Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-03-20
CHAPTER VII.


The feeling entertained by Anthony
for Miss Beverley paled into utter in
significance before the depth and ear
nestness of the dislike with which she
distinguished him. In vain, in extenua-
ton of his conduct, Mary suggested the
offenders palpable lack of familiarity
with social amenities, and argued that
so small an affrout was beneath the no
tice of gentlewoman; in vain she be-
sought her aunt to dismiss the whole
occurrence from her mind-it was an
moving certainly, but after all IL was a
trifie, not worthy any great prodigality
Of thought or speech.
But Miss Cornelia could not see 1t In
that light at all. In her circumscribed
life every incident was an event. and
when connected with herself an event
of magnitude. So far from Diminishing
the evildoer from her thoughts as utterly
beneath wellbred contempt, she allowed
him to uSurp a considerable portion OF
her mind and nearly her entire CONVEX
sation, until poor Mary, with her pa
thence worn TO tatterS, was forced
through sheer WEAKNESS and aggrava-
tion to constitute herself sort OF cham
pion of the man for whom she had no
admiration and very little liking.
ST wonder where he comes from?'
pondered Miss Beverley, one day, using
no name to designate the subject OF her
| thoughts, since in aversion, as in love,
the object speedily attains the dignity
of pronoun and becomes the sole rep
| resentative OF sex.
"Who, auntie?" questioned Mary alb
sently, her hands busy with a torn
| blouse, her thoughts with the contents
OF an old trunk of clothing OF her hus-
bands, from which she proposed to
evolve certain garments needed by her
children.
THAT odious Mr.. Anthony OF course.
| Who else?" replied the old lady, with
| Indignation in her voice. "You never
will pay the faintest attention to me,
| Mary, or listen to a single word l say.
For all the companionship l have, l
might just as we'll live in a hollow tree
on the top of the Blue Ridge as in
this house. You haven't an idea in
your head beyond those tiresome boys
their clothes, their manners and their
mending. You don't care an atom for
anything outside OF them and their con-
Germs, and ought to be used to it by
this time. My thoughts and converse
tion are never worthy OF attention"
This was true, although not in the
way in which the resentful old lady
meant; her thoughts were commonplace,
and the expression about as worthy OF
attention as the rafting of beans in an
empty gourd, and yet they met with a
| consideration often denied to better
things. Mary smiled placedly and broke
| off another needleful of thread, leaving
her reprehensible motherhood unde-
Tended.
''He isn't gentleman" pursued Miss
Cornelia; anybody can see that with
half an eye. And if he was swaddled
| in bank notes, and had Kohineors and
moonstones strung on every hair OF his
head and of his hideous brown beard be-
sides he wouldn't be one. | wonder
what family OF Anthonys he belongs to?
There are Anthonys in the southwestern
counties, connections of the Beverleys
by marriage. He doesn't belong to
| them, | know, because Judge Wilmer
/ asked him about it, meaning to trace
out the connection for him. Very Of
| ficiouS in the Judge, l must say, con-
sidering the number OF disagreeaole KIN
people can find without searching. The
man denied any relationship with the
southwestern Anthonys, however. There
was another set down in the lower
counties, quite ordinary people; l went
to school with one of the girls in Rich
mond, and detested her. She had red
hair and freckled skin and such hate
full WAYS. l think he must belong to
| them,"
Mary laughed. die is a western man,
auntie, or calls himself one" she said.
"He isn't" snapped Miss Cornelia,
''and | don't care what he calls himself.
He's southern man. know, and Vir-
ginian, / think; indeed, he owned as
much to Mr.. Meredith, the lawyer. He's
too familiar with the ways and the life
here to have come to Virginia, for the
first time last month. Belinda, the wo-
man who does his cooking, told our
Sophy that the first morning she got
ont breakfast he called to her TO make
| him an ash-cake and bake 10 with cab
| bage leaves around it; said he hadn't
tasted one baked that way since he was
boy Nobody raised outside OF the south
knows anything about wrapping corn
dough up in cabbage leaves and baking
| il in the ashes.
Mary gave up the point OF Mr.. An
| thongs western origin without contest.
| There were other shibboleths besides an
affection for the ashcake OF his boyhood
which forbade the idea of his being a
stranger in strange land.
Miss Cornelia stared into the fire, lost
in thought. There was some mystery
about her enemy'S antecedents she felt
convinced, and she was determined to
unravel it, and il possible to his con-
| fusion and overthrow. Her mind went
hunting about with its nose TO the
ground like hound on a cold scent.
Presently it seemed to her to warm a
little, and she threw up her head and
gave tongue at once.
''Mary," she said, turning in her chair
and regarding her niece solemnly, my
brothers overseer, the man who lived
with him so many years and was with
| him at Shhiloh, was named Anthony and
he had lot of sons. Perhaps this is
one Of them"
The solemnity Of this announcement,
which was made with the air of one
loosing the seals and sending upon the
earth pestilence and Judgment, was al
most too much for Mary's gravity. She
bent her head over her sewing so that
Miss Cornelia might not be offended by
her mirth. Presently she remarked:
al thought all the Anthony boys were
killed, auntie. Hector said so, and they
were in his regiment. He spoke well OF
them always-their gallantry, patience
and endurance at time when courage
q nd rafianca were the rnla. Won know