Year: 1878

ATHAT sigh was that not noisy,
w but profound and eloquent at once
of an old grief and fresh perpleXity.
Bob Withers, the gentleman in his
shirt-sleeves before the mirror, had
heaved that sigh every night for ten
years, simultaneously with the act of
removing from his head the fine chest
nut wig which conceals the almost COM
plete destitution of the natural covering.
The grief is therefore an old one, but an
element of perplexity has mingled with
this nightly sigh more lately-namely
since having wooed and won Angie Nc
Lane in his wig, he has been screwing
up his courage to the point of revealing
to her that it is wig, as he feels in
fairness he ought to do. He has put it
off, never finding the right opportunity
for the confession, until now the we'd
ding is but month off, and the task
seems harder, more impossible, than
ever. He is at present spending a
couple of days at the house of the Nc
Lanes in the country, with view to
getting acquainted with the family.
For the sake of enjoying unalloyed the
pleasure of Angles society for this short
time, he has compromised with his con-
science by resolving at once on leaving
to write to her, and tell the truth, and
by no means to procrastinate further.


Meantime the process of getting ac-
~quainted with the family does not get
on very prosperously. Bob is poor
match in the parental point of view,
and bitter disappointment to the Nc
Lanes. Nothing but Angles resolute
character could have extorted the grudg-
ing consent which their engagement
had at length received. The family con-
sisted, besides Angie, of her father and
mother, and two brothers, John and
George. Mr.. McLane kept his room,
being confirmed invalid. John, strong
willed and arrogant in temper, ruled the
family with rod of iron-George being
kinder tempered, but of much less
strength of character. Angie was the
only member of the family whom John
could not rule, and she had carried the
point of her engagement against his
bitter opposition. Mrs. McLane was a
mere shuttlecock between John and
Angie, receiving an impulse from one
her. John had accepted the engage
ment with an exceedingly bad grace,
and made scarcely decent pretense of
.concealing from Bob his contempt and
his desire to find any pretext for forcing
a quarrel. This was particularly unpleas-
ant and demoralizing to Bob, because
the injury to his own self-respect by the
sense of the tacit deceit he was guilty OF
as to his wig left him unable to meet
Johns overbearing insolence with the
quiet dignity he would have liked to
assume.


After going to bed he lay awake q
couple of hours thinking over these
embarrassing circumstances, and the de-
lightful fact of Angles love, to which
they were offsets. In the course of his
tossings he became aware that his sea-
ring, was not on his finger, and instant
ly remembered that, after using it for Q
forfeit in parlor-game that evening, he
had forgotten to replace it. Vexatior
at his carelessness instantly made hin
awake. The ring must be on the libra
ry-table. If not, then he knew no
where; and there, it might be filcheC
10y servant in the morning. Associa
ton made it invaluable, and he founC
himself so uneasy about its safety tina
all he could do was to quietly step dowI
stairs in his stockings without disturb
ing any one, and make sure about it
He knew that he could, even in tn,
dark, steer his way straight to the libra
ny. In this sleepless, excited state 0