Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-06-25
A FAMILY JAR.
The Results of One Woman's
Foolish Jealousy

1t was all very well to VOW and pro-
test that the next time we would be
more discreet. and that, whatever we
saw or heard at Letty's, we would hold
our tongues. But when the next time
came, and she went into Mysteries over
Rob, and declared he cared nothing
for her. and never had, we couldn't
help nodding acquiescence to friendly
neighbor who suggested that our SIS
ter-in- law was extremely sensitive and
h;gh-strung. Then it went back to
Lefty that we said she was hysterical
goose, and absurdly jealous of poor
Rob; and then she declared that We
had no more feeling for her than a
stone, and always had looked down on
her because she was a poor girl, and
she should think wife had some
rights, if she didn't bring her husband
a fortune, as all the Graham girls would
to theirs, if they ever succeeded in get
ting any, And so there we were w til
tine prettiest family squabble possible
on our hands.
The worst of it was, it was such an
old one. We should have learned
wisdom by experience; but though we
knew Lefty was weak little thing,
ard all her fondness for Rob taking
the shape of absurd jealousy even of
his own family, we could never get
used to it. She was such sweet little
creature when he married her, soft
eyed and low-voiced, and meek as a
lamb, appealing to us over everything,
from the wedding cake to the form of
the ceremony. We hadn't really
minded it that she was poor, for
if the Grahams were rich now, twenty
years ago they were not, and if Rob
had been brought up like a prince, as
heir to the factories and the stores
the rows of tenant-houses. we. his
three elder sisters, had known
something of the other side of
the tapestry in the hard times
when father laid the foundation OF that
fortune. And though we lived in big
house now, and had our servants and
our carriage, and led society, in a way,
in the little town, we never meant to
put on airs. l think, indeed, we were
better democrats than Lefty, for we
never thought of these things. and she
never had them out of her mind, and
was representative to any reference to
her former condition. We had thought
IL StCu plClly 1OlhdhSC " hCu NOD
married her, picking her out of a mill
accident the first week she went there
to work; and falling in love with her
at sight, and taking no end of trouble
to get her widowed mother into some
thing nice and quiet and profitable, so
that Lefty need never go back to the
mills. And presently he installed Mrs.
Dent as queen-dOwager of the home to
which he took Lefty, and that was the
beginning of the mischief. Mrs. Dent
was twice as suspicious as she, and
never let her shut her eyes to the fam-
" disdain of Cophetua's choice. She
was small and slight and low-voiced,
this queen-dOwager of ours, and so per-
fectly womanly, as every one said,
though why there's anything unwom-
anly in five feet six and avoirdupois TO
correspond. as our Pamela had. is
more than 1 know. But / notice that
little women always lay the flattering
JUNCTION to their souls that superiority
is in inverse ratio to size.
The special trouble was that when
Lefty got Jealous she had Mysteries, and
after DIR. Grey limited that something
was the matter with her heart. OF
course we were always anxious. She
was very delicate, that was true. and
when she was herself she was as sweet
and affe ,tionate as possible. and we all
petted and spoiled her. And then Rob
would walk home from the choir meet
ing with the soprano (nearly old
enough to be his mother), or sing
duets with May Flemming (and she en-
gaged), or pick Up a tired mill girl in
his buggy. and there was Lefty in tears,
and the house shut up, and the doctor
sent for, and Mrs. Dent on guard. and
Rob on his knees for sins he never
dreamed of. and we indignant, and
sure, sooner or later, TO show 1t, and be