The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-01-01
AN EXCHANGE
Argyle Meriwoather's Giving and Receiv-

ARGYLE MERrwEATHER had two low
ers. One was an old familiar friend,
no other than her first cousin, Sam
Meriweather, who had been-al-
though a few years her senior
her playmate, and for q time
her school-fellow, always ready to
tease her himself, but quite as ready to
come to her aid if anybody else did.
He seemed to look upon her in the
light OF a possession, which he had a
right to have his own way with, but
was equally bound to protect. So it
was with great surprise that as they
grew older, and Argyle bloomed sud
denly into a lovely girlof 10, withhair
OF genuine gold and eyes Of bewitching
gray, she found, after a slight contest
with Sam in which she had expected
OF course to have to give up as before,
that Sam was very w%illingto succumb
completely to her will, feeling amply
rewarded if she smiled upon him or
praised him. As soon as she began to
realize this unexpected change Of al
~falrs-belng like most girls OF her age
a little tyrant-she seized the reins
II kept them-not always out OF
sight. Her second surprise was to
lind that there were some things which
even she could not make Sam do-for
which, with true feminine inconsisten-
cy, she liked him twice as well as for
the many things in which he yielded
other.
When Sam declared himself her low
Ell, She ielgned q pretty astonishment,
and said mo" positively, but would
nave relented-so grievously did she
miss him during the two weeks
that Sam staid away, hadnot--unfort-
unately for Sam-her second lover
appeared on the scene and engrossed
ali her leisure time and attention.
Inns was a stranger, an officer in the
army, and his name was Clarence Du-
pont, from Thibodeaux Parish, La.
He came to the neighborhood on a
THROUGH obtained by q slight wound
IN his ARM, and brought a letter OF in
PRODUCTION TO her father from his UNI
Gle, an old friend and classmate of
Mr.. Meriweather's. After his first
call, he came frequently, for he WAS
staying with friends who lived at a
distance OF a few miles only, and the
rld and talk with his pretty young
hostess was an agreeable enough di.
Vertlsement for summer day. lie
began OF course by making love, as Il
courtesy due to the sex, but soon fell
W head and ears in love, after his
ardent standardization, and conduct
ed his woolng after a style very differ
ent from poor Sans slow and earn
est way. He was very jealous, and
in complete dispair, or very ecstat.
&c, and on the point OF announcing o
betrothal to oil his acquaintance;
n Argyle, who had never given a
serious thought to marrying this
new admirer, found it equally hard to
restrain his hopes and fears. When
at last he would have q final decision,
n received negative one, he took
his departure in the depths of gloom,
bringing tears OF self-reproach to Ar
gyle's beautiful eyes and filling her
heart with alarm by threats OF sui
eide, and hints OF a speedy death on
the bloody battlefield.
Argyle was very young, andsh was
much troubled about it, and wished
that Sam had not been sofoolish him
self-it would have been such com
fort to have him reason and laugh her
out of her fears, or even scold her for
her selfishness in amusing herself at
the expense of another's pain.
~ will w be SO wicked again."
sighed Argyle. and she went Off to get her
fathers shirts to mend-the mendine
had been accommodating during the last
few weeks-as a proof of her genuine
and profound repentance. She perse,
vered III her course of amendment, as
i~llustratedby attention todarningand
repairing everything she could lay her
hands on, for the next fortnight,
and | regret to own that she found it
uncommonly dull, and there were mo-
ments when she would have relapsed
into former iniquities had not both
her lovers been safely out other reach,
and q long rainy spell kept Others
from calling.
At last there came bright, beautiful
weather in the early autumn. Mr..
Meriweather was reading his morning
paper. This "a always q lengthy
occupation, consisting of an absorbed
pcrusal OF the editorial columns, a
business-like investigation OF extracts
from other papers, and letters OF cor
respondents, and at the last o by no
means Indifferent review OF the adver-
%tiselnents.
Argyle, who had presided at the
! head of his table ever since she had
been left q motherless child of1Oyears
old, and poured out his coffee for him,
watched his proceedings this morn.
ing with an interest quite new
in her pretty ladyship. Usually
she protested n supremeindifference to
the newspapers and their contents,
and if she did not receive an azure or
rose-tinted missive Of daintiest size
from one Of he own correspondents,
which was q rare OCCURRENCES she
was herselfincorrigibly lazy about an,
swering her letters, her occupations,
after finishing her own breakfast, con.
sisted in feedingthe two brown settlers,
Dash and Dare, and gathering flowers
to arrange in the sitting-room. 1t was
a very lax household in it's ways, but
Argyle, to do her justice. was fond Of
early rising, and enjoyed the fresh.
cool air OF dawn, and the run in the
garden for the fruitsfor the breakfast,
which was the meal her father prefer,
red above all others, while the dew was
still fresh upon them. She had gener.
ally aired and busted both rooms,
superintendent the making of the coffee
and the preparation of some appetiz-
ing little side dish, Mr.. Meriweathel
being decidedly an epicure, and had
eaten her own simpler meal before hel