Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-05-30

ing the brother ana sister together, ana
mount to the attic (Which Bella had in
sisted should be made into nursery
"because there one can't hear the little
wretch crying'), TO sit with the child in
her lap--the ugly, elish, troublesome
child, doomed to dlscnse and weakness
from its cradle-nnd wonder with an
agony Of pity how it would fight through
life, or whether, after all, Gods mercy
might not be best shown by taking It
back again out Of q world where nobody
wanted it, and into which II had never
asked to be born. A great mystery,
which none can solve
She and Bella were always friendly,
even allectlonatc, in a sort Of way; but
nevertheless she often felt weary, SO
weary: like Il person who had to speak all
day long in foreign tongue At least
such was the moral effect Of her sisters
compunionship The two women might
have been brought up in two bemispheres,
Their views Of life we're so altogether diff
fercnt that they could not understand one
another's language at all. Still, this must
be borne; and it was borne Things might
have been great deal worse.
Only when she heard her husbands rest
less cell for her all over the house, and
noticed a nervous irritation in him when
ever he was left long alone with his sister,
Silence began to wish for some sign Of
their suspense being over. Evidently
both husband and mother had discarded
the runaway wife, either on her own ac-
count or that Of her brother with whom
she had taken refuge.
1--WE row in the same boat now, Rody,"
Bella said one morning, when the seventh
days post had gone by. 81 don't care; do
you? Clearly you will have to adopt as
waits and strNys both me and the child.
I'll call it after you, 'Roderica, or per-
haps Silence,
mo- not Silence" he answered, hastily.
81 beg your pardon, but there can be only
one Silence in the world for me-" taking
lovingly his wife's hand. advise with
her. Bella; she will be sure to suggest the
wisest and best thing"
But when the sisters-in-law talked things
over, which they had full opportunity of
doing, for deep fall of Christmas snow
shut them in, and made Blackhall inn
pregnable even to more courageous and
less luxurious folk than Mr.. Alexander
Thomson, they came to no satisfactory
conclusions. Though strong on the ques-
ton of her wrongs and her correspond
ing rights, Mrs, Thomson seemed to have
n very feeble idea of her duties. To any
course which involved the slightest
trouble, or cXeDUion, or self-denial, she
nlNunyq pITnpnI inppp,nrn1NIa ,,ntI,I h,,f Ia,
surmountable objections.
ITS all very fins to tell rue that if 1
cut my husband adrift, and refuse to live
with him, | can't expect hinI to maintain
me, and must maintain myself; how can I
maintain myself? It isn't gcnteeI for
women TO work, ana it isn't pleasant,
either You talk of Independence and all
that, and the comfort my child will be to
me; but / don't like children; and I'm
sure, Silence, l shall never enjoy being
poor. You know"-she glanced round the
old-fashioned room, and helped HERSELF
with an air of exemplary condescension
to the best dish of that meal which had
been considered dinner but which she
always called lunch-"you, my dear. who
have always been accustomed to that sort
of thing, may find it easy, but should
not"
mo" said Silence, absentiE. She was
thinking, not of herself, but Of her hus-
band-0f his long, hard working days
spent at the mill, amid surroundings not
too pleasant and with the perpetual whir
Of machinery in his earsi and to sensitive
organizations incessant noise is Of itself
torment almost indescribaBle; though
uneXplainable to those who do,not under
stand this. He did, and felt it,, too, yet
he never complained. Even now, as 81
lence watched him come up the brae, with
somewhat tagging steps, she knew he,
would enter with a cheerful face, and
when he had put off the mechanic, and
put OH the gentleman" as he said laugh
ing, one day to Bella, be his OWN tender
self to both of them. For the common no
ton that a man may justifably vent all
his business worries on his womankind
Mt home did not seem as yet to have occur
red to Roderick Jardine. Whatever
vexed him out-of-doors, indoors he was
always the kind pleasant master and hus-
band-always, under ALI circumstances
the gentleman.
ayes like my work." he answered
when his sister inquired about it, which
she rarely did, evidently considering 1t
q topic which had better be ignored "And
like working. Once, Bella. was . great
idler, and she haS cured me of that. If
I had ten thousand year evenL I could
never could be idle any more.
ITO be contInued,)