Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-09-18

law large property. He had talents. and
had once been devoted to his work but
now he seemed to care for nothing but to
make for himself the modest income
which sutficed for his wants.
Ihere was pleasant little society in
the university town of Menango, but MIR.
Devlne went nowhere but to his sisters
house, and seldom there if there was
other company. He busted himself with
books in his leisure moments, and tried to
forget himself, and the ghost of the mast
in study; but, after ALL life was to him a
very heavy and uninteresting business,
and he would not have been sorry to Law
down the burden once for ALL At thirty
five, much to his sisters veXatiOn. he
spoke and thought of himself as one to
whom all the chances, ambitions and en-
Joyment OF life were closed
| III the idol to which he had sacrificed
| himself had possessed even head of gold
Mrs. Hassan could have borne it with
more resignation; but when she knew
that the costly sacrifice had been laid on
| the shrine of a wooden image, no better
than that fish-bodied doll which the
| Epheslans adored as the virgin huntress.
| Mrs. Hassan's patience was sorelv tried
| And now the woman had come here to
throw herself in Sydneys way, and his
| sister could foresee nothing but trouble
IF he once marries her" she said to
herself, "he will find out what a fool she
| IS, and having and hating is far worse than
losing and loving"
The next evening there happened to be
a little party at President Lyons. Mrs.
| HaSsan and her mother in law had meant
| to go; but at the last minute arrived an
old friend OF Mrs. Hassan's the elder. and
that lady preferred staying to talk over old
| times. Mr.. Hassan had gone out of town
| on business Classy did not like to 90
alone; and, rather to her surprise, her
brother, who was in the house, offered to
| accompany her
| Not till she was coming down stairs to
get into the carriage did it occur to her
| that Mrs. Armer would probably be at Mr..
Lyons.
But she would contrive to meet him
somewhere" thought this uncharitable
woman, land it may be better there, than
| accidentally on purpose, by the river, or in
the woods"
As Mrs. Hassan came down the stairs of
DR.. Lyons house she heard from the par
| lOr Il certain hard, metallic laugh with
which she was familiar, and she saw her
brother look about him with a startled
been unplcasantly Jared
The brother and sister paid their com
pliments to Mrs. Lyon and tie President,
and then Mrs. Hassan looked about her.
sydney, who felt lonely and out of place,
attached himself to Professor Beaucour,
and made conversation about the college
library, To the extreme disgl.St of Miss
| Maude Clay, who had been making her
| selfagreeabc by asking series OF discon-
nected questions varying from astronomy
and chemistry to the professors own pa
per on the "Catacombs" in the last North
American.
The professor was a shy man and, like
most authors, he could not bear to talk of
his writings Perhaps he telt grateful to
Mr., Devine, for he entered with ardOr
into the subject Of English classic litera-
ture. In the meantime, Mr.. Devine was
/ conscious OF curious teeling-nOt hope,
/ not expectancy, not terror-an influence
in the air for which he could not account,
! only rs it connected itself with a rather
! loud treble voice and a frequent sound,
half laugh, half giggle, that came from
/ the laugh, were oddly familiar They
/ were like, yet unlike, sounds which had
rung in his memory for many a dav
| Mrs Hassan, listening to the CONVERSE
I ton of that very elegant yOang gentle
man, Master Dick Monroe, was at no loss
to recognize the voice, for the memory of
aversion In this case was truer than that
/ of love. She sat where she could see
/ Mrs, Armer's figure in the center OF a
group OF young men. Mr. Armer had
not been dead more than eighteen months,
but Mrs. Armer had chosen, since Sun
day, to leave off her mourning, or only to
retain such as might be disCerniblc rather
by faith than by sight.
She wore pale lavender silk, made
very low and trimmed in every conceiva-
BILE place. She had vioets and white
roses in her hair, and black velvet rib
bon with a pearl cross on her white neck,
and pearl jet bracelets on her arms. She
had not grown old, and at twenty
looked hardly less fresh than at nineteen.
Her color had not faded, and she had the
same way Of rocking to and fro, twisting
her neck and rolling her eyes in man
ner which some people called graceful
and which had OF old disguised Classy
Dtvine and charmed her brother.
Would it charm him again? Mrs. Has
san glanced at him across the room, and
saw that he had seen his old love, and was
Watching her quite obivious to the Pro
>
collection which he desired to see added
to the library The look on Mr.. Devinc's
face was not of admiration, or grief, or
any very intense emotion, except that OF
shocked surprise and wonder.
Presently as Professor Beaucour turned
to speak to some one else, Mr.. Devlne
made his way to the group of which Mrs
Amer was the center, and reached 1t just
in time tn hear these words.
Oh, people in America make such
rights of themselves, wearing mourning
forever, and going about like so many
walking pals. And if you put on black
YOU can't goto parties. Why, when Cad
Martins brother died, and she was per
ttctly devoted to him, she wouldn't put on
black at all, because then, she said, she
couldn't go into society, and her mind
was so distracted she needed diversion
more than ever. | told Mr.. Armer that
he needn't expect | was going to make a
guy of myself for him forever if he died
And here came the inevitable laugh
echoed by many of the surrounding gen
tlemen. / think most men have certain
pleasure in hearing a woman talk ike
fool, as it justiies their preconceived the
cries
Can this be the woman | have had IN
my mind all these years." thought MI
Devine, bewiIdered, and yet with dim
sense of relief as if some heavy cloud
were gradually dispensing from before his
eyes