Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-08-31
DAILY STORY
AUNT CYNTHIA.

tOriginall
AS Reginald Crane and his uewlT
welded wife stepped on the train to go
to his home n telegram was handed
him. 4 cloud gathered on his brow.
What is it?' asked his bride anx-
iously.
Uncle Frank is dead"
''Wen?"
That means trouble for us. Aunt
Cynthia has been very near to me L
am her only near kin. And / must
give her Il home
II have heard that your aunt Is
delightful old lady"
"She IS, but she has suffered much.
and her nerves are unStruEg. Uncle
Frank understood her condition, and
row that he is gone l alone understand
1t. He as her husband and by diSpo-
sition was well fitted to bear with her,
to comfort and encourage her. For this
she will now look To me"
Friends. relatives. connections, wait
ed expectantly TO discover if Reginald
would provide home for his aunt.
They said nothing to him. but the wom
en- cackled among themselves. They
did not doubt that Reginald would do
his duty, but they wondered if his wife
would permit him to do ii. The young
couple satisfied tire family's eXpccta-
tions by inviting Aunt Cynthia TO make
her home with them, and she removed,
bag and baggage, to their house. She
was naturally frank, impulsive, gener-
ous-indeed, among those who were not
constantly with her was very popular.
She stepped from her own household.
which she had managed for forty years,
to the position of guest in the house
hold of Martha Crane.
She'll make 1t hot for us both"
remarked the young man to himself,
but to his wife he said he sincerely
hoped the old lady would be happy III
her new home and make them happy
too. The Van Wrinkle family, who were
most interested in Aunt Cynthia's vel
fare, waited and watched to see how
their relative would he treated, espe
cially by Martha. It was not long be-
fore they learned from the old lady
herself that, while Reginald was the
perfection of kindness. lie had made
a very unfortunate marriage. Aunt
Cynthia was one of those persons who
must have confidants, and, honestly be-
lieving that she was being very badly
treated by her. nephew's. wife, she
poured tale of woe into the ears of
every relative. Her defense of Regi-
maid counted for nothing with these
people, because they said he knew
when he married Martha Grant that
his uncle would not live. long and his
aunt would need home; therefore
he should not have married at all.
This was the position taken by the
Van Wrinkle family, and Peter Van
Wrinkle, when the old lady one day
hounced out of her nephew's house and
vowed she would no longer live with
a woman who persisted in i'll treating
her, cut Reginald on the street. Other
relatives followed suit, and 1t was not
long before the young couple were
estranged from every one of the hus-
bands family.
A singular feature of discord is that
1t Is catching. After an explosion with
Aunt Cynthia the nerves of the hus-
band and wife were so rasped that
they at times fell to quarreling. Every
couple has its own troubles to meet
without being called upon to suffer
needless complications, and the Cranes
had theirs. The two together so wore
on them that they We're at times in but
little better condition than Aunt
Cynthia. So it got out, through Aunt
Cynthia, that Martha Crane was Z