Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-10-14

he did not seem to treat her husband with
the consideration that she thought to be
his due. She had been listening to them
as they argued political questions, and it
fired her soul with Indignation to hear
their visitor tell Glenn that the noble, beau
tiful and logical sentiments and opinions
he uttered emanated from a low order of
intelligence or were ''buncombe' and
rot" Further, she believed tina Pugh,
whose great fault was his contempt for all
manner of frivolity, had led Glenn into
most of the mischief he had ever got into,
and she thought that he might still have a
dangerous influence over him.
That was only one case. None of the in
Inmates seemed exactly to fit, for one rea-
son or another. But there was one old
friend that remained to Kercheval. UNI
moved by the dislike and ever jealousy of
his wife-remained to be his joy, his pride
and his ~solace, admittedly; that was. his
pipe. How long kercheval had possessed
that pipe none of his other friends knew.
1t had always been with him, his con-
slant companion until he began to call on
his wife. Then he left Il at home in his
regard for the prOprieties, so that the first
time that Mrs. Kercheval ever saw it was
when he brought her home. 1t was per-
haps the first thing that he showed her.
Isn't it a beauty?' he asked, taking it
from its SCARED and stained case and Civ
ing it a tender rub with the silk handker-
chief that he carried principally for that
purpose And Mrs. Kercheval, being then
unaware of its communicating properties.
as we'll a. nf tho innrdir afo la1ra +bat CIapo
bore for it, said that it was>too lovely for
anything, begged him to smoke it then n
there, lit it for him and finally remarked
on the c~oziness of the general effect. With
the various engaging accompaniments this
little ceremony seemed almost sacred. so
that in the time thereafter Mrs. kerche-
val, who prided herself on her consistency,
held her peace.
1t was nothing that the m-eerschaum was
inanimate. that it's jetty bowl bore no
semblance of female face or figure or that
Glenn had bought it himself with his own
pocket money; the fact remained that Mrs.
Kereheval had a feeling about it. unde-
fined and unadmitted, but still a feeling.
1t was so absurd to see the care the man
took of the horrid thing, the way he poll
ished and caressed it and the pride with
which he regarded it whenever he took il
from his lips. And then his affection for
il had existed long before he ever knew
her-ages before. 1t had shared his vigils.
If he had ever kept any, had soothed his
melancholy moments. and had even, by
the vaporous medium Of its filing. crept
into his brain and inspired his thought.
He said that he thought better when the
thing was in his mouth, anyway. And
then it smelled so abominably. And one
time when she had stolen quietly behind
him and thrown her arms round his neck
he uttered an exclamation OF horror and
dismay because she had knocked the
wretched pipe out of his mouth. II fell
on the rug and DID not break. She wished
that it had n then repented OF the wish
in sackcloth and ashes.
Through it all il might have been sup
posed that she had not the slightest anil
mostly against the pipe. Once she did say
that she believed he cared more for it