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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1921-09-30, Page 71 `Teat. o By Frwees Redeem Barnett Toronto—William Briggs. Stet g6s: �Pean.tt#a.. IIn mastitis Ping apps. at4o and a Palos. 41tN ortwoDR. MILE' £ i-PAiltl i!M IAs 'mud the pain .Is gone. , Guaranteed sail nisi flute. $riot, 30c. Bold in eleafarth_by t E. vis LCH, Phos a i He's an American, isn't bee The loaf heir who had 'to besought for I high and low—prjnci-sally low, T un - f deretand." , �'he beef tea was excellently sav- , cry, the fire was warty,. end relief from two weeks of pain left a sort I of Nirvana of peace. Rarely had the 1 duke passed a more delightfully en- tertaining morning. There was a richness in the Temple Barholm sit- uation as described 1n detail by Mrs. Braddle, which filled' him with de- light. His regret that he was not a writing person -intensified itself. Am- ericans itad not appeared ,'upon the horizon in Miss Mitford'e time, or in Mise Austen's,. or in the Brontes' the type not having entirely detach- ed itself from that of the red Indian. It struck him, however, that Miss Austen might have done the best work with tthis affair if she had sur- vived beyond her period. Her finely demure and sly sense of humor would 'have seen and seized upon its opportunities. Stark moorland life shad not encouraged humor in the Brontes, and Village .patronage had not roused .in Miss Mitford a sense of ironic contrasts. Yes, Jane Austen would have done it best. • That the story should be related by Mrs. !Braddle gave it extraordinary flavor. No man or woman of his btvn class could have given such a recounting, or revealed so many facets of this jewel of entertainment. He and those like him could have seen the thing only from their own amus- ed, outraged, bewildered, or cynically disgusted point of view. Mrs. Braddle sew it as the villagers saw it-- ci ex ted carica r s sec ell ba eful Y P of undue lavishness from "a chap as had nivver had brass before an' wants to chuck it away for brag's sake," or somewhat alarmed at the possible neglecting of customs and privileges by a person ignorant of memorial benefactions. She saw it as the servants saw it—secretly dis- dainful, outwardly respectful, wait- ing to discover whether the sacrifice of •professional distinction would 'be balanced by liberties permitted and lavishness of remuneration and largess. She saw it also from her own point of view—that of a respect- able cottage dweller whose great - great -grandfather had been born in a black-andLwhite timbered house in a green lane, and who knew what were "gentry ways" and what na- ture of being could never even re- motely approach the assumption of them. She had seen Tembarom more than once, and summed him up by no means ill-naturcdly. "He's not such a bad-lookin' chap. He is na short -legged or turn -up - nosed, an' that's summat. He con stride along, an' he looks healthy enow for aw he's thin. A thin chap niWer looks as common as a fat un. If he wur pudgy, it ud be a lot more agen him." "I think, perhaps," amiably re- marked the duke, sipping his beef tea, "that you had better not call him a 'chap; Braddle. The late Mr. Temple Barholm was never re- ferred to as a 'chap' exactly, was ire?" Mrs. Braddle gave vent to a sort of internal -sounding chuckle. She had not meant to be impertinent, and she knew her charge was aware that she had hat, and that he was neither being lofty or severe with her. "Eh, I'd 'a' loiked to ha' heard somebody do it when he was nigh," she said. "Happen I'd better be ntoindin' ma P's an' Q's a bit store. But that's what this uh is, yore Grace. Re's a `chap' out an' out. An' theer's some as is aayin' he's not a bad sort of a chap either. There's -lots o' funny stories about hitn in' Temple Barhohn village. He goes in to tie cottages now an' then, an' though a fool could see he does na know his place, nor other people's, he's down- reet open.handed. An' he maks foak laugh. He took a lot o' New York papers.wi' big pictures in 'em to lit- tle Tummas Hibblethwaite. An' wot does tha think he did one rainy day? He walks in to. the owd Dibdens' cottage, an' sits down betwixt 'ent as they sit one each side o' th' f're, an' he tells 'em they've got to cheer him up a bit beeps he's got nought to do. An' he shows 'em til' picter- papers, too, an' tells 'em about New York, an' he ends up wi' singin' 'em a comic song. They were frightened out o' their wits at first, but some- how he got over 'em, an' made 'em laugh their owe heads nigh off." Her charge laid his spoon down, and his shrewd, lined face assumed a new expression of interest. "Did he! Did he, indeed!" he ex- claimed. "Good Lord! what an ex- hilarating person! I meet go and see him. Perhaps he'd make me laugh my `owd head nigh off.' Wlhat a sensation!" There was really immense color in the anecdotes •and in the aide views accompanying ,them; the rout- ing out of her obscurity of the iso- lated, dependent spinster relative, for instance. Delicious! The man was either desperate with loneliness or he was one of the rough -diamond bene- factors favored by novelists, in which latter ease he -would not be so entertaining. Pure self-interest caused the Duke of Stone quite un- reservedly to Shope that he was an- guished by the unaccustomedness of his surroundings, and was ready to pour himself forth to any one who would listen. There would be orig- inality in such a situation, and one could draw forth revelations worth forming an audience to, He himself had thought that the volte-face such circumstances demanded would sure- ly leave a man staring at things for- eign enough to bore him. This, in- deed, had been one of hie cherished theories; but the only man he had ever encountered who had become a sort of mr�illionaire between one day and anoiliRr had been an appalling i'lfork !ilea rau, Wile hid ao eactraor4brery luck with diamond. brei- Mines in h Afrlose end he 'beep s op)y dmale With pScWtaratio }n4 the delight of spending mon With both hands, While he fl!<urethrol slapped an the hook persona who six ' weeks. before would have kicked him for doing it. c Thep man did not appear' to be ex: cited. The duke mentally rocked with gleeful appretdetion of certain (Continued from last week.) CHAPTER XXIII. The man who in all England was most deeply submerged in deadly boredom was, the old Duke of Stone said with wearied finelity, bimmelf. He had been a sinful young manof finished taste in 1820• be had cultivat- ed these tastes, which were for liter- ature and art and divers other things, in the most richly alluring foreign capitals until finding himself becom- ing an equally sinful and finished elderly man, he'had decided to marry. After the birth of her four daughters, his wife had died and left them on his hands. Developing at that time a tendency to rheumatic gout and a daily increasing realization of the fact that the resources of a poor duke- dom may be hgpelessly depleted by an expensive youth passed brilliantly in Vienna, Paris, Berlin, and London, when it was endurable, he found it expedient to give up what he consid- ered the necessities of life and to face existence in the country in England. It is not imperative that one should enter into detail. There was much, and it covered years during which his four daughters grew up and he "grew down," as he called it. If his temper had originally been a bad one, it would doubtless have become un- • bearable; as he had been born an amiable er n p ao he merely sank into the boredom which threatens extinc- tion. His girls bored him, his neigh- bors bored him, Stone Hover bored him, Lancashire bored him, England had always bored him except at ab- normal moments. "I read a great deal, I walk when I can," this he wrote once to a friend in Rome. "When I am too stiff with rheumatic gout, I drive myself about in a pony chaise and feel like an aunt in a Bath chair. I have so far escap- ed the actual chair itself. It perpetua- ally rains here, I may mention, so I don't get out often. You who gallop on white roads in the sunshine and hear Ita::.in voices and vowels, figure to yours •If your friend trundelling through ,'amp, lead -colored Lanca- shire lana and being addressed in the Lance.. hire dialect. But so am I driven by necessity that. I listen to it gratefully. I want to hear village news from villagers. I have become a grasip. It is a wonderful thing to be a gossip It assists one to get through ont's declining years. Do not wait so long as I did before be- coming one. Beginin your roseate middle age." ' An attack of gout more severe than usual had confined him to his room for some time after the arrival of the new owner of Temple Barholm. He had, in fact, been so far indis- posed that a week or two had passed before he had heard of him. His favorite nurse had been chosen by him, because she was a comfortable village woman whom he had taught to lay aside her proper awe and talk to him about her own affairs and her neighbors when he was in the mood to listen. She spoke the broadest possible dialect,—he liked dialect, having learned much in his youth from mellow -eyed Neapolitan and Tuscan girls,—and she had never been near a hospital, but had been trained by the bedsides of her chil- dren and neighbors. "If I were .4 writing person, she would become literature, impinging upon Miss i, itford's tales of 'Our Village,' Miss Austen's varieties, and the young Bronte woman's 'Wuther- ing Heights.' Mon Dieu! what a resource it would be to be a writing person!" he wrote to the Roman friend. To his daughters he said: "She brings back my tenderest youth. When she pokes the fire in the twilight and lumbers about the room, making me comfortable, I lie in my bed and watch the flames dancing on the ceiling and feel as if I were six and had the measles. She tucks me in, my dears—she tucks me in, I assure you. Sometimes I feel it quite possible that she will bend •ver and kiss me." She had tucked him in luxuriously in his arm -chair by the fire on the first day of his convalescence, and as she gave him his. tray, with his beef tea and toast, he saw that she contained anecdotal information of interest which tactful encouragement would cause to flow. "Now that I am well enough to be entertained, Braddle," he said, "tell me what has been happening." "A graidely lot, yore Grace," she answered; "but not somuch i' Stone Barholm. as i' Temple He's eoomi" Then the duke vaguely recalled rumors he had heard sometime be- fore his indisposition. "The new Mr. Temple Barholm? Everybody knows that in Canada there are more Templeton's Rheumatic Capsules Sold than all other Rheumatic Remedies combined fol. Rheu- matism, Neuritis, Neuralgia, Sciati Ic e, Lilmbago, etc. Mas.y doctors prescribe them, most drag/jute sea them. Write for free trial Templeton, Toronto. Sold by E, Umbacb' in Walton by W. 0. Nast. °� Husband's; Wilt has tl er ze Seafoll' a $• syle: "Ad#erd-ka helps; . wee. tee rags pp t stomach and y stomach is W 'tY MINUTF . wonky beyoa g'eatest expectation..' Adler-1-ks acts on BOTH upper end lower bowel removing foul mattes which poisoned atenutc,h. Brings out all ggaasnses aad sour, decaying food, EXCELLENT for ,chronic concisp-a- tion. Guards against appendlcitla. Adler-i-ke remove/ matter you never thou ht was in your system and which may have been poisoning you for months, PI, . Uaebigh,. Druggist, *legs Mra Straddle detailed. She gave, of coarse, Burrill's version of the, brief interview outside the dinne ing-room door when. Mies •Aliciars Mates in the household [tad been made clear to him. But the duke, being e man endowed with a subtle sense of shades, was wholly enlightened as, to the inner meaning of Burrlll's mas- ter. Now, that was good," htl said to himself, -almost chuckling. "By the Lords the man [night have been a gentleman." When to all this wee added the story of the friend or poor relative, or what not, who was supposed to be not quodte rest i' th' yed," and was taken care of like a prince, in com- plete isolation, attended by a valet, visited and cheeped up by his bene- factor, he felt that a boon had in- deed been beebowed upon shim. 'It waa a nineteenth century "Mysteries of Udolpho" in embryo, though too greatly diluted by the fact that though the stranger wee seen :by no one, the new Temple Barholm made no secret of him. • If he had only made a secret of him, the whole thing would have been complete. There was of course in the situation a discouraging sugges- tion that Temple Barholm might turn out to be merely the ordinary noble character bestowing boons. "I will burn a little candle to the Virgin And offer up prayers that he may not. That sort ofthing would have no cachet whatever, and would only depress me," thought his still sufficiently sinful Grace. h n "•WIC Waddle, do you think b I shall be able� m to take a drive again?" he asked his nurse. Braddle was not prepared to say up- on her own responsibility, but the doctor would tell him when he came in that afternoon. "1 feel astonishingly well, consid- ering the sharpness of the attack," her patient said. "Our little talk has quite stimulated me. When 1 go out,"—there was a gleam in the eye he raised to hers,—"I am going to call at Temple Barholm." "I knowcd the would," she com- mented with maternal familiarity. "1 dunnot believe tha could keep away." And through the rest of the morn- ing, as he sat and gazed into the tiro, she observed that he several times chuckled gently and rubbed his deli- cate, chill, swollen knuckled hands together. A few weeks later there were some warm days, and his Grace chose to go out in his pony carriage. Much as he detested the suggestion of "the aunt in the Bath chair," he had de- cided that he found the low, informal vehicle, more entertaining than ! a more imposing one, and the' despera- tion of his desire to be enerte.i ud can be comprehended only by those who have known its parallel. If he seas not in some way amused, he found himself whirling, with rheu- matic gout and seventy years, among recollections of vivid pictures better hung in galleries with closed doors. It was always possible to stop the Pony carriage to look at views --bits of landscape caught at by vision through trees or under their spread- ing branches, or at the end of little green -hedged lanes apparently adorn- ed with cottages, or farmhouses with ricks and barn -yards and pig -pens de- signed for the benefit of Morland and other painters of rusticity. He could also slacken the pony's pace and draw up by roadsides where soli- tary nien sat by piles of stone, which they broke at leisure with hammers as though they were cracking nuts. He had spent many an agreeable half hour in talk with a roadmender who could be led into -conversation and was left elated by an extra shilling. As in years long past he had sat under chestnut -trees in the Apennines and shared the black bread and sour wine of a peasant, so in these days he fre- quently would have been glad to sit under a hedge and eat bread .and cheese with a good fellow who did' not know him and whose summing up of the domestic- habits and needs of "th' warkin' mon" or the amiabili- ties or degeneracies of the gentry would be expressed, figuratively speaking, in thoughts .and words of one syllable. The pony, however, could not take him very far afield, and one could not lunch on the grass with a stone -breaker well within reach of one's own castle without an air of eccentricity which he no more chose to assume than he would have chosen to wear long hair and a flow- ing necktie. Also, rsheurnatic gout had not hovered about the days in the Apennines. He did not, it might be remarked, desire to enter into conversation with his humble fellow- man from altruistic motives. He did it because there was always a chance more or lose. that he would be amus- ed. He might hear of little tragedies or comedies, he much -preferred the comedies, --.and he often learned new words or phrases of dialect interest- ingly allied to pure Anglo-Saxon. When this last occurred, he entered them in a notebook he kept in his library. He sometimes pretended to himself that he was going to write a book on dialects; but he knew that he was a dilettante sort of creature end would really never do it. The pretense, however, was a sort of asset. in dire moments during rains nr foggy weather when he felt twinges and had read bill his head /NE You Cannot Buy New Eyes Dal yen can Pram•[. a £Ieu.BeanlryC.ndnNa UQ yallisda e Murine Eye Reseda Night end Noising." nese yew NrsMale, Oast Writs for Free gyeGare Book. Ewer tre.raw tee* a Pat cue tient Celeste ached, he had whiled that lie had net eaten all ilia eaacs:at the .first course of life's feast, that. he had formed a habit or so wasickl might have sur- vived and helped tarn w eke out even as easy -chair existence through the last courses. He did net find conso- lation in the • use of the palliative adjective as applied to hiineelf. A neatly cynical sense of humor pre- vented it. He knew he had always been an entirely selfish man and that he was entirely selfish still, and was not revoltingly fretful and dom- ineering only because be was consti- tutionally .unureitable. He was, however, amiably obstinate and was accustomed to getting his own way in most •bhurgs. On this day of his outing be insisted on driv- ing himself in the face of arguments to the contrary. Re was so fixed in his intention that his daughters and Mrs. Braddle were obliged to admit themselves overpowered, "Nonsense! Nonsense!" he pro- tested when they besought him to allow himself to be driven by a groom. "The pony is a fat thing only suited to a Bath chair. He does not need driving. He doesn't we when he is driven. He frequently lies down and puts his cheek on his hand and goes to sleep, and I am obliged to wait until he wakes up." But, papa, dear," Lady Edith said, "your poor .hands are not very strong. And he mightrun away and kill you. Please do be reasonable!" "My dear girl," he answered, "if he runs, I shall run after him and kill him when I catch him. George," - ihe called to the green holding the plump pony's head, "tell her lady- ship what this little beast's name is." "The Indolent Apprentice, your Grace," the groom answered, touch- ing his hat and suppressing a grin. "I called him that a month ago," said the duke. "Hog:trih would have depicted all sorts r,f evil ends for him. Three weeksices w s when I was in bed being fed by Braddle with a spoon, I could have eierun hint my- self. •Let George !.slaw me on a horse if you like, but he must keep out of my sight. Half a mile behind will I. He got into the phaeton, conceal- ing his twinges with determination, and drove down the avenue with a fine air, sitting ere.- and smiling. Indoor existence had become unen- durable, and the spring was filling the 4.1weoIthe -spring," " be 'orotund !ta"6ians : "t am a •boat h. I am quite hone. g besa a welting )arson, I ails here matte verses overt' yeas in, April and 1 Rent them to magazines& would hive besot returns$ o me The Indolent Apprentice awes, 1t is trite, fat, though comely, and he Iva% aka entirely deeerring of bis same. Idke fsis Grace of stone, however, be bad seen other and livelier days, and now and then be was besot by recollections. He Was still a rather high, though slow, stepper --the lat- ter from fixed preference. He had once stepped fast, as well as with a spirited gaet. During sets master's indisposition he had atood in bis loose box and professed such harmlessness that he had not been annoyed by be- ing token out for exercise as regularly as he might have been. He lead champed his oats and listened to the repartee of the stable -.boys, and he had, perhaps, felt the coming of the spring when the cuckoo insisted upon it with thrilling mellowness aeeosa the green sweeps of the park •land. (Continued on page 6) Pain` Jndictatioa of interference Wids fisto fader Hatt ett this ItpA It �d # t11Aeq Pf 7:0; statsg- stat ROOtinu4 cats... itA.eti lirthooico Csrtlo8$ San.• and. humanity agree relief hone pais shogid be { fire first step in the treatment ofR .los distic. Hae shish S ' 1�va� i �rGligratic. Backache, Sciatic and Ovation n10•u ,ckr w0 mg R_ 1.,,‘,,‘..,...§- - 1 Aii,HPainPil/s. Dr. Miles' Anti.Pn end the pain is gone. Guaranteed Side and Susan. NCO:. Sold in Seaforth by E. UMEACH► Phan., =6411.=110��� ulluuulllluuul nu 1f c-fv E•.�� �t r MACDONALD'S Cut Brier More Tobacco for the Money Packages 154' lbenns 854 IQ) Vp Ii ,y *.0014/719f) i' Crt'Brier, ?;err • TOBACCOI i7 ed fir W.C,M •CDONALA EGO ANCO,9.0.9Mf0, MY✓TIAML 111111111111111111111111 se 0 "1 for Beautiful Homes and Public Buildings An added touch of beauty and a distinct "individuality" is given to the home roofed with Brantford Asphalt Slates. The crushed slate surface of brownish red or dark green is not only beautiful to the eye; it is also fire-resistant. Sparks front railroad engines or from chimneys, falling on rantfor Asphalt Slates St. John , C:athntrAl Lo".,on, Om. are harmless and die out immediately. 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