Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-02-21

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heart, and / viii tell you all
She sat down on a chair opposite to
me, with her back to the light and began
her story in low hurried voice
''You must know" she said. ''that for
two or three years before l was married
there lived with us a young lady who
was under age and an heireSs: her name
was Sibyl Graham. She was a very
beautiful girl, but very wilful, and I do
not think that at any time she added
much to the happiness of our home; but
my mother and were poott, and we were
glad indeed of the money that Miss Ora
hams guardians paid to US. She had two
guardians, one of whom. Mr.. Darlington,
afterwards became my husband. They
used to come pretty often to see theiI
ward, and to know if she was happy and
had everything she wanted.
''Siby1 Graham was a very selfish girl.
I worshipped her for her beauty, and she
made slave of me-such willing slave
Of her two guardians she always said she
liked Mr.. Darlington least. I know she
was always quarreling with him. Mr..
Dene-that was the name of the other
guardian-was an older and a different
sort of man, which might have accounted
for her feeling more kindly towards him.
Well, the time went on; and, when Sibyl
was in one of her cross proud moods.
Mr.. Darlington used to sit and talk to
me. By degrees found myself watch
ing for his coming, and he always smiled
when our eyes met, and we became great
friends. Sibyl quarrelled with him more
than ever, and never gave in to his Opin-
ion in tbs smallest degree. / suppose
you begin to guess the end.
Zone day he asked me to be his wife;
and I said Yes we never dreamed of all
that was to come afterwards. Sibyl
Graham guessed what had happened, ]
think, the moment she saw me that even
ing, and her face was pale as she said to
me-
"'You have taken him from mel
81 was always weak and easily fright.
ened, but think my love made me sud
denly strong, for | retorted quite boldly
He was never yours; he never cared
for anybody but me; and you know you
hated him always!"
"'Hated himp she cried, in a strange
broken-hearted fashion. How little you
can know of love when you think hated
him-I, who would have died for HIM
turning upon me, with her great dark
eyes glazing into my face.
''With those words she rushed away;
and | was too happy to remember for
long anything that she had said. So
John and | were married, and Sibyl Ora
ham was at our wedding, and was the
gayest of the gay. But, when we were
saying goodbye, she looked steadily into
my eyes, and whispered
"'I hate you!
"Then she held out her hand to wish
my husband goodbye, and noticed thai
her face was very pale.
"But I must hurry on and tell you the
rest. For two years John and were
surpremely happy and contented. And
then Baby was born, and after that / was
happier even than before, for [ had two
to love instead of one. Suddenly a cloud
seemed to come creeping over our lives.
Perhaps, if had not been occupied with
Baby so much, l might have noticed
sooner how weary and worried my hus-
band often looked, and how rarely he
smiled when he came home in the even
ing; for, being a business man, of course
he went to town every day, and did not
come back till night. At last it dawned
on me; and one evening, seeing him look
worse than usual, [ asked if he was i'll OF
if anything troubled him. And he said
half evasively. No, there is nothing 7
have a headache After that watched
him closely, and noticed how worn and
thin he looked, and how almost imper-
ceptibly we had both grown cold and sill
ent when together.
'Sibyl will be of age next month";
said one evening, trying to speak cheer
fully; 'and then, John, you will have one
trouble the less when your ward is off
your hands,
ST wondered why my simple words
should have brought troubled, scared
look in his eyes. All, 1 knew soon
enough! With Sibyl Graham's birthday
came the Smash. For days before John
looked terribly i'll, with an expression of
strange anxiety in his eyes; and yet /
was afraid to ask him what it meant.
He told me himself at last when he broke
down, and said that Sibyl Graham's for.
tune was all gone, and that Mr.. Dene,
who was JOint-trustee with him, had run
away before the smash came.
81 hardly understood the terrible mean
ing that lay behind his words. It was
only by degrees that he told me all
how, in his careless way, he had neglect
ed to look as carefully as he ought to
have done after his wards interests, and
how Mr.. Dene, daring INSCRIPTIONS
man, had taken advantage of the weak.
ness of Johns character to speculate with
Sibyfs money, and had lost every shilling
of it.
"My husband was not to blame; he was
only too easy-gOing and too indolent to be
businessman, and Mr.. Dene deceived
him all through. With what agony
realized the fact that John was response
II Il Il l. IL
lost!
They can't do anything to you, dear
l said, with my heart full of an unknown
fear; and he smiled his tired weary smile,
and answered.
"'Yes, wife; am innocent; but | can
not prove it, and so / can be punished.
You see Dene has run away, and. if il
were not for you and child, | should not
much care
''Oh, it was an awful time! And what
could we do? They say women's wits are
strong, but think it is love that makes
them so. What I had heard was bad
enough; but my husband had worse news
in store for me, which, when | heard
it, made me feel as if had gone through
the bitterness Of death. And yet it was
what many wives must have gone
through before-at least, surely SONS
other wife must have felt as I felt when
he told me gently-oh, SO gently-that
there was something he had kept from
me for months-that he was dying day
by day of an incurable disease.
60 THAT is why, my wife, he said sad
ly, 4 became careless about matters, and
left it all to Dene. You see I had nc
strength or energy for anything, and
trusted him.
''Miss Clark, you can understand W
a time that was for me when he told
ne was dying. Ruin and disgr< &c seemed
light in comparison. Dying-~nd I loved