The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-07-10
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Phe end Of the Story.
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BY BARRY PAIN.

q q took II very seriously. It'
i Il i due delivery on Saturday
ICN morning by the villag,
newsveDdor was a notable
event. They fixed dates by remember
Ing the week when the Sunday Miscel
lany failed to arrive; a local train had
broken down, and the paper did not
come till the following Monday, and
the earth-sO far as the old ladies knew
twas upside down. They did not
glance burrledly through IL and then
fiing II aside. They read every word
and commented sagely and soberly
upon il.
incidentally, IT solved problem For
them. They had never varied from
their strict upbringiDg, and they were
forbidden by their consciences to read
novels on Sunday. But they were not
forbidden TO read the Sunday Miscel-
laDy. Was II not, as its name implied,
a Sunday paperp Was II not edited by
clergyman? And ii possessed a
serial story. They followed every in
stalment with the keenest interest.
They were critical. too, but rather of
the characters in the story than OF the
authors work
"Where he was wrong" Priscilla
would say, speaking of the hero Of
"Percivars Atonement;" was in going
10 London at all. The good Bishop
had warned him Of the temptations
which awaited him there. cannot
help feeling sorry for him, but so far as
i can see from the last chapter this
week, that poor boys going 10 the
bad"
81 hope not" said her sister, serious
ly. 1T does look like IL this week. but
] pin my faith in that girl, Olive Lor-
raine ] feel convinced that we shall
hear good deal more OF her, and |
can see already that she Is taking an
next week. 1t is unfortunate that every
week the story stops just at some point
where one wants TO know more. hut
i suppose il is unavoidable"
The editor would have been pleased
II he had heard that The serial stories
uous and stereotyped. The lurid light
which they east on the high life OF Lon
don was never too lurid. Virtue was
always triumphant, and the end was
always happy. When In the very first
chapter Percival plunged into the dark
pool to rescue the drowning kitten, and
his father exclaimed: 1T Is all over:
we shall never see him alive again. IL
never occurred to the old ladies to ask
how on earth the serial story was going
10 get on If the hero died I'm the very
fist chapter. On the contrary. they
took pessimistic view of the situation.
-Thank heaven, he's alivew exclaimed
Priscilla, AZ she anxiously attacked the
next weeks instalment.
WAS he injured?" asker her sister
eagerly.
He speaks of strain on his nervous
system, and says he is still very
feeble"
That Percival was pretty feeble all
the way through the story. But he had
a sunny smile and curly hair Even
his London excesses could not quite de
stroy the old ladies' affectionate adj
miration for him.
"Percivars Atonement" was a very
long serial The clerical editor who
paid starvation prices in any case, had
got a reduction on taking a quantity.
At the end Of six months Perciyal was
safely engaged to that charming lady
Olive Lorraine; but "in the dim twi.
light" he had accidentally espied her
kissing another man. He did not ask
for any explanation. He merely be.
came seriously i'll, and moaned a good
deal. The Percivals of fiction are like
that
And just at this iuncture Priscilla
the elder OF the Two sisters. also fell i'll
IL was n sudden illness and ended in
her death. She knew that she was
dying.
One Sunday afternoon she had lair
for long time without speaking. HeI
sister had read out to her the chapters
of the current number of the Sunday
Miscellany and sat 10y the fireslde
waiting for n chance TO do something
else Tor frlScllla. IN the silence I'll,
clock seemed to tick laboriously. as Il
the quiet of the room had nearly over
whelmed IL.
II cannot believe" said Priscilla. n
last, that Olive Lorraine was guilty
Ii seems so unlike her. In the twiligh
a man might very easily make a mis-
take--it was probably some other girl.
"Or." said her sister. "the man ma!
turn out TO have been her brother o
her father"
lit is. perhaps. a pity that Perciva
did not think of these things. shoul'
have liked to have known how tn
story ended before ! died"
"Nonsenser said her sister. Your
much better. Anybody can see that"
Priscilla shook her head. That nigh
sbe cot little sleep: her mind was mucI