Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-14


free from human rancour
That strong loyal nature
which had unseXed itself IN
the one idea of duty, now
IL that duty seemed to be no
longer appreciated took
81 refuge in her forgotten
N "a womanhood and in the in
NJ, ia fmitesimally small arGu-
W. l ments, resources and ma
neuvers at its command q.
She had conceived singular jealousy
of this daughter who had changed her
,EShand s nature, and who had sup
r1aufed the traditions of the household
life: she had acquired an exaggerated
denrpciation of those feminine charms
which had never been factor III her
own domestic happiness. She saw IN her
husband : desire to mitigate the savage
austerities of their habits only weak
concession to the powers OF beauty anu
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vauities she hau
never known in their lifelong struggle
for frontier supremacy-that had never
brought them victorious ont of that str'iS-
gle. "FriZzles, - - furblows ana the
Hfnncy fixin 50 had never helpea them
in their exodus across the plans, had
never taken the place of swirl eyes,
quick ears, strong hands and endurance;
had never uursed the sick or DandaSed
the wounded When envy or jealousy
invade the female heart after 1orty II Is
apt 10 bring Il bitterness which KNOWS no
alternating compensation III lIial CO.
quetry, emulation, passionate appear 81
innocent tenderness which makes toier-
able the jealous caprices OF the younger
woman The struggle for rivalry IS teil
TO he homeless the power OF ihlltaIIou l.
gone OF her forgotten womanhoou MIS-
McKinstry revived only capacity TO sur
fer meanly and iniict suffering upon
others. In the ruined castle OF her youth
and the falling in of banquetting bali and
bower, the dungeon and torture chamDer
appeared to have been left, or to use heI
own metaphor, she had enormously COM
planned 10 the parson that ''accordin to
some folks. she mout hev bin the barren
fig tree elected to bear persmmuns.
Her methods were not entirely differ
ert from those employed by her suffering
sistcrhood in like emergencies. The I'M
lucky Hiram, 'worrited by stock, was
hardly placated or consoled by learning
from her that it was only the result Of his
own weakness, acting upon the cuSsed-
ness of the dispensing HarriSons;
the perplexity into which he was thrown
bv the news of the new legal claim 10 ms
land, was not soothed by the suggestion
that il was trick of that Yankee cIvill-
cation to which he was meanly succumb-
ing. She who had always been rough
but devoted nurse in sickness was now
herself overtaken by vague Irregular dis
orders which involved the greatest care
and the absence of all exciting causes.
The attendance of MckinStry and CreSSy
ut "crazy quilting party had brought
on "bliud Chills - the importation of Il
melodian for Cressy TO play on had super
induced an ''inard rash, and 4 threat
ened attack of 'palSy creeps' had only
been warded off by the timely postpone
meut of an evening party Suggested by
her daughter. The old nopladic instinct
morbidly excited by Der discomfort,
caused her toby aftfU. plans for fur
ther emigration; she knew she had the
.erus-5f "mash fever caught from
-Siie adjacent river; she related mysteri-
Gus information gathered in ''clasS meet
ing'' of the superior facilities for stock
raising on the higher foothills. She re-
luscitated her dead and gone Missouri re-
satioas in her daily speech, to manifest
invidiuus comparison with the living; she
revived even the incidents of her early
married life with the same baleful intent.
The acquisition of few "biled shirts -
by Hiram for festive appearances with
Greasy painfully reminded her that he
had married her in ''hickOry She
further accented the change 10y herself
appearing in her Oldest clothes, on the
hypothesis that it was necessary tor some
one TO keep up the traditions of the past.
Her attitude towards Greasy would have
been more decided had she ever possessed
the slightest influence over her, or had
even understood her with the intuitive
sympathies of the maternal relations.
Yet she went so far as TO even openly re-
Eret the breaking off of the match with
Seth Davis, whose family at least still re
tanned the habits and traditions she re-
yered: but she was promptly silenced by
her husband informing her that words
"that had to be tux back had already
passed between him and Seth'S father,
and that according to those same tradi-
tions blood was more likely 10 he spilled
than mingled. Whether she was only
withheld from attempting Il reconciliation
herself through lack of tact and opportu-
nifty remains 10 be seen. For the present
she encouraged Masters attentions under
new and vague idea that Il Irritation
which distracted Greasy from her studies
was displeasing to McKinstry and inimiCal
10 his plans Blndly ignorant of Mr..
Kori. : possible relations to her daughter,
and suspecting nothing, she felt towards
him only dull aversion as being the
senseless pivot of her troubles. Seeing
no one and hahitually closing her ears 10
any family ailusion TO Cressy's social
triumphs, she was unaware of even the
popular admiration their memorable
waltz had excited.
On the morning of the day that Uncle
Ben had couided TO the master his n"eni-
Gus plan tor settling the boundary dis
puteS, the barking ot McKinstry : yellow
dog announced the approach OF a stranger
10 the ranch. II proved To be Mr.. Stacey
moi only as dazElnSly arrayed as when
he first rose above Johnny Filgee'S hors-
zou but wearing in addition to his jauntsS
business air Il look of eomplacent eXpeOta-
ton of the pretty girl whom he had met
ot the bail He had not seen her for a
month. 1t was happy inspiration of
his own that enabled him to present him
self that morning in the twin functions of
a victorious Mercury and Apollo.
McKinistry had to be summoned from
an adjacent meadow, while Cressy in the
meantime undertook to entertain the GAL
liant stranger. This was easily done. 1t