HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1892-5-27, Page 22
LOVED n"\
D NOT LOVED.
CHAPTER IV.
"WEER -DAY \YOOIAn."
He came again the next Sunday, and
the next; and by that time the Sunday
luncheons, having bec'nnlo an institution,
did not count, Matthew and May began
to make other plans for meeting, indepen•
dent of them. bloodshot 4'illa{maoctlstotn-
ed itself ea usual ; the vicar was abroad, the
curate was in a' lodging ;the "young French
gentleman " came to play the organ on bun -
days, and Mr, James gave him his lunoheon.
Miss Paul Ball was away with little Egypt,
on
0round of visite, and there were no
tongues to silence or idle fanefes to concili-
ate. It was, to say the truth, not Matthew,
but May, who made the plans for other
meetings. But they were plans, " my dear"
-she would say to herself, before the glass,
turning down the corners of her lovely
mouth in incitation of Paul Bali-" which
any lady might have made 1 "
Music gave her many an excuse; there
were several churches between Wondshot
and Churnborough where the organs were
well worth a trial. It was not country
neighborhood, but that sunimor solitude, a
fashionable winter place, deserted in August
more completely than the country would
have been at a greater distance from Lou.
don. The parishes were rich, end no con-
gregation liked to feel that it was outdone
by the next in the appointments of Its
church.
It became a familiar sensation to Miss
James to drive her 11"ny.carrilage through
the hay, and tether it at some little stile
Biose to a field of wheat or barley near the
churchyard gate ; to trios the sunny space
and enter the cool porch, where the sound
of Matthew's mune never failed to greet
her. She would walk up the empty aisle
and into the organ loft, with her welcome
assured, she felt -or chose to feol-
altlloneh her friend did not stop playing
when she came. If he felt anything
about her aommg, it was just that she
brought in the freshness of the afternoon,
the savor of the banks all made of broom,
bracken, rhododendron, and laurel, car•
peted with heather -gold stars of wild
flowers darting out on long stalks about it
all like butterflies. Stine, calm, and young,
Matthew de Nismes would sit and un-
ravel the mazes of Bach, and she, not
understanding and yet charmed, would
listen, standing by his side, sweet of the
heather or the wild flowers, add never
thinking of Bach at all.
.And one day, when, fteleed, he had
been more than or'dizl•rilye irrespousive,
and she had to return to tea without hav-
ing interchanged with him more than
the simplest words -as she loosened the
pony and prepared to drive back to Wood.
shot -from the keen chagrin she felt
that he had not risen to escort her to the
church door as she waved hint a sign that
she was going, she got to be afraid -no ! to
be glad -no ! neither, just to be sure that
she cared greatly for him. She felt her
cheek flush in the afternoon air ; she longed
that he should bo rodeo to follow her to
'va oodshot, instead of to walk back to Churn •
borough. What was the garden without
him? And the roses at their best !
"With all the other pupils away, what
eau he find at Pasemore's? Why does he
stay in these parts ? Is it possible that lie
can stay -for me?"
But she flicked the pony with her whip
and banished the thought, knowing that-
poeeible or not possible -it wee not yet true.
She did not wish it to be true. She did not
wonder what bis feelings were ; she got to
be contented with her own. She got to
follow him with her thoughts, but she never
wished to alter his ; he became her occupy,.
tion, her pursuit. And, strange to say, she
never had the slightest wish to go away
with him and share his life, only to bring
him into hers. For she had lived so long at
Wcodshot she could hardly imagine herself
placed elsewhere. She often pondered
whether he could be contented with the lite
she led -it was orderly, uuvaried ; he seem.
ed to like monotony; it had never held
much of whioh she was ashamed. She con-
stantly reviewed her life as a man reviews
his life when thinking of it in relation to
the woman he loves ; was it sufficient? was
it honorable? She hollowed out her heart
to hold a great love, -and then -out of the
fount of her own feeling -she set to work
and filled it to, the brim, And it was
" Matthew" stood for symbol of it all, He
was the excuse for her own selfishness to
herself. She was not conoeited ; she never
said, " I have a lover ;" she only said, " At
last I love." She felt that she bad gained
an added some, and said it thankfully.
No doubt it was a sane, dull passion -it
had none of the sweet madness and sur.
prise of life; but then 1101 life Was sane
and dull ; and this sufficed her. Matthew
was so quiet, so stupid, so absorbed in his
music and in some business that had
brought him to England, that he never
contradicted her fancies even in her own
heart. He was always gentle, reserved,
kind -a man of taste fn whop she might
keep confidence. The pleasure of oaring
-for love rather than for him -in this
untroubled, satisfactory un -jealous way,
3110(10 her very happy, and very beautiful in
her Great happiness, Nothing vexed her,
nothing spoiled her sleep ; she walked on
air, Her hair seemed to havo fresh gloss
and gold in its brown curie, ler eyes to bo
purer in their candid glance, her cheeks to
be fairer, and her lips more sweet and soft;
she really seemed to glide without effort on
her way through the world, to be untiring,
to breathe always evenly, as if her life were
just a wave in June. Her voice got a new
tone,
And one day Matthew noticed this ; they
were walking down a oherehyard together
to the pony carriage, The air smolt of
limos and hay. He was tired with playing,
and his hands were full of music books. As
they sane to a gate ale began to shift the
books laboriously from ono arm to another,
to get his fingers free for 1,110 latch, when,
"0111let me undo the gate?" she said,
leaning forward, almost brushing hie shout.
deur with her muslin dress, like awhite bird.
Her accents lingered in his brain and die.
possessed the music ;they wore so intensely
sweet and new. And from that moment he
regarded her afresh.
The fact was that, althongh he had not
said a single word upon the sub7'ect to any
human creature, Matthew de Nismes had
been sent to England expressly to fend him.
NH a wife. His mother, an hInglishwonan,
had made an unhappy marriage ; she was
separated from her husband, and lived in 8,
Mandl eotultry house with her son. She
lived abroad, because her house was abroad,
and she was a sensitive Woman who disliked
English olrioaity, lint she hated oortain
French qualities -,r habits ratter -worse
even than she hated that and she had
therefore Angllclz,•d her s011 (0411111011,91108.
siblc, alway" optl-1n English with kiln,
and kc o peg even te t li ' English spelling of
his ltatne-a 11t0110 of bur own fatuity. 1l1,o
grad been wretched with a French husband,
Matthew must f o happy with an English
I wife. Mrs. Pontoon and Madame do
Nimes had been old e diealfollows, and to
1 Mrs. Passnore's care Matthew Who 01,184;11-
1 ed till he should feel at home in Eingland.
Many young Wren would have got to work at
mice to go into society and Mole ;shunt them ;
lint Matthew's eharacto'istic was Memel'.
pees ; he had something of his mother's
• shrinking and his father's laiese; fairy. He
I Qui not particularly we)tt to get married and
was rather p18a00d to )110(1 the sea between
himself and hie ;anxious mother, and the fre-
quent diswassions of the tome theta 3y stay-
ed for a time, He had never been in love,
filet 1n his heart he knew that ho was 'noro
than entitled -almost bound -to select a
wife. As one is apt to do with a ditty, he
tried to ignore as completely as possible this
`real reasoner hie being in England ; and the
incidental fact, that he wile there, sees plea.
sant to 11fm. He protein ed duties, concerto,
health -mot to others, for be spoke very
little to au' one -bat to himself he kept on
1 saying, "Next season,"
/sirs. Passmore was a busy, motherly
woman, used to having young 111011 about
her, and well aware that thoy will go their
own way the more if you try to take them
your way. In ler capacity of wife to an
army tutor, she had experienced various
surprises, and being sensible end shrewd,
he had arrived at certain generalizations.
911e liked Matthew, though she thought
him rather tame, and she liked a great
many young ladies 111 her neighborhood..
It was a good neighborhood, and sho just
let Matthew loose in it without any !Ionlr-
ish of tren1e10, as if he were a mere 0 foe-
;
eign pupil." She did not talk about " the
young vtcomto ; " he W118 1101 rich, and the
wrong people would be sure to stake a sot
at hiva, sloe much e knew, if she said nch about
him. tl'hen he told her he had leen to
Woodshnt, her quiek fanny just glanced
at May James. But she know Chet Mr.
James clic) 1101 wish May to marry, and she
thought May even older than she was, no-
minee she had "always been at Wondshot,"
as it seemed to Mrs, Passmore, had been a
grown-up woman before they 08100 to
Churnbcrough, and that was ten yoara-ten
crowded years -ago ; whole generations of
pupils hall passed by since then, had
thought 2,1iss Janes very ban(1001110, and
ridden off to other loves. Mies James, had
never wasted on then a single sigh of re-
gret.
Of tie Woodahot Sundays LI re. Pass-
more knee' quite well ; of the other meet-
ings it ns true she did not know, but it
is also true that if she had known of
then she would only here Bald, "`lay
James? 4u(1 why 1101 Mtay James?" Paul
13a11 would have told her if there was any-
thing to tell. Dot then Paul Ball was
away. Once, indeed, she had asked ,irate
thew if he did not think May James good•
looking, and he hail said, "Yes, certainly,"
which meant rather less than nothtng; it
was his habitual formula of assort. This
was a few days before that moment's epi.
soda at tine ebone h gate.
The new sweetness of May's voioe, that
was what haunted Matthew; he had sur-
prised an unexpected nymph in a familiar
shrine. For many days it had sat there
and adored him, evading notice. What
wonlcl be the issue of his rrlooguition?
Hid it been real recognition, the issue
• would probably have been different ; real
recognition of her love for him would have
made Matthew continae much as he had
' been. He would 'have perceived that he had
charmed her, that his loneliness, his youth,
his absorption in music, his careless aocep-
j ration of her beauty and her company had,
' all of them, while not without a certain
sharpness and sting, combined to make her
• his. Ho would have just gone on accepting
I till some quiet evening when he would have
• asked her with a moment's condescension -
being stone no nnoro-to accept him instead ;
and then he would have resumed his old at-
titude, and taken her love for granted. tt ith
this discretion he might have held her fancy
all his life.
As it was, lie recognized that she was
beautiful, and uiguified, and gentle -and a
little older than himself. IL was presump.
kiwis of him to aspire, selfish to disturb her
peaceful days. He must set himself to work
to win her 1 He was sure that site would
please his mother, and to love her for him-
self would bo an easy task, if he roused him.
self a bit and gave his mind to that and
nothing else.
Slowly and deeply this resolve fell from
his brain into his heart. That she had ex.
haunted a whole history of romance and af-
fection about him in silence, never occurred
to his mind, Her constant presence he put
clown to her oaring for his music, for she
knew just enough about music not to seem
quite dense to hila who knew so much 1 he
filled ftp her shortcomings to himself. That
was smoothing to begin upon ; ho would do.
teal; himself from 1710 Own pursuit of mune
to encourage bars. In fine, he would apply
himself to woo her, according to his lights,
He did so, and with what result? The
first time he seemed to attend to some re.
maric of hors which he wonlcl ordinarily
have let slip, she felt 00 instant's piea5n17e
-a relief. It woe not en intense pleasure,
though his ordinrry negligence would have
been an intense pain, but lrtill it was a plea.
curable sensation. Tho second Chula he did
it, she felt it more like au offence. Was it
a tria1-? Was he trying to die000r hor
secret? She resented this attendance; it
was 0.0 if 110 was appraising her. Then sho
gradually became eorlgcloua, 10 he did it
often,of rolievedtension of mind -of getting
back to herself, of ceasing to strain after
him. And then her daily duties began to
wear their old aspect.
The following afternoon, contrary to his
wont, Ile called! and asked her to show him
morn of the garden, her favorite spots, that
point of view whenoo the old down was to
be aeon towards Aldershot. As they walk-
ed along the terrace, She picket l a few
powers, as her habit was of old -a habit sho
had lately rather rolinqui8hod,walking with
clenched hands. Her heart had felt 80
//Utley that it tightened her grasp. Now
eh, began to loose it as if tho love that had
been gush a pregame et her heart was 11111 -
sing out at her finger-tips, and obo gather-
ed hero a rose and here some white verbena,
,Matthew admired her very much ; ho began
with hie 8oborly fervent nature to be great.
ly fn love,
"I ventured to bring you a little book,"
ho said, "it is in the hall ; a language of
flowers." I:Io spoke- to her with diffidence.
A week ago a gift frau Mtn would have
Noon one of her dreame, but now elm could
smile easily end answer . Oh 1 thank you.
But I have always rather disliked the tan.
gunge of flowers. A flower gays something
or nothing ; it hoe no printed le0ning. I
wmldar what your hook would flay, though,
of these? They aro absolutely Iocidontal,"
"I will go and tetol) it,"0af(1 Matthew.
" Wnilfor me stere on thht spot, with tiro
roses and white Yorbola in your !rand• liko
that,"
TR FP,
BRUSSELS POST.
Tho 1'egtlegt 01'4(I 80 0111 Of Iiia 11811141 man.
um, that May almosthated hint for malting
it. Flo, the Hairy prince, tin' adolmd,the1111'
approaeltable, wa0110 toj411111)1lolvll1'veto 1.,o
pedestal and skip about like tide? A enol.
nese, 1(lisgnit--yes, absolntely a disgust -
cane over her a0 he ;'tut qulekly back across
the larva with the horrid little common.
61,1111, They looked out the 1101101 atngether,
side by side,
" Hoses," she oaid; " oar ! there are a hum.
ch'e,l111eanfn„s, Beauty, beauty, beauty
that is all they say, 1Vhat le white vets,
bane?"
" White Verbena--geusibilit ,'" he
read ; " those flowers are )ilia In0ya1111 '0u
y
"oh 7" said May, her feeling of (Beep.
poilltmenl and auger finding vent in rude-
ness, "what naneemse ! Let 1110 Bee 007110
other flowers here is n "floral letter,"
Did ever any one read 811011 an affair?-" I
havo Marvel of Peru and Marjoram ; 111ave
no ylustard seed, but a great deal of Mug,
wort' tI apt sums I an glad to heat' it); 'f am
almost. Syrian ll,llow. 1+x04181, 111y lloscha-
tel' I have Mushroom lest you should not
Mallow.' Heavens 1 what it boquot ! It's
like a declaration front Bedlam 1"
"It all means something," said Matthew,
deeply ohagrined and angry with the ridic-
ulous boon, 11(011511 b0 lad 111) sense of 111101,w,
See ! It means ' 1 have 'Avidity and
Blushes ; I havo no Want of Affection, but
1a great deal of Happiness ; I am almost Con-
sumed by Lovo, 3:xeuoe my Weakness. 1
have a Suspiefon lest you should not Lite
for me l' and it _'ons on, ' Jlczereon ; Milk
' \- etch '-look ! all beginning with 141 ! "
"00, stop 1 " said May, ' Von spoil my
Alugtrort with your (-'hiekweed Mouse -oar."
''Your 'Happiness ' with my 'IOgelil0ns
• Sinl,llioity,'" Matthew translated slowly.
• Ho really thought the little book 1.00 inter.
• eating. Perhaps it was an old English cus-
tom to discourse with ones beloved like this.
To May it '11050 more blasphemous than a
0111118.,
("To thin!; that I have only been seeking
Mngwort I " she said in her heart.)
"How quiek you 01010?" he went; on, not
detach,ng his hands from the book which
she still held. "flow quick you always are,
•though so rho first Sun(ley, although 1
w'i so ,lull in myself that I had hardly
. looted atyou-I did not see how exquisite
you a ^re. How long your eyelashes aro!
they w "1'tlet 1110 see your eyes -your beau-
tiful e3 es that have never been turned
away from mo!"
"Don't," said May, in a low voice. It
01.105 a5 if cheap realization were spoiling
some rare ideal. "Let ace look at 0om0
more ' floral letters' --they amuse me im-
mensely."
I He tuns 1101 prosumptnons enough; he did
not push the subject. Even yet sho hail
I not got far enough away from her late feel-
ing for him to have been quite her own
mistress, had he persued her. But he was
too sympathetic and gentle. He gave way
at once to her apparent wish to be let alone,
but he gavo way 1, ih the air of one who
knows he is no. unwelcome. Nor could
anything have charmed hint more t1,an her
manner. He set it ;town to shyness, to ca•
price, to alt sorts of thinge that ho thought
roost atUuctivo. His pulse quickened,
al hen he went away that afternoon he woe
maty fathoms deep in love: but it seemed
to \lay as if he took with him, like a
plucked -up aeon, the love that she had
borne hila- a love which, not uprooted by
such handling, might have grown
sheltering tree.
01,, the sorrows and the joys of our wak-
1 fag dreams, which are so independent of
the truth 1 Oh, the Louth of the real --
the unlike touch -at which they crumble !
the poet. senseless ashes of them dead 1
CHAPTER V.
"a'AFCX men.
What had she done? In what quagmire
of uncertainty and compromise had she
landed herself? When Matthew was gone,
still wearing that impertinent air of self-
assurance whioh sat so newly 011 ititn, 0110
went indoors in his track as before, but
not to dream over his card. She sat down at
her waiting -table, whioh stood near thewin-
dow, and tried to realize what had occurred.
Her prevailing conviction \vas that she had
been dishonest to herself. She had never
had mtloh 041180 to consider any one but
herself, and all her life long sho had been
her own law ; the consideration that her
father exacted lie also controlled -there
was no need to think about thou. lint now
he.r'self--hr•r suddenly most cleat' and pre-
cious self, what had she done with it, and
what should aha do?
The fact was this; twenty-eight years of
girlhood ha11/red in her something more than
amorcterror of chlutee; she was almost wholly
free from senthlremal longings; she slid 1101
care for love, But, momentarily bored by
the 141on01011yorh' life, women tal'ilypiqued
by a 01101100 ward that lnu't her vanity, she
had violently set her foes towards the pur-
pose of marriage. She had flung herself into
a love -dream, and at that moment she had
eheneetl to encounter Matthew, He had
given her sufficient scope -"no encourage-
ment" she murmured to herself -"never any
encouragement at all" -and she had dove
more than elm 111ea111 t0 do, said more than
sho thought. Deliberately ale rometnbefod,
with a het blue,,, bow time and again, sho
had opened his eyes to the tact of her car-
ing -ani tryin_' to convince herself at the
sane tinges! l';.'w he had faced about like
a child who want, to nnderetand something
you have dangled before him, or apemen who
wants to solve ,a 0oetel whioh you have
pleaded guilty that you know although you
never mean to tell, and which really you
don't know at all. "And I do not nano for
him 0110 little bit," she said to herself des-
perately; then, to her own surprise, she got
up and flung the "Language of Flowers"
out of the window. Abominable li'tle
tokelll it was such a scourge to Igor she
could not hoar it in the room. A toile a
moment 1 That was the rate at whioh she
felt her heart was travelling away from
Matthew, Noticing is so swift (a0 reaction ;
00 throw of her own will could have carried
it so feat and far as its rebound from the
Iron wall of reality which it streak, the
hateful wall of another's will.
The whole thong looked oosatisfactory ;
sho suddenly saw it 411 quite plelniy ; silo
was simple and loyal by nature ; if lie pro-
posed to hor she would have to marry loin
to 001(0 her pride. The Moo that he should
ever say -that he should oven know in his
heaet-chat she had been 1t fool by her own
choice, was 0(101(811 to make hor attempt to
keep 11p the show of bee folly all her lite
after and call it wisdom. We suffer the re-
venge of our purpo,um as well as of our 00'
tions, Sho was in the dreadful position of a
person who loathes to do tho very thing that
every ono oleo would congratulate him on
(laving lx'oneht ahaut, She could hoar whet
people wonlcl gay -that sho had "°might
hint, that mho was "in hulk,' He weulrl
be pitied for having married Sono one
years older than himself; ho amid earn
in have yielded to ler wish, expressed or
unexpreeeed ; 110 doubt he seemed to him.
self 11, 0.c 1 n yi''(11n'. And sho could not
withdraw, Sho had no jot or tittle of ria
liking for 111111 in het' veins, and sho know
tutu 1Ilatif she leaned him: she would
abhor him wf l.hout. revile OV regret, She
would hate his ;tingle, for whioh he really
oared all and she oared nothing ; lint she
would hale worst of all hie love of her, for
which he wield indeed never himself care
much, while siao 71115111 leave eared all, had
thins been different. lied ho but loved
her first !-110 it w0711,1 always have been
the ammo --always distasteful.
Her instinct was to go ; but whither ?
;hr had so how Mende, no coufidonto,
With a littlequiolt smile that was half
auger, sho thought of Paul 13,11. " I sup-
pose aIle is Tilburiva's confidante, ' mad 1n1
white muslin,' in this 0800," 8110 thought,
She could not help wishing that bliss Paul
Bal) st'ae not away. flat she 11/1113 11011` tat
Ilolfordsleigil with little Egypt, Holfords-
leig�.h ! could she not got there herself ?
Lady Iiolfo'd had always been kind to her
and indeed it ons front her own introduc-
tion that Alias Rall hail been first invited
;hero.
Ia wonder if she would ask me for a few
days."
She opined her writing -case as site
lifted up her fair head from her hands.
She would write to Lady Holford. No I
she would get Paul 13411 to sonnei her first,
Paul Ball liked to have a mission, and here
0100 a little ln1801011 for her where she Bald
do no alarm. Sim would send a lino first to
(1-iiss 13a11.
"Wondshot Lodge," she wrote in her
1rm, clear haul, and then - the date,
"Dearest Paul 1" There 1 that was extrla
affectionate; sho world even pat le dash
under "Dearest;" her affection moulted in
proportion to her wish for escape. los,
' Dearest Paul, -I miss you unite dread.
fully ; Sunday afternoon was 0 blank ; why
shouldn't I collo to you las you are away
from me? Papa has to be away some clays-
he le going shooting (a son ago !)--.--"
When teas ft Ler fathar w118 going shooting?
She had forgotten, bet his midday rest
would be just over now ; he had been sleep•
ing peacefully on a babe while she had been
torturing her heart and her consoienoo all
this while ; she would go up -stairs and ask
him. She pushed the writing•ooso aside,
leaving the boldly written note to dry 7 it
world look bad to blot It, so that Paul
oonld see she had hesitated at her date !
Tea? Oh 1 for once she could not care for tea ;
she thought she hoard the maid bestirring
herself about it; she ran 1p•stairs to her
father by a beak staircase without crossing
the hall
Had she crossed the hall she would have
enco'mterod, not the staid, but Matthew.
Afterbalf•an-ho,r's deliberation and nail -
gnawing among the rhododendrons, he had
51700 with the resolve to put his future to
the test, to see Mr, James when he should
have recovered from his sleep. He would
wish to speak to him before he spoke to
May. The 11011 door was open ; he went
into the houeo without riogi,g. Ho con.
geatnlate(1 himself greatly of this. May
was always in the garden ; he would wait
m the drawing -room till lir. James
Dante down, and Meet him, as if he had just
taken leave of lIay. He did not wish to
speak to her, and the could sit in tie draw-
ing -room, at that table near the window,
till Mr. James cause down, and watch her
lounging in the ga'den with her book -no
doubt she would bo reading the little
" Language of Flowers."
Ho crept into the room lost she should
turn hor head towards the ho18e and see
him ; ho sat down at the table near the
window. Ho slid not sea May ; she was
up -Stairs with her father. What id
see was not reassuring. He sOW the
" Language of .Plowore' on the gravel
path, where it had been flung oft of the
window, lying open and bruised by The
force of its flinging. A certain sharpness
of his artistic perception told him that it
had met with a scurvy welcome. Bewil-
dered, he glanced Clown on the writing -
table before hien, for ho had placed himself
in May's own chair ; ho could not help de-
ciphering ler clear handwriting ; it forced
itself upon his eyes; he read it; "Dear-
est Paul 1" He looked a few linos on, he
did not touch the note, he did not turd the
page. Ho felt his breath catch quickly, as
if he had been shot; his heart seemed to
leap up within his body, anncl the tears
stood in his eyes, A sharp, clear thrust
`. Boon over.
He caught up his )tat and ran out of the
'window ; he know his way round the
house. -flay James came down, disap.
pointed; her father had made 110 certain
plans ; she could not finish her ]note to
Miss Ball for the present, She took it
mechanically in her hand and tore it up.
She never 7111010' whose eyes, whose eyes
alone, that note had met, or how dearly
well it had sowed its tarn.
Abort au hour later, to her very great
surprise, to her never-ending relief she re•
ceived a letter floe 1,Iattllew de Nisotes;
for some reason or other unknown to herself
she never destroyed it; it was the only letter
she oeor received from him. It ran as fol.
lows: -
"Dann Miss JA3rEa,-I hear that the
W'ooclshob organist is quite well again and
will bo able to r05un10 her duties. I am
surd yon will believe me when I tell you
that Illy chief pleasure here te00 00111i1ng Over
to take her place en Sentlays. I have note
lost that axone° for costing, and' -somehow
-I darn not hope that I have boon weloum•
ed for myself? So now I go to London aid
thenoo abroad; but should you wish to dig.
pose of mo, a uoto to Cllurnhorougll would
always tied rno.
"Yours to command,
"`i,t22nlev 1111 I\'rsaiks,"
May picked up the "Language of Flow-
ers" and smoothed its ruffled leaves; she
stood 01111 an instant, then she rang the hell
for her tee, and enjoyed it; she also added
somethin�gg tc ler diener. Site was herself
again. She meddled with fortune no more.
And if in after years she regretted hlattltew,
it was with at indefinite longing, not, pain.
ful-tampered a good deal by the remem-
brance that he had loved hor as wall a0 he
could love. -[Temple Bar.
1271E 100'11,7
In Extreme.
I3ow can Igo tato the dark,
Away from your olnsping hold,
Sot sell of ashadowy hark
For tlloehoro of an unknown land?
Your oyes look lovo into mine ;
Yotn' lips are warm pinny 111011tH;
I drinl1 your breath lute a whe
Aglow with the atm of the Smith
Yoe have made this world so door l
Ifnw can I go forth aloe
In the Hark that phantoms steer
To a port afar and unknown?
The desperate 111011 of the dead -
Will they hustle 1110 to and fro,
Or leave me alone to tread
!Cho path of any infinite woo
Shall T cry in Lorre' 0ndp0in
For it death that 1 can not, die,
And pray with "longing vain
To the gods that mock my orY
011.11014 me cineol', my dear 1
Strong is your cheep -nye strong --
Mt stronger the tenet, that fear,
And the darkness to coni. In long.
LOCIBE CIIAYDLEIo IIDt'LTo1 ,
Player and Potatoes.
"If ,brother oeeistor bona koil, and deeti-
tute of daily food, and one of you say tut11,
then, ' Depart in peace, 1,0 ye warned and
ill loll ;' notwithstanding yo give them not
those things wWuh are needful for the body ;
what ;loth it profit 1" --•James 17., 15--10.
A11 1,1,1 lady oat in her old oral ^1101r,
With wrinkled visage and dishoi'olled hair,
And lunge' -worn lingers ;
For days and for weeks her only fare,
As she eat in her old ,rill-Ohail',
Had been potatoes.
But now they are gone ; of had or good,
Not one WAS loft, for the old lady's food,
Of those potatoes ;
And she sighed and said, " What shall I
do?
Whore shall I semi, o1 to whom shall I go
For potatoes?"
And she thought of the deacon over the
way,
The deacon so ready to worship del pray,
Whose cellar was full of potatoes.
And she said, " I will send for the deacon
to come ;
He'll not mind much to give me some
Of such a store of potatoes," •
And the deacon dame over as fast as lie
could,
Thinking to do the old lady sono good,
13u 1101'01 thought ono' of potatoes.
He asked her at (11150 what was her chief
want
And 8110, simple soul, expecting a grant.
Imnlodiat ely answered, " potatoes."
But the (100001'0 religion didn't lie that
way ;
IIo was 111010 accustomed to preach and
pray,
Than to give up his hoarded potatoes.
So, not hearing, of mousse, what the 01,1 lady
said,
Ho rose to pray with Uncovered head,
But she only thought of potatoes.
Ho prayed for patience, and wisdom and
grace,
But when be prayed, " Lord give her peace,"
Sho audibly sighed "give potatoes."
And at the end of each prayer whioh ho
said,
He heard, or thought that he heard, in its
stead
The 0(0010 request for potatoes.
The deacon WAS troubled; knew not what
to do ;
'Twas very embarrassing to have her act as
Abont those " carnal potatoes 1"
So ending his :prayer ho stud tet] for home;
1301 as the door closed behind him, he heard
0 deepgroau,
"0 give tb the hungry, potatoes 1"
And that groan followed hila all the way
hone,
In the midst of tho night it hatted his
room ;
" 0 give to the hungry, potatoes 1"
He could betrit no longer ; arose and dress-
ed ;
From his will -filled Geller taking in haste
A bag of his best potatoes.
Again he went to the widow's lone hut;
Her sleepless eyes she had not yet shut;
Bob there she sat in her old arm -chair,
With the stone won features, the saute sad
And entering in he poured on the floor,
A bushel or More from his goodly store
Of choicest potatoes.
Tho widow's heart leaped for joy,
Her faoe was haggard and wan no more,
"Now," said the deacon," "eha11 WO
pray ?"
"S'es, ' said the widow, "now you may."
And hhim
o kneeled down on the sanded
floor,
Where ale ba(1 poured the goodly store,
And such a prayer the deacon prayed
As never before his lips essayed ;
No longer embarrassed, but free and full,
He poured out at the voice of a liberal soul,
And the widow responded aloud
" 0111011 ;"
But said no more of " potatoes."
And would yon who hear this simple tale,
Pray for the poor, their wants and needs ;
Pray for piaci, and grace, and spiritual
food,
For wisdom and guidanoe, for all those are
goon,
But don't forget the potatoes.
-{Anon.
Tho Needle and Thread Tree.
That there are more wonder's on the earth
in the sen, "beneath tine earth," and in the
sky above it than ever Horatio imagined,
it 10 a well known foot which that worthy's
most ardent admirers will not attempt to
deny. Take for an instance the famous
needle -and -thread tree, Imagine Buell a
luxury and the delights of going otit to
your tree and plucking it. needle threaded
all ready fel. ase 1 Odd as it may seem to us
there is, on the `,lexiee.n pitting, just such a
forest growth. The '' tree" may not exact]•
ly be a tree in rho true geese of the word,
partaking as it does more of the nature
a11(l characteristic% of to gigaotio species of
asparagus. Dims largo, think, fleshy leaves,
such as would remind one of rho cactus,
especially of the one popularly known as
"prickly pear. Thu " needles" of the
needle -and -thread tree are set along the
edges of these thick, fleshy leaves. In
order to obtain one fully equipped for 05win
it is only neoo00ary to push the 'noodle"
gently backwards into the fleshy sheath,
(this to loosen it from the tough outside
0ovoring of the leaf), end then pull it gently
from the socket. If this operation be prop-
erly carried out, 100 or more fine fibres ad.
here to the thorn like 00 many spider wpbs,
By twisting the "needle " during the draw.
ing operation the thread can be made of any
length desired. The action of the air on
the fibres toughens them amazingly, a thread
from it not larger than common No. 40 be-
ing capable of sustaining a weight of five
pounds; about three times time tensile
strength of c common "six -cord" spool
cotton
Sheep as Beasts of Burden.
Sheep aro not commonly regarded as use-
ful as beasts of burden, but 111 a large part
of Northwestern India thousands of sheep
carry for many mhos the commodities
that aro ppurchased by rho sale of their own
wool, Tite mountain paths among the foot.
hills of tho H4malayas aro so precipitous
that the sheep, more surefooted than lager
beasts, aro proferred as burden oarriora.
The load for each sheep is from sixteen to
twenty pounds.
.. ,a -,.•.vacs---. tcz� ,
Didn't JKnew, the Btisinese'
Lovi, Jr.-" Folder, do aholntiom0ns vat
pays to diamond engagementringye8to'day
0011108 py to store Ln -day ant pawned it,'
Lova, Sr,-" How vas ho look? "
Levi, Jo' -''Ail probe up,"
Levi, Sr.-, 1'111 yon nolo' ,earn to take
intu me& in to bizness ? Vy didn't you try
to 8011 to gentleman a pistol,
MAY 27 1892,
HEALTH.
(Dare anti Oattivation of the Hair.
An eminent authority on the care and
miltN ,tion of the 111471 says, that cutting
111111 shaving 1411^y for the tame in0'01010 the
withal al the 7,rowth, but 11 Atte no permit..
eat effect either upon the hair -gee, and will
not in any way add to the fife of rho hair,
On the contrary, cutting and shaving will
001100 (ho hair 10 51011 101,511' for the time
being, but hi the end will 11101'ittah13' short-
en 110 farm of life by exhausting the multi•
give action of the hair -Torn» ng apparatus.
When 1110 hairs are frequently out, they
will nsusily beeom0 caareer, often
losing the beautiful gloss of the flno
and delicate hairs. The pigment will
likewise change -brown, for indtenee,
becoming the chestnut, awl black 0langi11g
to dark brown. In addition, the ends of
very many wilt be split end ragged, presolt-
ing n brush -like appearance, 1f the hairs
appear stented in their growth upon p0r.
Mons of the eerily or beard, or gray hairs
arop up hero and there, the method of clip-
ping off the ends of the short hairs, of pluek-
mg out the ragged, withered, and gray
hairs, will allow them to grow stronger,
and thicker.
.1/others, in rearing their o1ilrlren,sleukl
nob out their hair at certain periods of the
year (during the superstitious period of full
moon), in order to fnorease it0 length and
luxuriance as they bloom into womanhood
or manhood. This habit of cutting the
hair of ol;ildren orange ovil in place of
good, and f0 also condemned by the die.
tulguished workor in this department, Pro -
hisser Kaposi, of Vienna, who states that it
is well known that the hair of women who
possess luxuriant locks from too time of
girlhood never main attains its original
length after having once been ant, Pincus
has made the same observation by frequent
experiment, and he add0 that there 10(0500'
011(1 IlplhlIlIll 01101 f,'oqoi'ot (1111(1)5 of the hair
increases its length ; bub the edea; is differ-
ent from that generally supposed. Tits,
upon one occasion, ho states that he
out orf oircles of hair an inch in diameter
on the heals of healthy men, and from
week to week compared the Intensity of
growth of the shorn plane with the rest
of the hair, The result wee 0nr-
prising to Lhis close and careful observer, as
he found in some cries the lumnbcl's were
equal, but generally the growth became
slower 0ftee cutting, and ha has never ob-
served an increase in rapidity.
The Banana.
The banana, notwithstanding certain pre-
judices to the contrary, is among rho most
val,able and nutritious Poole. Primitive
man in tropical countries is said to have
subsisted mainly upon this fruit, and the
savage of the sea islands owes to It his phys-
ical power. The claim is made and sup-
ported by reliable authority that bananas
contain all the essential elements of nutri-
tion, and that if necessary life can be sus-
tained by an exclusive diet of this fruit.
What has not been generally known
is the fact that the banana is a developed
tropical lily from which by ages of cultiva-
tion the seeds have been eliminated and the
fruit greatly expanded. Thus the Serip-
tur' kd511ed, "Thou shalt feed among the
lilies."
Ingrawiug Nazi,
In the treatment of an ingrown nail, good
results have followed theme of salicylic acid.
The flesh which has grown over and
upon the nail can be removed by the
application of a mixture of two drachms of
salicylic acid to one ounce of vasolino, This.
must be applied deity.
13efo'ereepplying the ointment each day,
it trill be necessary to remove a portion of
tho overgrown flash, whioh comes off nosily
and without pain. In a few clays it will
thusho entirely destroyed; also, at the some-
time and daily, put a small pledget of ab•
sorbeut cotton under the ingrown nail.
The nail must not be out or trimmed. It
may require a considerable time to bring
about a cure in this way, but relief is per.
maent. This method of treatment has
succeeded in the writer's practice where
many other plans, including bultion, have -
failed.
The Oouoh,
A room without a couch of some sort is
only half furnished. Life is fa11 of ups and
dowvs, and all that saves the sanity of the
mentally jaded and physically exhausted
fortune fighter is the periodical food cry,
and the momentary loss of aoneeiousness 1,u
the up -stairs lounge, or the old sofa in the
sitting -room. There are times when so
many of the things that distract us could
be straightened out, and the way made•
clear, if one only had a long, comfortable
conch on whose soft bosom he could throw
himself, boots and brains, stretch his weary
frame, unmindful of tidies and tapestry,
close his tired oyes, relax the tension of his
mueolee, and give his harassed mind a
chance. Ton minutes of this soothing nor.
00110, whenthe hoed throbs, the soul
yearns for endless, dreamless, eternal root,
would make the vision clear, the nerves
steady, the heartlight, and the star of hope
shine again,
There isn't a doubt bat the longing to die
is mistaken for the gleed of a nap. instead
of the immortality of the soul, business men
and worlcing-women want regular end sys-
tematic doses of closing, and after a mossy
bank in the shade of an old oalc, that sute-
000diugJun sshaveconverted intoatonenlont
of song birds, there is nothing that can 0p•
preach a big sofa or a low, long oouoh plac-
ed in a corner whore tired nature can turn
her face to the wall and sleep and dose away
the gloom.
The Order of the Garter.
Tho garter is of Clark blue, edged with
gold, and hears fit gold litters the familiar
motto, " Honi snit qui mal y pause." The
httokle fs of gold, and is richly chased.
This emblem is worn on the left leg. it is
permissible for a knight of the order to on-
rioh the garter with precious stones, if he
so plows. That worn by Charles I. at his
execution waw, 1t 18 stated, iuwovcn with
as many au four hundred diamonds -.a lux-
ury indulged in, though to a loss extrava-
gant oxtont, by several eempalion0 of the
order of the present day. The nlantlois of
purple velvet ; while the hood and furo001
aro of atmihar tn0terial, hot of crimson
color, Formerly these vostnrou wore cover-
ed, or " powdered," as it was termed, with
garters containing the motto. The collar
oensists of twenty.six gold pieties, oath fn
the form of It garter, and from rho centro
piece hangs what is familiarly known as the
George,' which is a figure in gold of tilt.
(Merge on horseback encountering tato dra-
gon. Sino° tho year 1510, however, it has
boon the custom on state cuessibns to die.
po»0o with tato wearingof thin figure, whi0h
is somewhat heavy mid large in 441/0, std to
weal' in its place w'lat, is styled the " looser
tloorgo,"on ornament of smeller size anti
weight. Tim star is of silver, of simple
design, and consists of eight points,