The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-06-16

bloom of youth was gone: but her form had
become more finely rounded, and her carriage
had become more stately. She was beauti-
1 full woman of the world; no man ever looked
at her once only. But her manner had be
come more reticent than ever. She relied on
her beauty for place among her sex, and
was at no pains to cultivate conversation,
letters or any branch of the art of pleasing,
except the setting forth Of personal charms.
| Had her manner and her talk been what she
might easily have made them, she would have
shone out as beauty, indeed, in the prime
of her womanhood For Sibyl had no lack
| of sense nor OF education either; but proudly
reposing on her incontestible lovelineSs, she
rather withdrew than put forward her other
attractions. Still she could display herself
when she pleased; one occasion well remem-
/ ber when she met in company vlvaclous
Italian, who was extremely struck with her
appearance, and paid her profusion of gay
compliments. At last his English failing, he
tried to enhance his polite speeches by some
poetical quotation in his own language, adding
that he was afraid she would hardly under
stand what he had said. On the instant Sibyl
answered him back with return quotation,
as understood, from the same author. Not
knowing Italian, could not appreciate her
readiness: but that the retort was lively and
happy was sufficiently proved by the foreign
er's delight His eyes sparkled with pleasure.
"You know more than do. he exclaimed,
4 clapping his hands You are wonder-a
wonder, my dear LADY,
| But Sibyl relapsed into silence, and treated
her success with sincerity of Indifference
which showed how lightly she regarded any
mental achievement
Car had meanwhile changed in a way the
| very opposite She had grown thinner; and
| her frame, which was a large one, was more
prominent Car had gone in for intellectual
| ideas, and was improving her mind diligently
and was fast obtaining in our little town the
reputation of being what is now called q
woman's rights woman. She had become
rather too fond of talking in mixed companies
on high subjects, and so fell into the very
error her lively little mother had foreseen ten
years before.
"As to Car Mrs. Barbara said one day,
| ashe is turning schoolmistress. She talks lee
| lures wonder she does not get a few les
| sons in action" the little satirist said 1T
would become her drawing room and dinner
! table finely. Any actor or popular preacher
could tell how to arrange her elbows when
she is discoursing. l can't; for my education,
dears, was neglected-in that particular de
| partment We only danced and sang and
| fiirted when was girl Why, remember
! once meeting man who talked of Peru, and,
| l assure you, dears, l thought it was some
where in Germany But what matter! The
world was ours, and we had only to live and
enjoy and make others enjoy. And we did
| it. girls; we did it, o, that / was young
| again.
| Caroline Doolittle, however, was not very
| popular in Kettlewell and this was undoubt-
edly owing, not to her sound mental cultiva-
tion-which was as genuine as it was laud-
| able-but to the mischievous habit she had of
| bringing her attainments into prominence.
| suppose she did it to manifest her superiority
over the rest of the women; but, unfortu-
nately, the result was that, while she vexed
| the women which she did not mind, she re
| PEELED the men, which she did mind very
| much.
One man, however, paid her the tribute OF
| homage which was as unceasing as the voice
of waterfall Morning, noon and night
Egerton sounded the praises of his wife. He
had grown stout and healthy looking, and he
was as great a simpleton as ever. Indeed
his giggle had got new notes of imbecility in
| it, and was now perfect wonder of vacuity
in unarticulated sound He had a slight drop
in his lower lip, too and a fixed smile, which
might have made his very dog understand
what mental weakness is in mankind But
Egerton adored his wife. They had three
children now, and from infancy he pointed
these children to their mamma as the sole
model of excellence and strength. Egerton
was very fond of nursing his children, and
would walk up and down with them by the
hour, telling them at brief intervals to look
at their mamma.
tremendously gifted woman" he would
sometimes say to his friends. Then, dropping
his like C.uv Ea yviyac
room: Sometimes / see her reading for two
hours at a stretch. l have timed her by my
| chronometer What would have become oi
me if / had not married that woman ] DOM
like to say. / think" Egerton would add
solemnly, Il think, with my disposition and
my way of looking at things you know,
should have gone to the bad"
Egerton had also given himself up greatly
| to the study of cooking, and had a little room
fitted up with a stove, and hung round with
| pots and pans. | think this must have beer
about the time when the great Soyer was
teaching us English people how to work won
| ders with soup and fish and fowl. In this
room Egerton would concoct rare dishes
generally coming out with very red face
and now and then upsetting a boiling sauce
| pan down his thighs; ON which occasions he
would rush from the room shrieking, and de
clare that it was really too bad and he would
| give the whole thing up. Egerton had al
| idea of working reform in the present way
| of cooking red mullet
"a delicious fish, /" he would say; 'but under
| the present system it is sent up III paper
| treated, in fact, as if it were a package. II
is intolerable that delicious fish should b.
treated as if it were package"
| Time, which was writing its record ON oJl
younger people, had not forgot 10 pencil
| deeper lines on Archibald Goldmore. Visible
| signs of advancing years were upon him, anc
| the elephantine firmness of his tread was
going. He stooped his hair not so gray
| as once it had been Goldmore the wise, the
sensible, the millionaire, was dyeing his hail
| to keep up the appearance of youth beside hi
lovely wife. All, lovely young women, what
fools you make of US withering elderly men
And even the little mother, so long undying
in her energy, began TO show symptoms oi
| decline The light step was falling into 6
! slower movement; the quick motions of the
| frame were seldom seen; she was growing g
| little deaf, and every one observed it, though
with characteristic vivaeity, she tried to hide
| the failing. She began to like quiet-bodily
| quiet-and would sit in her chair hour after
| hour; but her mind was as active and hei
| tongue pungent as ever; and often Sophis
would laugh till she was tired at the lttle
/ woman's quaint remarks OF droll stories Of
| days gone by. She commented on everybody
| and everything with the same satire, sens
and absorbed worldliness as of old Her two
sons-in-law furnished her with abundant
material for criticism: and Sophia often
| blushed to think how heartily she enjoyed
| her mothers caustic comments on GoldInore
/ and Egerton- Both were favorites with the
| old woman: but Goldmore's mercantile stiff
ness and Egerton's feebleness of mind were
too tempting for her to resist.
lean hardly keep my eoCatenance, Sophy,
| she used to say when these two men come in
| together One can stand; but both is more
than mortal can" They generally looked
| in after church-) Mrs. Temple, how do you
| find yourself this mornings Pretty wellf
| She hit off Goldmores voice to the note
| And then: 40, how are you9 Tremendously
warm day, isn't its / do dislike tremen
dously warm dayr" delivered exactly a
| Egerton would Thereupon the little satirist
/ would fall back in her chair laughing, and
| pleased to see Sophia laughing
@Now, really, mamma, you are too badlT
| Sophia would say.
Not bit, Sophy. You ike it. or you
| would not laugh. And, beside, why need the
| old man be bore and the young man a block
| head. o, may the day never dawn when
do anything but laugh at a stupid or foolf
| Still Sophia was kept in wonder and feal
| by her mothers growing turn for economy
| In some things she was becoming almost
penurious, and the question: What viii il
/ costr which once she disdained to ask of any
| thing that pleased her, was now never off hel
lips There was a positive alarm about heI
manner, too, when any new expense was il
/ view which was fun of grave suggestions
and Sophia quite tried to reconcile herself tt
Goldmore's opinion that her mother haf
lived beyond her means and was now trying
to exc out her means Beside, the old woman
would sometimes, in a covert way, try tf
| sound Sophia as to what she would do wher
left alone in the world, and once she actually
asked her il she had any idea of ever making
noney for herself This uneasy question