Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-11-29
CHAPTER II.

which was cuffonsB uhtidy. 81 1888
"What place!'' she muttered. cit |
looks as if my trousseau were being got |
ready for this horrible wedding. that |
they are always wanting to din into my |
ears. 1t is enough to disgust any one
with the very. idea of beingmarried. |
Coming of age, and sueha fuss made
about it. I'reposteroIis!2 j
For the room was strewed around |
with the presents which, on the princi- !
pie of. ITO him that hath shall be !
given" had been showered upon the |
Young heiress on this, the day of her !
majority. Jewel-cases. and fan-boNes,
| and scent bottle-boXes, and gorgeous
nondescript tribes in sweetly smelling
Russia leather, such as are supposed to
| be dear to the souls of young ladies,
were scattered here and there. while on
| the bed lay a fairy-like. diaphanous
| thing--her dress for the dance that
night
| She felt sudden sense of Loneliness
| and desolation as she gazed round upon
all these things; as she felt how rich
| she was-and how poor; as she realized.
with a Remand shifting sersesqf self
reproach,. that all her4ife she bad been
thought fossacteG for. held intending
triugs adnever lifted a kend keeps
4 anys ond-sdnever dEia& az teaB sneyer
! soolhed grief. That If She followed
the advice of iler friends" as Laura had
1 just said, she would hasten. to rid her
self of her responsibility as soon as pos
sible, by putting herself, body and soul.
! and her possessions, into the hands OF
some man who, it appeared. was to
! confer an inestimable benefit upon her
by taking possession OF herself
f,and her money, and doing as. he
pleased with both the one and the other.
Such thinly disguised under some pretty
words, was the creed that Laura held;
such was the whole tendency of the
| upbringing Margaret Darlington had
received. It seemed It had not been
quite a strong enough dose, or else her
nature was avery rebellious one that
the usual doses of that kind had failed
to have due effect. for, as she sat here,
alone, she thought:
Il wonderland must know, too
if what they say is all'true. Is it really
so hard for a woman who is rich and
good-looking, to get on without pro-
tector? Should l really be certain to
do something weak OF absurd? In that
case it was very odd that poor papa
should have left no restrictions as to the
use 1 was to make of nv money. Sure
lv he. if any one, should have left or
i ders as to how it was to be disposed OF.
/ feel that there has never been any
thing real about my life. l don't want
to do ANYTHING bad, but / am quite de-
termined that 1 will sow my wild oats
in my own way, in spite of Laura and
Robert, and Maurice Biddulph. and all
of them. Not in smoking and drink
inc, of course, because that would give
me no pleasure, but IN learning little
about real lJe!" '' ii"t5
She paused on this phrase, thinking
it over and bordering upon its mystery,
conscious that all the different branches
of learning lcondensed) which she had
: spent so much time in acquiring had
, taught her nothing OF it.
! .sAll my Cambridge certificates, my
|. honors and nv prizes, have not taught
me. at one-and-twenty, to know, how to
do the good / should like to do-how to
avoid the evil which l know exists.
And when I ask people to tell me what
are the best safeguards they shrek out:
ooh, hush!. How can you mention such
things? At your age, and in your
position, you should not even know OF
/ the existence of anything so shocking.
:. 1t is a curious code. All these presents,
now-I wonder how many are genuine
affections Offering AS i'll wanted
> the poor children to deprive themselves
$ of their weekly sixpences in order to
give me present! Toms is genuine,
> thought know; it is because it's sc
shabby He had great Intentions, but
a knife with ninety blades drew seven
a and sixpence out of his pocket as a
= magnet draws a needle. Poor Tom
And then he had only half crown
left. to buy me pair of gloves-and
J satch a pair. OF glovesn''
+ She held them up-a mile too large
u and of a brilliant orange hue, and hel
=. smile was-net altogether ffeefromtear
T fulness.
Z He; thought they,would match wei
. with NV hairl Wen, to please, him.
y would bold1yigo into the country rose
= show next week with them on.
> couldn't do more than that, and"
Il A knock at the door caused her Il
:. drop the gloves, and cry: .t''Come in!'
\ and, when she perceived who entered
y to add: '.Miss Percival!" II
- A girl about her own age came in ::
- slight, delicate, refiued-looking girl
\ with a pale face, dark hair, and dark
n pleading eyes; a girl with look o
wearineSs and languor about her. which
as vet, was not much more than wha
IuI is called interesting" for she wa
u young, and loneliness and toll ha
y: = not YET made rwhaggsrd and un
u lo9Alv. s SSEssiss 80
- sGooaevening, d.pursusd Margare,
70 al have not seen you once to-day"
- "No. Mrs. Pierce begged me t
n. keep the girls out of her way, So. W
=, have been in the school-room all day
Now they are dressing themselves, an
ct ! / Just came to congratulate you, Mis-
ct harrington, and to wish you man
a happy returns of the day
~ s.Thanks your' isaid Margaret, dr
Il biously. Wont you come IN and 81
" down moment-if you can leave thos
a, precious infants to their own device:
re that tsp"
We s.Oh, yes. Nurse is helping then
iThey told me what beautiful presenl