Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1890-04-06


dence: but Mrs. Rayner obeyed her hus-
band, went to Mrs. WaldrOn and apollo
gized for her rudenesS, and then went
with her sister and returned the call of
the colone'S wife; but she chose Il
bright afternoon, when she knew well
the lady was not at home.
She retired from the contest, appar
entity. as has been said, and took much
Christian consolation To herself from the
fact that at so great sacrifice she was
obeying her husband and doing the duty
she owed to him. In very truth, how
ever. the contest was withdrawn from
her by the fact that for a week or more
after his evening at the Wadrons Mr..
Hayne did not reappear in garrison, and
she had no cause TO talk about him.
Officers visiting the house avoided men
ton of his name. Ladies of the cavalry
regiment calling upon Mrs. Rayncr and
Miss Travers occasionally spoke of him
and his devotion TO the men and his
bravery at the fire, but rather as though
they meant in a general way to cOmpli-
mcnt the RitlerS, not Mr.. Hayne: and so
she heard little of the man whose exist
encc was so sore a trial to her. Whit
she would have said, what she would
have thought. had she known of the
meeting between him and her guarded
Nellie. is beyond us TO tranScribe; but
she never dreamed of such a thing, and
Miss TraVcrS never d.eamcd of telling
hcr-fOr the present, at least. FOrtu-
nately, or unfortunately, for the latter,
it was not so much of her relations with
Mr. Hayne as of her relations with half
a dozen young bachelors that Mrs. Ray
ncr speedily felt herself compelled to
complain. 1t was blessed relief to the
elder sister. Her Surcharged spirit was
i'm sore need of an escape valve. She
was ready to boil over in the mental
cbullitiOn consequent upon Mr.. Haynes
reception at the post, and with all the
pent up irritablity which that episode
had generated she could not have con-
tanned herself and slept.
But here Mrs. TraverS came to her re-
lief. Her beauty, her winSomc ways,
her unqualified delight in everything
that was Soldierly, Spccdilyrendered her
vastly attractive TO all the young officers
in the garrison. Graham and Foster. of
the infantry, Morton, Webster and
Royce. of the cavalry. haunted the
house at all manner of hours, and the
captain babe them welcome and urged
them 10 come oftencr and stay later.
and told Mrs. Rayner that he wanted
some kind of Il supper or collation. every
night. He set before his guests good
deal of wine. and drank good deal
more himself than he had ever been
known to do before. and they We're
keeping very late hours at RayncrS,
for. said the captain, Il don't care II
Nellie is engaged: she shall have good
time while she's here; and if the boys
know all about it goodness knows
you've told them often enough. Kate
and they don't mind it, why, its nobody'S
buSineSS-hcrc, at least.
What Mr. Van Anwcrp might think
or care was another matter. Rayncr
never saw him. and did not know him.
He rather resented it that Van Antwerp
had never written TO him and asked his
consent. As Mrs. Rayner'S husband and
Ncllic'S brOthcr-in-law. il seemed 10 him
me stood i'm loco PARENTS; but Mrs Ray
ner managed the whole thing herself,
and ne was not even consulted. II any
thing. he rather enjoyed the cOntempla-
ton of Van Antwcrp'S tidgety frame OF
mind as described to him by Mrs. Ray
ncr about the time it became apparent
10 her that Nellie was enjoying the at
tcntionS of which she was so general AN
object, and that the captain was sitting
up later and drinking more wine than
was good for him. She was aware that
the very number of NelGS admirers
would probably prevent her from be-
coming cntanglcd with any one of them,
but she needed something To Scold
about. and eagerly pitched upon this.
She knew well that she could not
comfort her husband in the anxiety that
was gnawing at his heartStringS. but
she was Jealous of comfort that might
come to him from any other source. and
the Lcthc of wine and jolly companion
shin she dreaded most of all. Long,
long before. she had induced him to
promise that ne would never offer the
Young officers spirits in his house. She
would Tot prohibit wine at the table
She said: but she never thought of there
coming "A time when he himself would
seek consolation i'm the glass and make
up I'm quantity what it lacked in alcO-
holic strength. He was impatient ofall
rcproof now, and would listen to no
talk; but Nellie was years her Junior
more years than she would admit except
al such times as these. when she meant
to admoniSh: and Nellie had TO take it.
Two weeks after their arrival at War
. Of Mr. RpN-nnr's
morn. noon and night-waS: "What
would Mr.. Van Antwerp say if he could
bat see this or hear that?
Can any reader recall an instance
where the cause of an absent lover was
identified by the ccaSecsS warning in a
woman'S ear. Remember. you're en-
gagcd?" The hero of antiquity who
caused himself to be attended by Shad-
owing slave whispering ever and only.
Remember. thou are mortal" is fine
figure to contemplated this remote
date. He. we are told. admitted the
need. submitted To the infection. But
lives there a woman who will admit that
she needs any instruction aS to what her
conduct should be when the lord OF her
heart is away? Lives there woman
who. submitting. because she coulu not
escape. to the constant reminder. Thou
art engaged. " will not resent ii in her
heart of hearts and possibly revenge her
self on the one alone whom she holds at
her mercy? Left to hcrsclf-to her gen
crositv. her conscience. her innate ten
dcrness-the cause of the absent one will
plead for itself. and. if it have even faint
foundation. holds its own. "With the
best intentions in the world, - many an
excellent cause has been ruined by the
injudiciouS urgngS of a mother; but to
talk an engaged girl into mutiny. rely
on the infallibility of two womcn-a
married sister or maiden aunt.
just what Mr.. Van Antwerp would
have said could he have seen the stu
alton at Warrcncr is perhaps impossible
to predict. Just what he did say with
out seeing was. perhaps, the most UNI
wise thing ne could have thought OF: he
IN Mi rtfr