Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1886-06-25
Beautys Secret.
BY ALLAN MUIR.
Commenced sunday, May 81
CHAPTER VII

deep and pure-are ready to sparkle when
the next CLEAN Of sunshine comes. Sophia
awoke next morning with a dancing heart.
she did not see Percival again that night;
but sent him a little note asking him to come
early to her the following morning. And no
sooner was he in the room than she few to
him and kissed him, with pride and delight
on every feature.
what are you going to dor she asked.
Going back to Australia, as | told you"
he answered but, Sophia, you are too
good-far too good-to offer to wait for me.
! am not going to be a success in life, | am
afraid
20, am going to earn my bread myself"
Sophia cried, ~clapping her hands. You keep
yourself; III keep myself"
Earn your breadf' exclaimed Percival.
Slow do you mean to do itF'
@Give dancing lessons, dear she answered.
aLook heref"
And with a @tra, la, la" on her lips, she
began to turn and whirl about the room,
down and up, the picture of honest delight.
And Percival looked on in wonder, which
at every motion Of her figure kept turning
into love.
NANh W III IQ NAAsaLlLltls w uGIb
viii you get pupilsl"
@Here is my first, " she retorts, taking him
up as she goes by. @Now, sir"
4Really, Sophia, what is all this forF'
1For twelve thousand pounds, you clumsy
boy! There, you are on my toe!"
Twelve thousand pounds, Sophiap
"Twelve thousand pounds, Mr.. Percival
Brent. | am worth twelvs thousand pounds"
Now she stops and looks him full in the face.
ABy the way, can you tell me how Mrs.
Lanigan isf
Percival turned very red at this amazing
question; but there was no outlines in his
face as he replied:
@How do you know Mrs LaniganT'
@How do you know herl" Sophia asked
smartly. @Iknow her through the newspa-
per. She was out driving with a friend Of
mine and got split. Somebody said it was the
horses having had too much champagne-the
newspaper said that
Percival muttered something under his
breath which sounded very like some brief
and emphatic remark about the newspaper,
and caused Sophia to lift her finger.
@Please, not before me-" she said. "No
colonial language before me. l an not Bes-
sic Warren"
4 thought there was something up by what
| heard in the hotel last night" Percival said
with gravity and reflection. "Tell me, Sophia,
have there been any stories going about
here not to my credit"
4Rather, she answered, now serious her
self. Don't mind them"
aLet me tell you the whole truth about
AAnf y - ,usI HT 1s -
Mrs. Lanigan. The fact was l was one of a
large party in the country that day, and the
carriage which was to take Mrs. Lanigan
back to the theatre had an accident, and the
friend at whose house she was asked me to
drive her in his gig, and / did, and we came
to grief. believe, Sophia, l had too much
champagne, and that is the truth of it. We
had rather too merry an afternoon meal. l
drank too much wine, / confess.'
Naughty boyl But tell me-did you sit
to Mrs. Lanigan at lunchF'
ANo; at the far end Of the table"
~There," Sophia said twice over, putting a
kiss between the two words-"there, l forgive
you the c~hampagnep
! She forgave him; but the hot fellow would
not so easily forgive the slanderous folk who
1uu AuA LItG Will Ills udluS. Auu IL L were
to tell how he searched the SANDER out, and
faced Mrs. Hands, and faced John Done, to
whom she referred him, and how John Done
turned very pale, and declared that Mrs.
Hands had taken up in earnest what he had
said in jest, and how to exculpate himself
John Done made all his family quarrel for
ever with Mrs. Hands, and how Mrs. Hands
by the transaction lost fifty dinners and about
hundred lunches annually for the re-
mainder of her life-all this, if | were to tell,
would fill more pages than l can compute in
a moment, and timAand space press, and l
must and shall soon make an end. So we go
back to Sophia and her Percival.
He will not consent to marry her as a poor
He will go back to Australia and
make his fortune. Note, reader, how she
manages him.
ooh, very well" cries she, tossing her head
"0f course | can't say WIN you
meT three times running. You must
do as you please"
She walks from him to the window, and
looks out, quite in a pet.
"You know what / mean" explains he. He
has followed her. "You know quite well
what I mean"
4Well, if lido. then you need say no more
about it,"
And she turns her back on him.
4 only say | can't marry you as a poor
Every well; don't marry me, then"
aBut don't want you to speak in that
9And / don't want you to speak at ALL"
Sophia, you need not be so ill-natured.
She turns on him, making ready to tell fb
the second, which this time was a stable one,
any mistake.
20, / know what it is; you have some other
out in Australia whom you want to
marry, and this is all pretense"
swan. to marry some other woman out in
Austra Percival cried, aghast at the
Another woman Why, Sophia,
look herew
He sinks at her feet, and then he presses her
handkerchief to his lips-not her h~and-hum-
bly, signifying that anything about her is
dear to him. And she, though not ill-pleased
10 see how artistically she has brought him
10 her feet, bites her lip, tosses her head,
looks angry still. Then releasing her hand
kerchief from his grasp, and r1tting it to her
ayes
Il know this" she says. IF you really To-
oloved me, you would not let this miserable
no-mo-money stand in our wayn'
And quite overcome with grief, she pluages
INTO her pocket handkerchief, and is lost to
lis view.
He viii have her out; she will not come.
he will dry her eyes; she does not want to