Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-04-04

ne s so honest and true, so iona or u
all; he's always in and out of our house
and we'll try to make it home to him.
II love him. whispered my god
daughter ardently in my ear.
She had clambered on my knee, ant
her arms, thrown impulsively round m,
neck, prevented my seeing that Mrs
Anstruther had risen, and was standin.
close beside me.
81 am sorry to break into George
panegyrics. You may remember how
absurdly enthusiastic he always is il
his praises-yours have been sung to mi
so many times; but l am really LITTLE
tired, and if you will allow me e"
sprang up, and, lifting the curtain
that hung over the entrance of the tent
called for her waiting woman to attend
her, begging her to let me know if every
thing in their encampment was not ex
actly as she wished.
She did look very tired, but after sht
had gone. and was no longer under the
influence of the strong attraction she
possessed for me, l asked myself why
she had so suddenly discovered what
had seen at once, and then she had prac-
tically denied. Was it the conversation
that had displeased her? And did she
share with many of her sex fOible OF
which / had often heard? Was she
jealous of her husbands acquaintance:
Was she Jealous of me or of Dane? II
was of him that George was speaking
when she rose. Be that as it may there
had been undoubtedly Jared, even
vexed, tone in her voice; and | felt half
angry with my old friend for having
caused it. The feeling wore away as
we talked, and l recognized in him
traits almost forgotten, indisputable
Signs of character exceptionally high
minded and noble; for his carelessneSS
never degenerated into neglect of duty,
nor did his cheerfulness denote lack
of sympathy with the trouble of others.
He was singularly unseltish and gener-
Gus to fault. Beautiful as Mrs. An
struther was, and good as Judging from
| her countenance she must be, no one
could have wished her better husband
than the one that by happy fortune she
/ had secured.
| Chatting of old times, the hours flew
| swifter than we knew; and we were sur
prised to see how late it was when Mrs.
Anstruther returned, attired in loose
artistic gown of crimson plush, and pro-
Tossing herself famished with hunger.
The rest had evidently done her good;
her eyes indeed were feveriShly bright,
and there were two pink spots on either
cheek that l thought looked suspicious
ly like rouge, but might have been from
excitement, or even a reflection of the
rich color in which she was clothed.
Dinner passed off well. George was
always good company, and his wife had
apparently recovered from her fit of de-
pression-or had it only been intense
fatigue? and talked charmingly, even
brilliantly, of what most interested me
literature and art.
OF society | knew nothing, as perhaps
she guessed; for with delicate tact she
always turned the conversation when
her husband spoke of any one they had
lately met, or alluded to the life they
had been leading in the last few years.
That it had been a gay one | soon gath
cred, and could well believe that the
lovely woman who sat at my table and
trifled daintily with the food before her
had played in it no subordinate part.
1t was impossible she should be over
looked, impossible she should not be
aware of her own marvellous charms;
and yet once or twice fancied detect
ed signs of a strange and incongruous
humility. 1t seemed as though she were
irving to conciliate-me, who was only
too eager to be pleased; her husband, who
evidently worshipped her, and kept
glancing my way to see if l shared his
enthusiastic admiration of her wit and
beauty. He must have been satisfied
with what he read in my expression, for
indeed l thought had never seen any
one so lovable, so sweet, at the same
time so fascinating; for l think perhaps |
the last adjective is not always quite !
compatible with the first.
The gayety of her spirits had infected
us, and when we adjourned to the tent !
1 had constituted sitting room, mer
rier trio could not have been found; yet |
once or twice. watched her so closely, /
not with any thought of surveillance, /
but literally because my eyes could not |
leave her face-I thought noticed a |
strained look in her eyes, an expectant |
turn of her head toward the door, which /
might have been explained by casual |
observation from George that they
hoped to get telegram that evening
from the man they had left in charge of
Laurence Dane. But afterwarG, when
Beryl came to say good night" the
passionate fondnesS with which; Mrs.
caught her and strained her
to her breast, seemed an equally reason
able excuse for her reStlessneSs; for now
that the child was in her arms she was
quieter and more composed, presently
dropping out of the conversation alto
gether.
Ten minutes had gone by when was
seized with an inexplicable sensation
that something strange was happening
near me. At intervals l had heard
Beryrs voice conversing in an under
tone with her mother, but now she was
speaking out aloud; and, looking round
l saw that she had slipped off Mrs.
Anstruther's knee and had wandered to
the door of the tent where it was in
the shadow; the light of the lamps,
by draperies of rose and white,
had not reached so far. II
There she stood, her face upturned so
that the loose flaxen hair fell from it
like an aureole of light; her eyes big
with an intense surprise, an awe that
she herself did not understand, but that
kept the smiles from her usually laugh
ing lips and made her voice tremble as
she repeated:
~ am glad you have come. Are you
better now?" I
Only silence in reply, and as l leaned
forward, trying to pierce the darkness
beyond, could see no one to whom her I
question might have been addressed.
No one. But even as | said so to