The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-07-17

| partly because each was impassive and cold,
partly because they never loved each other.
Love, my reader, is grand ingredient In quar-
| rels The husband and wife walked apart
| through life, and never exchanged one cordial
| confidence Even when Goldmore was seized
with what he felt sure was to be his mortal
| illness he did not communicate his foreboding
| to Sybil This was not because he feared
| frightening her, but only from his way of
keeping things to himself Before long, how
ever. concealment became impossible The
doctor entered the house; the end was in
| view.
'Sibyir the old man said one day, when he
| was rather better than usual, Il wish to say
a word to you" He drew himself up q little,
with faint remembrance in his air of his
| famous testimonial style "You have been to
me loving and an honorable wife When l
die you will find that ! have recognized all
that. You will not be hampered by any
foolish restrictions. | desire to return you
| my thanksn-as if he had been speaking at
public dinner-"for your unvarying consider
alton and attention to all my wishes"
He paused, and she stood beside him and
did not speak, nor show any sign of feeling
She only regarded him fixedly; and he, after
waiting to gather little strength, added in
the simplest way:
"God bless you, my dear, and watch over
you when am gone"
And then, although her face moved not a
! whit, he saw one tear come out and stand on
her eyelash and roll down her cheek 1t was
the only tear he had ever seen her shed Per-
haps from her it signified more than floods Of
weeping from an ordinary woman. 1t was
sincere, anyhow, not assumed; and Goldmore
knew it, and the sight comforted him before
he died
Liberty and fortune he certainly left her;
and at the time of his death Sibyl was in the
very height of matronly beauty Her figure
| was full and rounded her hair as fresh as
| when she was twenty, and her movements
full of grace and dignity. She was by no
means young; hut hers was style of beauty
which Time finds it hard to destroy, and we
all expected that she would have married
again This expectation was the more reason
able because she maintained her more youth
| ful habits But five years went by, ten,
| fifteen, and still Sibyl Goldmorc did not
change her name And now there appeared
| upon her most unmistakahle signs of age; and
| crniously enough, as her beauty more and
| more decaye,l, she seemed more and more re-
solved to let all the world know what a
| beauty she thought herself. She grew Affected,
| sat in pastures, dressed for twenty -fi,e-we
even fancy that she rouged a little
| Meanwhile, her Old reserve and her silent
ways remained the same. She talked little,
and took no pains with her conversation She
treated most people with naughty reserve.
Strong and sensible as she was, Sibyl was
never able to see that she was growing an old
woman, and that the affectation of physical
beauty had long ago been ridiculous grieve
to write it of Sibyl, for whom have ever felt
respect, and even regard, but the verdict Of
| Kettlcwen was that she-once queen in
our society--had become-tlreadful wordl-
| q bore!
| Caroline, at the same time had changed
with years in quite another way You re-
member how well she used to dressa-all these
| girls dressed well But Caroline, as she be-
came intellectual, began to neglect her per-
son, and rather affected slovenliness. She
would wear morning dress in the evening,
| or go to "a concert in a shawl like parish
blanket, which she would pin across her
breast with some odd brooch that she might
have picked up in Hanway street In fact,
| Car became fearfully blue, and would even
talk about Hebrew during dinner, attacking
| tender young curates who had never seen a
! Hebrew grammar, frightening the poor
young men out of their senses, and running
| good dinner. In addition to this she became
a woman's rights Lady, and made speeches
| advocating female suffrage. Upon these
occasions Egerton used to 90 to the back of
the hall with an umbrella and applaud. Also,
| if it was a strange town. he would nudge his
next neighbor when the speakers came on the
platform:
Gan You tell me, he would ask, in low
whisper, (which OF these ladies is Mrs Eyer
ton Doolittle;"
Curiously enough, tie stranger was never
able to point her out
Il should like to have seen her. Eser-ton
would say "People assert she is tremen-
dously clever woman. Indeed, know size is.
| In fact, You may spread it with confidence
| she is tremendously clever woman"
| And in this way, my dear Egerton would
say to her when they got home, in this way
intend to get your name up. It's the kind
| of thing that is done with az tresseS and--and
| popular preachers and statesmen too, un-
derstand Some one goes about-perhaps tn.
mans twin brother-pretending hs does moi
know him by sight; asks, Is that the great
Mr.. So-an ESQ., Probably thu other saw.
never h.ard of the great Mr.. So-and-so.
How very remarkaber the twin brother
excIaims Everybody Is TALKING about him.
50 wish to see what he is like Exactly
my way with YOU, dear. ] shall get your
name up, depend uponit'
| Il am afraid we shall never Get our votes. :"
/ Caroline remarked, resting her chin on her
hand and speaking in a mood of doleful con
fidence 1t had been a wet evening and the
meeting had been small, moist, and not san
guine I'VE are working against hope"
Il should not be disheartened, Car, if / We're
YOU Eeerton replied. TRY little of this
| pheasant, dear No; Well, will l was
going to say / should not be disheartened
about the cause As YOU said tonight, dear,
new truths always have to work their way.
Look at my theory about red mullet have
been at it for twenty wears. and vet even TO
this day that delicious fish is laid on YOUR
plate in most houses in Kettlewell Just as if it
was a package. But that truth will work its
said this with a tramor in bis voice and no
| laid down his knife and fork to deal with Ger
|