The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1884-04-11

letting the last words Of sentence d
away on her lips and then, after fe,
moments, as il by an effort, she woul
say them aloud. soon grew quite afrai
OF her, started il l met her unexpectedly
and felt more restrained in her presenc
than IL she had been one of those bril-
liant satirical women who take the colo
out Of the rest Of their sex. Anxious t
shake Off this strange diflidence, which wa
beginning to cast shadow over my life
l offered to read to her when my shor
hours of study with my pupil were over
She accepted my offer, and l went int,
the drawing-room that very afternoon ant
read her some chapters of Adam Betie
while she sat in rocking-chair with {
piece OF embroidery, making slow progress.
in the thin white fingers l stopped al
the end Of each chapter, waiting for til,
comment which never came, and rather
hoping for some little compliment upor
my reading, an accomplishment tool
pride in. But she only said Thank you,
very gently, and, when l asked her if
should go on, eyes, il it will not tire
you."
Presently found out that she was moi
listening, except for few moments at G
time, but that she was sitting with hel
hands in her lap, listlessly playing with
her embroidery, while her eyes were fxed
on the garden outside, with deep sad
ness in them which contrasted strangely
with her usual apathetic indifference to all
things. Still read on, pretending not "a
notice her mood, until such a heavy des
pairing sigh broke from her pale lips that
my heart beat fast for pity, and invol
UNFAIRLY stopped short in my reading, and
raised my eyes, with tears in them, to hers
She started, and turning toward me,
seemed to hold my eyes for moment fixed
OH hers by the fascination of gaze which
seemed anxious to penetrate to the deepest
recesses of my thoughts A little color
came to her cheeks; | could see her breast
hcaving through the muslin gown she wore
she half stretched out one hand toward me,
and in another moment believe she would
have called me to her side, when voice
from behind her chair startled us both.
Mr.. Rayner had entered the room so
softly that we had not heard him.
You look tired, my dearest Lola" said
he, gently "you had better go and lie
down for little while"
At the sound of her husbands voice Mrs
Rayner had shrunk back into her usual
statuesque self, like sensitive plant
touched by rough fingers-so quickly too
that for a moment l almost thought, as l
glanced at tho eXpressionless face, that
must have imagined the look of despair
and the gesture of invitation. l timidly
offered to read her to sleep, but she declined
at once, almost abruptly for her, and with
some conventional thanks for my trouble,
took the arm her husband held out, thanked
him as he carefully wrapped round her
little shawl that she generally wore, and
LETT the room with him.
After that, her reserve toward me was
greater than ever; she seemed reluctant to
accept the smallest service of common
at my hands, and refused my of
fers to read TO her again, under the plea
that it was wasting my time, as she was
hardly well enough to listen with full at
tention. | was hurt as well as puzzled by
this; and, being too young and timid TO
make any further advances, the distance
me and the silent lady grew
greater than ever.
An attempt that Mr.. Rayner made two
lays after the above scene to draw US to-
gether only sent u.s. farther apart He
came into the school-room just as Haidce
and l were finishing the days lessons, and
after few playful questions about her
studies, dismissed her into the garden.
"The child is very like her mother in
face; don't you think 500 said he. But
am afraid she will never have her moth
er's strength of intellect. / see you can
lot help looking surprised, Miss Christie.
My wife does not give the airs of q clever
But you would not have doubted
t if you had known her five years ago
He was in one of those moods of almost
franliness, during which the
)nly thing possible was to sit and listen
quietly, with such sparing comment as
would content him.
~ dare say" he continued, cit will seem
almost incredible to you, who have never
leard her say more than is absolutely nec-
,sseary, but she was one of the most bril-
liant takers l have ever met, and four
,ears ago she wrote a book which took
london by storm. If were to tell YOU
he nom de plume under which she wrote.
'ou would be afraid of her, for it became at
nee sort Of proverb for daring thought
md expression. People who did not know
Il made a bogy of her, and many people
Who did looked with a sort of superstitious
we upon this slight fair woman who dared
0 write out what she thought and believed. |
,ut they had no idea what sensitive |
ature lay under the almost masculine ia
~
Icct. We had boy then"--his voice
emed to tremble a little" two years
der than Haidee. The two children had
zen left in the country-in the best Of care.
my wife and l spent the sea-
n in town; it was duty she owed to So
ETY. then, as one of its brightest orna-
ents. We heard that the boy was not
ELL but we had no idea that his illness
as serious. / assure you, Miss Christie"
and he spoke with touching earnestness
that, if my wife had known there was
Q slightest danger, she would have flown
her chld's side without thought of the
easures and excitements she was leaving
ELL can scarcely speak of it even now
the child died, after only two days ILL.,
IS, away from us. 1t was on her return
ON a ball that my wife heard of it, She
nix down in chair dumb and shivering,
thout word or a tear. When at last
, succeeded in rousing her from this state,
Q took or her beautiful jewels-you eave
ard she was an heiress-and flung them
ON her with shudder of disgust. She
S never looked at them since"
He paused for few minutes, and sat
,iting for him TO continue, too much in
rested to say much
% hoped that the depression into which
. sank would wear off; but instead, it
ly grew deeper. have told you before
at by an arrangement ON our marriage
+ settled home was in the country; after
hnN-'s haafh ,xifa l
sit town again. When Mona was born,
st before we came to this place, a change
me, but not the change l had expected.
lad hoped she would reawaien to interest
life, and perhaps, if the child had been
y to replace the one she had lost it
,uld have been so. Instead of that, her
ot " until ,,n.u rnt, Saa sha |