Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-02-28


"Who ia to speak for us II not ouF
husbands, should like to knowY said
young Mrs. Grlerson. "And when
there nre actually three brides pres
ent. by the bye, Mrs, Thomson / did
not know TIL n few minutes ago that 1t
was your own slstcr-inrlaw | was In
Wiling You TO mett but | shall learn
the ms and outs Of Richcrden people
in time. You and your brother must
have married within a few weeks Of
one another"
mo- some months" said Roderick,
with his eyes firmly fixed on his plate
Bella with some smiling word or two,
turned back again to her next neigh
Dor, with whom she had been gayly
converslng all dlnncr-tlme, SO the
difficulty passed, seemingly unnotlced
by everybody,
When the ladies' rose, and he was
forced to let Silence pass him without
n warning or explanatory word, catch
Ing only the bright smile which show
ed she was at ease and happy, because
underneath this outside show was the
sweet inner reality that they two were
everything to one another, Roderick
vexed himself with conjectures as to
what was happening in the drawing
room, and blamed himself for what
now seemed the moral cowardice Of
letting his young wife drop ignorantly
into the very midst Of her foes SO
absorbed was he with these thoughts
that he quite started when slap on
the back reused him to the conscious
ness Of his new brothcr-in-laW, Mr.,
Alexander Thomson.
Didn't see you till this minute. Very
odd-my wife never told me we should
meet you here And was that your
wifc?-thc uncommon nice girl that
sat beside Grlerson? Phew" with n
slight whistle; then confidcntially, "the
women are all fools, we know,
Old lady cuts up rough still? Never
mind; what's the odds, so long as
you're happy? Glad to meet you again,
my boy. When are you coming to
see usW
Had it been possible to frame Il
speech more calculated than another
to set every nerve tingling in Roder-
lexis frame, or touch to the quick his
pride, his sensltvencss, his strong
family feeling, these words Of Mr..
Thomson would have accomplished it.
He had forCibly to say to himself that
they were well meant, and to shut his
eyes in an agony of brOtherly pity to
the rapidly reddcning face, thickening
speech, and always coarse manners Of
the person-you could not say gentle
man-whom Bella had chosen to marry
before he could bring himself to reply.
Even then 1t was as briefly as posi-
bic.
"Thank you. We have only just ar
rived at Richerden, and are going to
Blackhall as soon as possible"
but we shall see you before we so.
Bella will be delighted, and if she isn't
l shall; and hope Pm master in my
own house. Depend upon it," drop
ping his hand heavily upon the table,
and looking round with triumphant
CLEAN in his flshy eyes, 'the one thing
husband should try for from the
very first is to be master in his own
house"
IF he can be he will be without
need to say n word about it; and if he
can't be, why, it's no good trying"
The laugh went round at this naive
reply Of young Grierson's, but Roderick
never said a word. And when the gem
tlemen fell into gentlemens talk, poll
tics and so on, though he liked it, hay
ing been long enough absent from Eng
land to feel an interest in all that was
going on there, his mind continually
wandered not only to his wife, whose
happiness he knew he made, and felt
it was in his power to make, but to the
sister who had thrown away her own
happiness, and over whose lot, be 1t
good or i'll, he had no longer the small
est influence
ITO BE CONTINUED