Lucknow Sentinel, 1891-07-03, Page 24
11Tetanteg te Weer.
O'NOthing afeeF, ay darnel:, nothingll
at a
• satanaasanasaaseereaa aaa• •• '
T10§1,4...the KWIC 440 Pings to hira and
h da and eaX11
loon
'Antlitate to -wean ,
4.14Wao
ttitooea know de4kr ell
• The pelmet 40,4-1,soot,, °T. tea you is a
h ;—
nealineasswerse-eatemitkesan
look a ;
24 bleak rilk is ea shiny, and I feel so mord-
And then, for summer, I must have something
whita. acside."
-And so ehe singe her little song throughout the;
livelong dfitr•
wbcr, wy darling, nothing to wear,
And Charles is at his office, and hie face is
, ',bleached with fear,
aneaasaananzeeseesaanaanalwassaleatatitstametaterreeen;
gotlast year.
TWICE-MARRID.
HEN the idea of a removal
to Virginia was first mooted
in the family of General
Percival Sniith, ex -brigadier,
•
' •
5.
•
a
Trh. I •
VAi:-Sititth,""ailitiareesignieed 41maiteoeesity- smoothed. owl gilded by !ila passions
of an infusiou of the stronger element to enjoyment of her mere tsb:yeleat perfection,
1»5t to neeled. irate body end flavor. hi pleasure In the admiratioa ehe excited,
Yee,1 guess se;"r replied her husband, and in the envy of ether men. Life's river
'indiffereatly, mesculinity front overeiesocie- glided , *smoothly, gayly in the sunshine
then ugly nagebegan to appear, and rode,
4-etaine „thaeartace of the water, and hint -
growing more andanuareasaataaaa.aatese
IneiifaNiiPlaktnefat'S.!e;','!.‘aw.?,
geodaaatiallsout the little. vilitie7near
,Slairleyns intergreen, they call it. One. etegled, boiling and bubbling into angry
young fellow attracted my attention garde- wbirIoQ18 and Wien_ et,Idiee,. The beet of-
salarty-;-he_wasanittina on s tobacco hog married happiness was hard among the
head, down on the wharf, superintending brearareatotsed-froireside-te-stdea-the-epoet-
wine uegroea load a waggon, and. I couldn't of every wind of passion; contesting halide
get it out of my head that I'd seen his face were on the tiller ropes: The craft yawed
before. He was tall, and fair, and had lost and jerked in its course, a speetaele for men
an arm. I must have met him during the to weep ovor, nd devile to rejoice in; ran
'war, I think; although I'll be hanged if I aground on quicksands, tore and tangled its
can place him." cordage, rent the planking, and at the end
' Mrs. Smith looked interested. " Per- of a cruise of as many months as it should
haps you formerly knew him," she remarked have lasted years, it lay a hopeless wreck
• The affair was manager grate ,
bad Why didn't you inquire his name o
someone, that might have helped you to
place him.9,"
' " My memory is excellent," retorted the
general, shortly ; for a man must resent
such an insinuation even from the wife of bis
bosoni. " I've always been remarkable for
an unusually strong and retentive memory,
with due deference to the amenities. There
was gossip, of course—there always is
goesip—and public opinion was many aided.
Rumors circled around which played the
whole gamut from infidelity to bank-
ruptcy ; these lived their brief span, and
then gave place to other rumors, equally
ed and therefore equally enjo able.
der the windows skied an ottoman covered
avithadtalaralostshasin which the fingers of some
dead and gone Mason had enaibtaidereds
dingy wreath of roses and pongee. Poen.-
houtas knelt on it, resting her arms on the
lofty window -sill, and gazed out over
the lawn, and enjoyed the dewy
bqyanee of the air. The September
a joyouta -aouhnelnewithangolden gleey
with dew and the lareeth of t'aaess II' ardIffe-gfaitIt'usee.a...., nity tam- to,sW45
tangled and tumbled,. into a myriad ehould have eeemedsoini
ha ' always re cled a.s a. kin y old
power of generosity and eelfaiacrifice.
Poor child! with, Jan I could have trusted
herrhuteshecouldn'tdove, hima so thereat
nothingto be dene."
"Whycouldn't she 1" demanded Berkey,
asgumentatively. " Sbe'll never do itaY
'better; Jim's a handsome fellow, aseaengo,
brave, honorable and sweet -tempered.
What more does she want ? It /Doke to tor
s of curl and crinkle. The face,
glorified by this &Till aae, watelifire and
handsome, paarician in every line and ourve,
from the noble forehead, with its delicate
brown brows, to the well -cut chin, which
spoke eloquently of breadth of character wad
strength of will. The eyes were gray, and
in them lay the chief charm of the face, for
their outlook was as honest and feta -less as
that of a child—true eyes they were, fit
UfikWiAgIF-0•1 AVa ‘) •
The branch of the Mason family still resi-
dent at the old homestead of Lanarth had
dwindled to four living representatives—
Mrs. Mason, who had not changed her
name in espousing her cousin Temple Ma-
son, of Lanarth, and her son Berkeley, and
daughters Grace and Pocahontas. There
had been another son, Temple, the younger,
Jim Tilityniatea-aral-big,-brotherly-friend, the
idea of associating sentiment with hint
appeared absurd. --- Had they ever been
separated the affair might have had a differ-
ent terminealer, ; btit there has atnee , been i
a break in their interceurse--Jim bee ways
been here, . always the same. That
won't do with a girl like Princess.
In the afternoon Pocahontas, providing
ataltenWingjaetealfateith a book and a gayly
colored fan, establathenTeigaittiiiiialfiatilOsaaaaaasearnansaaa
the oldspilthottom rocking -chair in the deep_
shadow of the porch. She was thinking of
Jim, and feeling pitiful and sad over her old
friend who must break away from every
home association, and far from kindred and.
family, among strange faces and unfamiliar
surroundings, make for himself a new lifes
oriV for Jim— rieved for his pain
it was received with con-
sternation and a perfect
storm of disapproval. The
young ladies, Norma and Blanefie, roe
as one woman—loud in denuticiation,
vehement in protest—fell erten the scheme,
and verbally sought to annihilate it. The
country! A farm ! ! The South ! ! The
idea was untenable, monstrous. Before
their outraged vision floated pictures
whereof the foreground was hideous 'with
cows, and snakes, and beetles; the middle
distance lurid with discomfort, corn -bread,
and tri -weekly mails; the bakground
lowering with solitude, ennui, and colored
servants.
Poor Mrs. Smith wished it might
be the end, or anywhere near
the end ; for the soul • Within her
was ",vexed with strife and broken in
pieces with words." The general could—
and did ---escape the rhetorical consequences
of his unpopular measure, but his wife could
not; no club afforded her its welcome
refuge, no' "down towi" offered her
a sanctuera. She was obliged to stay at
home and endure it all.
After the indulgent American custom,
she earnestly desired to please all of her
children. In her own thoughts she existed
only forthene _to minister . to their happi-
' ness ; even her husband was, unconsciously
to her, quite of secondary importance, his
strongest present claim to consideration
lying in his paternity. And this preference
must be indulged, the more particularly that
Warner—the elder of her two boys, her idol
and her grief—was slowly, well-nigh MI-
' perceptibly, but none the less surely, drift-
human. At the lowest compu ion,
guess I've seen about a million men's faces
in the course of my life, and it's ridiculous
toexpect me to have 'l4111 all sorted out, and
ticketed m my mind like a picture catalogue.
My Mmi
e
ory s very fine."
Mrs. Smith recanted pleasantly. Her
husband's memory was good, for his age, she
was willing to admit, but it was not levelesa.
About this young Man, now, it seemed to
her that if she could remember him at all,
she could remember all about him. These
hitches in recollection weree provoking. It
would have been nice for the girls to find a
young man ready to their hands, bound to
courtesy by previous. acquaintance with
their father.
But all this was trifling and unimportant
in comparison with the main issue, Warner's
health. To secure the shadow of hope for
her boy, Mrs. Smith decided that any thing
short of cannibalism in her future surromal-
ings would be endurable.
The information gleaned from her husband
was faithfully repeated by Mrs. Smith to her
daughters, with some innocent exaggera-
tion and unconscious embellishment. She
always wanted to make things pleasant for
the children.
Blanche looked up from her crewel sun-
flowers .with reviving interest, but Norma
Walked over th the, window, and stood
drumming on the panes, and regarding the
passers with a lowering brow.
" I wonder what Nesbit Thorne will think
of it all?" she remarked, after an interval of
silence, giving voice to the inwardness of
her discontent.
"He'll hate it !" spoke Blanche, , with
-convictiona-lehellaabhorait,-justnenve_do.
I know he will." Blanche always followed
her - sister's lead, and when Norma was
cross considered it her duty to be tearful.
She was only disagreeable now because
Norma was.
Percival, the youngest of the family, a
spoiled and lively lad of 12, to whom the
prospect of change was rapture, took up the
last remark indignantly.
"Nesbit won't do anything of the kind,"
quoth he. "Nesbitisn'taspoiled, airified idiot
of a girl. He's got sense enough to appre-
ciate hunting and fishing and the things
that are of importance to men. I guess
he'll want to come to Shirley this autumn
for his shooting, instead of going down to
Moth Carolina.' Norman stopped •her
tatoo and turned her head slightly ; the
boy, observing that he had scored a point,
proceeded: ".Just the minute he gets back
from Montana, I'm going to tell him all
about ghirley and beg him to come. And'if
he does,,I'm going gunning With him every
day, and make him teach me how to shoot
—see if I don't," regarding his mother from
under his tawny brows threateningly. Per-
cival's nature was adventurous and unruly ;
he had red hair.
" Nesbitt got back last night," announced
Warner from his sofa beside the other win-
dow. "1 saw him pass the house this
morning. There he is now, coming up
the street. If his opinion is a matter of
such iuiportance, you can call him over and
get it. I don't see that it makes any differ-
ence what he thinks, myself.", The latter
part of the sentence was muttered in an un-
heeded undertone. /
Norma ta,ppednharply on the glass, and
beckoned to a gentleman on the opposite
pavement, her brow clearing. He nodded
gayly in response, and crossing, in obedienoe
to her summons, entered the house familiarly
without ringing the bell.
ing waftrainher. Ahaoislaimprudencea
a old, ver -exertion, the old story which is
sq familiar, so hpeles, so endless in its
repetition aid Hi pathos. When interests
were diverse, the healthy, blooming daugh-
ters could hope to make little headway
against the invalid son. They had all the -
sunny hours of . many long years before
them ; he perhaps only •the hurrying
anoments of one.
• . For Warner a change was imperative—so
imperative that even • the rebellious ' girls
were fain toachnit its necessity. His con-
dition required a gentler, kindlier atmos-
• • phere than that of New York. The poor
diseased lungs craved the elixir of pure air;
panted far the invigoration of breezes
freshly oxygenized by field • and
forest, and labored exhaustedly in
. the languid devitalized breath of a
city. General Smith was a man trained. by
military discipline to be instant in decision
and prompt in action. As soon as the doc-
tors informed him that his son's case
required—not wanderings—but a steady
residence in a climate bracing, as well as
.• mild, where the. comforts of home could
• supplement the healing of nature, he set
himself at once to discover a place which
• would fill all the requirements. To the old
soldier,. New England horn and Michigan
bred, Virginia appeared a land 'of sun and
flowers, a country well-nigh tropical in
the softness of its climate, end the fervor of
• its heat. The • doctors recommended
. Florida, or South Carolina, as in duty
bound,- and to the suggestion of Virginia,
4yielded only a dubious consent; it was very
far north,' they said, but still it might do.
• Tcthe general, it seemed very far south, -
and he was eertain it would do.
In those old campaigning days, the fancy,
had been born in him that some time in the
Mare he would liketo return and make his
home here where "amorous ocean wooed a
• ' gracious land"—that when his fighting days
were over, and the retired ligt lengthened
by his name; it Would be a pleasant thing to
have his final bivouac ainong the gallant foes
who had won his admiration by their daunt-
less manner of giving and taking blonef.
The idea that any portion of his family
would be displeased by the realization of his
fancy, or feel themselves aggrie4d by his
arrangements, never entered into the veter-
an's calculations; he returned from the
South with his purchase made, and his mind
filled with anticipations of the joy the un-
lading of his precious honey would occasion
• in the domestic hive, and • when he was met
by the angry buzz �f discontent instead of
the gerkle hum of applause, his surprise was
great, and his indignation unbounded. .
•" What the devil ere they grumbling
about?" he demanded of his wife. • "Shir-
ley's a fine plantation. The water is good,
the air superb ; there arc excellent gardens
and first-rate oyster beds. The house inold-
' fashioned, but it's comfortable, and a little
money will make it more so. What's the
Matter with them?"
"Tho girls are -young, Percival," explained
the mother, putting in .a plea for the rebels.
‘ They are used to society and admiration.
They don't take interest in gardens and
oyster -beds yet; they like variety and ex-
citement. • The country is very dull."
"Not at all dull," contradicted the gee-
eral. "You talk as if I were requiring you York belle of surpassing beauty a.nd
allito Selkirk on a ten are island, instead t acumen. A woman whose sole thought was
of going to one of the pleaaantest and most ' pleasure, whose highest conception of the
popu'oust counties in the oldest State goodof life wes a constantly varied mean
at the Union. Mr. Byrd, the former of social excitement, arid whose noblest
owner of Shirley, told me that the neigh• • reading of the vet duty was compassed in
borhood Was very thickly settled and having a well ordered house, sumptuous
oiable. I counter' five gentlemen's houses entertainments, and irrproacha,ble tenets.
in -sight myself. -Stal:enters, as a rule, are A wife to satisfy any ,man who was urt-
t niffitone and if the girls are lonely it emotional, unexacting and prepared to give
separation'and-the most lasting conclusion
arrived at in regard to the matter was that
it had been managed very gracefully.
The -divorce which seemed the
natural outcome of thin state of
affairs, and to which every one
looked, as a matter of course, was delayed
in this instance. People wondered a little,
and then remembered that the Thornes
were a Roman Catholic family, and con
eluded that the young man had religiou
scruples. With Mrs. Thorne the matte
was plain enough; she had no reason, a
yet, sufficiently strong to make her desir
absolute release, and far greater commas
over Thorne's income by retaining her posi
tion as his wife.
When his domestic affairs had reached
crisis Thorne had quietly disappeared for
year, du
that he was enjoying his recovered free
dom in distant and little frequented places
There were rumors of him in Tartary, o
the Niger,
in Siberia.. At the expiration o
the year hearetunied to New York, an
resumed his old place in society as thong
nothing untoward had occurred. He live
at his club, and no man or woman ever sa
him set foot within theprecincts of hi
own hu
stop the
speak to
of a sing
frequent
and alwa,
politenes
he ever
regret fo
world an
In de
self at h
it as fam
before h
passiona
weaknes
women
no more
him, th
down h
sides of
As he
of week
of gree
circle f
themsel
Even
jealousy
for the
the rest
demand
and a p
made 1
into a c
"Hol
hand in
I can'
Norma
His
tarily,
ening, a
ladys
answere
irrepres
family
enthusi
pronou
indulge
tication
establis
his cou
veheme
the visi
more, a
tion of
huntin
wreath
poor 1
daring
-sorrezorzatrie..e_,.
ories which are, the grim, after-taste of war.
All three of the Masons had worn gray uni-
forms ; the father had been killed in a
charge at Malvern Hill, the elder son had
lost his good -right arm, and the younger had
died in prison.
Of the two daughters, Grace had early
fulfilled her destiny in true Virginian
fashion, by marrying a distant connection,
of her family, a Mr. Royal' Garnett, who
had been a playmate of her brothers, and
whose plantation layin an adjoining county.
With praiseworthy conservatism, Mrs.
Garnett was duplicating the uneventful
placidity of her parents' early years, con-
tent to rule her household wisely, to, love
and minister to her husband, and to devote
her energies to the rearing of her children
according to tine -honored precedent.
ring which time people, only knew, Pocahontas, the youngest of the. family,
cL
CHAPTER II.
All turned expectantly toward the door,
pausing in their several occepations ; even
Warner's eyes were raised from his book,
although his attention was involuntary
and grudging. The attitude of the little
circle attested the %influence Which the
coming man wielded over every member of
it; an influence which extended insensibly1
to every one with whom Nesbit Thorne's
association was intimate. He was Mrs.
Smith's nephew, and much in the habi,
whenever he was in New York, of making
her house his home—having now none of his
own. .
He was a slender, dark man, with mag-
nificent dark eyes, which had a power of
expression so enthralling as to disarm, or
defy, criticism of the rest of his face. Not
one man in fifty could tell whether Nesbit
Thorne was handsome, or the reverse--aed
far 'women—eh, well !they knew best what
they thought.
Some years previous to the opening of
this story, Nesbit Thorpe then a bril-
liant recent graduate of ' Harvard, a
leader in society, and a man of whom
great things were predicted, whose name
was in many meuths as that of a man likely
to achieve distinction in any path of life he
should select, made a hasty, ill-advieed
marriage with a Miss Ethel Ross, a New
was still unmarried, nay, more—still unen-
gaged.
They had called her " Pocahontas " in
obedience to the unwritten law of southern
families, which decrees that an ancestor's
sin of distinction shall be visited on genera-
tions of descendants, in the perpetuation Of
a name no matter what its hideousness. It
seems a peculiarity of distinguished persons
se. Occasionally e was seen to possess names singularly devoid o
nurse in theperk, and caress and beauty; therefore, among the burdens en -
his little son. His life was that tailed by pride upon poterity, this is a-
le man. In the society they both "rievous- one. Some families, with the
ed, he often encountered his wife, forest taint in. their bleed, at an early date
ys behaved to her with scrupulous took refuge in the softer, prettier " Ma-
e even with marked courtesy. If toaca" ; but not so the Masons. It was their
Missed his .home, or experienced pride that they never shirked an obligation,
r his matrimonial feature, lie kept or evaded a responsibility; they did not evade
ling hidden, and presented to the this one. Having accepted " Pocahontas "
at-eatlae-Paintr-by -which-their -ancesteefeawati
unmoved front.
faith of nearer ties, he made. him- best known they never swerved from it;
ome M. his aunt's house, frequehting undaunted fay its length and harshness-and
iliarly .aa he had done in the days unmoved by the discovery of historians that
is marriage. In his strong, almest Pocahoiitas is no name at all, but simply a
te nature, there • was one great pet sobriquet applicable' to all Indian girls
s; the love and admiration of alike, and whose signification is scarcely one
was a necessity to him. He could of dignity. Historians might discover,
help trying to make women love disagree wrangle and explain, but
an the kingfisher can help thnistin Poca,hohtas followed Pocahontas in the
is beak when the bright speckle Mason family with the undeviating certainty
his prey flash through the water. of a fixed law.
entered the room, after an absence Grace trampled on the protest: "Not
s, with a smile and a pleasant word name her Pocahontas? Why, of course I
ting, the younger members of the shall ! If the name were twice as long and
ell upon him clamoro,usly ; lull of three times as ugly my baby should bear it.
ves and their individeal concerns. I wonder you should object when you know
Warner, in whose mind lurked a that every Pocahontas in the family has
of his cousin's influence, forgot it invariably turned out an exceptionally fine
nonce, and was as eager to talk as woman. All have been noble, truthful,
. Nesbit found himselflistening to a honorable; (Flick to see the right and un -
for advice, an appeal for sympathy, swervine in pursuit of it. I shall call my
wan of congratulation, before he had baby by that name, and no other."
iis ' saluaioas or gotten himself Pocaliontas opened her eyes. "Why,
to hersel, for her own inability to give
him the love he longed for. She weuld have
loved him had it been in her power ; she
honestly regretted that the calm, true,
sisterly affection she felt for him could not
be converted into something warmer. Her
friends wished it; his fricacle wished
it. It was the naturalka.nd pro-
per thing to have happened() and yet
with her it had not happenefi.
Pocahhntas, rising, advanced out of
the shadow to meet them—Jim Byrd, and a
tall, broad -shouldered man with a great
silky red beard, her brother-in-la.w, Mr.
Royal' Garnett.
Pocahontas mocked at Gmee's alert, but
it pleased her all the same, arid uneonsci-
ously it influenced her more than she knew,
She loved the legends of her house, delighted
in the fact of descent from brave men and
true women, The past held her more than
is common with the young people of the
present day, and abe sought out and
treasured all 'the records of the six women
who had borne her name, from the awarthy
Indian princess down to the gentle gray-
haired lady wholeld the pla,ce of honor at
the Lanarth breakfast table.
"Princess,"said Mrs, Mason as she distri-
hair. Grace," she said, " you talk as if the name
d on !" he cried, putting up his were a talisman ; as if virtues were trans
protest. "Don't all talk at once. mitted with it. Isn't that silly ?" . •
1" • " unless we cease to be ourselves after
"Not at all," responded Grace promptly;
t follow. What's the matter,
eye turned to Ms favorite, involun- death, we must still take interest in the
.
and analmost iMperceptible bright- things of this world, in our families and de -
We may not be able actually to
lifting of the clouds on that young, sanaaanta.
horizon began to take place. She transmit our virtues to them, but surely by
d his look, and ,(assisted by the guardian influence we can help them imitate
sible Percival) unfolded to him the ancestral good qualities, Guardian angels
plans. Thorne, with good-humored of our own blood are a great deal nearer
asm, threw himself into the scheme, than outside angels, and I believe the dear
need it delightful, and proceeded to Lord appoints them whenever he can ; and
in all manner of cheerful prognos- if so why shouldn't the good women who
are in heaven take interest in my baby who
s. Percival was enchanted, and,
hing himself close beside the arm of willbeartheir name? It is their name still,
and it must hurt them to see it soiled; of
sin's chair, coinmenced a aeries of
course they must take intereet. Were I an
at whispers, which lasted as long, as
t Norma's brow cleared more and
bated the sugar and crea,m, I
the bell. Rachel must
ready by this time, and TI‘•
step outside.
Princess rang the bell quite meekly.
Aunt Rachael was an old family servant,
faithful, fat and important, and Aunt
Rachel hated to be hurried. She said "it
pestered her, an' made her stale the vittles."
She answered promptly this tme, however,
iitiring withthegreat-waiter- ofhotand
tasty dishes before the bell had ceased
its faint tintinnabulation. Berkeley, a tall,
fair man, whose right sleeve was fastened.
against his breast, entered also.
nd when Thorne declared his inten-
paying them a long visit during the
g season she allowed a smile to
e her full' crimson lips, and snubbed
ittle Blanche unmercifully for still
to be laehrymose.
Back
sideboa
flitted
for br
pretty
ranged
saucers
She sa,
more s
hands
skillfu
and a
centre
'wood
rose,
loving
coax
it we
corner
little
which
shake
Wh
table
turne
those
fingers
look
chang
forme
natur
haps
Berke
main
Ha
CHAPTER III.
•
ward and forward, from pantry to
rd, from sideboard to chimacloset,
Pocaho tas Mason setting the table
\4
eakfast. D tly she laid out the
mats on e shining.ma.hoeny, aie
the old-fashioned blue cups and
and placed the plates and napkins.
ng at her work in•a low,. clear voice,
weet than powerful, and all that her
found to do WaS done rapidly and
n absence of jar and clatter. In the
with firm, accustomed a:Males,
Ily;
of the table stood a corpulent Wedg-
pitcher,. filled with geraniums and
to Which - the girl's fingers wandered
ly from time to time, in the effort to
each blossom int the position in which
uld make the bravest show. On one
basket of keys dirough the handle of
, near the weiter, stood a housewifely
was thrust a fresh handkerchief newly
n out.
en all the arrangements abOut the
had • been coalpleted, Pocahontas
d her attention to the room, giving it awe wish. Marriage is a terrible risk for -and that he failed that time was t rough
girl like her. She is too straight- no fault of his. It Was the fortunes of War.",
gracious and homelike. a,ar ti amdeYn' sti ',
tolerant of everyday littlellESSi to have a subject. She was unconvinced, and 'eon-
m, cnartifomldaktoeuecvheef: wahiplcha,infroamp
Times lia( forward, • the uncompromisingly in- Mrs. Mason sighed and dropped the
ed with the Masons, and many duties
l
1 very peaceful life- She has grown ' up so tinned to feel ,aegret that Mr. Byrd had
rly delegated to 'servants now e different from other girls ; so full of it beeii allowed tt) work his speculative wilt k,
ally to the daughter of the house. Per- and romance ; she belongs, in thought and with his wife's little pfstrimony. It Would
the change was an improvement ;
motives, to the last century rather than to have been a serviceable nest -egg for the
ley Mason the young lady's brother, this, if what I hear be true. She is largo- children, and a, help to jim M his long
you'd ring
breakfast
rkeley's
"I saw, Jim Byrd this morning," he re-
marked as he seated himself, after the cus
tomary !greeting to his mother and sister.
"He called here on his way over to
Garnett's, where he was going to bid g
bye. I asked him in to breakfeast, but he
couldn't stop ; said he had promised Grace
to take breakfeast with them. He has to
make a farewell tour, or old friends' feelin
will be hart. It's rather a
and hard on Jim, but he couldn't
bear the thought, of the neighbors feeling
slighted. I suggested a barbeeue and a
stump speech and bow, but the idea didn't
seem to appeal to Jim. Poor old fellow!
"Couldn't he contrive to hold Shirley,
Berke ?" questioned Mrs. Mason, as she
passed his cup. "He had retained posses-
sion so lon, there must have been some
ay to hold it altogether."
Ne ; the thing was impossible," replied
Berkeley; "the plantation was mortgaged
to the hub before Jim was born.
The Byrds have been extravagant for
generations, and a , crash was inevitable..
Old Mr. Byrd could barely meet the
interest, even before the less of Cousin
Mary's money. Daring the last years _of
his life soine of it was added to the princi-
pal, which made it harder work for Jim..
But for Jim's management, and the fact
that the creditors all stood like a row of
blocklain which the fall of one would inevi-
tably touch off the whole line, things would.
haxeigone to smash long ago. Each man •
was afraid to move in the matter, lest by so
doing he should invite his own creditors to
angel, the child on earth who bore my name come down on him. Until lately they
should be my special charge." haven't bothered Jim much outside of wring...,
" Then, according to your showing, ing all the interest out of him they could
Grace, six good women, now holy angels, get. While his sisters were single, he was
have baby and me in Constant keeping for obliged to keep a home together for them,
love of our ugly name. The idea is fanciful, you know. Nna's marriage last spring
and I don't consider it orthodox; but it's removed that responsibility, and I reckon
pretty, and I like it. Miss Pocahontas the ; it's a relief to Jim to relinquish the strug-
ninth, you and I must ‘talk with circum- gle."
spection, not to grieve the good ladies' up "What a pity old Mr. Byrd persuaded •
above who are kind enough to take such ' May to sell out her bonds,, and is' the
interest in us." , money in tobacco during the Wiii214 ob-
"Yes, my dear, I used often to think of served Mrs. Maoe, regretully. "It would
it—long before Jim thought of it himself, I have been something for the children if she
believe, Berkeley. He spoke to Princess had kept the bonds. It was bad that those
this summer and she refused him. She did: ;great warehouses, full of tobacco, belonging
not tell me about it '; but from little things to the Byrds , and Masons were 'burned.
I could guess pretty accurately. It's a great in Richmond at the evacuation. Charlie
disappointment to me, for I scarcely Mason persuaded Mr. Byrd into that specue
remember when the hope that they might lation, and although Charlie is my own
love each other flag dawned on my mind. cousin and Mary's brother, I must admit
Mary Mason and I were warm friends, as that he did wrong. Your father always
well as cousins and it seemed natural that disapproved of the sale of those bond."
our children should marry."
1 1 1
a" The speculation was a good ne, and
Berkeley knew that his mother had wished would have paid splendidly had events
him to marry Belle or Susie, and that this arranged themselves differently ; even at
was -not the first titne that she had beim the worst no one could foresee tin burning
disa,ppointed in her desire for another Byrd- of Richmond. Cousin • Mary's money
-Nina couldn't, have freed Shirley, but if
Mason match: Had Temple lived,
things had gone well with t
Byrd would have been his wife ; the two
had been sweethearts from babyhod. ture that tobacco weal hav
Mrs. Mason sighed regretfully. " I wish so, and left a handsome
she could have loved him m the way Charlie Mason is a man of fine juri
ven
done
lue.
mkt,
tained that it was • hearted and has a frot, capecitit for a eo- strugle.
I t
her
oivifeoroki the tall, o hard upon occasion. If ahe shauld fall into and sugared lltem with liberal hand,
Id-
grWili be their oven fault. They'll have as way to her in aU things.,
weak or wicked hands she would. both en- "Dar old -Jim," she said, „calmly, "
as is good for them." of these thins, and 80 his married life had half -shut blinds, kiting duke and afflict untold suffering. And wadi he had come in ; you should have win' Awe', and pushed open.
ttood of sunshine ,
nmeli boating and dancing and tom -foolery ! Nesbit Thorne, unfortunately, was none fashioned
1 -
"Are there an S/ men ? demanded 007110 to grief. The first few months were and inorning freshness into the r00111. thi there is within her, too, endless sidd, Berkeley. It's cruel for him to have
As0 ,
leta
as's - - • assa.
4.
P- a " tion but she Set -willed and fl ie could be 't.filocahontes helped herself to hot waffles,
Ingthfuel
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