The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-06-30
CHAPTER VII
LADY RIVALS, WITH THE FooTLIGHrs BE
TWEEN THEM

LADY RIVALS, WITH THE FOoTLIGHTS HE-
TWEEN THEM.
Percival got his own way, after all. in the
matter of marrying as poor man Fortune,
Henry Fielding tells US somewhere, never
does things by halves. Two months after
Psrcivars uncle died and il was found that
II spite of his wife's caiolng, he had remem-
bered his nephew: and, though the bulk of
his property went 10 his stepsons, he left Per-
cival the fifteen hundred year which he had
so long allowed to his father So Percival
did not marry as poor man, after ALL and
the little mother had she lived, might have
confessed that sometimes love finds out the
way to fortune too.
Wedding bells come ringing in as my story
nears its end Sophia Temple is the bride the
sun shines on. 1t is a quiet marriage: but
loving eyes are about her and upon her
Seven long years she has waited, and now the
day has dawned that makes her happy All
is sun-hine. The little wedding feast is full
of pleasantly Egerton Doolittle makes a
speech, in which he assures the company that
he always maintained. in the face of every
body, that Sophia would find some one to
marry her some day. He did not exactly
mean what he said, but that some one would
turn up; for he had heard that there never is
a Jack but there is a Jill-not that he meant
to imply that Sophia was not most charming
quite the reverse; but still it requires fore
sight to say how any given thing viii turn
out, and he always said so, in spite of every
body; and there the thing was that day
and nobody could gainsay it And Goldmore
hands Sophia solenlnly into her carriage, and
off they go for life and love, and the story is
told.
They cone back again and settle in the
Beeches, which has lain vacant since Mrs
Temple gave it up. They began their mar
ried life with every promise of happiness and
with the brief sunshine of this life warm and
bright about them May / relate one little
incident!
Exactly a month after their return home
Egerton Doolittle came in one morning and
asked to see Sophia privately; and when he
was alone with her. and the door shut, he
drew a lcng playbill out of his pocket.
Look here, Sophia, he says, in voice of
alarm, Cook at this
The bill announces that in a neighboring
city there is to be for one night only a per-
formance of ~The School for Scandal, !" with
Lanigan as Lady Teazle.
Il call it serious thing for you, Sophia,
Egerton says. IF you viii take my advice
as relative / should keep Percival in the
background lou will observe it is only for
one night, and prudential matter | should
keep Pereival in the background"
Does shes
"Come here, sir, she says to her husband
after Egerton has gone "Do you see this,7
She shows him the playbill, and he looks
little foolish and conscious
Il want to see the Lanigan, Percy" she
says "You must take a box for us both to
see the Lanigan.n
You are jesting, Sophia
Never was more serious in my life. l
must, and l will, see Mrs. Lanigann
So the abashed husband has to take box,
and in due time they are waiting for the cur
tain to rise.
Now, which is Mrs. LaniganT' Sophia
asks, after the play has begun.
There Percival says, 'in the satin
dress
''The blue satin dresss Surely THAT is not
Mrs. Lanigan" Sophia puts very impress
sive emphasis on that"
"Yes, that is she" Percival replies, with
obvious awkwardness. He feels very much
ashamed of having admired her He can see
nothing in her now at ALL
Mrs. Lanigan is not the woman with the
long train!" Sophia says, resolved to disbe-
lieve him. In fact, she implies that it is quite
incredible that THAT can be Mrs Lanigan
"Yes, the woman with the long train" he
replies.
"Why, Pereival, you said she was so pretty
"WeI you know" Percival says, that was
In Australia
Had she the same nose in Australian in
quires Sophia, crushing her husband 10y this
sarcasm.
And hereupon Mrs Sophia Brent sets to
work and picks the renowned Lanigan to
pieces, from her eyebrows to her toes, and
makes it as plain as Euclid to Percival that
She is not at all prepossessing; and Percival,
having the woman of women at his side, be-
lieves all he hears, and begins TO remember
now that Mrs. Lanigan's complexion was
sometimes little doubtful. So you see,
reader, that Sophia, with all her charms, was
only mortal woman after all, and would lei
fly an arrow at rival as swiftly as any of
her sex. But it mattered nothing to Mrs.
Lanigan, who was three times recalled. And
it mattered nothing to Sophia, who only
wanted to punish her husband, and never
loved him more tenderly than that night
And so it really comes to this that need not
have recorded SO trivial an occurrence at all