Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-12-24
Continued.

COuLluuGus
She often asked herself was ever
punishment so great as hers? Did
ever retribution so quickly follow sin?
For in the coarse, dissipated, disap-
pointed man, whose daily amusement
was the torture of an innocent victim,
there was but little trace of the hand
some, debonair soldier who Wooed her
under the shades of Glynn Woods.
Not that she saw much of him,-Lys-
ter Ayrton spent most of his time at
the gold diggings. If he was success
full, she dreaded one kind of misery;
if he worked for some weeks in vain,
she dreaded another.
When he succeeded, he returned
home in a flush of triumph; then fol-
lowed days of such coarse dissipation
as sickened her whole soul, even years
after, to remember,-when coarse men
came by his invitation, and crowded
her little house, and drinking, gam
bling. cursing, until the unhappy wife.
in sheer despair, would lock herself in
her room and try to shut out the dread
full sounds from her ears.
She. who had never heard a rough
word, who only knew sin by name,
passed through scenes that would have
shamed a wicked woman; yet it
seemed that angels guarded her, for
she stood pure and unharmed-the pol
luton of sin falling from her, evil
spirits falling back, scared by the
sweet innocence that nothing could soil
or stain.
He made her grace mis- triumphs. He
would tell his dissolute companions
before her lace how she was Squire
Jocelyn's daughter, and how she had
run away from home with HIM.
GA love MATCH" he would say, in
sneering tones. ga love match, gentle
men. but it has not turned out we'll.
One would wonder, and think the
picture overdrawn, but there is no de-
scent so easy as that which leads to
perdition. All there was of good in
Lyster Ayrton had disappeared under
the combined influences of disappoint-
ment drink. and dissipation. He had
never possessed refined or delicate
nature, and the artificial polish pro-
duced by long training and mixing in
good society had vanished when those
influences were withdrawn.
If he returned from the diggings
disappointed and unsuccessful, he re-
venged. himself on her; he rallied
against the fate which had given him
penniless wife; he spoke bitter, cruel
words of the father and sister she
loved SO we'll; he tainted her until the
unhappy Sybil almost lost her reason
under the pressure OF .lose singing
words. That was not all. He never
deliberately struck her in his sober mo-
ments, but when he was furious with
drink and beside himself with rage, he
would grasp lose delicate arms so
violently as to leave the marks of his
fingers for many days upon them.
There is one thing [ never mean
to do he said to her once. Il will
never give you any plea for getting a
divorce from me. Your people in Eng
land would like that-but it shall
never be-"
81 never WISH" she replied, gently.
~'We Jocelyns are brought up to re-
spect all vows. CHOSE whom God has
joined together, let no man put
asunder'
And as she said the words, they
came home to her with terrible mean
ing. Had God joined them ?-who
bade children obey their parents, and
forbade the making of idols? She had
been guilty of both sins; she had dis
obeyed the father whose life had been
given to her; she had made an idol of
the man who, seen in his true light,
was falser, meaner, and more sordid
than any other man.
The white arms were often stained
with dark bruises, the pale face swelled
and livid with weeping. There were
nights when she buried her head in
the pillow and wept until morning
dawned-wept in an anguish OF sorrow
that knew no words; never when he
was near She knew it annoyed and
irritated him and she would not anger
him wilfully for the world.
She learned brave lessons in those
days. In after years she owned to her.
self the discipline had been terrible but
needed, which changed her from a
light, careless, imperious child to pa
tient, thoughtful woman.
People around her all treated
her with a silent sympathy. They saw
she was not of themselves; they read
a sad, strange story in her every fea-
'ture.
After a time actual want stared her
in the face. Lyster, always careless
where other people were concerned,
often went away, leaving her with lit
tie money-not sufficient to purchase
food until he returned. So Sybil be-
gan to work herself. She made pretty
little fancy articles and sold them.