Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-08-23
A Midnight DRAMA.

v.
profound and eloquent at once of an old
griei and fresh perpIexltv. Bob
Wiihers, the gentleman in his shirt
sleeves before the mirror, had heaved
that sigh every night for ten wears, sim
ultanecu>ly with the act ofremovinr from
his head the fine chestnut wig which
conceals the almost complete dcs,i,u-
ton OF the natural covering. The rrief
Is therefore an old one, but an element
of perplexity has mingled with this night
~ -igh more la'el y-namely, since hav-
ing woocd and won Angie McLanc in
his wig, he has been screwins up hi.
courage to the point of revealing to her
that u i> Wig, a. he feels IN fairness
he ought TO do. lie has put il of, and
put !; off, never finding lust the r,gbt
opportunity for the confession, until
now the wedding is but a NORTH off, and
the task seems harder. more impo>>i-
BILE, than ever. He Sat prcscn. spend
ing couple OF days a. the house of the
McLan IN th. country, with a view
To getting acquainted with the family.
For the sake OF enjoying unalloyrd the
W .hHktC SbtUtt tnlS snort
tune, he has compromised with his con-
science by resolving at once IN leaving
TO write 10 her and tell the truth. and
bv no means To procrastinatc further
Meantime the process Of getting ac-
quaIhted with the family does not get on
very prosPerou~ly. Bob is a poor match
from the parental point Of view, and
bitter disappointment 10 the McLanes.
Nothing but Angles resolutc character
could have cxtoltcd the grudying con-
sent which their engagement had al
length received. The family consisted.
besides Angie, Of her father and moth
er, and tw" brothers John and George.
MIR. McLnnc kcpl his room, being CON
hrmed invalid. John, strong willcd and
arrogant III temper, ruled the family
with rod otiron--Gccrgr being kinder
tempered, but cf much loss strength of
character. Angie was the only mem
Der OF the family whom John could not
rule, and he had carried .hc poin, OF
her engagement against his bitter oppo-
siton. Mrs. MCl.anr was a mere shut
tlccock between John and Angie. re-
''''rs "'t iliINl~t tIOVl one WillCn
lasted hll the other got hold of her.
John had accepted the engagement with
an exceedingly bad grace, and made
scarcely decent prclrn>e Of conceal
ing from Bob h'> contempt and ho>tili-
". and his desire Ia find anv prete II for
forcing quarrel. This wa> Particular
~ unpleasant and drmoralz,ng To Bob.
because the injury to his own >clf-rc-
spcct by the SENSE vt the iacit decei, he
was guilty ot A. to hi> wig left him un-
able to meet Johns oycIhcarIng iu>o-
lence with the quiet dignity he would
have liked 10 assume.
After gong To bed he Law awake
couple Of hours thinking over these en-
oarras>'nS circumstances. and the de-
hEhtt"l tact OF Angles lrve. to v h;ck
thc.s were offsets. In the course Of his
fossings he became aware that his seal
ring was not on his finger. and instantly
remembered that, after u>ln- IL Tor 4
iorieit IN par!or game that evening. he
mad forgotten to replace il. NcXatiun al
MS ca"irS>ncsS instantly made him wide
awake. The rlus must he on the library
table. Ii not. then he knew not where.
and II there, it might be tilched Nv a
servant IN the morning. Associations
made II itthvalusbic, aud nc found himself
so uneasy abou, its safety that he could
not sleep. Perhaps the best thing he
could do was 10 quietly ttrp down stars
81 has stockings without disturbing anv-
hodv. and make sure ahoutit. lie knew
that he could, even in the dark. steer his
way straight to the library. In this
sie"picss. excited state OF has mind the
slight tingc Of adventure in his plan had
an attraction.
Jumping out of bed he put on a par,
of has clothes. and. softly opeping m.
door OF hts room, wen, across the hall
and down the stairs 10 thu sruund-noor.
II was quite dark, bu, he found his way
easily. having good topographic in-
stnct. From the lower hsll he en-
tered the dining-room, and from tha,
the library. The >ca-eoal fire in the
crate was still nickerins brightly. illu.
m'na'tng the sumptuou>ly furnished
room with faint, soft glow of peculiar
ly rich effect.
There on the table his ring sli,,ered
IN the tittul freight, and, as ne slipped
:, on his finger. he felicita,ed himself on
ms successful enterprise. The room
was so charmingly coEy that he felt i,
would be sin not 10 linger awhile.
80 throwing himself on sofa before
'he CRATE, he fell into delightful rev.
erie.