The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-02-05


caring now to look at him.
All the evening, after the other
guests were there, her thoughts wan
dered back to that moment. She knew
what she would say, and she could an
swer only in one way--only one-she
liked him so well.
"And I have felt 20 sure I could
never like any one again." thought
Hetty Armstrong. "There is fate
in it."
But she danced and sung and talked
as usual, and no one guessed that
was what she was dreamipg-not even
Mr.. Rokewood, who, with a chosen
friend, had slipped away from the par
lOrs, and was smoking and talking in
the dressing-room. He was little out
of serts. Hetty, conscious of her du-
ties as a hostess, insisted on being pub
lie property, and could not be lured
into tete-a-tete, and the women who
were ready to be talked to he did not
care about. Engaged men are gener-
ally known by their boorish conduct to
ladies generally. Rokewood, although
not engaged, believed himself far
enough on the road to forget suavity,
and fell back upon cigars and his mas
culine friends whenever his Iady-love
could not be whispered to or gazed at.
Consequently damsals who thought
lockwood charming were wondering
what had become of him, when Biddy,
the waitress, mysteriousIy beckoned
her mistress into the hall, and, in an
awful whisper, said more spoons were
needed for the crane"
"Of course there must be, ;" said Mrs.
Armstrong. "Where was my poor
head to so forget it? I'll get poor
Aunt Martha's set from my up stairs
china closet. Please wait on the stairs
until I come to you."
And away ran Mrs. Armstrong to the
second floor, where she plunged into
long, old-fashioned closet, and brought
forth legacy of silverware left her by
her maiden aunt. Counting the spoons
over, murmur of voices from the next
room fell upon her ear. At the same
time she caught the perfume of a cigar.
She knew that charles Rokewonod had
the richest voice and smoked the best
cigars of any man in his set.
" You dear old fellow" she whis-
pered to herself, & have been so cross
to you tonight that some day I'll be as
kind to you as 1 can to make up for it. "
Then, with loving woman's wish to
see the dear face that is so dear to her,
she stepped forward and peeped through
a crack in the door of the china closet
opening into the little sewing room,
devoted for this evening to the gentle
mems toilet. Every word was plainly
audible when her pretty ear approachd
so closely to the orevice, and the first
word rivited her attention. The men
were talking of matrimony.
cts deuoed bore" said his friend.
''You are tied to a woman's apron
strings for life. You can't say your
soul is your own. Take my advice and
keep out of it altogether, Charles"
'Look here, old fellow" said Charles,
taking his cigar from between his lips,
"that sort of thing is all a mans
fault. Now, when I marry, my first act
will be to pr owe my self master. As yCu
begin, so you go on, and, before the
honeymoon is over the woman who takes
my name shall know that my word is
law, and that hers must yield to it."
The spoons in Mrs Armstrong; hands
tingled together just then, but no on
heard them. Charles went on:
"My wife, if have one, shall have
no chance to show her temper. II she
does not like my orders she must obey
without liking. I'll break her in just as
/ would horse-bring her down at once
to the frame of mind I mean to keep
her in: purposely thwart her for while;
contradict her ; object to style of dress;
mako her alter her way of doing her
hair; refuse to dance attendance at
church; make her send regrets to party
invitations when she wants to accept
them show her at once what she may
expect. After while I might yield a
little more but because, you under
stand-not to please her,"
"Y-e-es," said his friend, doubtfully;
"but you can't think how hard you'll
find it; and if you stay out late they
make such a rOw-sit up for you in
night-cap, and cry when you come in"
"Td manage that" said Rokewood,
'by staying out every night until day
light. The one rule 1 should put in
practice would be-2ever let the woman
have her own way"
The spoons tingled a little more, and
Mrs. Armstrong; face was terribly
flushed, but she listened STILL"
"Of course you yield a great deal to
the woman you are in love with" said
Mr.. Rokewood, evidently brushing
the ashes from the cigar; "bRt
that's because of the romance and
all that sort OF nonsense, which
dies out with the honeymoon. You can
find women enough to write poetry to,
and to talk sentiment with, married or
single. As for your wife, she's the
woman that keeps house for you, and
the sooner You make her aware of the
| fact the better. When I marry, Jones,
nay dear follow, it will be with no
idiotio idea of perpetual courtship in
my mind. I'll begin as 1 intend to go
on, and be master, depend upon it."
"But not my MASTER" whispered
pretty Mrs. Armstrong, "not mine"
Mistress Armstrong, them spoons"
whispered Biddy, at the stairs just
/ then.
Hetty Armstrong gathered up the
spoons which had slipped down into her
lap. She looked at them as she did so.
They were solid and elegant, as was all
her silver. Her eyes glanced about the
room, which wealth and taste had made
the perfection of elegance and comfort.
| Her room She heard down stairs the