The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-03-05


speak, perhaps you'd take fancy to him,
and like him better than me-"
"See here, BILL said the girl, al don't
suppose you could know, but l hate that
man, and all of his class. You're worth
hundred of him, and you're not too good
for me, either hate him! DO you hear?
don't know why father ever brought him
home"
"Why' said Bill, with puzzled look,
"what's the matter with the girl? He
varnt uncivil to you, was he? Because,
If he was" and the big fellow clenched
his fist.
"No, no. said Meg, hastily, now could
be beg Only--I hate these whte-handed,
solt-voiced gentlemen that think themselves
so much our betters; and then he gives
more trouble and work."
SWELL ! don't think he'll stay more than
month; and any way, don't mind say
ing Meg, it's relief to my mind that you
don't take 10 him. Girls are so apt to fancy
that kind of chap"
Don't let us talk of him, Bill" she
said, almost pleadingly. "What could
there be between him and me but dislike (?
We are not the same kind Now you and
| |, Bill, belong TO the same class, and suit
each other. We've been bred alike. And
you'll be back in months time, if all goes
well?"
Her words were incoherent and her man
ner excited. "No wonder" thought Bill
"why, don't suppose any man but me
ever spoke word of counting to her be
| fore" And again strong sense of graft
fed vanity crept through his big frame, and
| L.. h.,s an l,,,r nd
said "Good-by," he had the real sense of
absolute ownership of her, which is the
sweetest and dearest sensation man of his
type ever feels in his relation to woman.
CHAPTER Ii.
Arthur Middleton had come down to this
out-of.theway place for two things; to
sketch from nature, and to kill time during
a period of probation which lay before
him. II was only two months now, but II
looked long, and the young mans mood
made society distateful to him. He wanted
to dream which is always better done alone,
and so he had determined on this trip. He
had never had but one strong feeling in his
life and that was his love for his cousin
Helen Featherstone. 1t had grown up with
him, and seemed TO be rooted deep in his
heart. He was not man Of much strength
Of will or decision OF purpose, but he had
always since his boyhood known his own
mind about this one thing, and had per.
sisted in his devotion TO his cousin with a
force and consistency that did not seem
part Of his character. She was intellectu.
ally his superior, and, being a woman OF
remarkable energy and will, was stronger
than he was, except on this one point. She
could have made him change his mind
about anything but this and 50, after sew.
eral years of determined, persistent waiting
on his part, he had so far succeeded as TO
gain promise from her to consider the
matter that Summer. She was TO spend
three months in Europe, and they had
agreed that should she have decided in his
favor he should know it by line written
n before the arrival Of the steamer and mailed
TO him at once when she reached the dock.
One month had gone already, and after
having struggled through it between Sara
toga and Newport, Middleton had decided
that he would face the two that remained
alone with his thoughts and his pencil.
He was a clever sketcher, amateur to the
core. No genuine artist drop in his blood,
but fond of nature, especially of the ocean,
and always capable of amusing himself
with sketch.book.
gentleman every inch of him. He was
also one Of those people who, if they had
lived under the dollhouse process of the
middle ages, would have turned out propa-
gandists and nquistors; a little later phil
anthropists, a6olitionists, and prison re-
formers. Living as he did at the present
..day, he was just little apt to try to model
and mould and influence any one with
whom he was thrown IN contact for Il time.
He could do anything for any one except
let him alone. Ii was one of the standing
grievances of his cousin Helen, who cared
for nothing IN life so much as not being
inierfered with you were meant for a
schoolmaster, Arthur" she would say, or
nursery gardener, and then you could
train and shape and turn to your hearts
content" He could be unselnsh and gen.
erous without an effort, but he could not
resist his impulse to NEEDLE in other peo
pies lives; and II must be admitted he did
it well, Mostpeople were really influenced
by him, and for their good. He taught a
great many people to like what they had
disliked, and TO do what they would have
left undonc, II was only a wilful, way.
ward, selfdepcndent nature, like his cous.
ms, that at the first hint Of abridle kicked
up its heels in his face and galloped dis
painfully away.
, what could be more natural than the de.
sire which came into his rather unoccupied
mind, rs he stood smoking in the sunlight,
TO improve, soften this rather uncivillzed
girl, who had cut him short the night be.
'ioreY Perhaps Arthur was a little bit of a
prig-the word must be spoken. Are not
oil relormers more or less prigs? It's the
visible sign of their human infrmity, and
he was quite too full Of good intentions for
1t not to be readily forgiven him. His
vanity after all was not of the ordinary
coarse, cruel, masculine type. 1t never
would have occurred TO him to make Meg
Anderson the subject of an dyl in which
he and she played the principal parts
All he ever dreamed of was to dror
upon her a gefNle shower of Gsthet
cal reiincments and courtesics till she melt
gu, and then develop her intelligence, i'm
prove her manners, and get her to do JUS
lice TO that beautiful hair which his eye
quick to see the beauty of color, had beer
struck by us II fell over her shoulders the
evening before Like all kindly vain pco
pie, Arthur firmly believed in the elevation
OF the lower classes and that IL was to bt
altogether effected by personal influence
But let the story tell itself While Arthur