Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1890-12-27


voice, and then 1 added as a spur, ssAh,
how many q poor girl carves oft for her
self miserable future by an il.consider-
ate choice and hasty plunge into the
dark gulf OF married lifel"
looked full at Miss Blythe, who never
colored at my words, nor even raised her
eyes from tho pudding ON her plate. AS
for Tom he ate his in great, absent
spoonfuls, and seemed 10 have joined
Mrs. Jellyby In one OF her rambles to
Africa. But my shot was not wasted.
1t scattered, and one slug hit the spin
ster. Ozark gulf was good, and she
bridled up in minated pride as she an
swered:
"How many, indeed But rejoice TO
believe that some husbands are so well
regulated as 20 have the will OF their
head both for their law and their de-
light" Here the old party raised her
voice to the confidential pitch, some
where az A above the line. my own
experience is a proof of my belief, for
next month my niece will
Miss Bolton turned scarlet, only TO
grow more white and limp than ever. I
understood then that her engagement
must have been arranged and affairs
fastened since her return; but the al
fusion seemed peculiarly painful to her.
s'Aunty auntyg she cried, rising,
''shall we not order coffee in the parlor?''
AS we rose from the table the old lady
took my arm and led me to the post of
honor, the corner OF her special sofa be-
side the great fireplace. The others
grouped about the room. with the defiant
purpose TO be agreeable, but it was not
written that the talk that night was TO
be pleasant to them. The aunt would
give me, at her highest confidence pitch,
the details Of her strategy to surround
| Goodwin, the enemy, and Of her cam
| paign 10 crush incipient mutiny in the
White Mouse contingent. That casti-
| gated branch would vince at each fresh
sentence, while the conscious couple
| from Piketon quietly stole glances at
each other and weakly strove to turn
the right OF our position. But I had
taken lesson from the team had driven
into the snow bank that day. When the
old lady's slackening pace gave eynp-
toms Of tagging, not the gray himself
could have pulled more furiously for
ward than /; when she gave faint evil
dcnce Of bolt from the road, not sorrel
Jalap could have pulled more sullenly
backward. felt vicious in that atmos-
phere Of deception, as the beasts had In
the cold air, and reveling in rhapsody
of spite felt it delicious TO launch out
singing little sarcasIns as they had their
heels.
Coffee over, / became what would
have been uncomfortable, only Tom and
his lady love seemed strangely uncon-
scious of the force Of what said. When
Was rather more spiteful than usual,
my tone rather than the words made
them look wonderingly at me with what
/ could not but feel most criminal as
sumption OF innocence. Finally the
hypocritical couple strolled TO n port
folio of rare engravings; the White
Moure retreated behind the piano top
and plsyed-very well, too-some of
Mendelssohn's dreamy, moonlight-on-
the-snow music. Still the grRndaunt
droned her monotone about marriages.
gave me minute narratives of all her
! familys in the past, and. when my jeal-
. Gus spite was rapidly yielding TO sleepi-
ness, came back TO her pet theme of the
White Mouse 1 had gone through ali
. | the variations OF the fact that she, yield
! ing TO the ancient's viii. had become
contracted in formal engagement t.
the man OF twenty thousand year
: but now heard for the first time
! that the marriage was to take place tbs
! week after Christmasl
= "And there is a serious reason, IN.
I dear sir, to outweigh all sentimental
: nonsense in Annals case. AS you say
4 sir. so Justly, there can be no happiness
I without an income-none, sirr' The ols
4 one laid her hand upon my arm; she wa
a rt.,1.
: yelled, What becomes Of love and sen
timent and all that trash, should Xix
to know, when bakers and butchers bill
. begin TO come in?'
! lyon are right, madam thousan'
!, times rightr' grew fervid; glance'
- at Jones. The engravings had ceased {
: turn over now; his eyes were fixed ful
a upon his cousins, and his lips moved
~ but inaudibly 20 me- His gesture
though, was strong and impassioned
a and even as looked those faces cam
very close together. At the moment hi
was turned from me, but hers assume
8 deep carnestness, the eyes filed an
a. gaEed beseechingly into his; then HI
- hand pressed moment the rose tippe
y one that rested on the pictures
80 God forgive me the bitterness tbs
or crept into my heart then; but it WEI
\ hard to suffer more than l did AZ thf
,is glance. When l spoke my voice souns
no ed, through the dead silence of the room
~ harsh and grating even to my own car
\ Eyes. it is more than madness, it
"a crime for any man to drag a woms
~ down TO divide less than one coul
starve upon with decency."
Al Tom had not one penny beyond
Of pay, and that stipend from the fosterir
Nm government he was permitted to figh
"a bleed and die for amounted to near
IA seventy dollars per month. did n
"a stop at the moment to consider that N
"a income from legal pursuits 81 the bar
"a Piketon was an average of some sixt
:. FIVE dollars less than his But why shou
So r could never have plead to the !