HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Advocate, 1887-09-08, Page 6I
'1-
IAPW to *1'10 21;01.'4,0,14M,
4,,Tow bring :up ainaid that isplurcip and dark,
And bring io&maid that is tall and fair ;
!One napst gayas a meadowlark;
One"witli a grave and queenly. air,
Ando, port Of higli-tohed stately'etare ;
A'nuin, old, rich, and,li Perfpet fright
A man that is young and debonair ;
And lel the stpry that ;, wil/
Bring inc a sinninery;)amOnlit park,
Brmg me a house in a handsome sc,linwel
One m the country, a kind Of ark
Of 'refuge ferloyi3rs: some had despair,
Duty, temptation aiydgricif
an care,
To take the edge tin love's delight ;,
.A few oddPeople.from here and there;
And lo :the storY that lain write;
inc a trip in the'treacherons barque;
wreck in theanidseas anywhere;
Bring inc a. duel --heaven save thh markt "
.A..xeunited anclthappy
A gown from 'Worth's for the bride to wear,
.And Inn:gine adate as dark as night,
For all of the hold,:bad.ones to share;
And 10.1 ths,storythat ',will write.
iamvor.
Bring inland ontopmyeasy chair,
Of paper a ream all fair and white,
A publisherall ready to do and dare,
tlae story that Iwill write.
.SIR HUGH'S LOVES.
"1 earxxiot tell you you should not tease
me so, Fay. I think you naight have a
little faith in your husband."
"Very well, dear, I will not ask," she
replied, gently; but the tears sprang to her
eyes in the darkness. She woald not think
him hard if she could help it ; of amine she
was young —ah, terribly young—and Hugh
was so much older arta wiser.. The Polite
Match.Maker" had told her that husbands
and wives were to have no secrete from each
other ; but she supposedthat-Whenthe wife
was BO much younger it made difference—
perhaps when she got older, andknew more
about things, Hugh would tell her more.
She longed to grow older—it would be years
before she would be twenty; why ? she was
only seventeen last month.
Hugh thought his Wee Wifie was tired,
and tried to coax her to go to sleep; he
brought her another cushion, and attended
to the fire, and then went away to leave her
to her nap. Fay would rather have had
him stay and talk to her, but she was too
unselesh to say so; she lay in her pretty
room watohing the fire -light play on the
walls, and thinking first of her husband and
then of Margaret. She longed with a vague
wistfulness that she were more like that
lovely Miss Ferrers, and then, perhaps,
Hugh would care to talk to her. Were the
creeping shadows bringing her strange
thoughts Fay could not have told any
one why. there were tears on her cheeks;
was the consciousness beginning to dawn
upon her that she was not close enoula to
her husband's heart ?—that she was his
pet, but net his friend—that other wives
whom shalinew were not kept outeidein
the cold ?
"1 am not too 'young ,to understand, if
Hugh would only think so," she said to her-
self plaintively. "How could I be, when I
love him so?" • - •
When Sir' Hugh returned to the room
an hour later, he was sorry to see Fay
look so flushed and weary: " We shall have
you ill after all this," he said, reproachfully;
"why have you not been a good child and
goneto sleep as I told you ?"
" Because I was , troubling too ranch:
Oh, Hugh 1" clasping him round the neck,
and her little hands felt hot and,dry, ". are
you sure that you are not angey with me,
and that you really love me?"
"Of course I am not angry with you,"
in a jesting, tone. "What an absurd idea,
Wee Wifie. '
" I like you to call me that," she
answered, thoughtfully, drawing , down one
of his hands and laying her • cheek on it;'
and Hugh thought as,Margarte( hadovhet
a baby face it was. "1 mean to grow
older, Hugh, and ,wiser too if, eI can • but
you must be patient with me; dear..I know
I cannot be all you want just at present -
1 am only Wee Wifie now." "
"Well, I do not wish to change her,"
replied Sir Hugh, with a touch of real
tenderness in his voice, and thenwery gently
he unloosed the clinging arms. Somehow
Fay's voice and look haunted him as he
went downstairs. She is a dear little
thing," he said to himself as he sat in his
library sorting his papers e" I wish Dwere
a better husband to her ;" and then he
wondered what Margaret .had thought of
his Wee Wifie.
CHAPTER XVIII.
ERLE'S V/SIT TO THE oniNGE.
He gazed—he saw—he knew the face
Of beauty and the form of grace.
Byron.
under each area, ,s,ndivery'red in the faee
fepin suppressed laughter,
'4th,9,11$4yqu WOuld 4,9 jett}itlfl, alter
Your fevotitea Specklei and Tufty,"" be
eloper/ea, with a ehuelfle 4" serap you „eonld
not visit the poultry.yaed, iiy FairyQueen„
I have ,brenight &Mae rartigt ,and. he' Oster
to visit yen," and he deposited the much
injured 'fowls on the rug, "
It was unfOrtune.te that Sir Hugh should
have genie in that moment ; his disgusted
look as he opened the door iteatly sent Fay
into hysterics; Speckles was ducking wildly
under the sofa-eautty taking excitedflighte
across the room.
How can yen he eoridionlons," observed
Sir Hugh, with; a, frown; "Fay, do you
think Dr. Martin .would approve Of all
this excitement ;" but even he was obliged
to check a preile at Erie's agonizing attempts,
to catch Speckles.
Fay began to wonder what he would do
net; Erie grayly assured her that if he
could have induced Bonnie Bess to walk
upstairs, which she would rapt de under
any pretence, preferring to waltz on her
hind legs in the hall, he would haVe regaled
her with a sight other. favorite ; but after
the baby , from the lodge, , half•feozen'
hedgehog, some white rate 'kept by the
stable boy, and old 'Tom the veteran cat
with half a taileha,d all been deeeyed into
the boudoir, Erle found himself ,at the end
of his resources:
But he used t≥ 'down to the Viotti&
with a very long face, and the result i was
that every afternoon there were fresh
girlish faces gathering round Fay's conch.
Dora Spooner would come with one of her
estate ,or a Romney girl to help Erie amuse
the bavalid.
:There were 'delightful -,little tea-partiep.
every affernoon.“'J'aiiet,' whb Waited On
them, thought her mistress never seemed'
happier. Fay Was treated ; as though she
were a little qneen • Dorsi, and Agnes
Renaney vied with each othetin attentions;
petheps Erie's pleasant face and bright'
voice were powerful inducements in their.
Way ; the girls never seemed to think it a
trouble to plough their way through the
snowy lanee—they ,came in with glowing
faces to narrate their little experiences.
"Yes, it is very uncomfortable walking;
but we, could not leave you ,alone, Lady
Redmond. Mr. Huntingdon begged us so
hard to come," Dora would say, and the
hazel eyes looked at Erie rather mis-
chievously.
Erie was up to his old tricks again.
Fay used to take him to task When their
visitors had gone.
" You are too fond of young ladies," she
would say to him severely. " You will
naake,p,00r Dora think you are in love with
beta yea pay her so reutih 'attention.
Those are your London manners, I suppose,
when you are with that young person who
has the go in her, pr with the other one with
the pretty smile, of whom you say so little
and think so much."
"Come, now ; I do call that hard on a
fellow," returned Erle, in an injured
"You see I take an interest in you, my
poor boy," continued Fay, with qiiite
matronly air. "1 cannot allow you to make
yourself so captivating to our country girls.
What will Dora think if you go down to,
the Vicarage ,every morning with that
plausible littleestory that no one believes
I am not dull one bit. I am laughing from
morning to night, and Mrs Heron comes
up and scolds the. No ; Dora will believe
that you admire hazel eyes and long lashes.
Poor girl, she knows nothing about that
young person with the g� in her."
"Oh, do shut up, Fay," interrupted Erle
quite crossly at this. "Why do you
always speak of Miss Selby in this absurd
fashion? she is worth a dozen Dora,
Spooners. Why, the girls who were here
'this afternoon could not hOld,e, candle to
her.'' fen
a Oh, indeed 1" was Tay's ,response pt
thlseas she lay and looked at 'Erie wilit
aggravating calmness.
"Why do you want to' Make ourthat
girls are such duffers ?"he Went on in. -a
still more ruffled tone, as though her ehrewd-
nese had hit very near the tnith • , " they
have too much senee to 'think a fellow is
in love with them because he has a little
fun with them; you married women are so
censorious," he finished, walking , off in a
huff; but the next moinent hecame. back
With adtoll look on his faee.
"Mrs. Spooner wants me t6 dine there,
to -morrow. ; there is to be a little dance;
some Of the Gowers are coming. DO you
think you can spare me, Fay 2'
Oh, go away; you are all alike 1"
returned Fay, impatiently ; you have only
to blame yourself if Mr. Spooner 'asks
your intentions. I do not think Mr.
Huntingdon would approve of Dora one bit;
she is not very handsome, she will not hold
6 candle to you know whom, and she has
no Money—a vicar with a large 'family
cannot afford dowries to his daughter."
But, as Erie had very rudelymarched out
of the tomb, she finished this little bit of
worldly wisdom to empty walls.
Erle had been oVer to the Grange. He
had mooted the question one evening when
he and Sir Hugh were keeping Fay com-
pany; and, to Fay's great surprise, her,
husband had made no objection. "1
suppose it would be right for you *6 call
and thank them, Erle," he had said, ' as
thOugh he were prepared,for the euggeetion ;
"and perhaps, Fay,"—hesitating
it might be as well for you to write'
little note and say something civil 'after
all , their attention." And Fay thanked
him for the permission With a radiant
face, as though he had done her a personal
favor, and the next 'day Wrote the prettiest
and most grateful little note', which Erie
promised to deliver. .
" YOU Will be Entre to keep the girls until
I get back," had been his parting keqUeEit
when he came to fetch, the dogs.
It was tot exactly -the sort of afternoon
that Erie Would: have selected for a country
walk -=a thate had set in and the lanes
wee perfect quagteires oehelf-Melted snow
and slugh, in which the doge peddled and
splashed their Way With a perfect indiffer-
ence to the etate of their glossy coats ; any
amount of slush being better than enforced
inaction.
a 1 shall have to leaVe you &IOW, MY
fine fellOws," observed Erie, ail Net° Melt
a header into a heap Of dirty.looking SnoW
in whieh he rolled delightedly, " I am
afraid / shell hardAy be presentable thyself;
but these aro the joys of country life, I
eimpose,"
But he was not at all 'Potty when he
Muria himself at the Grange, arid a pleasant:.
looking, grey -halted wOinaii had neheted
him ibtO a tocim -Where Mr: Ferrol% and his
Fay was not very well the next day, and
Sir Hugh insisted on sending for Dr.
Martin ; Fay was much surprised when the
kind old doctor lectiired her quite.seriously
on her imprudence ; and pit a veto on any
more skating and riding for the present.
The sprained ankle was a trifle, , but all
the same he told her grimly she must
consider herself a prisoner. for a few days
—a very hard sentence to Fay, whose nimble
little feet had never been still for long,
and who had certainly never known a day's
illness in her healthryoung life; but, with
her usual docility, she promised Obedience.
Sir Hugh was unusually busy just then.
Some vexatious law -suit in which the
Redmonds had been involved for a year or
two, and in which both Sir Wilfred and
his son had taken great interest, was just
drawing to a conclusion, and he was obliged
to go up to Own for a feW hours almost
daily, and but for Erie's society Fay would
have been sadly moped ; but with his usual
good humor, Erie gave up his out-of-door
pursuits to devote himself to her amuse-
ment.
Ho was always contriving odd surprises
for her ; the mystified servants often heard
Fay's 'merry leugh rineing like a peal
of silvery belle, and thought that there
could he very little the matter with their
young mistress semetitnes these 'sounds
Were supplemented by Othersthat were still
more extraordinary.
OHO day Erie brought up the stable
puppies—three black -faced, snubnosed,
roundabout creatures, in whom Fay had
taken a kindly interest eince the ,hour of
their birth. --and to her intense delight
deposited thein on her lap, Where they
tumbled and rolled over each Other with
their paws in the air, ptotesting in puppy
faehion against thie invasion of their
liberties,
Another time there was an extraordinary
clucking to be heard Outside the door, and
the hextonoment Erie entered with a hen
Otter Were -eitting; 1± yeas a far larger
room thaWthe one where; gi'‘Y‘he,4 had' her
-foot 400004 day,, 'end was ,evidently'
,111t, 'Fetreee' peenhae earietniri-,-two of the.
Wa114,V.,ere Ihled frOM, the ,t1.99r t,Othe
-Ceiling With .11,261tehelYeeP an
ordinary writing -table ;904W:the centre
of the Mont', instead ef.the • beyAvindeve, a
glaserdopt ,afforded sorees to •the garden,
and side window on 0119,r .,yiflp 91 the
fieepleee commanded a view, .of •02,3 yew;
tree' walk; a Scotch 'deer -hound was
stretched on the rug in front .of the blazing'
fire. P414. to pet 041Wi,P-0 Were 'flOtterMfl
about a ;stand ..pf ferns, ,
Miss Ferrero had evidently' been welting
from her brother's ,dictation," for several
letters we iyipg ,ready for.the pest. As
Erie had crOpsed the hall he had dietitotlY
heard the sound of her clear, musical voice,
OB she read aloud but the hook was already
laid aside, ,endfidie had . to WeloOme
him-
Erie fancied elle looked paler than on
the ptevione decagon, and he wondered
what Mr. Ferrers would hayesaid if he had
seen those , darkilines under her eyes;
perhaps she never tOld him when she was,
tired --women liked to be martyrs some-
times. '
'He was; receited'yery,gordially ; and .Miss
Ferrers seemed rather touched at ,thfi,
contents of her littlb note.
,,,It was cgoodsof Lady Redmond to
write,'" she said to Erie With a emile ; "but
she, makes. far MO . much of tity httle
pervices." — 4
" Oh, that's just her way," 'returned
Erle, candidly. " She is 'egela a gratefnl,
little ,soul.Mest,,people take all one's
attentions as a Matter ,of course; but ,,Tay
is not like that." •
"Oh, no, she is very sweet," observed
Margaret, thonghtf ully ; somehowshehe face yearned to" see that' pretty,
'
again. •
"She is, the finest ltttle creature that
ever lived," -returned Erle with boyish
enthusiasm ; " it iswonderfulhow little she
thinke. about herself. And she is about the
prettiest girl on can see anywhere; and
she is clever, too, though you Would not
believe it to hear her.; for she always wants
to make out that she can do nothing."
Mr,. Ferrers 'smiled at this. Lady
Redmond did teem bent on proving that
fact to us."
" Of course, did I not tell yelled? but
don't you believe )2er, Mr. Ferrets. Why,
even Hugh, critical as he is,, owns Fay is
•the best horseweman in these parts.
should like to see her and Bonnie Bess in
the Row; she Would make a' sensation
there. And it iaequite's treat to see her
drive,her ponied ,; she knows how.to handle
a horse'srnouthe%Why,, those tiny hands
of her could 'hold'in a couPle of 'thorough-
bredi On; she i agOo&sorti the Spooner'
girls 'Sweat '
Miss:Ferrero:looked: ,kindly at the young
maia ; she liked to hear him ..,vaunting his
cousin's excellencies after this unsophisti.,
cafed fashion. She had taken rather a
fancy to this boyish, outspoken young
fellow; and her brother shared this liking.
She wap about to put a question to him,
when he suddenly started up witla an
exclamation., and the next Moment he had
crossed the room'and-was Standing before a
picture, with a very puzzled expeeseion on
his face. It was the portrait of a girl,
and evidently painted bya good artist. Of
course it was she, Erle told 'himself after
another quick look; in spite of the smiling'
mouth, he could not mistake her. There
was the small, finely:ehaped' head, set so
beautifully onthe long neck ; 'the coils of
black hair ; the dark, dreamy eyes, which
always peemedtc; hOld'a shadow in them.
"1 beg yOrir pardon; but I had no idea
you knew Mise Davenport," ' he said • at
lasteIooking atMargaret as he spoke. But
it was4NIr. gerrers: who answered. , •,,
, "Davenport ?; We know no one 'of the
do we, 'Margaret ? What does Mr,
HuntingdOn'mean? Is it some pieture ?"
9' Yee, deer, Crystee :Picture. Mr.
•Huntipgdotiseeme to recognize it."
• " grysial,? why, that is her name too. I
havelieerd'alies TraffOrd use it a dozen
times. As though there could be two
faces like that"—pointing to the canvas.
She looks younger, yes, and happier, in
the picture; but then, of course, one has
never seen her dinning like that. But it is
Miss Davenport—ay, and to the life too."
,You must be mistaken," observed Mr.
:Feirers in a voice . so agitated that Erie
regarded him With astonishment : He was
etrengely pale; and the hand that PISS
grasping the chair back was visibly
trembling. "That is the portrait of our
young cousin Crystal Ferrers."
" Yes, our 'adopted child," added Miss
Ferrets, "who left our home nearly eighteen
months ago." . .
Erie looked more puzzled than ever. " I
cannot understand it," he said, in a most
perplexed voice. If she be your cousin
Crystal Ferrers, why does she call herself
Crystal Davenport? There can be no
question Of identity; that is the face of the
Miss Davenport I know—the young
goverriese who lives with the Traffords ;
that is the very ring she wears, too"—with
another quiekglance at the hand that was
holding a sheaf of white lilies. But here
Mr. Ferrets interrupted
" Will you describe that ring, Mk.
Huntingdon ?"
Willingly—it is of Indian workmanship,
I fancy, and has a curiously Wrought gold
setting,- With an enieraldwery deeply sunk
into the &nitre."
I, Yes, yes;,it must be she," murmured
Roby, and then for the moment he seemed
able to say no more; Only Margaret watched
himWith teats in her eyes. 1, .
Erle'e interest and curiosity were strongly
excited. There must be some strange
Mystery at the bottom Of this, he thought.
He had alwaye been sere that Mies Daven-
port had seine hietOry. She was Wonder.,
fully handsome ; but with all his ,predilee-
tic* for pretty face§ he had never Oita
taken hr; he had regarded her with
invOltuataty distruat,
looked at Mr. Ferrers as he stood
evidently elsorded in thought. What a
gtand.lOOkingnian he was", he said to him.
self, if he Would only hOld hie head up, and
pueh book the riaaew 1 duli latOsen hair that
bay so heavily on his .forehead.
There Was eotriething tad in that spectacle
of Sightlese strength ; and to those who htst
sitee hitt, Relay p'eriete alWayi 'seethed like
seine patient giant Oppressed end bowed
&tot, both phySically and Mentally, but
grand in a certain giblinte teeignatibri that
Oriditrod beoeuee. he Was 'WO proild to
66th,ltilliri.
must be SO," he obsetved at last.
go,tgareti, I see light 'at Wit, Mr,
Hnntingdon,"•-,lurning to his mete -IP,'
have been very rude, very pnepurteoue, but
you wor4 have given Me a shook; ' you
he,Y13 to9ohed AC0444117 on a dee
treuhle. N.'44 Yon,he ,geed and 40114
enough to sit clewa" and tell me ell you
eaenr.i1PPut. PavenPerPi as YMcali
li1,
04 Certainly, if yon wish
And, with, very few interruptions 'from,
either the hrother pr sister, Erie gay e flail
and graphic description of Crystal'ppresent
home and surroundings—all :the More
willingly that 'his listeners seemed tobang
breathlessly on his words.
flepprilo.e4 eloquently that shabby
room over Mrs. Watkins', that was yet so'
pleasant and homelike; the - meth& with,
her were, beeutifni face, who .moved like a
chid -less about her poor toOins, an& was
only the head teacher in a girls' School.
He digniesed the subject of the gentle,
fair-haired Fern in a few forcible words;
but he spoke of little Florence, and then ef
Percy, and of the curious way in which all
their lives were involved'.
Only once Mr. Ferrers stopped him.
And Miss Davenport teaches, you pay 2"
• Yee, both she and Miss Trafford have
morning engagements.I think Miss
Martingale, where Mrs.' Trafford- is, has
recommended both the young ladies. There
are not many gentle -people living there;
the Elysian Fields and Beulah Place are
not exactly . aristocratic neighborhoods.
But Mies Trafford goes to the Vicarage;
there are young children there; and by
good luck the senior curate, Mr. Norton,
wanted some help with his two little boys.
Mies! Davenport is a Latin scholar, and
they hoey.t,eek her, on the Tre,ffords' reoemmerida-
t,, And enlyber mornings are accupied ?
Excusethese seemingly trifling questions,
Mr. Huntingdon"—with a sad smile—" but
you are speaking of one who is very dear to
us both."
"1 will tell You all I know," returned
Erle, in his kind-hearted way; "but I am
only a visitor at Mrs. Trafford's. I think, at
least I am sure, that they do a good deal of
needlework in their sparetime—embroidery
for shops;.they are very poor, you see.
There is always work about; sometimes
they are making their gowns. They are
never ashamed of anything they do, they
are such thorough gentlewomen. I do not
think you could find a prouder woman than
Mrs. Trafford anywhere, and yet she is
frank and generous to a fault."
"They must be charming people,"
observed Margaret, thoughtfully. Crystal
hat told us all this in her letters, Raby.
Mr. Huntingdon's account ,most fully
endorses hers."
Yea," he returned, quietly, " she is in
good hands; our prayers have been
answered, Maggie. But now, dear, if we
have heard all that Mr. Huntingdon can
tell us about our poor child,vili you leave
me With him a little, for 1Swint to take
him into our, confidence ; when he knows
all, he may be willing to help us." And
Margaret rose without a word; but her
beautiful eyes rested on Erie a moment,
wistfully, as though to beg him to be
patient. •
And then, as the twilight crept over the
room; while the girls were laughing and
chatting round Fay's couch, and wonder-
ing—Dora especially—what could have
happened to detain ,Mr. Huntingdon so
late; and while the blazing pine knots threw
a -ruddy glow over Raby's pale face, Erie
sat listening to one of the saddest stories
he had ever heard.
And when it was finished they had a long
talk together, and Erie told Raby about
Percy's hopeless passion, and of the
impatience and loathing with which Crystal
seemed to turn from her handsome young
e makes his way with other girls, but
not with her," went on Erle; "and yet he
is Clever and fascinating, and will be rich,
too; Pane day. It seems strange, does it not,
Mr. Ferrers ?"
"Not to rne," returned Raby, quietly.;
but there was‘a smile on his face as he
spoke. " Crystal will never care for your
friend, Mr. Huntingdon; it is no use, his
persecuting her with his attentions."
" If I could only get Percy to believe it;
but he seems absolutely crazy on that point.
Miss Davenport—Miss Ferrers, I mean—is
not quite the style I admire; but she is
superbly handsome, one must own that."
" yes," replied Raby, with a sigh ; " I
always said her face would dofor Vashti's.
She has Italian blood in her veins ;her
mother was a Florentine. Oh, here comes
Margaret," as the door opened and she
reappeared. "Maggie, what do you think?
Mr. Huntingdon has invited me toBelgrave
House."
"My uncle is very hospitable, Miss
Ferrers," observed Erie, with a smile at
her surprise; "Percy and I can always ask
our friends. He is old, and has his own
rooms; so we never interfere with him.
Mr. Ferrers would find himself very com-
fortable with us, and I would take great
care of him."
"You are very good"—but rather
doubtfully, "You will not go to London
without me, Raby ?"
" I think it will be better, Maggie. Mr.
Huntingdon has promised to take me over
to Beulah Place; we shall go there one
evening. Oh yes, it is all arranged. Please
God, I shall bring her home with me," and
there was a stranee, beautiful smile On his
face as he spoke.
CHAPTER XIX.
AMONG Tun SHADOWS.
When no more the shattered senses round the
throne of reason dwell
Thinking every sight a spectre, every sound a
passing bell
When the mortal 'desolation falleth on the soul
like rain,
And the wild hell -phantoms dance and revel in
the human brain.
Philip SidithoPe Worselv.
It was nearly dinner -time when Erie
reached Redmond Hall; Sir Hugh had not
returned from London, Ellerton told him;
he had telegraphed that he might be detained
all night—My lady Was in the damask
drawing-rOom, and the young ladies had
loft an hour ago. Erle listened to all this;
and then rushed up to his tooth, tO Make
himself presentable; and the doge slunk off
evidently, on the same errand.
He had to dine it solitary state by him,
self, while Fay ate her chicken in the big
dratving.rOem, where, the bld.fashioned
mirrors lWays reflected the tiny hgure
Fay was lOoking- 'Very pretty to,night,
but just a trifle tad at the thought that
Hugh knight tot be home. Shelled put on
his favorite gown too, to do hotiot be her
first appeerande in the drawing -room
it was a lovely gown, and she booked
perfect fairrqueen in it, as Erie Old her
when he Came intothe room ; but somehow
Elie's', Tribe was rather flat to-niglat-
If_ ay was longing foe her husband ; ri,p4 phe,
had only dressed to please his eyes. She
played with her wedding -ring rather
restlessly while Erie talked his nonsense,
and then she remembered that he must be
aroPeed-
4, The girls were so dreadfully disap-
pointed," she said, trying to rouse herself ;„
"they were very good and kind, and stayed..
with me until pia, and then Dora said they
must go; she kept looking at the door, and,
fancying she heard Nero bark; and them
the younger one Connie—no, not Connie,
it was Addie—asked so many questions.
about you—where you lived, and if I had
ever been to Belgrave House? trying to find
out things, you know; and, Erle—I
believe you are listening a bit," with a
stamp of her little foot.
"1 don't believe I was," returned Erle,.
frankly. "Don't be vexed, my Fairy
Queen, I can't bother about the girls to-'
night, I want to tell you about my visit
to the Grange—it is no secret, Mr. Ferrers
says, and I thought you would be interested,,
1± is such a strange affair altogether."
(To be oontinued.)
No Accounting for Tastes.
Experience can alone reveal the secret of
the Esquimaux's love for a nice, greasy,
yielding tallow candle, and of the "linger-
ing sweetness long drawn out" as he pulls
the wick gently between hie teeth, so [isnot
to lose one particle of its flavor.
Porpoise meat was once a favored dish
with the old English nobility, at least so,
runs the story, which declares the proper
Sauce to have been compounded of sugar,
vinegar and bread crumbs.
In Central America the stately curapson
and the sober quam'both large birds, are
diligently hunted as table delicacies, yet the
first -named biped must not be eaten by the,
hunter's dog, for it will assuredly poison it.
The Japanese are fond of flying fox. The
dessert of the Chinese middle classes con-
sists of melon pips, the scarlet and yellow.
varieties being grown solely for their seed..
When the natives of the West Indies are
regarded from a dietetic standpoint, baked
snakes glide into the menu along with palm
worms (a finger long), fried in their own,
fat. Yet these colored gourmands cannot
abide a rabbit stew 1 Rats are there also
considered a nice side dish, with occasional
relishes of gecana eggs and palm -tree snout
beetles.
In Siam the dried sinews of various'
animals form a dish much liked. Alliga-
tors' eggs are eaten in many eastern coun-
tries, and a nastier dish it would be hard.
to imagine. Ants enter largely into
Oriental bills of fare and in Ceylon the
busy bee is masticated: by the very men
who have profited by the honey it has
made.
In Africa such trifles as blue mole, mice,
fat sheep tails, stewed puppies, puma,
baked elephant's trunk and feet, ostrich
eggs, ants stewed in butter, caterpillare,
roasted spiders, snails (eight inches long),
and odd articles not generally regarded as
food are consumed.
At the Falkland Islands a gourmet can
enjoy a new sensation by eating a sea lion's
tongue. It is excellent, but it must be
fresh. Trinidad prides itself on alligator
and turtle eggs. The best place, however,
for everything relating to turtle is the
Isle of Ascension. There they are bred,,
fed, and from there exported.
In South America the Ottomacs largely -
subsist on a fat and ferruginous kind or
clay, each man eating daily a pound or
more. The Indians of the Amazon eat a
kind of loam, preferring it to other and
decidedly better food. The Peruvians are
also clay eaters, their nyiss being a,mixture
of talc and mica—rather tough food, ,even
for Peru. Other nations are earth -eaters
--the inhabitants of New Guinea, some of '
the 'Holivians, the negroes of Jarhaica, and
the natives of New Caledonia, as well as
many people who dwell in Siam, Siberia
and Kamschatka. The Ottomacs, however,
are the only ones who subsist on clay when
other food is obtainable.
The Australasian is rather odd in the -
matter of dietetics. A New Hollander has.
keen known to dispose of more than a hun-
dred vaulting rats at one repast, swallowing
them, for the most part, with some of the •
hair still upon them, holding them by the
tails and biting the bodies off with his
teeth. Not to be wasteful, he afterward
disposed of the tails. The same innocent
children of nature affect stale shark, rancid
whale. blubber, earthworms and such
trifles. Kangaroo tail is a dish an Aus-
tralian finds much flavor in. 1± 15 delicious.
The natives highly esteem the silent but
wild dingo, neither do they turn up their
noses at rats, but gluttony is allied to rude-
ness. The black fellow, when at meals,
devours all he can,only now and then flinging
a morsel over his shoulder to his wife and
children. He is likewise improvident, for
he seeks food only when he craves it, gorgee
to the last possible tension of his dirty,
black skin, and then sleeps for several days .
and nights consecutively.
Old -Time Remedies.
Nails driven into an oak tree were not
a cure but a preventive against toothache.
A halter which had served to hang a
criminal withal when bound round the tem.
pies was found an infallible remedy for
headache.
The chips of a gallows on which several
persons had been hanged, when worn in a
bag round the neck, was pronounced an,
infallible cure for ague.
A ring made of the binge of a coffin was .
credited with the power of relieving
cramps, which also received solace when a
rusty old sword was hung up by the
patient's bedside. .
A dead man's hand could dispel tumors .
of the glands by stroking the parts nine
tirnee. But the hand of a man who had
been cut down from the gallowe-tree was
a remedy infinitely more efficacious.
The nightmare, supposed, of course, to
be caused by supernatural agency, was
banished by means of a stone with a hole
in it being suspended at the head of the •
sufferer'S bed, This laet remedy went by
the name of a hag -stone," becatiee it pre.
Vented the witches, who, of course, wrought
the mischief, from sitting on the patient's
stomach.
The Oloistialt al IVork, unblushingly de.
dares that " a praetical book on 'What to
Buy for Food ' would be about tie practical
a harm of beneYolance as the eetablishrcient
efa neve denominational mission station at ,
VAL"
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