West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-12-05
ROSES AND PEARLS,

sihP'e "hite rose. The rose and the
pearls were each accompanied with n
separate note. They had both been nrr
sented To her by special MESSENGERS
within the last half hour.
DEAR SUsANs WIN you wear rms Fos, IN,
your bosom this evening, m there is .,,
room % Tor hope Tor one who loves YOU truly
'''u ue'''eOiyt HENRY JOY.
The second read as follows:
DEAR MISS WILDE. II you feel that ,o,
l Sl,h ever love me with one-half tho aryior and
nv. ,hI.eilslty that do you, please acknowledge
wearing them at Mrs. Gladstone's i1v
''''o evening ARTHUR FLOYD
Aud these two missives were the
source of the quandary into which Susan
Wilde, the acknowledged belle of srr;s >.
vale mad so naturally GHd insensibly
fallen. Arthur Floyd was of the firm Of
Floyd u Son" dry goods merchants.
while Henry JOY was simply salariod
clerk in the establishment OF the nfnro
SAID hrm. The young men were of
about the same age, both intelIectrol
well educated and good looking, fhev
mad been classmates at the same upivor.
slty, and young JOY owed his position
IN tho establishment TO the influence of
ms Trend Arthur. Both were madlv in
love with Susan Wilde, the heeutif,,i
orphan niece Of wealthy and arstocratic
Mrs. Gladstone, who had come TO reside
at sprIn9vale after the death of her hus.
band, who was reputed TO be worth his
millions. Mrs. Gladstone was still ef a
manageable age, being but triAe over
forty, and remarkably healthy and
young'looking. Mr.. Gladstone had left
his property equally divided between her.
self and step-son, sophomore in Har.
ward.
Susan was an only child of an elder
SISTER who had died some years before
leaving her offspring to Mrs. Gladstone
care.
Her father had left some pronertv
which her neither, through tact and
economy, had very materially increased
SO that at the time of her death Susan
was left quite an heiress-haying an nm.
lhcumbered farm and some four or FIVE
Thousand dollars at interest, Neither Of
the young men had concealed from the
other his passion for Susan Wilde and
reasoning between themselves that she
could make but one of the two happy
IN matrimonial sense, they had Jointly
mt upon the above novel method of RS
certaining which Of the two MIGHT
claim her preference, each promising TO
abide by the young lady's decision, with
out harboring tie slightest enmity or i'll
will against the other.
In their social intercourse she had
shown no especial preference for one
more than the other. Their visits and
attentions had hitherto seemed equally
welcome to the young lady, and thcy
were now both anxious to know which
was in the future TO be the favored one
of her choice
Susan had read both Of the notes care
fully and was now deeply pondering
They had evidently brought the youno
girl to profound sense OF reflection. and
she saw that she must decide between the
two.
Arthur Floyd, aside from his personal
attractions, had abundant prospective
wealth to recommend him; while Henry
JOY had only intellect, beauty, and fine
physical powers to plead for him. With
almost unlimited means at his command
the former could place her in the most
exalted position in society. while the
latter, with no other resource than his
salary. could only expect to support a
vile comfortably, not ostcntatiouslv.
"Well, said Mrs Gladstone. after
somewhat lengthy silence, "you seem 10
be unusually reserved on the subject Of
your mornings correspondence. Can't
you see that your good aunty is dying
with curiosity TO learn the contents of
the notesl"
Susan looked up confusedly.
"Will you read them, che asked cor
shall II"
"You read them, dear. You see / am
busy just now with this embroidery pat
term
Susan obeyed, reading aloud what we
have already submitted TO the reader.
" What am I 10 do2" she questioned.
with look Of evident annoyance although
It was plain from the blush that accom-
panied it that she felt not little Hat-
tered.
why, you silly little innocent" re-
piled Mrs. Gladstone, laughing. .it Is
ag~nst all rules Of propriety to keep two
strings % your bow after they have be-
come 80 imp0rtunate. The only thing
you have 10 do is 70 consider the rcspec
tive claims Of these two daring aspirauts.
and decide between them The choice
cannot be very difficult, OF course. when
you consider their relative positions in a
worldly sense.
81 know, Arthur is rich and Henry
is poor"
Eyes; aud the former is certainly not
greatly inferior TO the latter in point of
good looks and intelligence OF course
you will discard the rose for the pcarls1n
~ am not sure, aunty, dear i have
been pondering the matter deeply for the
last Eve minutes have always prided
myself that am something Of Judge
Of human nature. To be sure. Arthur
Floyd IS rich, and can lavish pearls. even
upon the lady Of his choice
but in my knight Of the white ross 7 re-
cognize a natural superiority that wealth
alone can not confer Ny decision
aunty, ought not 10 be governed wholly
BY The present situation for riches, you