The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1876-02-24
WITH A SlL.KEN
TIL READ: =: 2:
CHAPTER w.

OUT OF PLACE. il
The sudden change Of bahits and
msnaer-from simplicity and. por!
ridge to luxnriopsness, and = Frepeh
,cook~fnom continual exercise about
the house, gusty breaths of fresh fell
side air at all hours Of the day, and
small rooms, cosy and closely: heated,
to much sitting, little walking and
spacious apartments where : she felt
chilled and: unhomedo because 1 she
could not a''sit into the fire., as .she
said, but did not feel warm or com
Portable at a distance began to tell
on the health and spirits Of Lois. -,
She was at no time robust, being
Of the kind which drinks tes; and
does not eat meat; pinches its waist
in stiff stays and goes in. airy 5cos-
tunes on bleak days, if 30 be that
vanity prompts gossamer and repudi+
stes woolen; catarrh and: subsequent
consumption Notwithstanding hence
abe had but a small amount ofreserve
force: wherewith to resist unfriendly
influences, and with all Her plscid
demeanor she suffered ! 8 actually: =.
those who re.smore 'demenst1ative
and outwardly excited. 49,. .,'. - i
The. personal ; strain, too under
which she was living also tod o. sher
and made: her yet more nervous: than
before, hence more uncouth and. by
the vicious round of action and >reac.
ton, more distressed; ;; 80 that alto
gether the visit on which, she: had
counted so much, while at. WITH
burn, seemed proving itself one. .:of
those Dead Sea apples Of life which
mocking fate so often. filings into
our lap, charming to the imagination
and bitter to the sense.
III at ease and uncomfortable, she
had not even the satisfaction Of a
tangible cause Of complaint. Maud;
was harsh and contemptuous: truly,
but then Cora was sweet and, friend!
ly, and though Bernard, was q little
perplexed and restrained before blk,
on those rare occasions when he got
her to himself. alone, he was all that
be had ever been, and hia kithfulnees
to the IDEAL he had created for him.
self was as unshaken as his tender,
ness. As for Mrs. Haynes, she con.
|tinued to treat her unwelcome guest
as she had treated her from the be.
ginning, with cold and stately courte.
~, seeking to make her conscious
that she was an alien among them,
while fulfilling the Law Of politenes4
to the letter, only dropping out Of the
canon human kindness and womanly
compassion. In the neatest, but the
most cruel way possible she disse ected
and displayed the girls utter ,gno.
rance Of all those things into the
knowledge Of which ladies of condi.
ton are supposed to be born as a gift
of race. She fathomed her deepest
depth in literature and art-theu
showed her son, and all the world
how contemptibly shallow it was
che made her reveal herself as sub
stantially uncultivated, unre6ned
plebian in her views of life, in he,
estimate of social obligations, and
unable to rise to the height of patri.
clan magnanimity, no matter wha I
the gloss put. on her by q gentle ma
ture and theglamour wrought by he,
surprising beauty. At every turn
she made her betray her un6tness &c
plainly that Bernard, distracted By
love and common sense, respect fo1
his mother and loyalty to Lois
scarcely knew what course TO- tax
more especially as all by which h,
was wounded was % vague a. was IL
th.t-by Which j i Lloisx.aspp q pptinaesa! i 4! ,:,eth..
he, no more than herself. could pu(
his finger o. any spot and say, "Thi.
is the core Of my complaining"
Were they never to discuss art, fol
instance, because Miss Lancaster di,
notknow Rafaele from Rembrandtan
had heard as little of Turner ~ o
Claude? Was all mention of th
latest discoveries in astronomy to b.
tabooed, because, when she Was asked
this unpromising young friend q
! ! r. x1>l u