The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1883-07-25

for, though this loving woman had
as yet no suspicion Of the truth.
Four days had passed.
1t was bright day, and there was
to be pleasant picnic party that
afternoon.
Sybella and her betrothed were
among them. They were all old
/ friends and Mrs. Ruthven was in her
gayest mood, and chatted merrily
with all, perhaps a little more with
shy young fellow of eighteen, who
was in the company, than with any
other. because of his youth and shy
ness.
Arthur Austin had begun the day
in his usual good spirits, but as it
went on he grew gloomier and
gloomier. and at last relapsed into
perfect silence.
In vain did his betrothed endeavor
to cheer him. He scarcely spoke or
looked at her, and at last his man.
ner began to have effect upon the
whole partv. One after the other
grew dismal, and the return home
was as solemn as funeral process
sion.
At Sybella's door Austin lifted his
hat coldly and bade her good even
ing, without even q pressure of the
hand.
You are coming in, Arthur p she
said, softly.
No. he answered.
Are you illY
At that he turned sharply upon
her, and said aloud:
No | am not i'll. am not blind,
that is all. Nor deaf, either. have
watched and listened to-day at my
cost. Good evening
what did he mean, aunt" cried
Svbella, when the door had closed.
What has been done? | saw moth
ing
He is pretending to be jealous OF
young Mordaunt,' said her aunt ,qui-
etly. 'Sybella, have courage. He
means to'quarrel and break it of
with YOU, now that he thinks you
penniless. Tell him the truth and
/ he will soon recover from his jeal-
ousy. Keep it to yourself, and you
will never be able to mollify HIM
And this time Sybella only sighed.
But sne went to her room and wrote
a pretty letter to her loyer, begging
him to come to her, and when he
came she met him with an offer OF
her lips, which he shocked her by
rejecting.
You know how l have been of
Tended. Sybella, he said. You know
you firted with that boy Mordaunt
all day.
4 did nothing of the kind, / never
flirted in my life, why should | be-
gin to do so now? No woman was
ever erthan | have been to you,
Arthur
Il doubt it. said he. Il have seen
much, and | suspect more, and,
since your conduct has alienated my
heart from you, we had better part.
There is only one way for managing
these things
Sybella looked earnestly at him.
She saw no jealous madness there,
only a cool determination to set
aside his engagement with Il woman
whom he had never loved, and whose
fortune had been his only object
from the first.
And she knew that Aunt Margaret
had been right, but she loved him
so well, and trusted him so entirely,
that it seemed to her as if the knowl-
edge would rend soul from body.
She tried to hide her tears, but in
vain.
Slowly she drew her engagement
ring from her finger and put it into
his hand and turned away. At the
door a strong hand grasped hers. 1t
was Aunt Margaret's. She led her
niece to her room, and returned to
the parlor before Arthur Austin had
left it.
Standing before him, looking
straight at him, she said:
so, sir, you have been tried in the
furnace and found wanting. You
know that my niece's loss of fortune
is at the bottom of this. Don't pre-
varicate, you know it is true. have
seen through you from the first.
1t is not your affair, | believe,
Arthur answered sulkily. OF course
when a man expects to marry mon
ey, he isn't pleased to find himself
saddled with poor wife and her
beggarly relations. But of course |
was Jealous. I've broken it all off
with Sybella on that account, and
it's her own fault
She has had lucky escape, Mr..
Austin, said Aunt Margaret, but
before you 60 let me tell you little
secret. Sybella has not lost her
money. The bank that failed had
not penny OF hers IN 1t. And as
for the beggarly relation. you mean
me, you know, poor Aunt Margaret
is worth her $4,000, and every shil-
ling of it is TO be left to her dear
niece Sybella Ruthven. | warned
her that you did not love her. l
forced her against her will to put
YOU to the test. And now | see that
| was right, and you may 60. Mr..
Arthur Austin.
Mr.. Austin departed. A month
afterward he wrote penitent letter
to Sybella, telling her that he be-
lieved himself to have been cause
lessly jealous, and quoting good
deal from Byron and Shakespeare on
the subject.
But the woman who is fooled
twice by the same individual must
be hopeless idiot, and Mrs. Ruth
ven will remain Mrs. Ruthven until
some better man asks her to change
her name.