CHAPTERS IN REAL LIFE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 991, 4 February 1882, Page 1 (Supplement)

CHAPTERS IN REAL LIFE.

We are told that our sius find us out; and equally truo it is, though perhaps not so .evident, that,acts of virtue and kindness do at times meet with their reward, ' There are few who cannot call to mind among our acquaintances examples illustrative of both these truisms, The former abound'in tho world, and every day come sadly within our experience. But tho brighter sido of the subject, of which an illustration or two are about to, be given, is that which is most pleasant to dwell on. .;' ■

A kinder-hearted arid inoro genial person than Mrs, Waddell it would have been hard to find. She.possessed in an extraordinary degree the faculty of making'every 0110 happy with whom she cameiu contact/ A thousand little kind and gracious, ways, .'peculiar to herself, she had—small attentions, pleasant words', encouraging smiles, friendly sympathy. .Aud these seemed to radiate from her like sunshine, diffusing a sense of comfort and well-being on all within her reach. A favorite theory of hers was, that if people'would ropeat to,the'parties commended the'praises they hear of them—as they are prone too often to whisper the blame -how much .the world would bo, the happier for it, " Why not goodwill-makers as well as mischief-makers ?' .she would say; "and why, when we hear a person or thing admired,'do we hush it up from the very .one to whom it would giro most pleasure!" illustrating her inca'ning by. the'case of a young .bride she chanced tomeet once at a dinnerparty- ■ -.'•' .-'..' „■ :■■■ ,: The newly married lady,was very young and paiufully timid; and all in the company were strangers. As long as'lier husband was in the same'room with her,-even though she could not see him—far,,dpwn the tablethere was a feeling of ■pro'te'etion'and safety, ■But when i the ladies rose to leave the din-ing-room, and-the) long line'of • matrons and dowagers filed out in .formidable array, her .heart sank, 'and sho turned a yearning look of despair > upon her only friend as she was leaving him behind/ The hostess, pitying tho shy,' tabling child-bride, carried her off to show her the flowers in an adjoining conservatory; aud she had no sooner left the drawing-room thau remarks upon her appearanco broke out among the guests, "How pretty she is!"—". But so terribly shy,"— "So exquisitely dressed! Her gown fits as if—as the saying is—she had been melted and poured into it,"—" And did any one remark that lace ? Old rose point, I should say, or perhaps point d'Alencon,. I must get near, and have a good look, Euongh to make one break tho Tenth Commandment," —"Such a quantity, too; she must have had grandmothers, I do adoro old laco; and" back;" and instantly the conversation was turned,

' If the speakers had suddenly stepped on burning coal, tlicy could not have started away from it more quickly than they did from the subject under ■ discussion. Ono guest became all at once interested in her neighbor's bouquet; another developed a violent anxiety about some one's cold. Anything for a change, • But now Mrs, Waddell, true to hor good-will-making doctrine, came to the front, "Do you know," she said, with her kind winning smile to the young bride, who was timidly subsiding into a corner—"do you •know we have all been talking of you while you were away ? admiring your pretty dress and that superb old lace, You must let us examine it; and tell us all aboutit, will you not?"

The girl crimsoned with pleasure, "I am so glad you like it. The lace was my mother's woddiug-gift to me. It has been 'in hp'r family for many generations, 'and she valued : it most highly."' ■ \ ,' . ;; '" And then followod more discourse, beginning with old lace for text; insomuch that when the young husband appeared in the drawing-room,. instead of finding his little wife abashed, as he expected, she was chatting away on the friendliest terms with those about her,

;The charity that never failcth seemed to: spring by nature—a spontaneous growth—in ■ the kindly soil of Mrs. Waddcll's heart '• A niece who resided with her,' a fashionable young lady, given to exelusiveness and the ■ proprieties,'was oftentimes •horrified at the shape it took. When, for instance, the lady would plunge into the roadway to pilot a liliud beggar over a dangerous crossing ; or would stop to pick up and console'a miser-; able child fallen flat on its face in the- nuw\ while running a race, and left behind by its, ragged companions, deaf to' its outcries. ■ . "Do, aunt, let tho dirty 'little' wretchi ' alone! Here are all'thoßcrkelcys'driving; «>" •' „ . ■'"" ;i Bht no. The incorrigible aunt would con- ; tinue to fumble in her pocket for the perihy ; which was to bring joy to the poor little' heaving breast, and to evoke a smilo,"l>y! ' blissful visions 7 of sugar-stick, on the grimy face, down which tear's and dirtwero'coursing. ■.'.■"•'.; . Bora "in'the purple," and belonging to the upper, ten thousand,. Mrs, Waddell's 'power of conferring benefits were confined to, the exercise of the influence which'station and personal popularity give, Her pecuniary means wero but small, barely sufficing for the ueeds of her modest establishment; and it often cost her much contrivance and a hard : strain to'make ends meet,' Shb was too sure 1 of her position, as well as too essentially, thoroughbred,, to, have recourse to the shams which make genteel poverty,so terrible,to , those engaged in the weary struggle of hooping up appearances, But it was very unpleasant to be so poor. To be unable to do ' the same as others in her sot-to forego any pleasures that cost to have to turn away from tempting " bits" of Crown Derby, and Capo di Monte—Mrs. Waddell. loved china as well as her neighbors—and above all, to be restricted in the alms-giving her generous soul would have delighted in. One summer, when her exchequer was lower than usual, Mrs. Waddell had decided to remain in town, Hotels and lodgings at tlie sea-sido were expensive; and visits to

country-houses entailing railway fares, vails to servants, and extra dress,-wcro more than she could manage with prudence. So, haying sent off her niece with a friend, she re-] mained behind to economise The weather was exceptionally sultry for the timeofiyear: The grass in the parks-and squares was brown and burned up; fierce sunshine heat upon the hot pavements, and ponred relentlessly down upon the heads of those whoso ; business took them abroad in the day.,, In ' many shops the employes behind the counter, served in their shirt-sleeves.. The lightest garments w.ere adopted by all; every one 'languished, in the sweltering heat,- -Attending church would have been a trial, had congregations been "their usual size; but theso were thinned-by so many people being out'of town. :,-.,.■:■... . . '! • ;

It happened, however, that on a certairi Sunday, tho advent of a; popular preacher had been announced in the chapel wherq Mrs. Waddcll had sittings; and in consequence crowds flocked to "hear him.' The lieat was intense, the crush and stuffiness alj most unbearable, Every scat in the buildt ing was occupied, every aisle crammed. Mrs, Waddcll, never very strong, was easily over-

come by heat; so that thehavjngher niece's place in addition tohor own™ a welcome relief, by giving her more breathing, room, Their sittings were tho first two,of the row; and during tho service she became awaro of an individual standing, in the aisle immediately outside her. i. He was a'fat old man, dreadfully hot, and was porspiriug profusely. Benevolent though she was, purgpod Samaritan could not makeup hog .mind, asßho ruefully scanned his offer her niece's place, to this person, But she felt odiously, solfieh, It was a reproach .to her, as tho prayers went on, to,see him leaning up against the side of the row, in, she fancied, a feeblo, helpless way. • Tho.huge crimson bandana, with .which he mopped his puffy facebecamo in her eyes a signal of distress; and she imagined gout, and suffering in his uneasy shiftings from one foot to another. At last she could hold out no longer. Edging herself away as far as possible, she motioned to tho man to come in j and with, a grateful, look ,he;obeyed, sinking, down—an obese .perspiring, .mass, of hot humanityhalf sulfocating.the junhappy. lady, as he did so. Her discomfort was so intense, and the frpwus of ..her neighbor .on. the other side so spiteful at tho accession of '.this' extra heat and bulk,• that,.a.less kind-hearted person would have repented of her good dead. But everything, disagreeable or otherwise, comes to an end and'passes away at last. So dicl this sweltering Sunday service; so did the summer and its heat; and so did the memory of tho elderly fat man and his crushing of her from Mrs. WaddcU's mind, Summers'and winters had arrived and departed 'j and now Christmas Had come again. Christmas, w|th its often painful associations; telling, as'anniversaries will, of:change and 'vacant: places, and' loved 'ones .missed arid absent, \ Christmas, with its greedy expectants, grumbling oyer gifts that at any other time, and not taken as "matters of course," would have filled the receivers' with grateful pleasure') all craving, few satisfied, Christmas that viewed, of course, in'its secular aspect alone, brings—as some one has saidjoy only to children and the young. ' Above all, Christmas l ( with its bills I A distracting pile of ..these was ofl' the breakfastitable be-1 fore poor Mrs. Waddell, when her niece came j into the room, ./.,'' .-■'■■-

". "Enough to spoil any appetite," she said, turning them disconsolately over 1 , " Here is a letter that does not look like the rest. Not a bill, evidently, I don't know the haudwriting;" and she broke the .seal. " Ah, a mistake; the letter's not for me, Some lucky person has been loft a fortune,"' she added with a sigh; "and this is from the lawyer to announce it, I must send it back by return of post." . But it was not a mistake, though .Mrs, Waddell maintained it must be, as she. did not know the testator', and had never even heard of his name. It turned oiit that her little service to the old gen tleman-a wealthy manufacturer, who had made his own fortune, and> having neither kith"nor kin, had meant to leave it to a hospital-had bocu thus rewarded, Ho had learned her name and address from the card affixed to the sittings ; and subsequently identified her with it by inquiries made before leaving town,

Less direct, perhaps, than the foregoing is the instance to be recorded next. It occurred in. the family of a widow lady with two daughters, living in the north of England. .The cldor of these was a beautiful girl-; her sister painfully the reverse, and whose natural shy awkwardness was increased by tho harshness of a vain and worldly mother, who, while lavishing praises and love upon the beauty, looked down upon her ill-favored offspring, and showed that she was ashamed of her. The poor girl, sensitively alive to the deficiencies of which she was so often; reminded, shrank from society, and remJiincd.neglected at home, while her handsome sister was.taken about to wherever she could see and be seen. ' To secure for the latter a brilliant establishment, such as her charms deserved, was tho object of the mother's 'ambition' j and she had not far to look; for in the immediate neighborhood was a parti Eligible enough to satisfy the aspirings of any parent. Very carefully did sho oultivato this splendid opportunity, making her houso as agreeable as possible to the young man, and throwing him and her beautiful daughter constantly-■to-gether.l ' ' ■'■

Sir Hugh—as, to avoid particulars, we shall call hiin-on Mb side responded'roadily to hor overtures, The noble mansion to which, by the death of an uncle; he had just •succeeded, was-depressing in its loneliness; and being of a sociable anddomestic turn he 'enjoyed the widow lady's 'pleasant'home circle, and soon became a constant intimate, Her-hopes'rose high; Already she saw'her lovely child fulfil a brilliant destiny-winner of'wealth,'worth, and : high-position; herself, thrice lucky mother-in-law I the envied of competing dowagers.'-The-time wore on; but- still he made no sign, Almost filial in his attentions to the elder woman; and friendly in the extreme to all, no word of lovohad passed the young man's lips, It was unaccountable I and yet lie'seemed unable to keep away from the house,' or: to resist the attractions of its' ' cheerful home-like charm,

.'Meanwhile, neighbors began to talk. The names of the pair were coupled together in the county, and there wero some who smilingly inquired when they might be permitted to congratulate, The widow was sorely puzzled. She dared not ask her guest his" intentions," fearing to put him off altogether ; but it was impossible that things could go on as they were. A winter in Rome had some time before been vaguely in contemplation; and now it occurred to our dowager that it might be advisable to carry out the plan. . . : "'The prospect of "our leaving'home will bring him to the point, if anything can," she thought;''" in any case,' our doing so will put a stop to gossip."- ', im '-,-.',. : ?. So she carried off her peerless treasure—ho effort having been made to appropriate it—and went to the station, attended by Sir Hugh; who was as anxious and as useful, as full of care-for-her and her daughters, as thoughtful to save them trouble and see to their comforts,- as if he had beon the .fiance that he was not,, and that, moreover, he showed no ambition'to be. The "cud of dis-, appointment was bitterly chewed during the' journey to the Eternal City, It,was then only friendship, [ after all! How "strangehow mortifying I/' '■" '-.,.",' : Great therefore in' proportion was the mother's triumph when, after their return home, she -found, on her .table Sir-Hugh's card; and greater still when from'him came a note : askiiig for a private interview, as he wished to speak.toher alone;. So, then,'the move had been game was won!' Joy beamed -in:her face as she returned after the important interview, to the saloon where she had left her girls, the youngest sitting as .usual at work,,in her re-, mote corner, the beauty oh the sofa. " Sir Hugh has declared himself at, lasthas asked mo for my daughter, I knew he would," she said; " but.Lwas not prepared for the splendid settlements he offers./.His generosity exceeds anything 'I could have imagined, And now,, darling, lie [wants to see you, Go to him,' ray child."','"[.' ' ,i "No, no, dear; wait. There's a mistake.

and | the detaining hand of .{lid younger! Bister was laid timidly on her elder sisters dress. • , '"'•' • ■".'.,•■.

i , l What do you mean?" cried ; ihe, widow to her,' "Do you'presurae".tp. i '~ f and she turned fiercely on the poor girl,'but stopped dead short, on seeing her face,'..lt.was quivering with "emotion.;.' lips'trembling,, cheek and brow flushing painfully, '' " I think,"'sne faltered, raising a frightened and; deprecating look to Tier angry parenfc-"l—t'thirik..it.is me'that Sir Hugh wants!" ""■'■ ." ' '.'' "' '" ''"' ' "'!

" 'You ! 'lmpossible"!"-' l ' Then,"' with a burst of wrath.:, 'lAndso ; thisiswhat you have 'been doing-ioarrying oii' underhand I You deceitful"——

"No, mother, not deceitful, Until tho other.e'yening, when he waylaid me as I was returning from ohurch, and asked me to be hia wife, I never dreamed of such a thing; and I was'afraid to tell you, thinking you would be annoyed-disappointed," And annoyed arid disappointed she was, this, unnatural mother; bitterly' aggrieved that her handsome fayo'urite',' the pride of her heart, should have been set aside for one so looked down uppii and unloved, '" . The marriage, when annonnccd, was a surprise,; a mnc-days'.wpnder, canvassed over many an evening '.tea'-table. In those' days the five o'clock institution had, not been invented. ' '.'.'.

"Tho girl's an oddity," said a gossip, " Something queer about her—is there not?' " riot in the least," replied a friend of the family; " but she's oxtremely plain, so has always been snubbed.at home and kept put of sight;. but for goodness and gentleness she is, I hear, without an equal, Not a servant in the house but worships her; arid none know us better than our'servants. To the poor she is an angel; and all agree that the good fortune Which has befallen her is well and riohly deserved,"— Chambers' Jour, ml, •'•-.■■■'