The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1873-06-11

]. only son, EuWdru, sHe salu, Pa
: cling her hand on Ted's head ant
= looking up into my fathers face
"Heaven bless him, and make hin
. . a comfort to you!" $50 mean o
her." Madge and I said to one an
/ other, Ito pander to pas supposed
!, preference for boys"
= The next morning I made my
:, way into my fathers study with g
3 packet Of books, and while [ was
!, waiting at his elbow, seeking what
, I could devour out of it all, be
spoke to me suddenl y:
"Well, Helen, how do you mean
: to get on with your new mamma p
Il suppose there's no need for us
: to call her. mamma, is there%'.
asked.
"No, certainly not, he answer
ed, dryly.. '"Pm not sure that she
would permit it" I felt my face
flush atthis reminder that my wishes
alone were, not to be paramount
any longer Then 1 said:
ashes rather old not. to have
been married before this. How
sad it will be if Madge and I are
old maids!'
"Very sad-for u.s. he said,
laughing; "but that's a remote
contingency. An immediate one
is that you learn to be polite on the
subject of old maidenhood-in fact
that you never touch upon it to
your-to Mrs. Leyton.''
I gave the promise on behalf of
Madge and myself, and soon he,
becoming absorbed in book,
ceased to take notice Of me; so [
went away to repeat this converse
ton to Madge, my sympathiser.
I can not stop to tell how the
time went, how the years fled by,
until was nineteen and Madge
seventeen. Something had been
done by way of educating us-that
is to say, we had had the best mas
ters the neighborhood afforded for
lessons of various sorts,. and twice
a year We had been taken to Lon
don, and given all the advantages
that money and taste and opportu-
nitv could give us. Each of US
had developed a speciality, and my
father had done all that could be
done to cultivate the specially OF
each Madge was a splendid
draughts-woman. I was an aspi-
rant for literary honors. During
these years we had come to feel
our step-mother to be a very peace
ful and pleasant element in the
house. She wasn't clever. 1t had
been almost painful to me to find
this out after my fathers rebuff to
me on the subject of finding ont
things, but I couldn't help it. She
was not clever. / quite despised
her for the timorousness with
which she would advance an opin-
lion, when she could be persuaded
to advance one at all. I had my
own opinion, about every book, de-
bate, picture, or alleged discovery
that 1 heard #, and expressed my
opinion freely. She would listen
to my frequent arguments with my
father, but neither dissent nor agree:
You must think one Of us right"
I said to her one day when her non
Intervention had much irritated
me, land if you tlIihk, one right
YOU must think the other wrong.
I'd give something to hear you
blame one of u.s.
sAh, Helen DEAR she said, in the
gentle voice that I had never once
heard raised in anger or peevlsh-
ness during all these years that she
had lived with us, there isso much
to be said in favor of everything
and every one. I never let myself
feel that any one is wholly wrong
'Oh, I didn't know yon were blt
of a casuist,' I,said, smiling at my
own knowledge Of her being so en-
tirely reverse. And then | saw the
tears came into her eyes as she an
swered.
It's not casuistry, dear. It's the
knowledge I have that we are all
offenders in some way; and that we
all have need of charitable judg-
ment." Then I saw my father
look at her pityingly, lovingly, sym,
pathetically. And I wondered
more than ever what this sorrow OF
hers was.
Madge and 7 often. talked about
|it-had often talked about it during
these seven years. It had dawned
upon us that she was weighted by
some secret very SOON after she
came to us, but we were mindful
of what my father had said'relative
to the vulgarity of trying to lind
anything out. So we never follow
ed any of our speculations far, but
used to content ourselves with won
dering if we should ever be
told.
One thing THAT we couldn't help p
noticing was that she never wrote
or received letters, at least she did
not for many months, and then she
corresponded with friends OF my
fathers whose acquaintance she
made since her marriage. Ana she
,avnr talkod about any relations.