Wilmington daily commercial., 1872-08-24
tFf6@ fetsfBGAs AasaAtds
rN A LINEN-C CLOSET.
by DAISY vENTNoR.

,srho 1i,rht Is not worth the CANDLE" said
,to,,,yard Somers, to himself, giving his segar
nn ni,} }imnalient puff, and glancing with an air
az ,ynnld-be Indifference toward a slight,
,,irlish figure knocking the croquet-balls at
,hr other side of the lawns glance winch,
,na keen observer, betokened anything but
the calm stOicsm when ne perSuauou nun
srlf he had attained.
Rut alas for poor human nature No
conner hod he determined that Kathleen Glare
,,os the most tickle and capricious of her sex,
,'nJ settled the question that girl who had
,"',,arreled with him four times week, was Z
hardly calculated to make an obedient Mrs
Somrrs. in future, tlan he reversed his de-
ci.ion ms rapidly as he had made II, upon
seeing Tom Archer go down the steps and
Min that ppryerse young woman.
Katheen's fresh, young face wasas change
ru ns her temper and, perhans, little of
,hc main and anger which her encounter with
IIeyward Somers' prejudices had caused her,
lokcd out of great, soft eyes, as she tossed
down her malet, and said,
.(oinr for walk Mr.. Archer2 Don't
,ou want to ask me to go with your Her
,rnr voice reached the ears of the party sit
,inu on the piazza, and, after the manner OF
th,ir sex. the women exchanged charitable |
chances. which said, "Did you ever hear any |
him, like that, my dear?" as Tom offered |
Ms arm to the girl, and they disappeared |
down the path
The party were some fashionable folk, |
shaving at one of the lovely towns which |
line l6e shore of the Sound and they car
ricd their airs and eegancies with them, pref
tyrrnerslly, and their plots and Vaccinations
as well
Kathleen was there with her sister, beau
tful heartless dame, whose principal object
was 10 marry the girl off as speedily as pos
Il. I,,t, nf fbppn maj rripI IpllnC
who could brook no rival near her throne.
They were orphans, and Mrs. Wexford had
left Kathleen at school in Geneva, (whie
she enioyed life in Paris,) as long as it was
possiblc to keep the girl in short dresses, and
VAS by no means as much gIatiiied as she
should have been at the .tHrOre which her
sister created last winter, when she had
brought her ont first in Paris, and then in
New York.
Tom Archer deserves paragraph to him
self, and as he happens to be fayoriie OF
nine he shall have it, lie was one Of For
tunes favortcs as well, for two maiden aunts
hadobligingly left thishfe just as Tom attained
hl~ majority, and with equal cOmplalsance,
lnying qualreled with all their relatives, and
finally with each other,) bequeathcd their
boards TO their well-beloved nephew. As Tor
personal advantages, Tom had none with
the exception of II fine, muscular figure, and
n certain easy dignity of carriage, he was
positively ugly. But he was a gentleman,
every inch of him, and possessed an honest,
warm heart, which other men loved and res
pcced heart which, if Hayward .Somers
could have purchased, to add to his splendid
physique, would have made him in reality
the piece of perfection that most women
fondy persisted in imagining him tn be.
of course, with his fortune and assured
position in society, Tom was courtcd he was
sure TO be sought for his gildcd value had he
possessed the snaky locks of Medusa, instead
Of his very ordinary reddish-brown halr.
And he was shrewd enough to appreciate
this lie had loyal reverence for women
hidden away in his soul and that very fact
made him distrustful of hims II, and skepi-
cal as TO his chances of Winning affection.
OF late, Toms dstruSfulncss had grown III
10 u sort of hopeless despair, for, without
any preparation or warning, tleacheTous
Dame Fortune had thrown him into close nc.
uuaintancc with Kathleen, and tie result Wa
that he had fallen as desperately in love as Il
was possible for n man 10 be.
Between Kathleen and Hayward Somer'
there had been for two months sort OF tacit
unacknowledged engagement Somcrs pqucl
himself upon never having proposed tc
woman; and this very boast had rouset
Kathlecns dangerous familiar, and made he
vow that he should 90 farther than mere tiirt
ng with her She liked him dearly, this gil
with the impnlsve, undisciplined nature; al
most loved him-but not quite. she per
suadcd herself that she did, and this very at
tcrnOOn her heart was penitent within her
and she said over to herself the winning hall
snucy speech with which she would sooth
IcywaId tomorrow Said it with some Sc
Crct amusement, too, for All, well pei
haps She was half afraid to use plummit an
line in the shallow water of llcyward son
crs soul she tried to convince herself thi
he was all she imagined, and generously lal
his shortcomings at the door OF her ow
faulty, capricious temper
''Well," said Tom, breaking silence al
ruptly, and looking keenly at the downca
face at his side, ''What is your conclusic
about the matter p
''That I'm the worst-tempered woman
the world, said she, divided between Je
and earnest.
Zone of the worst, you mean,' correct,
he, gravely.
Il suppose l should thank you for Il
amendment she said, doubtiuy.
laughed outright.
Then you don't think so lily of yours,
after all? Miss Kathleen, what child y
are. Petulant, capricious, aud-dear me!
do believe | was on the point of reading y
lecture"
"lt sounds like it, said she, turning su
apair of soft eyes upon him that the m
was disarmed at once.
You're quite right butnobody thinks
such contradiction as | do myself. I'm
honid little wrech-but I'm only ninetcC
and Eve no mother"
What allied Kathleen that day! Such
Hood of pity for the beautiful, lonely {
rushed over Tom Archer that he was tempt
To make fool of himself on the spot.
Don't, Kathleen he said, wincing as
under blow. 81 want to help you-may
darng?"
The last word tumbled out almost unawa
and the instant Kathleen heard it she kn
Toms secret. But whatever she meant
answer him was never uttered, for S
sounded ON the path, and a voice behind tn
said, with strong, foreign accent
Pardon, monsieur is the residence
NJ. Paul Macdonald near at hand?"
Tom turned about looked at the questi
er, stared, and was so struck with the stra
trs appearance that he stood dumb for J
minute. He was Frenchman or an
ian, it was difficult to determine which
tlight but elegant figure, and face of al
Lutte and perfect beauty The eyes
glanced so carelessly at Tom were the lo
lovely almond eyes of the Southern races
fuid and expressive; certainly, there seel
no reason for the sudden dslrust that Ct
~, I,,Ie 1nli,, a. hat ia