The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1881-08-07
"Madgie, do you love your husbsndi"

Bile, lift my head and laugh, and say, with
reckless desperation. s1One would think
the old rhyme is true, and otis love that
makes the world 80 round.,"
"Madge, this to me!n
The kind, panied tones goes straight to
my heart; but ! cicse my lips and try to
look my old careless self.
"Oh, Colonel Treyannion, please don't
make matrimony such an awfully solemn
thing! After all, it 10 only an affair of ar
rangement and convenience. Humphrey
and are perfectly satisfied to 20 on as we
have begun; and suppose, If we live on
in jog-trot stupidity to the end of our days,
is will be all the same in the end"
Ispeak very fast, and do not look at
him, but past his arm to the wall beyond.
ooh, my child, my childW he says in u
low voice. "Little madcap, are you so
hardened, so world-wcary already"
He does not know how sad and sore
ain, how nearly the tears are falling. He
sees his "madcap" grown from gay light
hearted child into bitter and desperate
woman, and he does not know the reason
Of the change--he cannot guess that "mad-
cap Is breaking her heart because of the
gulf between the old life and this, that
she has married man she does not care
for, and is eating out her heart with re-
gret. Hardened and world-weary Per-
haps | am; and wonder how soon my
husband will find 1t out.
The Colonel sits down in chair and
pulls his moustache and signs, while
twist my watch.chain and look al him from
under my cycashes.
"Madge," he says suddenly. shave you
any idea what effect beauty like yours has
on person. DO you know your husband
worships every feature of your face and
watches your every movement | have
never seen a man SO thoroughly inlatuat.
cd"
ii wish that l wet hideous," say,
passing my hand over the full freshness Of
my face. "lf | had been ugly no man
would have wanted to marry me-"
He leans forward his words are grave,
almost stern.
"lou have been given the perfection Of
beauty, see child, that you do do not abuse
the gift, You have your husbands love,
the entire love of a good, true man, a pos
session not to be despised, and you play
fast and loose with him, my child / am
sorry to say IT. but | am greatly and Bit
tcrly disappointed in my little madcap."
Two tears roll down my checks. In all
the years we have known each other these
are the first hard words he has ever used
to me; but do not let him see how deep
ly they wound.
"You had an ideal madcap BEFORE" | say
In n In untnn nj 1na, .,
who stole the pheasants' eggs and wouldn't
tell her name, She was always frolc-
some" And | smile dismally through my
tears.
"Nay, she was her own true self in the
old days" he answers kindly; sand by
and-by the old madcap will return again
with her merry saucy smile, loving and
lght-hearted, and the old days will come
once more just as they used to be-
"No, they can never come back again"
and my tears fell fast. 81 am going
away next week, and perhaps you will
never see me any more; it is better for
you to think am changed and hard-heart-
ed"
''Hush, my child, you pain mel DO you
think your old friend could ever forget you
or put any one else in your place."
| hide my face on the arm of chair and
make no answer.
"Listenp' he says. 81 will tell you a
story of something that happened once to-
friend of nine"
He is fond of telling stories that bear on
the subject, so force back tho tears and
listen, with my face hidden from him, and
in "A fee moments he begins
"The part Of the story that am going
to tell took place in an old garden, with
roses all around and a girl amongst them,
smiling, beautiful, and defiant, and man
with her. He Is not smiling, but angry
and passionate. She throws hard cutting
words at him, and laughs when the blood
PUSHES to his face, and says more cruel
haunting things TO him, not one Of which
she means; but he believes every cutting
speech, and thinks, If her love was true,
she could not wound with every word.--
She maddcns him with her beauty, and her
eyes sparkle and his flash. She is trying
him too far. She knows how he loves her,
and SO she wrongs herself; and every word
she utters strikes home like a sword.thrust.
She has gone too far, and it Is hard to 60
Ddth, anu sic II pIOuu. CHC uth'ls WOlus
that goad him to madness.
"Madam,' he cries at last, and his voice
is not like his own--'before Heaven
will know the truth. DO you love me or
notp
ellis whole body trembes as he watches
her sconrul red lips and awaits her an
swcr. II comes soon enough. The red
lips smile mockingly; the eyes that used TO
be so soft look up into his own.
"'Sir,' she says, and sweeps curtesy
down to the grass, 81 could never care for
man with such a temper
"'Farewell thenv he says; and he bows
as haughtily as herself. Goodbye for
eyern
"Just for another moment he watches
iorone sign of relenting--and none will ev-
er know how his hot young heart swclls to
bursting at the stony scorn on the beauti-
iul mce he worships-and then he goes
away, and leaves her amongst the roses,
alone,
"'He will come back she says, and
watches in the rose garden every day; and
all the passion dies out, and she longs with
all her heart 70 see her lover again, to whis-
per request for forgiveness.
"But he has taken her at her word, and
comes I'M more. Three weeks afterwards
he sails Tor India with his regiment; and,
when he is gone, there reaches the proud
lady IN The rosc-garden, a little packet con-
tanning all the letters she has written to
her loyei.-but not one word of explana.
| finn al