The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-05-08

But old Sparkling, who was our shrewdes,
head by long way, hearing this question
| asked at Miss Whiiiin's house one afternoon
remarked, with eomical face to fix our at
tention, that we had not disposed of the
mother yet, Surprising that so natural a
| thought had not suggested itself before Mrs.
Temple, as we understood, had been married
very early, and our most competent female
critics declared that she could not be more
than forty-iive, or, rather, | should say, they
put it that she could not be less. We had
several widows and spinsters of ripe years
and these agreed that forty-five was stiIl a
marrying age; indeed, some of the ladies de
clared that it was the best time of all
an opinion in which Sparkling cor.
CURED with much vehernence and solem.
nifty, only the old fellow was caught
winking slyly at confidential friend
Immediately after, which aroused some sus-
picion- That Mrs. Barbara Temple might be
married before any of her daughters that
she was yet an attractive and marrying
woman, We all admitted There was that in
her manner with men which told that she had
not Yet abandoned either the hope or the
methods of conquest; and it was plain to us
all that less Likely women are married every
day OF the year. Besides, the fortune was
Observation-Disclosures we had discovered on
undoubted testimony; and since the fortune
could not be less than three thousand wear,
we began to see that for the present it was
Mrs. Temple, not her daughters, who was
likely to be the prize in our next matrimonial
race, SO, having settled this in our minds
We proceeded like rational b ings to choose a
husband for the animated widow; and with
scarcely dissentient opinion, we came TO
the conclusion that our rector, the Rev An
thony Brent, would I've the happy man We
were not altogether wrong in this conjecture
as my story shall disclose But Mr.. Brent
does not emerge ON our historic page at
present
Lat me tell you here that, in the course of a
long life, | have never met a woman who
could match Mrs. Earhara Temple Cleverer
women, handsomer women. wittier women
have met in scores; hut the secret of Mrs.
Barbara Temple was her utter and hearty
love Of this present world OF this present
world she was, | believe, the sincerest and
most unquestioning worshiper that ever lived
She put no strain upOn herself To become what
she was; she qucnched no aspiration and re-
p;JSSld no misSiving. Worldliness was the
simple honest expression of her natural dis
position and her Judgment on affairs Never
religions devotee WIS so completely inclosed
in creed as she, For. indeed, it was creed
and a life. too, and Mrs Barbara Tenple
loved the world just as a flower loves sunlight:
she obeyed a law OF her own nature But the
cheerfulneSS with which She obcyed it: her
unquestioning faith in the power of the
world To satisfy every want, the absence of
suspicion that there could I've any higher
motive in life. or. indeed. any ether motive
at ali, and the cheertulncss and alacritv with
which She followed out her convictions.
made her at necessity igorouS and original
character. All that makes what such people
call the world She longed for and priced.
Accomplishments, money, taste, health the
good opinion of society, these, and a thous-
and kindred matters, she regarded as sever.
ally constituents of happiness, to he sought
with the utmost solicitude every hour Of the
day. She was grateful to the world for
being what it was TO her-an ever running
fountain of desire or pleasure
Have | sufficiently sketched her figure.
viii few strokes more make her a clearer
image in your minds eve! She was short. as
have said, trinity huilt perhaps trife toe
stout, but that might be disputed Her nose
was rather large, hut finely cut, ike her sec
ond daughters, and she dressed her brown
hair in short ringiets, which well shifted the
style of her face. Her color was good and
high enough to make people ask questions,
and her eyebrows were not free from srs-
picious traces of making up Her dress was
always rich and admirably suited to her
figure and years; for she was careful to look
full fOrty-five. She AVOIDED all absurd affec
tation of youth, and although kind OF
sprigltly dancing ster, which she often fell
into, might have seemed rather fault in this
direction, most of us considered this gait moth
ing but surplus vitality acting on a frame SC
light and plump that it seemed made TO skip,
or bound like ball