Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-22

vexed as he was surprised. He could not
charge Salome with having laid trap for him.
nevertheless he felt as if he had fallen into
one. He had sufficient consciousness of the
course he had taken to be aware that Mrs.
Sidebottom had given the impetus which had
shot him, unprepared. into an engagement.
He certainly liked Salome, There was not
girl he knew whom he esteemed more highly.
He respected her for her moral worth and ad-
mired her for her beauty She was not en-
dowed with wealth by fortune, and yet, If she
came to him, she would not come poor, for she
was jointured with the "a 900 which he had un,
dertaken to set apart for her.
That he could be happy with Salome he did
not question; but he was not partial to her
mother, whom he regarded, not as a vulgar,
but as an ordinary woman. She had not the
refinement of Salome nor the vivacity of Janet.
How two such charming girls should have been
turned out from such mold as Mrs Cusworth
was marvel to Philip-but then it is precisely
the same enigma that all charming girls pre-
sent to young men, who look at them, and then
at their mothers, and cannot believe that these
girls will in time be even as their mothers The
glowworm is surrounded by moony halo till
mated, and then appears but an ordinary grub,
and the birds assume rainbow Tints while
thinking of nesting, and then hop about as
dowdy. draggle-feathered fowl.
1t was true that Philip had requested Mrs.
ellsworth to remain in his house, before he
proposed to her daughter; it was true also that
he had asked to be received at her table before
he thought of an alliance; but it was one thing
to have this'old creature as a housekeeper and
another to be saddled with her as a mother-in-
law. Moreover. it was by no means certain
but that Mrs ellsworth might develop new and
unpleasant pecnliarities of manner or temper,
as mother-in-law, which would be held in con-
troll SO long as she was housekeeper, Just as
change of climate or situation brings out hu-
mors and rashes which were latent in the blood
and unsuspected. Some asthmatic people
breathe freely on gravel but are wheezy on
clay. and certain livers become torpid below
100 feet from the sea level and are active above
that line. Mrs. ellsworth might prove amiable
and commonplace in situation of subordina-
ton, but would manifest self-assertion and
cock-a-hoopedness when lifted into sphere of
authority.
According to the classic fable, Epimetheus,
that is, Afterthought, filled the world with dis
comfort and unrest; whereas Prometheus, that
is. Foretnought, shed universal blessing on
mankind.
For once, Philip had not invoked Prometheus,
and now, in revenge, Epimetheus opened his
box and sent forth thousand disquieting con-
siderations. But it is always so-whether we act
with forethousht or without. Epimetheus is
never mapping. He is sure to open his box
when an act is beyond recall.
In old English belief, tho fairies that met
men and won their love were one-faced beings,
convex as seen from the 'front.' concave when
viewed from the rear. 1t is so with every bless
ing ardently desired, every object of ambition.
We are drawn toward it, trusting to its solidity;
and only when we have turned round it do we
perceive its vanity. No man has ever taken a
decided step without look back and bitter
laugh. Where he saw perfection he sees de-
feet, everything on which he had reckoned is
reversed to his eyes.
In Philip Pennycomequick's case there had
been no ardent looking forward, no idealiza-
tion of Salome. no painting of the prospect
with fancy's brush; nevertheless now when he
had committed himself, and fixed his fate. he
stood breathless aghast, fearful what next
might be revealed to his startled eyes His
past life had been without charm to him, it had
inspired him with disgust; but the ignorance in
which he was as to what the future had in
store, filled him with vague apprehension.
He was alarmed at his own weakness He
could no longer trust himself; his faith in his
own prudence was shaken. 1t is said that the
stoutest hearts fail in an earthquake, for then
all confidence in stability goes; but there is
something more demoralizing than the staggeI
of the earth under our feet and that is the reel
and quake of our own acknowledges Wher
we lose trust in ourselves, our faith in the
| future is lost.
There are moments in the night when the
consequences of our acts appear to us as
nightmares, expressing and terrifying u.s. A
missionary put magnifying glass into the