The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-11-02


the room, and seemed to- busy myself with
the last Scrib Do not think tina
they purposely overlooked me, or ignored
nv presence But they talked of per
sons and things Of which knew nothing
and so-foolishly, Perhaps glided
away from them.
Blu. [ could not read. Gradually tn
current Of talk drifted round to Miriams
life abroad. How she glowed and spar
kled then! How like Leaf torn from
some old romance seemed The story of her
sojournings in Venice, in Florence, in
Rome, in Dresden, in Paris, in Berlin |!
Her great violet eyes kind!ed, ANA their
light deepened and darkened as she
spoke OF the old cathedras, 'the stored
castles, the art and architecture
which it had been the dream OF my life
to see, but which probably never should
see until this mortal had put on immor
taIity, and my disembodied spirit should
be free to wonder at will.
Walter hung on Ter words, her looks,
a. one enchanted. | did not wonder at
it; could not blame him. But ali !!
how it hurt me
stole softly out of the room and up
stairs TO nay chamber while they were
wrapped in some dream of Michael An
gclo or Raphael Taking lamp, |
walked straight to the large mirror thai
.overhung my dressing table Walter
! had been wont to call me his gypsy
queen-his brown-eyed fairy, and the
like. bad been praised, sometimes, for
u certain dark oriental style Of beauty :;
and had been glad for his sake But |
was little and brown with small, irrcgu
lar features. | needed the cosmetic OF
10y; and tonight there was no color in
my cheeks, no lustre in my eyes |
looked old and worn and faded and that
woman down stairs, with her eloquent
words, her witching glances, her peerless
beauty, was weaving her Did spells about
my husband, and Turing his heart away
from me
Ii looked old then, must have been
Il perfect Methuseieh-or whatever the
feminine of that venera bic name NAV be
before the first Of September. Miriam
Delamater's presence chatcd and harassed
me beyond measure. There was nothing
in her saying or doings that | could de-
liberately, and in the broad, clear light OF
common sense, quarrel with She and
my husband meU upon the frank, free
footing of old friends. Surely [ had no
right to find fault with that? And it
was not her fault that she was fairer,
calmer, stronger, and more self poised
than |, She was not to blame that the
wondrous charm OF her voice, her face,
her manner was SO potent; or that her
grace, her quiet selfpossession, her rare
conversational powers oppressed me with
a vague, yet painful sense Of inferiority,
and made me silent and constrained in
her presence. 1t was only that | was
weak and childish, incapable of sustain
ing myself and of commanding my hus
bands admiration. Thus l reasoned
with myself in the night Watches and
strove to be generous, if not content
But my heart rebelled This guest of
ours, whether willfulIyor no, did come in
between my husband and myself. There
were no more long confidential talks for
us in the still twilight; there were no
sweet, familiar words at MONDAY; there
were no brisk rides or walks in the breezy
mornings For wherever we were, there
was Miss DeIamatcr; and she wasYa born
diplomat and believed in monopolies
Then, too, was physically worn and
wretched. The addition of this one mem
Der to my household added wonderfully
to my domestic cares and labor Miri
am Delamater had the art Of appearing
exceedingly helpful--even officiously So
/ do not doubt in the least that Walter
thought Der great assistance to me :;
and blessed her for her sisterly aid and
counsel. But the truth was, she was
utterly helpless and inefficient when it
came to the practical daily recurring
needs of life To make had matter
worse, she did not know this, and was
always volunteering Gin Walters pre-.
sence, mind you,) to do some stupend0us
deed in the housekeeping or culinary
line; which, when once begun, Hannah
or [ were forced to finish. For my lady
was sure to become exhausted before she
had made an end to her beginnings,
while she claimed credit for having done
whatever she bad undertaken.
During all these dreary weeks Walter
was never unkind or impatient with me.
But he could not understand matters
He could not comprehend my "whims
and humors," as he called them; and ]
kept my own mouth closely sealed. Il
doubt if made myself very charming in
those days; and suspect now, that he
was as thoroughly puzzled as man ever
was by his wifes demeanor. He would
come in fresh and vigorous from his
earnest-eager work, to find Miss Delama
ter in the parlor ready to to talk to him.
or with hiu-of books, of art, of noted
men whom she had met, of lannon's places
she had seen. She kept his whole intel
lectual being in healthy action. By and
by little, pale, spiritless woman would
come stealing in, and sit silently in the
shade.