Lincoln County advocate. (Canton, Dakota Territory, [S.D.]) 1876-1877, 1877-01-10
MRS. ARDORY.
y ( 1OwAhg EGGLESTON.
CHAPTER 7.

CHAPTER
MRS. ARDORY's sENs1Bn1T1Bs.
That has to be the subject of the first
chapter. That was always the Arst
chapter with Mrs. Ardory. She was a
woman Of acute sensibilities. Every.
body shocked her. For my part, 1 can
never laugh at people who have sensi.
bilities without being sensible. They
must suffer a great deal, both from
their sensibilities and their lack of
sense It is double misfortune: let
us pity them. But if selfishness and
Incidence hide their heads behind SEN
;sibility. let us blame, even at the risk
OF being shocking to sensibility.
90 not say that Mrs. Ardory was
selfish. Some readers are always in a
hurry to jump to conclusions about
people. To say that Mrs. Ardory was
selfish would be libel, SANDER, a de.
famation of most tender. hearted crea.
ture. Poor dear Mrs. Ardory was a
bundle OF sympathy, an unfailing foun-
dation OF pity. fathomless ocean Of
philanthropy. She wept and Ia
merted over the condition of the poor,
tbe sick, the bereaved, the fatberless.
When her children came in of q morn
ing, shouting with delight because the
white snow was eagerly piling itself up
higher and higher, aud yet higher on
the garden fence, and fairly smothering
the dark green cedars with massive and
matchless Wilderness, poor Mrs. Ardory
clasped her pale hands in distress, and
sighed, "What day for people out Of
coal " am sure you couldn't say she
was not benevolent. She never failed
to burden everybody about her with her
sympathy for the poor. She weuldn' t.
suffer people who had comforts to en-.
joy them SO long as there were people
who hadn't them. She seemed to be
saying perpetualiy: "Let US all be
unhappy together.
Mrs. Ardory's sensibilities were phil
anthropic. Her husbands father had
the good forture to be simple hear: ed
old truckman, and, though Mrs. Ardo-
rvs husbands was quite wealthy, Mrs.
Ardory found it q. great thorn in her
side that Ardory the elder wouldn't
give up his low calling and be a gentle,
man dependent of his son. It would
seem so much better. 1t was all an &C.
centricity-so she told her friends
this persistence of the old man in the
ignoble business of earning an honest
livelihood when his son was ready to
take care OF his parents-that is
though she did say it, to give them q
grudged pittance to keep them in q
state of .genteel good-for.nothingness.
And, at last, when her mother in Law, a
woman of sturdy will of her own, died,
Mrs. Ardory attacked the old man, who
was Of an easy temper, and besought
and besieged him, for the sake of her
delicate and refined sensibilities. which
were shocked by his course, to yield to
her entreaties, sell his old truck, put
faithful old Bob up at auction asd come
and live with them. It made people
ask so many questions, you know, about
the why and the wherefore, for the old
man to live alone. Questions that re-
Aected upon her character for benevo-
lence were dreadful shock to Mrs. Ar
dery's sensibilities. And so the old
man, unwilling TO cut down the bridge
behind him, hired out his horse and
truck, put To. Let, Furnished" over
the door Of his shabby little house, and
became a sort of chore-boy in his son g
family; he rolled the baby carriage and
hoed In the garden. and was miscel-
laneous utility man about the house.
All for the sake Of Mrs. Ardory's sensi-
sibilities.
But Mrs. Ardory's sensibilities were
more than ever shocked by his lack of
polish. She did not like to have her
father-in-law in the house when there
vas company; he was sure to do some
thing very shocking. So the old man,
who had too much sense to mention his
sensibilities, who had never used the
word sensibility in his life, and who
really thought it meant some fearful
disease when HE daughter ;nlsw% Used
1.-THE old man, having sensibilties
nevertheless, staid out Of the parlor
when there was company, only went
to the table to keep from shocking Mrs.
Ardory by keeping away, and when at
the table swallowed but very little
dinner awkwardly in silence, taking
pains to shovel his potatoes up with
the back of his knife for fear of not
being polite, cooling his coffee by blow
ing on it in his saucer, as his master
taught him, and yet feeling that, do
what he would to be well hammered, he
somehow shocked The sensibilities OF
his daughter-in law at all times. -
:, WlJnout any society-too high up for
the servants, too low down for the fam
iiy-the old man had nothing left for
MN to do but to go on shocking sensi-
h!!!!!es al Tie time. Perhaps there is
no way Of passing ones lifetime more
unpleasant than TO spend it in being
On object Of dislike, People who are
Stumbling blocks always feel it more
keenly than those who stub their toes
against them. It is far worse to be in
the way and know it, than it is to have
somebody in your way. And SO the old
man. conscious of being in the way,
fidgety in his haf-genteel rig, longing
again for the congenial society of hi
ole woman" achingfor the petty cares
OF Old occupation, envying every mar
whom he saw rolling a barrel-whs
should he do but seek comfort wher.
there were nosensibilities that could b,
shocked, in the one corner of the mic,
warm saloon which bore the name O
The House Of LORDS" where he coult
Mt IN shady corner on the sawdustet
noor, SO much better than velvet Car
pets-you could walk without timidit,
Aere-he could sit in ehady corne
With an old crony who would general.
forgive bis CHEAP. fine clothes and pla,
seven.up and drink whlsky with hin
iai si5ne itlt his humiliation all gone
ana talked as though he were indeed
member OF the House Of Lords. ownin,