altogether, or, perhaps, would
laugh with a sense OF graiitied vanity that
there had been IA row" when the trans
ference Of his affections was discovered
And there she sat by his side who had, -
had she betrayed his confidence? was she
untrue to him in being this time true to her
friends? The question bewildered me so
that my mind went cropping about it and
about it. Once, fear, she had been false
to those whose bread she eat, and chosen
love instead of friendship. Now was she
false to the nearest of ties, the closest of ull
relationships, sitting calmly there beside him
with secret 10 her mind of which he knew
nothing? "Falsely true was that what
fIp "a xuh hn lpalad IN ha OF 10
world mere pattern of all domestic virtues,
without any special interest about her, a
wife devoted TO her husbands interest, u
mother wrapped up, as people say, in her
children2 l could not make up my mind
what to think.
81 hope you got through your business
comfortably" Mrs. Spencer said to me as
we walked home from church.
With Mrs. Merridew's assistance, said
Lady isabella, who was rather satirical.
And the Merridews heard their own name,
and stopped to join in the conversation.
"What is that about my wife?" he said
Did Mrs. -Musgrave have Mrs. Merridew s
assistance about something? hope it was
only shopping. When you have business
you should consult me. She is goose, and
knows nothing about 1t" y.4
Il don't think she is goose" said l.
mo, perhaps not in her own way" said
the serene husband, laughing; shut every
woman IS goose about business, Il beg
your pardon, ladies, but assure you mean
it us II compliment. l hate woman Of
business. Shopping is quite different mat
ter, he added. and laughed Good heay-
ens if he had only known what fool he
looked, beside the silent woman who gave
me little warning glance and colored a lit
tie, and turned away her head 10 speak to
little Matty, who was clngiag tn her skirts.
A perfect mother! thinking mure (you would
have said) Of Matty's little irils and Janet's
bonnet-slIings than of anything else In life.
Aud that was all about it. The summer
went on and turned Ia autumn and to win
ter and to spring again, with that serene
progression of nature which nothing OBJ
siructs; and the children grew, aud the
Merridews were us poor us ever managing q
yeu pres to mnks both ends meet, but al
ways just little short somewhere, with
their servants chosen on the same principle
Of fsupplcmeniing each Others imperfect SER
vice US that Janet had announced to me
For one thing, they kept their servants u
long time, which / have noticed is charac-
lerislic of households not very rich nor very
''particular. When you allow such pleas
| to tc IN favor of an imperfect housemad as
| that she is good TO the children, or does not
mind helping the cook, there is NO reason
why Mary. If she does not marry in the
mean time, should not stay with you hun
dred years. And the Merridews' servants
accordingly stayed, and looked very friend
ly at you when you went to call, and did
their work not very well, with much super
vision and evaporation (respeciively) on
| the part of the mother and daughter. But
the family was no poorer, though it was no
richer. The only evidence OF our expedi.
lion to town which could note was, that IL
had produced new pucker on Mrs Merri
dew's brow. She had looked sufficiently
anxious by times before, but the new pucker
had someiiDg more than anxiety in il. There
was a sense of something better that might
have been; a sense of something losi.-a
suspicion Of bitterness. How all this could
be expressed by one line ON a smooth white
forehead cannot explain but to me ii was
| SO.
Now and then, too, a chance alusion
would be made which recalled what had
happened still more plainly. For instance,
| / CHANGED To be calling one afternoon, when
Mr.. Merridew came home earlier than usual
from town. We were sitting over our five
o'clock tea, with few of the children scram
bling about the foor and Janet working in
the corner. He took up the ordinary posi-
tion of man who has just come home, with
his back to the fire, and regarded us with
that benevolent contempt which men geDer-
ally think it right to exhibit for women over
their tea; and everything was so ordinary
and pleasant, that for one was taken en-
tirely by surprise, and nearly let fall the cup
in my hand when he spoke.
81 don't know whether you saw John
Babingtons death in The Times three or
four months ago, Janet, he said. ''did you
Why did you never mention 1t 1t is odd
that should not have heard. met Ellen
to-day coming out Of the Amyotts', where
lunched, in such prodigIous mourning that
was quite startled. All the world might
have been dead to look at her. And do you
know she gave me look rs If she woult
have spoken. All that is so long past thai
it's ridiculous keeping up malice l wist
you would call next time you are in town Il
ask for the old lady. Poor Johns deatt
must have been sad loss to them. hea
there was some fear that he had left his pro
perty away from his mother and sister. Blu
1t turned out false report"
did not dare to look at Mrs. Merridev
to see how she bore it but her voice repliet
quite calu ly without any breaks, as il lh,
conversation was on the most ordinary sub
ject,-
"where did you manage to get SO mucl