The Huron Signal, 1880-11-19, Page 2Llit VIM A LI110._
si Lie au
CHAP I'
nix
Ti.. over the w
_trued hyp suites /►► earth thea
of your "wrirenstew misasite
11 1 o.nu.tt think of awaelhing
la�why g
latae, whialt 11 have
can lock myself to here, SAID
dress, pull ,town toy hair, deep lay J�„r
bare arms �nyj
e on each shuiier- aa� •
comfortabl • attitude! and stare into itis
fire.
There it something peculiar 'about use
tires Mout likely the quantity of Ilr-
wood we use for this region gives them
that curious aroutain+ sutell How l love
fir trete of any sort in any steam of the
year! How I used to delight tnysetf in
our pine -woods, .trolling ui and out
among the holes of the trees so straight,
strong and utiehangeable--grave in
summer, and greeu in winter! Huw I
have stood listening tothe wind in their
tops, and looking for the fir -cones, won-
derful treasures! which they had dropped
un the soft dry mussy ground. What
glorious fun it wee to fill my pinafore --
:or in more dignified day --my black silk
apron -with fir -Donna; to heap a surrep-
titous store of them in a eorner of the
school -rooms, ,yid burn them, one by one
on the top of the fire. How they did
blase'
I think I should almost like to go
hunting for fir -cones now. It would be
a great deal more amusing than dinner -
parties.
Why did we give this dinner, which
cost so much time, trouble and money,
and was so very dull? At least I thought
so. Why should we always be obliged
to have a dinner -party when Francis is
here?. As if he could not exist a week at
Ruckin punt without other people's com-
pany than ours! It used not to be so.
When I was a child, I remember he
never wanted to go anywhere, or have
anybody coming here! After study was
over (and papa did not keep him very
close either(, he cared for nothing ex-
cept to saunter about with Penelope.
What a nuisance those two used to be to
us younger ones; always sending us out
of the room on some pretense, or taking
us long walks and losing us, and then -
cruelest of all -keeping us waiting in-
definitely for dinner. Always naking
so much of one another, and taking no
notice of us; leaving little squabbles with
one another, sun then snubbing us.
The great bore of our lives was that love -
affair of Francis and Penelope; and the
only cons,Lutiun we had, Lisabel and I,
was to plat the wedding, she to settle
the bridesmaids' dresses, and I think-
ing how grand it would be when all is
over, and I took the head of the table,
the warm place in the room, permanently
Miss Johnston.
Poor Penelope! She is Miss Johnsto n ca
still, and likely to be, for all that I n
see. I should not wonder if after all, ites
happened in cure as in many families,
that the youngest is married first.
Lisabel vexed me much to -day; more
than usual. People will surely begin to
fo
talk about her; not that I care a pin or
any gossip, but it's wrong, wrong. Acall
girl can't like two gentlemen so eq y
that she treats them exactly in the sae
manner -unless it chances to be e
manner of benevolent indifference. t
Limbers is not that. Every day I wa h
rel
her, and say to myself, "She's su y
fond of that young man;" which ale s
happens to be the young man nearest o
her, whether Captain Treherne or ' ` y
Colin," as his mother calls him. W t
a lot of "beaux" our Lis. has had e r
since she was fourteen, yet not o e
"lover" that ever I heard of -as of ,
I should, together with her half -d
very particular friends. No one
accuse Lis of being of a secretive die
anion.
What, am I growing ill natured,
to my own sister? a good tempo ,
harmless girl, who makes herself -
able to everybody, and whom every
likes a vast deal better than they do
onietimes, sitting over this fire, wi
the fir -twigs crackling and the turpen
blasittg it may be an odd taste, but
haves real pleasure in the smell oft -
pentine-I take myself into serious,
consideration.
Theodora Johnston, aged twenty -fie ;
medium looks, medium talents, media
temper; in every way the essence of
medicoity. This is what I have gradn-
ally discovered myself to be; I did n
think so always.
m
th
Bu
tc
Ay
t
m
ha
ve
n
course
oxen
can
to
aned
red
agree
body
mw
th
tine
I
car
sad
e
m
ro
ot
Theodora Joenston, aged fifteen.
What a difieront creature that was. 1
can bring it hack now, with its long curls
and its +hurt frocks -by Penelope's or-
ders preserved as long as possible --run-
ning wild over the motors, or hiding itself
in the garlen with - a book; or with •
pencil and the hack of a letter, writing
its silly poetry. Thinking, planning,
dreaming, looking forward to such a
wonderful, impsaible life; quite satis-
fied -of itself and all it was to do therein,
sine*
The world was all before 11 where to choose;
Henan Iia guard. and Providence Iia snide.
And what has it now? Nothing.
Whet is it nowt The aforesaid Theo-
dora Johnston, aged twenty-five.
Moralists tell Ult. self- examination is
* great virtue, an indaapeneable duty. I
don't heiie•ve it. tlenerally, it im utterly
useless, hopeless, and unprodithle.
Mush of it springs front the very egotism
+ prvtende t., cure There are not more
sense/M? mint
MOO OW C d 10414 toeske, wjctt every
bothsober gray, till sfbitp
the Wets lobe the older side eM
cloth to be earltlt.
That reriel s •ape p shat a of
scarlet Captain %alertts sppeared .at
our modest dinner -table. He was en-
gaged eu a full-dress party at the camp,
he said, and roust leave immediately
after dinnor-which he didn't Was his
company much missed, I wonder? Two
here could well have spared it; and these
were Colin Granton and Frannie Ch•rtorr-
la
How odd that until to -night Captain
Treherne should have had no notion that
his cousin was engaged to our Penelope,
or even visited at Roukmount. Odd,
too, that ether people never told him.
But it is suoh an old affair, and we were
not likely to make the solemn communi-
cation ourselves; besides, we never knew
much about the youth, except that he
was one of Francis's fine relation& Yet,
to think that Francis all these years
should never have even hinted to theme
said fine relations that he was engaged
to our Penelope!
If I were Penelope -but I have no
business to judge other people. I never
was in love, they say.
To see the meeting between these two
was quite dramatic, and as funny as a
farce. Francis sitting on the sofa by
Penelope, talking to Mrs. Granton and
her friend Miss Emery, and doing •
little bit of lazy love -making between
whiles; when enters, late and hurried
Captain Treherne. He walks straight
up to papa, specially attentive; then
bows to Lisabel, specially distant and un -
attentive (I thought, though, at sight of
her he grew as hot as if his regimental
oollar were choking him; then hastens
to pay his respects to Miss Johnston,
when lo! he beholds Mr. Francis Char-
eris.
"Charteris! what the{ -what a very
unexpected pleasure!"
Francis shook hands in what we call
his usuid fascinating manner.
"Polies Johnston!" in his surprise Lap-
tain Treherne had quite forgotten her -
"I really beg your pardon. I had not
the slightest idea you were acquainted
with my cousin." Nor did the youth
seem particularly pleased with the dis-
covery.
Penelope glanced sharply at Francis,
and then said -how did she manage to
say it so carelessly and composedly.
"Oh yes, we have known Mr. Charter-
is for a good many years. Can you find
room for your uncle on the sofa, Fran-
cis?"
At the "Francis," Captain Treherne
stared, and made some remarks in an ab-
stract and abstracted manner. At length,
when he had placed himself right bet-
ween Francis and Penelope and was
actually going to take Penelope down to
dinner, alight seemed to break upon him.
He laughed -gave away to his cousin -
and condescended to bestow his starlet
elbow upon me; saying as we went across
the hall:
"i'tn afraid I was near niaking a blun-
der there. Rut who would have thought
itl"
"I beg your pardon?"
"About those, there. I knew your
sister was engaged to somebody -but
Charteris! Who would have thought of
Charteris going to be married? What a
ridculous idea"
I said, that the fact had ceased to ap-
pear so to me, having been aware of it
for the last ten years.
"Ten years! you don't say so! And
then his slow perception catching the
extreme incivility of this great astonish-
ment -my scarlet friend offered lame
oongratulations, fell to his dinner, and
conversed no more.
Perhaps be forgot the matter alto-
gether -for Lwbel sat opposite, beside
Colin Granton -and what between love
and hate my cavalier's attention was
very much distracted. Truly, Lisabel
and her unfortunate swains reminded
me (de [manage in "Thomson's Seasons"
describing two young bulls fighting in a
meadow:
-While the fair heifer halmy hrwthiag near.
Stands kindling up their rage."
i blush to set it down. i blush al-
most to have such a thought, and con-
cerning my own sister. and yet it is .n,
and i have seen the like often and often.
Surely it must he wrong, such sacred
things as women's beauty and women's
love were not made to met men mail at
one another like brute beast& Surely
the woman could help it if she chose.
Men may be je•loua and errs, and
wretched; bet they do mot absolutely
hate tine another on a woman's amount
unless she has been in srnwe degree to
blame. While free, and showing no
preference, no one can well fight about
AIS•
in Seemster ais
' by, p
baro. Icy w.th.-tease
yr MO, af 1.11 oeletesigdi
was
wIseigrili tante uL flja
Sorsa graliiktp441 air
amK4h,pin}atemegegi ln ,1!i
adz
etre miens. , e. IMI oh, MPA
Prot* we wens of 111madlria! Mow Ars
to put talo the village host leges. ad-
dressed "Frau* Mertes -1a, ]ll tet" and
to speak of our brr,tteain-last sleet as
having ..ail ethos under guvrateeotl"
We firmly believe that Akio under
guvernutm,t would end in the pMadisr-
ship sant • peerage.
It has not, they Francis still says
he cannot afford to tnarry. I sae sting
Penelope yesterday d she knew what
nape and his first wife, not our own
mamma, married upon; New& ism in-
come, I believe, than Francis has now,
but buy sister said 1 did, nut understand;
"The eases were widely different," Pro-
bably.
She is very fond of Francis Lad
week, preparing for him, she looked
quite s different woman; quite young and
rosy again; and though it did not lad,
though he was really oome, she grew
sharp and cross often, to ue, never to
him, of course; she much enjoys his
being here. They do nut make so much
funs over one another as they did ten
years ago, which indeed would be ridicul-
ous in lovers over thirty. Still, I should
hardly like my lover, at any age, to sit
reading a novel half the evening, and
spend the other half in the sweet com-
pany of his cigar. Not that he need be
always hankering after nue, and "paying
me attention." 1 ahould hate that.
For what is the good of people being
fond of one another, if they cannot be
content simply in one :mother's company,
or, without it even, in one another's lovel
letting each go on their own several ways
and do their several work, in the best
manner they can. Good sa.th! I should
be the most convenient and least trouble-
some sweetheart that ever a young was
ever blessed with: for I ani sure I should
sit all evening quite happy -he at one
end of the room, and I at the other, if
ouly I knew he was happy, and caught
now and thena look and a ensile -pro-
vided the look and the smile were buy
own personal property, nobody else's.
What nonsense ase I writing/ And
not a word about the dinner -party.
Has it left et little impression on my
mind?
No wonder! It was just the usual
thing. Papa as host, grave, clerical, and
ahightlyiltessyypg, of it alL Penelope
hostess. Frtncis playing "friend of the
family," as handsome and well dressed
as ever -what an exquisitely embroidered
shirt -front, and what an aerial cambric
kerchief! which must have taken him
half an hour to tie! Lisabel-but I have
told about her; and myself. Everybody
else looking as everybody hereabouts al-
ways does at dinner -parties -car tow diare
om►aes-to muster a bit of the Latin
for which, in old times, Francis used to
call me "a juvenile prig."
Was there, in the whole evening, any-
thing worth remembering/ Yes, thanks
to his' fit of jealousy, I did get a little
sensible conversation out of Captain
Treherne. He looked w dull, so annoy-
ed, that I felt sorry for the youth, and
tried to make him talk; so, Lighting on
the first subject at hand, asked him if be
had seen his friend, Doctor Urquhart,
lately?
"Eh, who? I beg your pardon."
His eyes had wandered when Limbel,
with one of her white elbowson the table,
sat coquetting with a hunch of grapes,
listening with downcast eyes to "my
Colin."
"Dr. Urquhart, whom I met at the
Cedars last week. You said he was a
friend of ylinrs."
"So he is- the beet I ever had," and it
was refreshing to see how the young fel-
low brightened up. "He saved my life.
But for him I should assuredly be lying
with a cross over my head inside that
melancholy stone wall around the top of
Cathcart's Hill."
"You mean the cemetery there. What
sort of a place is itr
"Just as I described -the bare top of
a hill, with • wall around it, and stones
of various aorta, crosses, monuments, and
s. on. All our officers were buried
there."
"And the men?"
"Oh, anywhere. It didn't matter. -
Wises t1y, while Melt-
on the belt But
*bent it, and always gut
Yee see., he a amok as
Airdpitslimseremit an all thitsas-
�-t **quid teseper - Ana liut.salf m such
i►. ruuigh OMt+td, that lie has twice the
aliases us keupteg in hi alth that wed
user have, espeeedy ear felk,ws there,
who, he declared, died guile as much of
eating, Ibiflikhkg, sod •nuking, as they
did of Russian bullets.
" Your friend moat be a remarkable
11 did not, I thought; but not exactly
from Captain Treherne's point of view.
However, he was scarcely the mat with
whom to have started an abstract argu-
ment. I might, had it been Dr. Urqu-
hart.
"Was Dr. Urquhart in the Crimea the
whole timer
"To he sure. He went through all
the campaign, from Varna to Sebastopol;
at first unattached, and then was ap-
pointed to our regiment. Well for me
that 1 What • three months i had after
her, for all have an equal chance: when lnkerman ! Shall i ever forget the day
Be. has a proferwno*, though .h. might 1 first crawled net and sat "n the benches
not openly show it toward its objeet, in front of the hospital oe Relselava
she certainly would never think of Height, Inking tier+ •.n the Rlaek
showing it toward anybody else At Se• r
least, that is my theory I 1 hall never
However, 1 •m taking the thing toe iMy heart "van
eenou.ly. and tt is no .,two, ..I mine I 16*rne
�Ye
.raw. him aerxiue before.
ouelineel to O eaim Tie.
• = 7� yrs:. ac
" He's a -a heiek ! Excuse the word;
in krises' easilitte 1 eight not to use it."
" If you might to use it at all, you
may do eo is ladies' society."
The youth looked pusaled.
" Well, then, Mies Dora, he really is a
downright ere*, since you know what
that meant. though an odd sort of fel-
low, tat ; • tough customer to deal with;
weer lets 5eu ' the rein; hold one In se
tight as if he were one's father. I say,
Charteris, did you ever hear the gover-
nor speak of Dr. Urquhart, of ours 1"
If Sir W illism had named such a per-
son, Mr. Charteris had, unfortunately,
quite forgotten it. Stay, he fancied he
had heard the name at his club, but it
was rally impossible to rentenblp+M?"
the names one knew, or the men.
" You wouldn't have forgotten that
alae in a hurry, Miss Dora, I &allure you.
He's worth a donee of- -but I beg your
pardon."
If it was for the look which he cast
upon his cousin, I was not implacable.
Francis always annoys nue when he as-
sumes that languid manner. For some
things, I prefer Captain Treherne's open
silliness- nothing being in his head,
nothing can oume out of it- to the lazy
superciliousness of Francis Charteris,
who we knew, has a great deal more in
him than he ever condescends to let out,
at lead for our benefit. I should like to
see if he behaves any better at his afore-
said club, or at Lady Thii s and the
Countess of That's, of whom I heard him
speak to Mies Emery.
I was thinking thus, vaguely contrast-
ing his =tooth handsome face with that
one of Penelope's-how muoh faster she
grows old than he does, though they are
exactly of an age! -when the ladies rose.
Captain Traberne and Colin rushed to
open the door -Francis did not take the
trouble -and Lisabel, passing, smiled
equally on both her adorers. Colin made
some stupid compliments; and the other,
silent, looked her full in the face. If any
man w dared to look at me, I would like
to grind him to powder.
Oh, I'm sick of love and lovers -or
the mockery of them -sick to the core of
my heart!
In the drawing -room I curled myself
up in a corner beside Mrs. Granton,
whom it is always pleasant to talk to.
We revived the great blanket, beef, and
anti -beer question, in which she said she
had found an unexpected ally. .
"One who argues, even more strongly
than your father and I, my dear -as I
was telling Mr. Johnston to -day at din-
ner, and wishing they were acquainted
-argues against the beer."
This was a question of whether or not
our poor people should have beer with
their Christmas dinner. Papa who holds
strong opinions against the use of intoxi-
cating drinks, and never tastes them him-
self, being every year rather in ill odor
on the subject, I asked who was this
valuable ally.
"None of our neighbors, you may be
sure. A gentleman from the camp -you
have met him at my house -a Dr. Urlu-
I Could not help sniffling, and said it
was curious how I was perpetually hear-
ing of Dr. Urquhart.
"Even in our quiet neighborhood such
a man is sure to be talked about. Not
in society, perhaps -it was quite a mar-
vel for Colin to get him to our hall -
but because ho does so many things while
we humdrum folk are only thinking
about them."
I asked what sort of things ? In his
profession 7
" Chiefly, but he makes professional
business include so much. Imagine his
coming to Colin as ground -land -lord of
Bourne hamlet, to beg him to see to the
clearing of the village pool, or writing to
the lord of the manor, saying that twenty
new cottages built on the moor would do
more meant good than the new county
reformatory. He in one of the very few
men who are not ashamed to say what
they think, and makes people listen to it,
ton, as they rarely do to those -not long
settled in the neighborhood, and about
whom they know little or nothing."
i asked if nothing were known about
Dr. Urquhart ! Had he any relations 1
Wm he married 1
" Oh, no, surely not .tarried. I never
tnttuired, but took it for granted. How-
ever, probably my son knows. Shall I
Ind out, and speak a good word for you,
Kies Dors r
" No, thank you. said 1. laughing.
" Yoe know 1 hate soldiers
Tu Mrs Orantnn • only fault -Mer
annoying lest after this fashion Other-
wise T would like to hare asked s few
more quiestwtns about
woodsy if i .hall ever
The regenerate rarely
weep so that it a not
Dr 1-rgnhart 1
meet him again
stay leng A. the
probahbct
_
west soh ft •y two einem
apd_ Hies Emery were siding eves the
Ire. Mu. Eatery was talking very tart,
iiiiik {tel„! Mteunttg mai s she*
see #4 tip` si t.moo. u.►
Weddle tged Wane geritisiulatly,ant NMI
very m gid eoutt•.:V. Li..hsi were IMO
goodenatuited smile, always ah saute M
everybody
'I was quite ples..d,' i.. Karry
was eying, "to Lotioe soeihel4
Captain Treherne and Mr. Chartielsaet;
I always tutdtust....a there was siert of a
-- a eoolnes., in short. Very natural
As his /tellies acid neat lieu after the
Captat*, Sir M tlliare might have dune
more for Mr. Charteris So people said,
at least. He hes a *pleaded prepevty
and tally that one sen. You have been
w Tr.hrnte Court, Miss Johnston r'
Penelope abruptly answered "Ne;"
and Lisabel ambled amiably that we
seldom went fro,. home -papa liked to
have us at lteekirwunt all the year
round.
1 sail willfully, willfully, maybe, lest
bliss "Celery's long tongue should awry
tack to Landon what by implication
was not true-- that we did not even know
where Treherne Court was, and that we
had only met Captain Treherne accident-
ally among the camp -officers who visited
at the Cedsr.
Lisa pinched mpe: Penelope looked
annoyed. Was it a highly virtuous act
thus to have vexed Tooth my sisters 1
!slack ! I feel myself growing more un -
minable every day. Whet will be the
end of it
"First come, first serval," must have
been Limbel's motto for the evening,
since, Captain Treherne re -appearing,
scarlet heat plain black clear out of the
field. I was again obliged to follow as
Charity, pouring the oil and wine of my
agreeable conversation into the wounds
trade by my sister's bright eyes, and re-
ceiving as gratitude such an amount of
information on turnips, moorlands and
the true art of sheep -feeding, as will
make me look with respect and hesita-
tion on every lug of mutton that comes
to our table for the next six months.
Oh. Conn. dear Colin. my Colin. my dear,
Who wont the wild mountains to trace with-
out fear ;
Oh, where are thy flocks that au quickly re-
bound,
And fly o'er the earth without touching the
ground 1
A remarkable fact in natural history,
which much impreseol me in my child-
hood. What is the rest
Where the birch -tree hangs weeping o'er
fountain so clear,
At noon I shall meet hien. any Colin, my dear.
What a shame to laugh at Mn Grant
of Leggett's nice old song -at the pretty
Highland tune which ere now I have
hummed over the moor for mile. ! Since,
when we were children, I myself was in
love with Colin ! a love which found vent
in much petting of his, and in shy pre-
sents to himself of nuts and blackberries:
until„ stung by indifference, my affect-
ion
"shrunk
Into itself. and was miming ever after. -
Do we forget our childish loves? I
think nut. The objects change, of
course, but the feeling, when it has been
true and unselfish keeps its character
still, and is always pleasant to remember.
It was very silly, no doubt, but I ques-
tion if now- I could love anybody in a
fonder, humbler faithfuler way than I
adored that great, merry, good -natural
achoolbt;y. And though I know he has
not an ounce of brains, is the exact op-
posite of anybody I could fall in love
with now ---still, to this day, I look kind-
ly on the round, nay face of "Colin my
dear.'.
I wonder if he ever will marry our
Lisa. As far as I notice, people do not
often marry their childish companions;
they much prefer strangers. Possibly,
front mere novelty and variety, or else
from the fact that as kin aro sometimes
"less than kind," so one'. familiar asso-
ciates are often the farthest from one's
sympathies, interests, or heart.
With this highly morel and amiable
sentiment- a fit conclusion for a social
evening- I will lock my desk.
Tun any LMwp. us Zak
"los.Hosiamila died. ``
Ise., and wh
Lucky I did ! What if Isabel had
found me writing at --one in the morning
How she would have teased me -even
under the circumstances of last night,
which seethed to have affected her mighty
little. considering. •
I heard her at my door, from without,
grumble at it being bolted. She came in
and sat down by my fire. Quite a pic-
ture, in a blue flannel dressing -gown,
with her light hair dropping down in two
wavy streams, and her eyes as bright
as if it were any hour rather than 1.30
a. m., as I showed her by my watch.
" Nonsense ! T shall not go to bed
yet. i want to talk s bit, Dora ; you
ought to be flattered by my coming to
tell you, first of anybody. Guess now -
what has happened 1"
Nothing ill, certainly -for she held
her head up laughing • little, looking
very handsome and pleased.
" You never will guess, for you never
believed it would onrne to pass, but it
has. Treherne proposed to me to -night."
The news quite took my breath away,
and then I questioned its accuracy. " He
has only been giving you • few Move of
hie silly speeches ; he means nothing.
Why dot you put a .top to it all r
halal was not vexed- eh. never
she ,nh laughed
1 tell von (lees of a perfectly true
let;`;
said, alias #. w
het, pedued eM to o
tiers les tell me theyrail which;
•
rumness', es, eat like s sheet obleo.
thee joking red. • hit es
.s
- -T"_- - Cohn hatElheAl use and
Treherne `wanted nu to tt sway ; but
I said ' No, I like the souse, and paean
to wear a wroath of n&tu9.t orange flow-
ers when 1 was ruarried. Upon which
he grew quite furto a, and said it wotdd
drive him mad if 1 ever aterried any
u tas but him_ Thee hit gee hold of my
hand, and--tha usual tbiag,you know."
She blushed a little. " It ended by my
telling hue he had better shirk to papa,
sad he said be sM.uld to- sw yew. That's
al
..An.,,
" Well r said Isabel, expectantly.
It certainly was aurtgder way in which
to receive one sister's announcement of
her intended marriage: but, fur world's,
I could not have spoken a syllable. I
felt a weight on any chest ; a sena0 of hot
indignation which settled down into in-
conceivable melancholy.
Was thia, indeed all 1 A silly dirtation ;
a young lad's palmitin ; a young girl's ouol
business -like reception of the slate ; the
formal " .peaking to papa," and that
thing was over ! Was ?hat love.?
" Haven't you* word to say, Dora 1 I
had better have told Penelope ; but she
was tired, and scolded me out of her
room. Besides, she !night not exactly
like this, for some reasons. It's rather
hard, such an importaut thing to happen,
and nut • soul to congratulate one upon
it."
I asked why might Penelope dislike it
" Can't you see ? Captain Treherne
roving about the world, and Captain Tre-
herne married and settled at home, might
makes considerable difference to Francis's
prospects. No, 1 don't mean anything
mean or murderous -you need not look
so shocked-- it is merely my practical
way "of regarding things. But what
harm ? If I did not have Treherne,
somebody else would, and it would be
none the better for Francis and Pene-
lope."
" You are very prudent and far-sight-
ed ;such an idea would never have en-
tered my mind."
" I dare say not. Just give me that
brush, will you, child r
She proceeded methodically to damp
her short hair, and plait it up in those
countless tails which gave Miss Lisabel
Johnsons locks such a beautiful wave.
Passing the glass, she looked into it,
aniiled, sighed.
" Poor fellow. I du believe he is very
fond of me."
" And you 1-
" Oh, I like hint --like him excessively.
If I didn't, what should I marry him
for r
" What indeed '"
" There is one objection papa may
have ; his being younger than I, I forgot
how much, but it is very little. How
surprised paps will be when he gets the
letter to -morrow."
" Does Sir William know r
"Not yet, but that will beacon seal
'
he tells me. He can persuade his mot
er, and she his father. Besides, the
can have no possible objection to me."'
She looked again in the mirr.r aa she
said this. Yes, that " me " was out •
daughter-in-law likely to be objected to,
even at the Treherne court.
" I hope it will not vex Penelope," she
continued. " It may be all the better
for her, since, when 1 ain married, I
shall have so much influence. We may
make the old gentleman do something
handsome for Francis, and get a richer
living for papa, if he will consent to
leave Rockmount. And I'd find a nice
husband fur you, eh, Dora 7"
" Thank you, I don't want one. i
hate the very mention of the thing. I
wish, instead of marrying, we could all
he dead and buried."
And, whether from weariness or ex-
citement, or a sudden, unutterable pang
at seeing my sister, my play -fellow, my
handsome Lisa, sitting there, talking as
she talked, and acting as she acted, I
could bear up no longer. i burnt out
sobbing.
She was very much astonished, and
somewhat touched, I suppose, for she
cried too a little, and we kissed one
another several times, which we are not
much in the habit of doing. Till, sud
denly T recollected Treherne, the orange
tree, and ' the usual thing.' Her lige
seemed to burn me."
" Oh, Lisa, I with you wouldn't. I de
wish you wouldn't."
" Wouldn't what ? Don't you want
me to he engaged and married, child 1"
" Not in that way."
" In what way, then 1
1 could not tell. I did not knew
" After the fashion of Frances and
Penelope, perhaps 7 Falling in love like
a ample of babies. hefan they knew
their own minda. and then being tied to
gather, and keeping the thing nn in e
stupid meaningless, tiresome way till
h e Is grnwinp int,. at "Merle anima
1
1
4
i
•r
l
ale
quite e
gagewC
.UWebe
and be
They
said, ti
other h
her sat
t tdeeh..
Tit ag!
den tau
trate' is
lie.
Myt
untie e
"Wil
"Ile ver
I told
as she t'
she had
would t
"1 as
don't es
for the/
You aha
maid's
Court w
to visit
Strut
And
1 feel it
ser
real
qui
have &
be kens
this mo
all.
ghee
other c
except,
eerosu
shelter
to be i
kept e
day es
them t
those r
teeth,
Plum
then 1
eeadtas• al
Theref
to kill
charco
liens h
and o
B ible.
Pou:
the sat
killed
,,. Thong
;e ter th
l
tioasl
of hob
• rarely
Warm
laying
Far
early
to the
warns
mer: i
drains
about
sound
will h
there
nus H+
in mo
durin
out at
Yo,
even
up a
111 inn
ghoul
will s
port
preve
Da
allow
furro
away
best r
finish
seta i
Cb
fall, a
sand,
only
ties.
ter t
Lr
t►.at
tole,
with
IC
sem
ifrat
ter t
pi-
as
as
cr
dr
1'
of
to
o
.44