The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-06-26
BEAUTY'SSECRET
By ALAN MUIR
Author of VANITY Hdrdnare," ''Golden
Girls" Etc. -
(CoNTINUED.)



This passage, the only morsel of sensation
in our boudoir story, has been dismissed as
rapidly as was possible, Indeed, it would
never have been told at all, had it not been
link in the chain of incident on which the his
tory depends
Of course, all kettlewell applauded our
Sophia Her midnight descent her flight
across the hall, her plucky behavior at the
bell rope-everything she had done was
praised The burglars fed at the first peal,
but Sophia kept on ringing until all the
ueighbors were aroused; and then such a
congregation of servants and others had
gathered in the house and grounds that
fear was not to be thought Of. All of us
applauded her quickness OF thought about the
belfry; the only person who spoke in anything
like qualified tone being Egerton, who re-
marked that he was far from wishing to cast
any slur on Sophia, but still he must say that
she would have made great deal more noise
il she had used the Chinese gong which stood
in the hall For sounding an alarm, Egerton
said, there was nothing like Chinese gong.
Sophia, in the gentlest way, but with laugh
ter trembling on her lips, pointed out that
the gong stood just where the robbers were
working; upon which Egerton retorted that
be had not said anything about where it
stood, hut only that for sounding an alarm
there was nothing ike Chinese gong.
Now, bow would you expect the little
mother to have acteds To have denied her
own abiect terror, and attenuated Sophia's
bravery, She did nothing of the kind.
Il was dead with fear she said, in her
gay way. Courage is not one of my viz
tues. could no more have gone down those
stairs and rast those dreadful men than /
could raise that piano with my finger. Deuce
take my heart ln-sometimes in her easy
moods, she would let fly an expression of this
sort thought it would never beat again
And Sopkth was rs cool as if she were going
down to see a visitor. Sophia ought to be
soldiers wife; she ought to lie soldier her
self Few women would have acted as she
did that night Really, would not have be-
lieved she had it in her.
One happy result for the poor girl was that
her mothers wrath was not so much ap-
peased as effaced The whole Prendergast
incident was for the time forgotten; and
when Mrs. Barbara Temples mind reverted
to the matter, she admitted to herself that in
charging Sophia with weakness she made
great mistake. She still deplored the issue
OF the affair." but she never again reproached
her daughter, and she even made one or two
indirect apologies for her severity of speech.
and these we may I've sure Sophia was only
too willing TO accept
And there began onite an era in
Sophias life Her lover was absent, and
they were not allowed to communicate with
each other, for on this rolrt Mrs Temple
never relaxed She was not formally en-
gagged; INDEED, she was understood to I've open
to an oifer-a fact which her mother, still
following her original policy. took care to
publish abroad. Caroline and Sihvl now
fully agreed with their mother that Sophia
WAS acting rccElessly in allowing the fresh
uess of her youth TO rass away under this
tlghtiug sren And all this time. only by
the merest chance seidom-perhaps never
could she hear anything of Percival Brent He
might be untrue: and even then, according to
the words Of their agreement she could not
reprnach him with inconsistency. 1t was a
trying time for her; hut during this period
her character was formed, and she who on
her titteth birthday was with general CON
sent and delight styled Lady Beauty learned
her secret of charming in this period of
anxiety and waiting, when her constancy
and her patience were SO severely tried
here relate the main incidents of this unevent-
i'll period, and having at the same time tried
by touches here and there to give YOU an
idea Of the maturity of charms toward which
Time was hearing our dear heroine. shall
he able in my next book to tell you how it all
ended; whether percival was true or false;
whether or not happiness of the kind she OK
rccted rewarded the constancy of her pure,
glowing, and yet never impatient affection