Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1886-06-11
BEAUTY'S
y ALAN HET
Autbor Of 'Hanay Hardwar.. &. asa
Ghfs' Ee
81 ALAN MEr
Y I'M nv. ANTHONY BREsr AND SOPHIA


Y. II REV. ANTHONY BRENT AND SOPHIA
-DEsPONDEECY vs.. LOVE
@Mis Temple the clergyman said, with q
melancholy air, not the least feigned, al
though, BY casting a gloom over his CONVEX
sation, Il greatly furthered Mrs Barbara
Temples ends, times have changed, changed
indeed had a letter from my son two day
ago"
How that good little heart leaped to hear
itt Percivall be seemed near her once again,
and she would be strengthened now.
aHow is PercivalF she asked gently.
@Pretty wen,s therefor replied; 1toIerably
well. Imay say. But be writes in bad spirits.
Little wonder; his prospects are very uncer-
tain. Idont think he viii ever return 70
England
HE meant to come back when he left,
poor Sophia said, turning sick at heart after
her little gush Of pleasure.
aThat ! know" the rector answered, in the
same downcast tone. But his intention will
change, II It has not changed already. Per-
ciyaI has to face a life Of struggle. / was
very glad to find that you and he had quite
broken of from each other
1--WE wanted to act p~rudently," 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 thsml
1T was prudent, J" he continued. @To you
such a thing could only have meant bondage
and disappointment; and to him well,
Sophia, greatly as l like you, I don't really
think Percival would have been so likely to
prosper had be been still engaged to you"
Il could not bear the thought Of injuring
him. the poor thing said. She was on the
edge Of a fit Of crying, but Mr.. Brent, never
a man Of observation, and now quite occu-
pied with his own cares, did not notice her
agitation
Il 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-Warren-is getting adj
vanced in life, and wants a helper in his bust
ness. Perciyal, / have no doubt, will get
that appointment, for they are very fond Of
him-that is, / mean Warren and his daugh-
ter are very fond Of him"
@Mr. Warren has a daughter, theng' Sophia
asked.
Eyes, he is a widower, and she is his only
child. think-indeed, l j now-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;
notc ! cannot but think that if Percival 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 the rec
tor answered. "He always called her that.
It meant nothing, Of course. You see, they
were a great deal together, and Percival says
that in the colonies people are not SO stiff as
we are in England. He used to say he liEed
colonial anners Well, to return-if be
marries Bessie it might be a nice thing fol
him Indeed, it will be his solitary chance il
life"
It was a sore, an aching heart that lay il
Sophia's gentle breast as she and her mother
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 the
rector's communication. However power
full her own friends had argued, they could
not have affected her as Mr.. Brent had done.
It seemed as if the father spoke for his son.
1t sounded like a message from the lover him
self, saying @Let us part" And in the mists
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 P~ercy-known to him
by a pet familiar name. What chance had
she against this fatal Bessie Warren!
Little Mrs. Barbara Temple was no tyrant,
and would not have inflicted any useless pain
on her daughter. She saw Sophia out Of the
side of her eyes as they drove home, and
marked her misery, and felt really sorry for
her, but it was sorrow such as a humane sur
geon feels for the shrinking patient on whom
he is about to operate; it was all for Sophia!
good. These tears would flow and tAen bt
gone, and after the dread and Incorporation
and the shrinking and the crying, there would
be the world-ths bright, prosperous world
wealth, fashion, ease, respectful that station
can secure and money can buy. o, no doubt
Of it'll she was acting the part of a wise moth
er; and 50, quenching her last misgiving, Mrs
Barbara Temple made ready for the final
the winning stroke in her grand matrimonial
game.