HomeMy WebLinkAboutLucknow Sentinel, 1889-03-22, Page 2r-
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There one° Wess smell deg calledNeddy,
Who 01000 in the. street 'neath. a ;AO; •
laki food 'wee whatever hopieked up -
'And often he hal none It in:. •
But, he never wee sad or uPhsPPY;
And hi had the Meet 'comical way'
01 Iooklng on PsAtitiga.with. Pits •
°Whelk.. Itod. 037 a stitt4 r9P14; to play.
Bough Noddy, though homeless, wits tuippy,,
neaPg small' dog weld be;
th.
„Tor ou often he wanted it dinner •-•
Ite.hdall thadelighte of the free. •
Two'friendi Noddy had he loved dearly -
One a "St little OS in his etreet,
The other a great big policeman
That he Oft followed toned 011'44 hettt.
b.
WhY he liked the policeman. 1 know not,,
• . !Perhaps- he felt safe 'nosith his club,'
But the dear, little girl often fed him,
And to her he gaveall hht lave. . •
Ile wOrridwateh near het house till he trewher,
. when she cline not Iiis heart gave deep moane.
And there he would sr ay, thengnthe, bad- boys
•Would.beat. him and tatroW at him stones,
. , ,
'When ohe came out, then Noddy teas liapny ;
'At her aide he would be Without fait,,
Looking up in her face, running round, her,
Barldng and wagging his tail. .
One day as the child played quite near hipi,
Much quicker than,X can it tett,. •
• 'Beath the feet Of a horse, rushing by het
'Bleeding and Wounded ehe 1011.
• •
Men -ated her home, while poor 'Neddir.
• Was Ueked when he tried to. go,in ;. ,
. .• But ho would not go eft, thothey beat him,
'Not he know she lay sneering within., •
'glary night the baliceinan there found him
Lying. whining across her front door,
And the' this man tried to console him,
.NOddY'S cries wet.° an loud as ',afore.
• .
. One night he stole in thro' the basitenent;
filippereinpast the niaid'ablow and broom.
Theis he ran t.hro' the house till he found her
And noiselessly entered her Moth;
Neddy jumped on *chair to look over •
' . To see her dear face in the bed;
Bo looked -gave a howl full of anguish, .
• • Fell 1360p -dog and Child were troth dead:
- • IRENE. Airsznriew.
Lip -INFATUATION :
A NOVEL.
.Hidden :in the • wood from ill. eyeebut
• those the .Great Mother, poor Esteile wits
• breaking her heart, ye* ditltog.her best not
to be tooeelfish in her sorrow. . wile for
Charlie's good In. every way that he should
have this eplend.id ,00nimislion ; and ilia
Ito -GO ne Welles ho thnt wan for her goad
too in the end: Were not their lives essenti.
allY one; althotighto all appearance ite yet
divided? Still, the element was bitter, and
Estelle was not aibitned to suffer. Those
:
two young creatures in the Woad 'Went
through the Old femilier tragedy .; and then
the Moment mime whenthey must absolutely
part -his taw turned to the mighty world
'Of London, where be should find the grand
. 'anodyne .of .work Ind the ntiblastimulueot
th Omit ted
active endeaSorshe to e r no e
Of 'home, where her mother wotild not be
. her friend, and her father might not. But
• • so it is. The weak- one id ever .sintsled,to
"endure What it Once possessed' and
while the. Men dire *pa die, the women
live end weep.' • ' .
Spring and &mister, and aim. autumn
itself, had fled new for Estelle. It was. the
winter of her soul, the winter of her discon-.
tent, which yet had in it something divine.
,Her lover wataway, and the son had gone
out of her sky. She gave up society, and
found the Vicerage-persiee,the very harlote.
of dulneis , and the hornets. Of ennui. She
naddeoly became miserly of time, and her
diligence it homewas really edifying to the
whtde household. Mr* Olainicerde was .far
too clever to ipoil the whole brew for wait of
• litt,le soot. She looked narrowly after the
post, and. let her daughter receive all
'Charlie?* letters' uninteroepted, knowing
'that to have prevented their firet deliveries
,--Lwohld-haveTidniplreireated-en-tindergrond
pesVoffiee, -where she, Would have had no
imperviskin. 'What she' would do in the
'future, . was another Matter altogether...
Meanwhile Charlie Osborne. found his
• plaoe in London onnefter hi's own heart,
,The Stnythe Smiths Were &emir* People
, -for parvenus. Of 'cents° they :Were pre-.
tentions. That is the very essence ot the
Yet Shale
inioe;' and not knowing inks whatoir' oles
knOwledgehigIvbred.people are in a =miser.
. born, the parvenu asenmes tO know every-
thing, and mikes bad shote in Consequence,
:But they were substantially sensible people;
. and 'amenable.. To Yield apparently was
In reality to direct as Charlie soon found
'out; And safely 'acted on. , When Mrs.
, Smythe Smith made her suggestione, which
were blernitthes; and Mr.' Smythe Smith
made .his, which were suicidal, the young
.artist accepted them,as though. they were
&whitely worthconsidering. He began by
praising them en bloc, and ended by deftly
, whittling thein away to nothing. But he
Made the renundation corns item them as
their own spontineoue deciaion' and do
mired their self-love, his own arietlit, and
the harmony of his ideas intbrokan. Then
. they. Were generous people; and spared no
expense in any direction: And • next to the
,pleasure of spending their own money ie
, that of ° manipulating:. Other peopleri•
. Pleasure of which Charlie was keenly
consoious, and by no means shy in its tise.
,Mrs..Sinythe Smith*, WO, showy, well-
prese.reed viteruin the right side of forty,
had taken an immense fancy • fOr, this
deoree artist, guest; ' and friend. She
c&Iled he.reelf his mother, and treatelf him
, with es much edfectiOn Sidle treated her
,own Bon, Lawrence -4 tallNell young
. athlete of twenty, wholoOked more like her
yoneger brother than ber son. She' Petted
him greatly, and made much of him in all
ways, Not Estelle herself tonehed 'that
irritable self-love.of.his with a softer hand
. than did this ;wealthy nervencie, Whom,
Charlie himself was not itehnined to Own
' Ids patroness: • ,
On his side. Mr. Smythe f3rnith Was just
as kind,' just as sitiefactoty, • '
To do Charlie jcistice; nothing of ell. this
„ touched his fidelity to Estelle. He never
. forgot' her; and wrote to, her "at the first
.franticahY fowl frequently; 'as, tithe went
on . with the most lovely and conitoliiag
regularity, but pot so often, and With less
of • the poieon of despair and more of the
honey of hope in his letters'. This Velini-
ary' obrifidence and etriet aseociation Made
' very happy -act far as 16 girl separated
:for an, indefinite time from the man she'
passionately, loves, and with 'horn her
engitgement la in secret and againitt her
Mother's periniesion, can he said. to be
hePPY.in.anY :sense- . ,
, So time pegged, and the tutainit and the
• winter flowed once more into the opting,
and Still things were exectly.Where they
were. The grand ,house in Piecedilly Wee
S, • almost finished, and the Smythe
Smiths would secie move into it. Charlie
hsd Made a good "hatfal" of money,'ia
phased it, and he bad been Careful -for
young artist-andnot extravagant. Bu
thunderbolt fell out of the and
cloud at first no bigger than man's horn
g0014 ewellt over the whole eunny son
Charlie's 'health, whiehhad long given Mrs.
Sznythe'filmith uneasiness, though he hiin
gen made light of her feint, suddenly ga
way with a run, and 'a broken blood -vessel
brought him to the brink of the grave on
kept him there for some
, no. One knew of. hie engagement
;Estelle Clahrioarde there wait no One
write and tell her clot had ha,ppened, u
what wait' the reason of this eudde
'cessation of lettere; The poor girl fretted
herself ill in sYmPathY with her ibse
lover, feeling sure that it was' illness wit
him, snail' no wise treachery nor desertio
•At her ihstance Lady Elizabeth took Ito
herself to write to hire. Smythe Svait
making general inquiries as td thelior
and whether they were not pleased wi
their artist, and when would it be finish.)
eto., eto. All meaning the ono eimpl
little question, "Why • has not Charli
Osborne written for so tong to Edell
Clanrioarde ? " ,
Then lire. Smythe Smith answered
and the sorrowful truth mime 'out. As 'Boo
as he Was able to bear it they were goin
to ,put him on hoard their steam-yaoh
and send bitn round the world with their;
'There Wan no help for it. Nor tears nor
prayers eau ,titay the tide. 'put 'back the
hand of time nor make that broken blood -
vessel se good as new without absenoe
care, and long delay': Au things were, is
was a merciful ordering of Providence that
Charlie had Binh good friends -people both
able and willing to help him in his dayle
-So. Lady "Elizetetli argued; doing her
best to conifort poor Estelle, Who, unselfish
and =excreting as she might be, yet felt
es if thie voyage were the doom of her
eternal separation, and that she would
nevermore see her beloved; Hope lay dead
at her feet, and happiness was but a broken
bubble. Her life was, widowed; her Bout
was Sunk into eternal mourning. Hence-
forth she haci- only memory and her own
eternal 'faith. For she would die se sho
was now'-devotedie Charlie and to Charlie
' -
Charlie, going away for perhaps' a year;
perhaps- unseen,unkiesed, bearing,
with Nim only her heart aled-oll her joy
-what • Noise* could she have? Not even
her mother's increased tenderness made
amends for this supreme lose and so the
blackness cisme, and what had been only
the_twilight of hope =totalled was now
the -midnight of, despair, Kilda darkness
whichinetsrmelted,andnot even -a -meteor
. : •
BOOR, 'SECOND.
. • "
CHAPTER I.
THE NEW TRUSTEE.
, .
ha. lasnYwidloillard NhhOlfla a &seder' nyeiwillandnibevernotna grase
ts high in the sOnntrY for largenclalPf gen
a catty ; but he leaflet to curb his, natural
tha. clansingtinPubli.:ant4itealindin, stimexiaanthinteglincculfoefraThrmemitroo"wita: thibilhee
. wild sage bushes passed off him.
ve Breve as a lion, and as strong as he was
brave; ,handsonie as a _Greek bronze ; with
d tha (Woe of a Went and the, port, of a king
auPe as a Panther and stately as stag
to Anthony Harford was one to move ail
to wommee hearts to love, all manie oYes to
or
ad-Afmiterartire..had' et* all bis ow' *Hairs in
ensooth working order, Anthony Harford
at bethought himself of that trusteeahi
h whieh he had to tabs nO- He Wrote
n. Mrs. Asplinelt ooldlettir of Imminent detail
n Be began "Dear madam," and he end
b, Truly yours," But at the end he infused
k; little dash -of htimanity,, well iced,
th hoping that her daughter, .Iffias Aspli'n
d, was well, and desiring to be recalled to h
e memory. The letter was purposely made,
e incomplete and somewhat disappointing.
et He thought it would probably bring a
request for e personal interriewt:whi
, was what he desired, and.was toe proud
n propose. • ;
g Bis little rase had the desk' ed effeo
t Hie letter piqued and annoyed Mr
0
r 4
•-•
While he wit, taking off his mato Pagolng
thaman, and giving curl directions a ut
t_hiehenui_ Portemirt:Iraudwtossuennt-renbsokwthlwteroparallheeqoalledualleiyundniseict,:ulaionsota.
Iffs wits,ainoeralY MOVeat and prepared for
an unwonted amount of enthrishuon.
Hindfieet would be to him what the old
wiloallohlhadbe Itsbe.nhis-ohwhinh• "aBent; while thethAsisPrulinselgt
of friendly sentiment was sweeping through
his heart.'1120. Aspline, in the draWing*
room, looked at her daughter with dismaY,
and whieperod in a 1,0100 of 'conventiohornnal
or. e I do verily believe t
Creature hag 'oor'ne unannounced Who
earth else would call on enoh a horrid ev
p Ing as this, and be ruch a long time in $
to hall?. What a fool he must be I My word
s. " f3nrely not," said Anne, with a -elig
ea flutter
thatehnerOollensieerliure was ended by t
by servant opening the door, and "Mr. B
e, ford" oonnegfrom the light the ha
er into the semi -darkness of the room.
"You Bee, .1 toolryou at your word, an
came right away without further notice
said a richly toned voioe, with an nom
oh, takable American accent.
to Both ladiee rose from their chairs, en
, went forward to meet their visitor. H
t. stout dear old cookeyhad grown 1 She was
e. like one of her own butter -tubs set on feet -
e. And how slender that round little pair -
of ball looked, outlined egainet the fire, which
, touched the edges of her 'dress and
with a kind of fiery glow -half flame,
the
color. '
"Why, here you bothare, just ae in old
e, times, and I am right, glad kr see you
t again4. be added! meeting there with both
"Whit o pity, he is go Atnerlosnized r,
liErheouigihnO°Lnii::ioasubitilltlihsher hgeetatiselfoildned'"
In her bp, and her opaque, white,, square-
ishheePenilidnittritahl nghedorrhiberlYhoosinritppluoinionwth;e'rwllile
ear-
ring., and dressed her as if elle had ,boon a
doll'or child. "Dat he is very honchoing,"
she thought again;'"and perhaps that bad
manner, will wear oft in ante. At anytrate,.
he is Our trustee, and I am bound to, make
the beat of him." . •
bat haBduste,t.winhebi:toWilieltmlimtiiii '171:icing
ooIdnee
en- mama Tfin atuntoscore.
he The days passed; as these first dart of
le meeting between old Wends, long separated
he alwaye do paelo iii"'`notiog the ohangee
wrought by time, and feelhig for the ground
he still left common. Hie cent* point Wee the
paseionless stoicism of an Indian. He
11 would not pridee and he was never angry.
He nearly catieedkre. Aepline to topple off
a her &air' in an apoplectic) lit by: his
IP" 6trioturee on the Reese of. Lords, prime -
is. genitor°, the Three Estatecr, and an,
Established Church claiming to be National
a in the boa of ell the other sects; 'end he
ow produced *gleam like that of death when,
to Cap his sodas:done idea of a great
Englieh.epeiking federation, he said that
he would give the old country fifty years,
and then she would be on her knees to Ott_
e States, begging to., inoorpontted in thrI
Union. 'And when Anthony eider thie. ,
r Aepline, who had the pastifonate
patriotism of • One who IS.O0We no other
country but herr, own, and who therefore
despises all foreign notions ea inferior and.
oomparatively barbarous. forgot that he had
ever been a favorite With her when a hey
ntedichwenciltdigerthriughtrhim-handsomsE
• Anne wad as little:given to hysterics as
wee her mother; but she, like that mother,.
blithe Want of outhow in their new friend
with olden memories, and thought him
horribly colci and "shut up." Yet he had
eomething in his eyes and !Iwo that was by
no Means oold or.reitrieted ; and though
twh
ee
ry
e roerrceed"to°fretelinpsuPt hi"miefievvIthwiihet mshoeit
annoyed andacknowledge his superiority.
e -
Deferential and fall •of thought for them as.
he was, he Wee yet their master, and they
:I' felt it .• '
e To Annethie Benne of power; of superior- .
ity, was a new eeneation, which had both
ite pleiteure and its disconsfort. This ol&.
a friend with a new foe seemed to her
almost the only reel man she hid ever seen.
7. -4s. different from the " curled (hidings "
vi.'• she had hitherto known se shadows thrown
' on the screen are different from reel things.
In the country where they .lived, , the.
Harfoids had that character for eccentricity
which belnaga. to Ill people of OriginalitY
of thought or .'irearked individuelity of
character.. Strong, energetic, undisciplined,
as lade they ran away -front school ; somen
they 'shot Ng game and sought adventure
In ; the, ; All sorts of wild traditions
fleeted through the family annals. A white
Man hid treed heard Of as a reedioine.man
of power among the Illsakfeet Indians, and
be WaH‘H Harford. The most daring
pi'rete in the Chinese seas Was said to be
an Englishman, and if So, whes.could he be
but s Harford? Tho mysterious Europeans
always• turning up as Mohammedene in
turbans and baggy breeches,'Weee Harrel -de
tot man; and *here was never a time when
there .was net a , Harford, under another
netnein the werldnphouse or in prison,driv
ing cab; or sweeping is crossing. In 'short
they were the modern representatives of
the Iiriki'ngis, the knight-errant, the
Crusaders, the thiceques, the free-lances
of all times and nations.' But they made
good members of society when . they did
eettle:_dosen,;_and_al....owners_of-the-estete
wercr-relr-itarcl-on poachers t—trile-4 they were
not of the same kidney themselves. •
The Jack Harrold vitro had just died. had
been . in hie, youth quite up to the family
traditions for wildnese, which had net
prevented his marrying a well-Coziditioned
lady; who gave him two children; and then
no More. :She died when young Anthony
.was about twelve years 41d imAd hie deter
Constance two years, his junior, and nett
year the widower married again. Which
second Marriage, adding fuel to the fire of
Wild Harford blood; gent Anthony off on
his tinauthOriked travels when he wise
eighteen, whence he did not return . till
brought - beck by his father's death iiisd
his owninheritance.• • . •
For the first iniintlis mitre pressing
business . than. that Aspline • trueteeship
took up his time and absorbed his attention
There was hie father's widow to deal with;.
ell his half-brothers and 'einem to riee ;
thei;, cleime to look into -to dispute' when
he could; and to settle With as good a grace
as Might be when he corild not. Not that
he was aerie -fisted,' nor yet selfish ; hut he
had ever cherished that .old resentment
ageless the Marriage which hacl landed
him in the Wild West of Anierica Bo soon is
he had got his head; and he was reoonciled
trihis step -mother no More now thin before.
No man, who had ever crossed Anthorty
Harford's path, or inflicted on him any kind
of lose or wrens, had lived long to celebrate
his victory. But with all his fiery passions
he had kept hi's masculine integrity with-
out a flaw, and the man did not live who
could say that Anthony Harford had "ever
tanked ee ever lied," -hed hurt the defence -
lege: Injured the innocent; or lured wife Or
maid to the undoing of her fair fame.
. His return to old scenes and the con..,
scimatriess'of responilibility, together with
that hut omnipotent infinence of
pnblic opinion, wrought, as, might ..be
expected; on Anthony. At first he did not
like the change. By degrees; however, the
,returned wanderer, learnt' the lesson of
proportion, and narroviect the wide genet..
bsity of .his tittle sweep to dimensions better
fitted to homelife. He no longer thought
it shame to accept little res.of a few
pounde a yearfrem laborers whose children
went barefooted and whose cupboard often
wanted bread. He held it as port of the
obligations of his state eir landlord and
'proprietor to higgle over every little
improvement- • or repeat needed, by hie
tenants: andlo force them; for the sake of
the principle.. to dentribute so many shill,
-fags, ort their own side -representing
empty otefnaChe and shivering, bodies,
where he feh 'neither' the outlay nor the
Giving 'more then he felt the weighs of
'ARAMs it Piqued and disaPP.Ointed' Ann
"This man is going to give worlds
trouble,. I can see that 1" said the mother
her boo flushing serionely. "Ho is ao hi
stupid as boileclowl " she added. And th
she wished she had left ont the boiled.'.
"He seems rather confused," "said.A.iin
follosving her mother'e lead at disoree
dietanoe, 'echoing he; theta* se faintly a
thazeoend rain -hew repeatillie
--:-"J-ehillthseseto-gola-London-licreonsult
•Mr5liemeod,"-saidlars. Aspline; peevishly.
"1 should so much . like to have another
trustee 1 This eavege will never do any
good I dare say he has forgotten lus own
language by now.-'! •
"He writes correctly," said Anne, with
an air of deliberation. . • •
." Oh ! his bailiff wrote for him," said
Mrs. Aepline„ With an air of conviction.
If were not afreid of hie habits I
would itek him to C.01120 here, and We'could
talk 'matters. over," Bahl Mrs: Aripline, Whit
tilted trouble and dreaded travelling, . .
dare say. he would be "beerable,",
returned 'Anne, who secretly wanted him
So 00Ing, and, privately intended that he
libotdd be asked. . • ;
-44 It w'ill 'scareely do for no to Pregent,a
savage to our friends," said Mrs. Aispline,
'dubiotiely. . . •
"No," said Anne;'notelet he amused
them. And Ringshoneels sedan, perhaps
„it-wordd-brighten:ufraj•little." •
" Butif bets horrid in his :habits, Anne r
objected her mother.
We molt tell hint," said Anne. • .
• "1 ' am sure I would not 1" said Mrs.
Aspline, Warmly. •
"1 would if you like," saidArine, marbly.
-" Nell, Anne, if ; you like to. take the
resPensibihty of the creature.' am sure I do
not mind," Mrs. Adeline retnrned,. after a
moment s pause. "Bad ns he very likely
Thirft; hi a lovely and Om old
family namejs- Worth something, though
She Herferds are such a queer lot. • We
.are not responsible for him, after He
stands on hie. Own . feet. He is not like a
nobody. whom we introduced and Vouched
for. He :He id Harford When all is said and
done. So perhaps I may Venture." .
" think yob maY,"., said Anne; in her
usual languid,. dreamy welsher, though she
could scaraely repress the glad smile and
frarik :exclamation which rose naturally to
her lips. • 7
- • think you may," she . said, languidly;
"and as you say,lia ill a HiErford not an
Aspline. Thrift . condones a great many t
!milts."
lier.ce it °sine shout that *Antliciny's
wish ' was fulfilled; and. that a letter.ot,
invitation ivas Bent to hint at Thrift -a
letter.. almost se coldly worded tie hie own
and Written in Mrs. Asplitites_Beratchy,_
frigitiyerkind-of-hank'whichTgavntop loops
tot all her consonants • and lower *wilds to
All her Wewele, and took four times se Much
apace. as ,any one else Would have taken. •
he received t e 1 tter, " I will go iiezt week.
"Good 1 "nishAnthony Raiford, When
I wonder wh all find ?, Whether little
Anne has grown into bright girl Or is a
little eine, and whether Cookey es fat
as she neW to be when she gave me cakee
and sweeties, and I thought berth° prettiest
lady' in the C.Onntiy; who could held whole
lofe7hands down ? 1, •
' CHAPTER II. •
THE UNEXPECTED VnlaiOR.
Was it from . ignoranCo. or design that
Anthony Harford dispensed with the
formilities nand aniong civilized people, as
touching the relations between guest and
host, and set out for Hindileet without notice
given or time appointed ? Even proud folk
sometimes condescend to small roses ; and
Anthony; though prouder than most; had
thus condescended. .
, wonted to take his old friends
unewitres, so shit hernighttest them by that
"most truetwortby of all persortal? litmus
-papers surprise. it was the old iparable Of
the Virgins -had the Asplines preserved
their oil of affection for him, or had. they
wasted it ?
In truth he: was in the mood which
makes what is Called a " Marrying man"
ready to, fall ,in love with the first likely
girl who presented herself. Hence,iit was
that ehortly after the interchange of those
formal business letters he picked up his
portmanteau -so far rid he had gene yet he
disdained a man for his personal setvice.
and he took the train to Kingshonse, driv.
irrg up to flindfieetTrinheralded, uninvited,'
and unetpe.cted. ' , •
• It was a dull winter's day, slid the brief
twilight wee stealing on like A dtu3ky web
woven between sky and earth. ,
The whole Ercene; like the'atmodphere,
was so unutterably dispiriting that Anthony
mentally wondered if the game were worth
the Cendle, While he muttered into his
darop beard a few objargaticthe Jof an
American, complexion,. and drew his fur -
lined cost More closely over his broad chest.
,At Ittet they made the lane which was so
piatoreeque sumniet, bid which to -day
was a" mere way of 'slush And 'wreck, and
turning sharply to the right, came to the
lodge gates Of a well -kept plebe, which the
driver said briefly was,Hhuifleet.
"At last ?" said Anthony, with a Certain
grim humor'.
The servants Were just beginning toclose
the shot`ters And, light hp the Sri. in
thocy entered. Already the hall ivis aglow ,as
with light and warmth, • the
s hands. hold put.'
,Mrs.,Aapline h_ad,intVo_fted,tobi_nrOParl.
byeguma lieuberIabWutild amtmucianleae yoyeellionttlge,itabeeenndoge
but hospitality conquered temper, and she
greotedAnthony is warmly as if he ho
been the old friend expeoted and desired of
hitt dresms.. She was eo completely taken
aback by this sudden shifting of the wind,
she ware so embarrassed and disoOmilted,
that ehe lost all vital hold over herself, and
could only este hereon' from open confusion
by this els of woods)? hardness --the appee
arum of my insensibility.
40nlv little- cuss," thought Aithen
in his silopted vernacular.
Only a owls, but how pretty!'And wher
lives the man for whom a womane besot
dem not COAnt aa'4 moral grace, eTcnein
any amount of onseednesta
He ehook hands With her no warmly a
good breeding allowed; He would hav
madebia handpreee warinee had he dared
discovery, 'Why,ey77k1,
inthyeoutoh1775L1
One making
a grown rigb
tall, that's & fiat!" '
"Yeo, I suppose I am taller than whe
you saw me last," said Anne, not ,knowin
whether to most dislike the American in
tonation of that rich Voir*, or most adatire
the personality Of the handsome speaker,
"She was only it tiny.reite when yo
Went aWay--just a baby," said Mts. Aspline
as her opntnbution to the inventory of
reminiscences.
"Yes, just ft baby," said Anthony, Still
heading Anne's hands and looking into her
pretty fate with his searching eyes a little
deep set in the orbid, andiovershadoWed by
'She.straight, keen brows above. Why 1 you
were Just a bell in my 'arms. I remember
how I used to toss you about 17 -up to .the
skies and down again -as you ruled, to say
And how you used to kick and scream, and
pretend yon didn't like it, and then ask for
more.. Funny little thing you were 1 ' But
you were a °mining little thing too; and
now you are a young lady." . •
Anne put on a dignified little look and
air. It seemed-somehowto rain the fine
edge of 'her modesties .to remind her of
Whet did the various young curatewho '
t had meee.dered-thiewayitresh-fromnellege
and the Orieket.field, know of life as such a
man as Anthony Harford knew it ? What
6 was theiresperienee of " sets ' and " dons ".
compared to hie of ganiblere and minere,
cow -boys and prospectors? What learning
got Mit of misty old tomes equalled this .
" studied from the living page of nature and
' humanity ? Was Charlie Osborne's artistic
perception of 'kiln and baler equal to this,
the very highest reach to which observation
can go? Was Lord Eustace inehbold's
eoldieringnt the Horse. Guards tobe spoken
of in the same breath is this other 8 deadly
encounters , with the bush -rangers and
Indians, Whose treachery he divined, and,
divining, frustrated? •
Whitt Anthony thought of his fair
friends and hostesses was hie own secret
only. He never made eyes at her, never
saidanything in, a softer voice for no !Me
else to hear, nor used phis* capable of
bearing a second,meaning. In all this he
was as straight-andIts uninteresting -aa
a die. He :criticised her' freely, . and he
laughed at her ,4n a good-humored but .
always rather earnest manner. •
• She could do nothing with him. She had
to acknowledge -that to herself -that inner
self JO whom we never lie.
If only he would have spoken and be
obnfidentialthough' to blitmeshe would
avnbeenmore-content.--Wohld-havulilieci
hose Inconsiderate times. She was etill
he same actual oreatmre as the humanized
tiff -ball who had been tossed tip in the air
y those two large hands which held her
wn, and grasped them with such a fervent
reestirer-who had been carried in those
stron -:artne-and-set-asrurIrttlaLtIneemomlier,
throne on those broitd shoulders -Lend who
had alien been carried pig-i-back,,and Matted
by those now bearded lips scores of 'times
paet punting. ,
"I do nos remember," she said, coldly.
" I do," said A.iithony, dryly. '
• He dropped • her hands, and .Anne no
longer felt as if .his eyes looked straight
Intel her heat'. .
"Why did you not give us word' of your
arrival?" asked Mrs. Aepline, hospitably
reproachful*. "I would have sent to the
station to meet '
"1* Was not worth While,", returned An,
thbriy,
" It.Would have been plesentner," hire:
Aspline insisted.
"1 found a buggy," he returned. '
That horrid . fly with a broken -kneed
horse !" Bald Anne, with a einile that Was
intended ter neutralize, flavor , Of her
slightly acidulated prudery ,
"They mostly are in this old country,"
'said Anthony, • with a very tir,onouneed
drawl; and 'again Anne hated him for his
voice; but bow handsome he was I how' well
he bore .hirneelf I- like a king . for patent
dignity andLthat superb air of, self-respect
which indescribable an aroma but
startled into familiari
as visible as light. con nplinist
, "Why; Anthony I" cni&1 Mw.
horses are superior to any in tile World 1"
"Fact ?" queried Anthony. "I reckon
one of mustangs would give the pick of
pint old three legs as many pants no You
,efter.' Have you , B. in any Of Yilne
asked for, and beitri at hendlallop.
Stables? 1..4, afrii. spline ; Ainerica takes
the shixie out of you for. horseflesh just as
for most else. So tell yon.'
" Why, you' have come back more an
American than an Englishmaii,", cried
Anne, with quite a nice little smile.
You bet 1" said Anthony. briefly ; and.
mother and dangliter exchanitied glances,
which Anthony smiled. interns y to see.
14 I will fool them tti the top of their
bent," he said to himself; end if they
see my game, ,they are cuter than they
look.",
Butnow the scene shiftecl altogether, and
the ordinary tontine of hespitality had to
be gone through -the room' abeigned, the
luggege, that one Wick shiny !valise, -taken
up, and the domestic programme arranged
iso as to .inclUde Anthony Harford riga guest
for as many clays as he would care to stay,,
Or until the terrns- of the trusteeship shonld
be Satisfactorily. settled.
"1 Wish the were franker with more o
7
it 'liniii-lind she known that •Anthony
Harford had dome in the mood _which
makes .1 marrying maiithat mood which
looke for causes of content and admiration
rather than the reverse -and tbat had she
fed his nascent fire with but a sprinkling
of brushwood, and not deadened' it down
With trace, the wholO run of ilia thoughts
and his astir:nate of her would have been
different. He would net have criticised so
much; and he would have admired' more.
For minds- facets which reflect '
iniacirding to ihe angle,*and lender growths
of feeling are killed by coldness, as flowers
in the garden' when the frost comes.
We n11 know how in a country place'
small events 14611 into importance, like
those Black Crewe ' of immortal memory.
The fact of' ,Anthony.Harford's arrival at ;
Hindfleetwent the round of the restricted
society itt Kingshonee like the tearing of a
piece of paper in the Ear of Dionyeins.
Rumor Wined her Megnifying.glass chiefly
on his :fortune. That Thrift Wee a fine
property as well as a, pretty place, every.
one knew; btit the rent ae settled:by the
assessor of tape was one thing, and
Anthony's private pile made in Atnericel
was another. :How the :private -pile had
Wert' made was the greet Prague of
ocirootnre, which changed its shape in ene
mouth . whence it issued. By gaMblin
Fetid some; by mining, said otheri-Lhe,
Anthony Bamford, the English gentleinant
working like and with thou ruffians spoken
of by Bret Harte -by striking ile ; by •
shoddy; by slave,deafing ; . by politicutl •
corruption; by a ring in cotton, railroads,'
Otooke-whrit not. In any case, there was;
and r how heavy it lay ;on , its owner's
conscience, ,and whence it had eprung7-in
whet slough ef Inn and crime its roots
-
were planted--ali these sere hie affair and
no other ,person'e. The one thing bertain
was that pile, which. made the income of ,
the owner. of Thrift of more value than a
Scotch duke's, and worthy the donderatiOrE
of a German printeee: "
• Naturally the Asplineri were "in society"
in Ilingehotiee, but they ware noktineng
the more cherished inembare. , The oro
received, , as of puree' in '
age, hut no :one Mademesh amount of
,theta --no one forged: with them such;strong
linke. of 'friendship, for inetenee, ab'those
which boned' lady Elizabeth and'Eetelle.
They mere' slighlty in a flea position-..
Boded 6offine of Mohartimed,..anspended
between two sphores and belonging to
neither. They wet() eboYe the:need of such
patronage and instruction as Caleb Stagg
equirecl to make hint in any way bl
n they were plat it line blow the highl.
"afer.mark of evoU A country place.
her, more substance," thought Anthony, a
he dressed for dinner, and tdok more u
n ordinary pains with himself.
• Mob° Continued):