Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-12-11
COPYRIGHT BY AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION.

high minded In meeting without Ques
ton all demands upon him, but whel
the supply actually ran short thing
wore a different aspect. Had he spen
his whole fortune simply in paying hi
sons drafts he would at least have ha(
the comfort of putting the whole bur
den of the responsibility on his SOM
shoulders. But unfortunately the large,
part Of the loss was due to private rash
ness of his own. When he found tina
DDS rapacity was getting serious thu
devoted gentleman betook himself Il
Wall street and speculated there. Tht
brokers treated him as Richard III pro
posed to treat his wife-they had him
bat they did not keep him long. Hi
E0eculations after no returned home
were probably more edifying than those
he INDUCED in On the street.
The revolving suspicion that he had
been a fool began to terminate in Mr..
Eandolph''s mind. This suspicion, which
Il the salvation of some men, is the de-
gtruction of others. The integrity of
4r. Randolph's moral discrimination
began to deteriorate from that hour.
Having enacted all his life the part of
his own golden calf in the wilderness,
his overthrow left him destitute of any
criterion Of conduct. He talked violent
~ and volubly about his wrongs, and
discussed various schemes, more or less
inpracticable and improper, of evading
his liabilities Beatrix was naturally
the chief sufferer from this ungainly
development of her fathers character,
and she was also obliged to bear
the brunt of most of the concrete
Hnpleasantness Of their situation. She
had to talk to the creditors, to extenuate
her fathers side of the case, to hold out
fair hopes and to smooth over disap-
Pointments, and when she had wearied
herself in parleying with the enemy she
had before her the yet harder task of
pacifying and encouraging her father,
who had listened to the dialogue from
the head of the stairs, and fell upon her
with petty avalanche of complaints,
questions, suggestions, seedlings and
querulousness. Beatrix loved her father
with all her heart, but she was of pen
etrating and well balanced mind, and
eften had difficulty in not feeling
ashamed of him. Insensibly she began
TO treat him as q fractions and super
sensitive child, who must at all costs be
humored and soothed, and when she felt
her own strength and patience almost
Overtaxed she would only say to herself,
mo wonder poor father has to give up
when find it so hard
But her troubles did not end with her
father. There was certain Mr. Starcher,
the grocer's son; the grocer divided with
the innkeeper the highest social consid-
Grafton Of the village. He was a young
gentleman of highly respectable charac-
ter and education. After leaving school
he had studied for a year at business
college in New York; he was member
Of the Young Mems Christian associa-
ton, and person Of gravity and re-
hgious convictions. Aweek or two after
Mr.. Randolph's misfortune became
known he put on a suit of black clothes,
relieved by a faded blue necktie, and
called formally on Miss Randolph. At
ter the first courtesies had been ex-
changed he said that he desired in the
first place to put the minds of Miss Ran
dolph and her good father at ease re-
garding the little account between his
frm and them. The money was not
needed, and so far as he was concerned
might remain unpaid indefinitely. "And
I should like to say, too" he continued,
with manner Of almost melancholy
seriousness and a husky voice, ''that
groceries-or anything else could get
you-might be yours, permanently, if l
could-you would-that you might con-
sent to unite your life to mine. Ny IA
Their contemplates retiring from active
business. have never before spoken to
you of this, but in seasons of trouble
We say things-and Ihave often thought,
when we were singing in the choir to-
gether-that-we might be very happy
that it was our destiny. 1 have been
in New York and seen the great world,
but you are the wife 1 would choose
from among them ALL" He had smooth.
round, fresh colored, innocent face, that
seemed made for dimpling smiles, but
which never INDUCED in them.
Beatrix felt a sensation Of absurd
alarm, like the princess in the fairy tale,
under spell of enchantment to mismate
herself in the most grotesque man.
ner conceivable. Mr.. Starcher was
SO much in earnest, and so ludicrously
sure, apparently, that the success Of his
suit was among the eternal certainties.
that vision of long welded life with
him, amid an atmosphere Of meal tubs.
salt cod and pickles, interspersed with
psalm tunes and solemn walks to and
from church on Sundays-this desperate
panorama Of inanimate existence rose IN
before her in such vivid imaginative |
vraisemblance that she was impelled to
protest against it with more than ade- |
quate vehemence. She gasped for breath. |
rose from her chair and said: ssMr
Starcher, it is terrible; would |
rather die!" Then, perceiying. COM
passionately, that he would feel |
cruelty wounded as soon as his
astonished senses enabled him to |
comprehend the significance of her
words, she added, cit would be wicked |
for me ever to think of being married: |
you must see that p Here she paused. /
partly from emotion, and partly because
she was unable at the moment to be-
think herself of any conclusive argu-
ment In support of her assertion that.
for her, marriage would ever be a crime. /
One certainly would not have drawn
that inference from the superficial indi-
cations. A silence ensued, prickly with
spiritual discomfort. Mr.. Starcher was
the first TO find his tongue, and he car
ned of the honors of the encounter by
observing with fearful gentleness that
ne should claim the privilege, Just the
same of not rrnsenfinrr fl,n lit4ls