Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1895-12-20

s.('"-S" able 70 snbsisf in
simple comfort. Alice, tine elder, was !
lust on the far side of thirty; Bob, |
tho Younger, was now IN her eight |
eeuth year. There was thus consid- !
cradle difference of age between
them. But the difference did rot end
here. Two sisters more dissimilar in
looks, in character, in disposition,
would have been hard to find. The
strength and self reliance OF Alice
made themselves apparent in every
line of her face, IN every tone of her
voice, in every .motion of her body.
Her blue eyes shone with steady,
fearless light. The carriage of her
mouth was firm and stanch. The
souareness of her well formed chin
was full Of power. Her manner had
the calm ease of perfect assurance.
Her beauty was the beauty of a capa-
BILE woman.
With Bob it was different. Bob had
little strength and no self reliance.
Such tender, anxious, appealing face
was Bob's. 1t reflected every ray of
sunshine, every passing cloud that
approached. In those brown and
gentle eyes often hundred varying
emotions would be born and die
within the hour, and as many smiles
and quiverings would ruffle her mobile
lips. She was pretty, very pretty;
and winning, very, very winning. Yet
it was child's nature that gave its
life to her expression; twas child's
sweetness that charmed her in your
look and manner.
Before she was we'll eighteen Bob
had found lover. Some people ex-
pressed surprise that Ronald Arm
leigh had chosen Bob in preference to
her sister Alice. And, indeed, it had
appeared for some time doubtful
toward which of the two girls his real
attention was directed. First of all,
Alice had seemed to attract him the
more. This was what might have been
expected. Armleigh was a man of the
world, experienced and mature in
Judgment. He prided himself, not
without reason, upon his sound sense
and his practical views. In his then
position--that of a barrister just on
the threshold of professional and
social SUCCESSIVE had every need of a
clever, capable wife. That was exact
ly what Alice's qualities fitted her
for. And it was by these qualities in
her that he seemed at first to be at.
tracted.
But after little came change.
Exactly what had caused it would be
be impossible to say. Perhaps Alice
had repealed him by her cold demean-
or. Perhaps he had grown alarmed
by the signs Of masterfulness in hel
character. Or, perhaps, love had got
the better of prudential codsidera'
tons. 1t was probably one Of these
three. It may have been all com
bined. At any rate, there it was. An(
soon it became apparent that it wal
Bob, the winsome child, not Alice, thC
capable woman, who held the key o
Ronald Armieigh's affections.
This circumstance discovered new
side to the elder sisters character
Till now Alice had been more than {
mother to Bob. Her love for the
younger girl had been touching
thing to see. In furthering Bobs in
terests, in promoting Bob's happiness
in shielding Bob from harm and an
noyance, Alice had never been known
to consider herself. She had, il
everything, yielded to her sister pure
and unmixed devotion. But from this
time forward all that was changed.
Alice suddenly began to treat her sis
ter-so the neighbors said, and so the
poor child herself felt-with positive
cruelty.
Perhaps there never yet lived a wo
man devoid of jealousy. And though
some may manage to conceal it better
than others, yet It's seldom indeed
that, upon adequate provocation arts
ing, they are able to conceal it alto
gether. No one could deny that, in
this present case, Alice Baines had
received adequate provocation. To be
admired by handsome, fascinating
mana man who, all things consider
ed, was distinctly eligible parti, was,
Of course, fattering thing. To have
that admiration unaccountably with
drawn, and then openly transferred
to younger sister, under her very
nose, was, equally, of course, provok'
ing. And Alice Baines might well
have been excused any ordinary exhi'
bition of jealousy. There was, how
ever, no occasion for her to behave
with such exceptional meanness as she
did.
Her meanness was twofold. She
tried the effect of one sort first, anc
upon. that proving a failure she hao
recourse to the other. Her first mean
ness was a malicious attempt, worked
by an insidious process of suggestions
and innuendos, to blacken Armleigh's
character In her sisters eyes. Arm
leigh had not yet actually proposed &c
Bob, and Alice wished to bring il
about that when he did propose to
her, as he was sure soon to do, her sis
ter should refuse him.
But this plan--very deservedly, the
neighbors said, considering its spite
tul and dog-in-the manager character
altogether failed. Bob began by
Indignantly repelling all insinuations
against her lover, and went on by re-
tusing to listen to them at all. Alice
then took holder course. She
stopped to a design of unparalleled
meanness. She strained every nerve,
used every artiice, every charm, every
subterfuge to win Ronald Armlelgt
back from her sister to herself. Now,
nobody had ever seen Alice Balnes
really ayaroiso Lo- H. ~ ~ n :,