Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-07-23
A SAGIT'TARITS WOMAN
By oLARICE IRENE OLIEGHAE.
Icopyright, 1895. BY the Author:

The blighted being wrung the band
Of his hostess, pulled his hat down over
his gloomy brows and strobe away with
an air which would have out Hamleted
Hamlet Hardly had he disappeared
when the portiers parted cautiously and
Lalla Braddon entered.
''Has he gomez she whispered miser-
ably.
Eyes, " replied Mrs. Baxter, who was
ont of patience with the little coquette,
'sand he says he shall never see you
again.
"I'm SO gladr' with little laugh at
opposite ends of a sob. IF I'd been
here, l should have called him back.
oh, Jackp' she called experimentally at
the window, and then ran back timor-
ously to the sofa and buried her face in
the cushions.
HE has gone, repeated Mrs Baxter
relentlessly. NOW, Lalla, please tell
me what all this means. You know
your mother asked me to look after you
a little while she is in Europe, and
have a right to know. You've treated
Jack badly, dismissing him IN this
QedTblGSS way dlL6T tu0 OnSaSCAuoh" hNo
been announced"
"Oh, | know It'll But it isn't my
fault only found out last night how
badly we are adapted to each other |
thought if people liked each other it
was enough, but it isn't. If peoples
tastes and dispositions are all-criss-
cross you know-and all that, they are
wretched.
"But you should have considered all
this before.
az didn't know it then. Oh, how
beautiful it is to be ignorantl'
"But how came you to find it out
now?"
professor Swithin told me-"
professor Swithinr' echoed Mrs.
Baxter in fresh amazement. "Why,
what has he to do with it?'
"He has looked us up !" sobbed Lalla
"He says we've both got Mars in Libra
He says we would be miserable-we
would kill each otherr
Mrs Baxter stood in silent thought a
moment, and her face was a study
Then she turned to the girl gently
Never mind, dear. Don't worry, and
we will see what can be done with these
adverse planets. Well, Jimmy, what is
it?''
The last words were addressed to a
small boy in buttons. ''H you please,
ma am, the housekeeper says can she
see you few minutes-quick?"
Certainly" Mrs. Baxter sought the
culinary department where she found
the housekeeper quite alone, looking
depressed. None of the servants was
visible, and the place resembled Pom
peiian kitchen just unearthed, all the
departments of work having been sud-
denly deserted in half finished condi-
ton.
"Mrs. Baxter" began the housekeep-
er, "the cook and the waitress have
took sudden leave Shall go to town
to get others? And if do who'll cook
the dinner and wait on the table mean
while?"
elbow did it happen?" said Mrs. Bax-
ter in dismay. Really, it's quite
dreadful. -
ut was this way" said the house
keeper. Professor Swithin was down
here talking to 'em this morning, and
they say he used bad language. -"
"What nonsense"
"But it's true as the gospel, Mrs.
Baxter / heard him. First he asked
their ages. Now what decent. middle
aged girl wants to be telling how old
she is? But that wasn't the worst.
When they wouldn't tell him, he said
he knew what they were, and he called
one of 'em a Gemini and the other a
Scorpion, if / remember right. So they
up and said they wouldn't draw anoth-
er breath under the same roof with the
likes of such as him, and they're sit
ting outside now on their boxes, wait
ing for the stage to come along
''And all these people in the house,
besides extra guests invited to dinner
1t is too much" And, taking advantage
of woman privilege, Mrs. Baxter sal
down and burst into tears
Meanwhile the perpetrator of these
dire evils sat comfortably ensconced in
a little hollow of the rock, expatiatine
to General Stanhope of the importance
of founding a college Of solar biology.
From their position ON the narrow shell
of rock they watched the advancing tide
which bounded sullenly against the re-
sisting wall of stone The booming Of
the waves drowned another sound which
came warningly now and then-tht
mutterings of thunder. So, facing Sc
rene horizon sheltered in part from the
wind and deafened by the sound of the
sea to the artillery Of the sky, the two
elderly men whiled away the afternoon
chatting and smoking The first intima
tion that came to them of the storm wal
the angry aspect of the ocean and the
rapidity with which the late Afternoon
dropped into dusk.
"Shouldn't wonder if we were going
to have a storm, F" remarked the gener
al, rising do you see how wild the
sea is?''
Before the professor could reply &
glare of lightning split the sky, follow
IL, g