The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-06-19

assertion
Besides, Sophy"-now she came to her
special appeal-"mamma is quite in terror
lest you should refuse Prendergast. She has
taken such a fancy to him With his serious
ways one would hardly have expected that;
but so it is. Prendergast will be making
mamma a saint one of these days if he enters
the family-he has such an influence over her
1t was not altogether fair to Car to hold
out such a motive to her sister. She well
knew how Sophia bewailed her mothers in
fatuated worl1liness; aud how, in her gentle
daughterlike way, she was always trying to
make her mother less of a pagan and
mocker. This one sentence of Cars told
more with Sophia than all that had been
said to her before She was in that melan-
choly mood when women, and men, too, often
make lifelong sacrifices at the bidding of
religion What if Prendergast did really
make her mother in her last days better
and wiser woman! She sighed, and looked
up at Car receptively.
mo doubt of it" Car said in kind of re-
ply to her sisters glance. Mamma will be
the happiest woman in England if you marry
him And she has been kind mother to us,
and we ought to please her if we can. And,
besides as | said, he may really be useful to
mamma, she thinks so much of him."
Divided was Sophia's heart, and her loyal
will was shaken when she left her sister. Who
could stand such a succession of argument
and appeal, or, if we choose to bring in a new
metaphor, what citadel could resist such a
number of battering rams, managed by that
eminent pagan military engineer Mrs Bar
bara Temple: Yes; Sophia was feeling the
weakness of her sex: "Ifdint," ~ yield"
". EGERToN AND sopHIA-IDIoCY VS.. LOVE
As with sad steps she was walking down
the avenue, she was startled by the appari-
ton of Egerton, who suddenly appeared,
peeping over the top of holly bush. He
glanced apprehensiyely round like paid
assassin in tragedy, and then, coming round
the holly bush with long secret Tarquin
strides, he advanced to Sophas side
Come here" he said, IN All awful whisper
And he returned behind the holly bush as
he came forth Sophia did not know what to
think; but, waving his manner in her estI
mate of the position, she came to the conclu-
sion that he had got a hedgehog, or some
other natural curiosity which lie wished her
to inspect; so she followed him No sooner
wRs she at his side than, with three or four
DC fuItive glances, he stopped 10 her car,
and, In a whisper of the profoundeot caution,
said:
Sophia take my advice, and go and get
married. It's an awfully nice thing You
may take it from me that it is not so much
matter whom you marry as the thing it
self. Do that, and all the rest will follow
Don't let out TO any one that told you'
And then, with an air of secrecy which
was frightfuIly suggestive, and the same
long and ghostly strides he made for the
house, leaving her to resume her path as best
she might
V. THE REV. ANTHONY BRENT AND SOPHIA
-pEsPoNDENCY VS.. LOVE
"Miss Temple, the clergyman said, with a
melancholy air, not the least feigned, al
though by casting gloom over his CONVEX
| sation, it greatly furthered Mrs. Barbara
| Temples ends, times have changed, changed
indeed. | had letter from my son two days
ago
How that good little heart leaped to hear
it, Percival! he seemed near her once again,
and she would be strengthened now
How is PercivalT she asked gently
"Pretty we'll" the rector replied; "tolerablv
well, l may say. But he writes in bad spirits
| Little wonder; his prospects are very uncer-
| tain, don't think he will ever return to
| England
"He meant to come back when he left, "
poor Sophia said, turning sick at heart after
her little gush of pleasure.
THAT know the rector answered in the
same downcast tone But his intention will
change. if it has not changed already. Per-
cival has to face life of struggle was
very glad to find that YOU and he had quite
broken off from each other"
I'VE wanted to act prudently,' the poor
| girl said o, how delighted she would have
| been had the rector, in the remotest way, rec
| ognized that an understanding existed be
| tween them!
at was prudent he continued ITO YOU
such thing could only have meant bondage
and disappointment; and to him - well,
| Sophia, greatly as ] like you, ! don't really
| think Percival would have been so likely to
prosper had he been still engaged to YOU
Il could not bear the thought of injuring
him, the poor thing said She was on the
edge of fit OF crying, but Mr.. Brent, never
Il man Of observation, and now quite occu-
| pied with his own cares, did not notice her
agitation.
II am sure of that he replied "Of course
that is why you SO wholly detached yourself
| from him. 1t is better for both of YOU Per-
cival, as You know, has returned to the man
with whom he resided when his health was
delicate. This man-W arren-is getting ad-
vanced in life, and wants a helper in his bust
ness Percival, | have no doubt, will get
| that appointment, for they are very fond Of
him-that is, l mean Warren and his daugh.
ter are very fond of him.
"Mr. Warren has a daughter, then" Sophia
asked
| Yes, he is a widower and she Is his only
| child. ] thlnk-ndeed know-that she was
rather soft on Percy when he lived there In
| fact, one or two rather unnecessary letters
followed him to England. l laughed then:
noec | cannot but think that if Percval man
ages the business well, and gets into the old
mans good books, and-and marries little
Bessie, as he used to call her"
He called her little Bessie, did hep Sophia
inquired
| Little Bessie-that was her name y the rec
| tor answered. "He always called her that
1t meant nothing, of course. You see. they
we're great deal together, and Percival say.
that in the colonies people are not so stiff a.
we are in England. He used to say he liked
colonial manners Well to return-if he
marries Bessie it might he nice thing fol
him. Indeed, it will be his solitary chance in
life
1t was a sore, an aching heart that Law In
Sophia's gentle breast as she and her mothe,
drove home. The poor girl had not the
smallest suspicion that her mother had ar
ranged all these nice little thunderclaps; but
even had she known it, the knowledge could
not have blunted the dreadful edge of tn,
rectors communication. However power
full her own friends had argued, they coult
not have affected her as Mr. Brent had done
1t seemed as if the father spoke for his son
1t sounded like message from the lover him
self, saying "Let us part" And in the mist
of her fears and doubts the figure of BESSIE
Warren rose before her, at Percy's side, see
ing him day by day, at the head of the house
hold of which he was to be a member
wealthy, and fond of Percy-known to hin
10y a pet familiar name. What chance ha,
she against this fatal Bessie Warrens
Little Mrs barbara Temple was no tyraut
and would not have inflicted any useless pain
on her daughter. She saw Sophia out of tn
side Of her eyes as they drove home, an,
marked her misery, and felt really sorry TO
ba. hut Oh,