Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-03-28


ness of their rivalry; and they re-
peated her speech to their relatives
and acQuaintances with n hilarious
frequency nndpublicity that the lady
little OWNED, or she might have
blushed and felt more embarrassment
still. af
In the course of time the position
resolved itself, and the heauteous
Lady Penelope las she was called)
made up her mind; her choice being
the eldest of the three knights, Sir
George Drenghard, owner of the
mansiOn aforesaid, which thereupon
became her home; and her husband,
being q pleasant man, and his family,
though not so Aoble, of as good re-
pute as her own, all things seemed to
show that slso reckoned wisely in
honcring him with her preference.
But what may lie behind the still and
silent veil otAhe future none can fore
tell. In the course ola few months the
husband other choice died of his con-
vivialities, eas il, indeed, TO bear out
his name, and the Lady Penelope
was left alone as mistress OF his house.
by this time she had apparently quite
| torgotteUl her careless declaration to
her lovers collectively; but the lovers
! themselves had not forgotten it, and,
as she would now be Tree to take
second 'one of them, Sir John Gale
appeared at her door as early in her
widowhood as it was proper and
seemly to do so.
/ She gave him little encouragement
for offthe two remaining, her best he
loved was Sir William, of whom, if
the Truth must he todd, she had often
thought during her short married
life. But he had not yet reappeared.
Herileart began to Doe so much with
himnow, that she contrived to con-
vey'to him by indirect hints through
his friends that she would not be,dis-
pleased by renewal of his former
attentions. Sir William, however,
Inexperienced her gentle signaling,
and from excellent, thoughmistaSen,
motives of delicGcy, delayed 30 in
trade himself upon her Tor q long
time. Meanwhile Sir John, now rcre-
ated baronet, was unremittins, and
she began to grow somewhat pigued
at the backwardness of him sshe ~se-
cretly desired to toe forward.
Never mind" her friends said Jest
Iingly to her, knowing of her humur-
eous remark, as everybody did, that
she would marry them all threeifthey
would have patienee.} ~Never mind;
4 why hesitate upon the order of
them? Take 'em as they come"
This vexed her stu more, and re-
GREETING deeply, as she had often
done, that such a careless speech
should ever have passed heriips, she
fairly broke down under Sir Johns
Importantly aud accepted his hand
They were married OIL fine Spring
morning, about the very time at
which the unfortunate Sir William
discovered her preference for him.
and was beginning to hasten home
from n foreign Court to declare his
unaltered devotion to her. On his
arry al in England he learned tlaesad
truth.
If Sir William suffered at lherpre-
cipitancy under what she had deemed
his neglect, the Lady Penelope herself
suffered more, She had not long
been the wife OF Sir John ale,beiore
he showed "A disposition to retaliate
upon her for the trouble and delay
she had put him to in winning. .her
With increasing frequency The
would tell her THAI, as hfar
as he could perceive, she was. an
article not worth such labor as he
had bestowed in obtaining it, sand
such snubbings as it had taken from
\ his rivals on the same account.
These and other cruel things he rTe-
peated until he made the lady weep
sorely, and well-nigh broke her
spirit, though she had formerly been
such n mettlesome dame. BY degrees
it became perceptil,le to all her friends
that her life was n very unhaPpy,ORe;
and the fa to of the fair woman seem
red harder in that it was her own
stately mansion, left to her sole use
by her first husband, which her sec
ond had entered into and was enjoy
ing, his being but a mean and mea-
gre thing.
But such is the flippancy offriends,
that when shs met them, and secret
lyreOnfided her grief to their ears,
they would say cheerily; Never
mind: there's a third to come YETI
at'sahich Inalodroit remark she would
shaw much Indignation, and tell
Them they should know better than
to trihe on such solemn theme.
Yet that the poor lady would have
been,only too happy to be the wife
of the ,third instead oil Sir John,
whOinsshe had taken, was painful Iy
obviouS, and much she was blamed
tor Der foolish choice by sOme people.
Sir William, however, hail returned
to foreign cities on learning the news
Of her meiriage, and had never been
heard of since.
Two or tjlree years ofsufIering were
passed by Lady Penelope az the de-
spised and~sAidden wife of this man
Sir John. amid regrets that she had
so greatly mistaken him, and signs
for one whom she thought never to
see again; TIL it CHANGED that her
husband fell-sitk of some slight all.