Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-01-01
"Lide Lide!" said Miriam, in trembling

voice.
Lide heard the voice distinctly; but even
thus at deaths door, she could not still the
horror its sound awakened. In her insensi-
Bile mind the accents stirred one feeling only
that of terror and loathing.
"Lide Lide !" the sister spoke again.
Still she replied not neither did she ap-
pear to hear her, save by the shrinking OF her
whole form in dread.
"Lide live only live, Lide; and swear l
will be better woman! 1 will reform, II
you will only live, my poor little sister !
moaned Miriam, in earnest tones.
But Lide answered not. Fever was relent-
less, and the young girl was bound in death
agonies, and was unhappily powerless.
Looking on her, Miriam recollected how, a
few short hours ago, she had wished to de-
prive the poor sufferer Of the brightest jewel
that shines for woman throughout her little
day looking on her thus, a feeling of COM
Function stirred in the breast of the wicked
woman, and she was ready, ON her knees, to
crave forgiveness at the hands of her poor sis
ter whom she had so insulted; and she spoke
truly when she said she was ready to reform.
At that time she was keenly conscious of her
disgrace, and deeply sorrowful and repentant
of her past bad conduct. But deponent say
eth not how long such feelings might have
possessed her. For the hour she was sincere
in her regrets; but her disposition was utterly
unstable, and tomorrow she was almost GER
tain to entertain feelings and commit actions
of which, to-day, she was utterly incapable.
She was, in brief, like vane-never constant,
ever-shifting 10 and fro with every varying
wind that blew. She was inconstant, and did
not even possess the usual qualities of variable
natures. She had not warm or generous
impulse; she was heartless, selfish, from. the
crown of her head to the sole of her foot She
wasundeniably panied to see Lide lying there
as she was, tethered by agony and fever; but
her sorrow was ephemeral, and to-morrows
sun would shine on no grief:stricken face.
Presently there was faint movement on the
part of the sufferer; her lips moved spasmodi'
cally, and her glance, fixed and CLASSY, rested
on Bennas fearful countenance.
30, she's dyin'- she's dyin'," Mrs. Din
widdie burst forth once more, hiding her
wrinkled visage in her check cotton apron,
and weeping with unaffected sorrow.
"Dying? Impossible" said Miriam. "Dy-
ing? 1t cannot be! She cannot leave me
I cannot, Twill not, believe it! She was ang.
ry with me, too, and would not speak to me ;
she ordered me from her presence-me, her
own sister-and after that gave me no word
kind or unkind. Well !'-and she sprang to
her feet and gave vent to harsh, mirthless
laugh-"Who cares? who cares ?-I don't, /
am sure. She refused to pardon me, and
will never pardon her, living or dead But
will cherish the memory of her in bitterness
of spirit. She was always obstinate and
proud, and she comes to the dust and the
worm frst-frst-ha! hal ha! She can't
scorn me now! She can't wither me up with
her contempt nov! 1t was her fault-always
her fault-that she was not rich-only her
fault that she died pauper."
Here she broke off abruptly in her wild
and unnatural talk, and stood with folded
arms, looking at the almost breathless sufferer
in dogged silence.
Old Mrs. Dinwiddie and Benna conversed
together in low tones The invalid must bo
removed hence; taken to their apartment,
whence it would soon be borne to its last rest
ing place, they whispered to each other. Mrs.
Dinwiddie nodded to Benna, and then ap-
preached Miriam. Benna fastened her eyes
on them. Mrs. Dinwiddie cleared her throat
nervously. She was timid old soul at all
times; but on this occasion she was much
more so than usual. Lide had extorted a
promise from her, and it was her earnest and
faithful desire to keep her word religiously.
She could not exactly explain to herself why
Lide had insisted on the pledge; nor did she
wish to know particularly. Curiosity was not
one of old Mrs Dinwiddie's special failings.
1 cannot vouch as much for her grand-daugh-
ter, Benna. She was more like the generality
CT her sex. She always wanted to get to the
bottom of everything, and eleven times out
of twelve, she succeeded in doing so, to the
letter. She had been all eagerness to learn
the cause Of Lide's strange anxiety to get out
of her sisters clutches. There was mystic
ry in the matter, and Benna was resolved to
fathom it. She noticed her grandmother,
hesitating and embarrassed in her manner,
and she wished she would just speak out
boldly to that beetle-browed woman and say
what she wanted, without any more ado.
miriam Halstead!" said Mrs. Dinwiddie,
at last, in a trembling voice.
The woman addressed looked up inpatient
ly.
"What?" said she, abruptly.
"The poor thing amt dead yet; but she's
like to be before its all over" she added,
Jerking her head toward the rude bed where
on lay the still form of Lide; "I'll see to her
bein' carried gently and quietly into our
lodgings, and Benna and me will set up with
her till she survives or perishes" !"
"Set upo' nights, when she will never know
of it? What need of such folly? She'll be
dead by to- omorrow, and the next day the town
will bury her decently. Ihave nothing to do
with you or with your granddaughter, and
will be obliged if you will attend to your own
affairs, and let mine alone"
"But-"
"There are no butts about it. I don't want
to have any words with you. and au0nt."
Mrs. Dinwddie looked puzzled. She felt