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32X

• i

not

A ROMANCE OF TORONTO.

(FOUNDED ON FACT.)

A NOVEL.

MRS. ANNIE G. SAVIGNY,

Author of "An Allegory on Gossip," "A Heart-Song of To-day," etc.

"I would like the Government to forbid the publication of all novels that did
not end well. — Darwin. .

"What would the world do without story-books."— Dickens.

TORONTO:
WILLIAM BRIGGS, 78 & 80 KING STREET EAST.

1888.

Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand
eight hundred and eighty-eight, by Mrs. Annie Ureoo Saviony, at the
Department of Agriculture.

COj^TEiSTTS.

CHAPTER I. Paor

Toronto a Fair Matron 7

CHAPTER II.
Who is Who in a Medley 14

CHAPTER III.
Instantaneous Photographs 18

CHAPTER IV.
The Foot-ball of Circumstance 25

CHAPTER V.

A Bona Dea 32

CHAPTER VI.
Coffee and Chit-Chat 39

CHAPTER VII.
Across the Sea to a Witch's Caldron 47

CHAPTER VIII.
A Troubled Spirit : 54

CHAPTER IX.
Vultures Habited as Christian Pew-holders 60

CHAPTER X.
A Lucifer Match _ qq

CHAPTER XI.
Their *• Rank is but the Guinea's Stamp"" 72

CHAPTER XII.

On the Rack gQ

CHAPTER XIII.
Lucifer's Votaries Rampant 35

CHAPTER XIV.
Fencing Off Confidence 94

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV. Paob

The Tree of Knowledge 103

CHAPTER XVI.
The Oath in the Tower of Toronto University 113

CHAPTER XVII.
Birds of Prey 1 18

CHAPTER XVIII.
The Islet-genimed St. Lawrence 129

CHAPTER XIX.
Eye-openers I35

CHAPTER XX.
" Your Een Were Like a Spell " I45

CHAPTER XXI,
A Happy New Year 158

CHAPTER XXII.
"Better Lo'ed Ye Canna Be " 166

CHAPTER XXIII.
The Three Links 178

CHAPTER XXIV.-
A Hand of Ice Lay on Her Heart 186

CHAPTER XXV.
" Here Awa', There Awa'." I94

CHAPTER XXVI.
Electric Tips Among the Roses 200

CniAPTER XXVII.

A Serpent in Paradise 207

CHAPTER XXVIII.
Squaring Accounts 216

CHAPTER XXIX.
" Mair Sweet Than I Can Tell " 223

A ROMANCE OF TORONTO.

CHAPTER I.

194

200

207
216

223

TORONTO A FAIR MATRON.

I>,W0 frenfclenien friends saunter arm in arm up
'" and down tlie deck of tlie palace steaiior
Chicora as she enters our beautiful Lake
Ontario fiom the picturesque Niarjara Ri\er,
on a perfret day in dtliulitful September,
when the blue canopy of the heavens seems so far
away, one wonders tiiat the mirrored surface of the
lake can reflect its color.

"Do you know, Buckingham, you puzzle me; you
were evidently happier in our little circle at the
Hoffman House than in billiard, smoking, or reading-
rooms, and just now in the saloon you seemed so con-
tent with Miss Crew, my wife and our boy, that I
again wonder a man with th' se tastes, and who has
made his little pile, does not marry," said Mr. Dale, in
flute-like tones, distinctly English in accent. " I r«'ally
think, .ry dear fellow, j'ou would be happier in big
New York city with some one in it to make a home fur
you."

" I am quite sure your words are kindly meant, Dale,
but look at nie," he says tranquilly, " I am not dwarfed
by care, being six feet in my stockings, I have no wor-
rying lines written on my forehead, and between you
and I, I am fifty ; to be sure I am bald and grey, but
that is New York life, a bachelor life, then, has not
served me ill ; there is a woman at Toronto I should

Toronto a Fair Matron.

i ;

like as my wife, but until I can give her the few
luxuries I now deum necessities, I shall remain as I
am.

" I regret your decision, Buckingham, it is a rock
many men split on, this waiting for wealth and miss-
ing wifely companionship."

" Perhaps you are right; but I should not care to
risk it," he says, calmly.

" And you a speculator !" his friend said, smiling. At
this they drifted into business and some joint invest-
ments in Canadian mineral locations, when Dale said:

" You must excuse me now, Buckingham, I promised
my wife to go and road her a letter descriptive of To-
ronto, as we, you know, have not been there."

" Who is the writer, if I may know ?"

" Our mutual friend at Toronto, Mrs. Gower."

" Oh, I am with you then," he said, with unusual
eajjerness, a fact noted by his friend.

Entering the saloon, Mrs. Dale, a pretty little woman,
fashionably dressed, with Irish blue eyes and raven
hair, said, lifting her head :

" Excuse my recumbent position, but I feel as if my
head wasn't level, if I try to sit Qp ; ditto, Miss Crew."

"Where is Garfield, Ella?"

" Over there with those boys ; now read away, hubby,
it will do my head good."

" Very well, let me see where the description com-
mences (the personal part I may pass), Here it is :

" Toronto is a fair matron with many children, whom
she has planted out on either side and north of her as
far as her great arms can stretch. She lies north and
south, while her lips speak loving words to her off-
spring, and to her spouse, the County of York ; when
she rests she pillows her head on the pine-clad hills of
sweet Rosedale, while her feet lave at pleasure in the
blue waters of beautiful Lake Ontario.

Torouto (J Pair Matron.

rock

" Her favorite children are Parkdale, Rosedale, and
Scarhoro' ; Parkdale to her west, amhiticnis and clear-
sijrlited, handsoiiio and wcll-hiiilt. tlio sportive lakt* at
his feet, in wliicli his cliildren revel at eve; lier
dau<^hter, channin»if llose(hile, in society an<l (piite tlie
fashi(;n even to tlie immense homiuct she carries at all
seasons — now of autumn leaves, from the hand of
Dame Nature ; now of the floral beautit's fiom her
own gardens and conservatories, again, of beaiiteous
ferns gathered in her own woods across her handsome
bridges.

" Scarboro', fair Toronto's favorite son, of whom she
is justly proud, is a handsome young warrior, fearless
as his own heights, robust as his own trees, which
seem as one gazes down his deep ravine, like so many
giants marching upwards as though panting to reach
the blue pavilioned heavens where they would fain
rest their heads.

" From the time spring thaws the sceptre out of the
frozen hand of winter, until again he is king, the
breath of Scarboro' is redolent of the rose, honevsuckle
and sweet-briar, with a rapid succession of the loveliest
wild flowers in Canada beneath one's feet, a veritable
carpet of sweet-scented blossoms has her son Scarboro'.

"Fair Toronto is also herself richly robed and iew-
elled, her necklet being of .picturesque villas, in Rose-
dale and on Bloor Street ; under her corsage, covered
with beauteous blossoms from her Horticultural
Gardens, her Normal School grounds, etc., her heart
throbs with pride as she third^s of bet gems, the spires
from her one hundred and twenty churches glistening
in heaven's sunbeams ; of her magnificent University
of Toronto, with its great Norman tower, which cost
her nearly $500,000 ; her handsome Trinity College, in
third period pointed English style; her Knox College,
her hotels, her opera houses, her stately banks; with
her diamonds, of which she is vastly proud, and which
2

Toronto a Fair Matron.

V V

are her ^reat newspaper oftices — tlie ino.st vahiable
beiii<4 those of Hrst water, viz., her Cliuicli papers as
fin<^er-po.sts, witli her Scntliid as ;.,'uanl ; her indt-pen-
dei»t, cultured Mall; her iniL,ditv cK'ar-(irit (flohc; her
brilliant, knowing G'/'/y>; her oFteriMjuoted World; her
racy town-cry iV«7f.s; jjcr social iSatardd// iVii/ht; lier
Life, her Week, her Truth, with her J'Jiunilnf/ Tdajvum,
the wliole set being so valued l>y fair Toronto, that
she would as soon be minus her daily bread as her
newspapers.

" It would take too loni? to enumerate the many at-
tractions fair Toronto otl'ers — .some of those within her
walls havinir throats full of sonjx, otliers in the ' Har-
mony Club,' others elocutionists, with orators and
athletes; her Cyclorama of Sedan, her Zoo — to which
only a triHe pays the piper — her interesting museums,
her fine art galleries.

"And again, one word of her pet river, lier picture.sque
Huniber, where lovers meet, poets dream, and fairies
dwell ; yes, as Imrie says :

" * Glide we up the Humber river,
Where the rushes sigh and quiver,
Plight our love to each forever,
Love that will not die. '

" Such, dear Mr. and Mrs. Dale, is my lay of Toronto,
which I hope you will like well enough to come and
sojourn here awhile. You say, Mrs. Dale, that you
have ' willed ' to go to an hotel, if s. I shall say no
more of my wish, for ' a woman's will dies hard on
the field, or on the sward ; ' but when your will is car-
ried out, should you sigh for home-life come to me —
even then Holmnest \/ill have open doors. You may
be grave or gay, you may be en deshabille in mind
and robing, or you may have your war-paint on for
the watchful eye of Grundy, be it as you will it, you
are ever welcome, only tell dear Diogenes not to com©

Toronto a Fair Matron.

in his till). I can ifivc you l)oth anmsemont enoui:jli in
nianv sulijects or (jl»jt;ct.s at wiiicli to level your jjluss,
for Toronto society is in many instances an anmsinj,'
spectacle, a droll coni^loineration.

" Yours as always,

" Elaine Goweh."

" Well, Buckin<;,d)ani, what think you of fair Toronto?"
asked J)ale, as he iinished readin<,^

" I think that, thouf^di unusual, a Fair Matron has
had ample justice from a fair woman."

" I want to-morrow and Mrs. (iower rii'ht now,"
said Mrs. Dale, " as (Jartield says when he is pinrtdsed
a treat."

" Toronto nnist be a fine city, and covering a larj^^e
area," said Miss Crew.

" Mrs. Govver has a taste for metaplior ; I never heard
her in that st^'. before, that is to any extent," .said
Buckinf'i>am.

"I am intensely practical," said Dale ; " but conf'^vTS
Toronto described in metaphor sounds more musical,
at all events, than in plain brick and mortar style."

" Emerson says," said Buckini^ham, " men are ever
lapsing into a beggarly habit in which everything that
is not cyphering is hustled out of sight, and I think
he is right."

" We cannot help it, it is the tendency of the age ;
but what have we here, Buckinjjham ? What's the
excitement about ? "

" Oh, we are only nearing Hanlon's Point ; the ladies
had better come outside; every scene will be in gala
dress. Mi.ss Crew, can I assist you ? "

" Where the blue hills of old Toronto shed
Their evening shadows o'er Ontario's bed,"

said Dale, coming with the crowd to view the scene.
But since Moore so sang, the hills of the noble red

Toronto a Fair Matron.

man have disappeared, save as a boundary to our fair
city ; the pale faces, in the interests of progress and
civilization, would have it so ; and Bloor Street, to the
north, is now reached by a gradual ascent of one
hundred and fifty feet above the lake level. But
now the stately and comfortable palace steamer,
Chinora, with a goodly number of souls on board, is
rounding Hanlon's Point, and entering our beautiful
Bay, wiien the illumined city, with the Industrial
Exhibition of 1887 in full swing, burst upon the view.
The bands of music in and about the city, at the
Horticultural Gardens and on the fair grounds, with
the hum of many voices, fill the evening: air with a
glad song of joy.

" What a sparkling scene," cried Mrs. Dale ; " see,
Garfield, my boy, all the boats lit from bow to stern."

" They look as pretty as you in your diamonds,
mamma."

" It is quite a pretty sight, and the city also," said
Miss Crew ; " I had no idea Canada could attempt
anj'-tliing to eijual this."

" So much for England's instructions of her ' young
ideas how to shoot,' as to her colonies. Miss Crew,"
said Dale ; " Come, confess that a few squaws, bearing
torches, with their lordly half smoking the calumet,
was the utmost you expected."

" Oh, Mr. Dale, please don't exaggerate our ignor-
ance in this respect ; I am not quite so bad as a lady
at home, who thought Toronto a chain of mountains,
and Ottawa an Indian chief."

"One of Feiiimore Coopei's, 1 hope," laughed Buck-
ingham, '• who hunted hufi'alo on the boundless prairie,
instead of your lean gophers who hunt rusty bacon
from agents who, some say, use him to swindle the
public and line their own pockets. But listen ; what a
medley of sounds."

" And lights," cried Mrs. Dale ; " it looks as if an-

Toronto a Fair Matron.

our fair
ress and
t, to the

of one
(1. But
steamer,
Doard, is
leautiful
idustrial
he view.

at the
ds, with

with a

e ; " see,
) stern."
amonds,

?o," said
attempt

' youn
, Crew,"

bearing
calumet,

f ignor-
s a lady
untains,

d Buck-
prairie,
y bacon
idle the
; what a

IS if an-

nexation was on, and they were firing up some of our
gold dollars as sky rockets."

"It's pretty good for Canada, mamira," said Gar-
field, patronisingly.

" You say Toronto is quite a business centre, Buck-
ingham ? "

*' Oh, yes ; quite so ; it makes one think of com-
mercial union. Do you advocate it, Dale ? "

" Well, as you know, Buckingham, I am not even
yet sufficiently Americanised to look upon it from
other than a British standpoint, and so do not advo-
cate it, as it seems a slight to the Mother Country.
What is your idea of advantages derived by Canada
were it a fait accompli?"

" She would gain larger markets ; her natural re-
sources would be developed, especially her mineral, in
which I am," he added, jokingly, " looking out for the
interest of that most important number one, while
also number two would benefit in home manufactures."

" You amuse me ; I honestly believe number one is
a universal lever ; yet still in a way we are each
patriotic ; but, again, you must see that commercial
union would be the forerunner of annexation."

" Yes, likely, though not for some time, but evolu-
tion will bring that about in a natural sort of way, as
a final settlement of all vexed questions, whether," he
addded laughingly, " of humanity or — fish."

" Oh, I don't know that, but you have the fish at all
events and mean to keep them too; humanity may
follow, but 1 should not like to see the colonies hoist
another flag. But here we are at last, at the portals
of the Queen City, and such a multitude of people
makes one feel as if one might be crowded out," he
said, uneasily, as the Ckicora came in at Yonge Street
wharf.

"Don't bother your head about your rooms. Dale,
you secured them by telegram."

JV/io is Who in a Medley

V ,

" I did, ten days ago, thou^fh."

" You never fear, they will be all right, the manager
is a thorough business man," he said quietly, gathering
up the belongings of the ladies.

" You are invaluable, Mr. Buckingham," said Mrs.
Dale, "and are as gallant as if you had as many wives
as Blue Beard."

" Rather a scaly compliment, Buckingham," laughed
his friend.

" She means well, but the lish are not far ott'," he
answered, picking up Garfield, and giving his arm to
quiet Miss Crew.

CHAPTER II.

WHO IS WHO IN A MEDLEY.

|HAT a moving sea of faces !" exclaimed
Miss Crew.

" Yes, quite a few, and look as if they
required laundrying — bodies, bones, and
all."

"Here, Garfield, though you are 'very old' as you
say, 3'ou had better take my hand," said Miss Crew,
nervously, as Mr. Buckingham set him down on the
wharf,

" Oh, no, he must go with his father," cried Mrs. Dale.
" Oh, I reckon a New York boy can elbow his way
throuirh that mean crowd." And dartinir through the
mass of people, causing the collapse of not a few tour-
nures, and with the aid of one of his mother's bonnet
pins giving many a woman cause to scream as she un-
consciously cleared his path by getting out of his way,
he is on the outskirts of the crowd.

" Say, hackman, drive me off right smart to the
Queen's ! "

Who is Who in a Medley.

" Is it all square, youngf gent ?"

" Yes ; dimes sure as Vanderbilt money,"

" Oh, I mean you are but a kid to go it alone."

" Chestnuts 1 "

And taking another hack, " Pooh, Bah !" quieting his
scruples by pocketing a double insult they are off.

" I feel sure Gartield is quite safe, Ella, and probably
choosing a cab for us; here, take my arm dear, and
don't be nervous, Buckingham is looking after Miss
Crew."

But he is on ahead making inquiries.

" Yes, sir, the young gent is all right, if you take my
hack we'll catch hi in, I lost him bv being too careful
like."

'• Your boy is all right, Mrs. Dale, if you jump in
quick we'll overtake him; allow me. Miss Crew."

" Thank heaven," said his mother fervently, " tell
the man to go as quick as he can through this crowd ;
there he is, the young scamp, waving to us, there, on
ahead, a pair of light greys."

" And here we are, and your boy of the period wait-
ing to welcome us."

" Welcome to the Queen City," he said, pulling off
his skull cap.

" You frightened your mother, my boy ; see that you
don't repeat this ; remember she is nervous."

" Glad I ain't a woman, they are all nerves and
bustles ; here, give us a kiss, mamma, I only wanted to
show you I aint a baby."

" There ! there ! that will do, my bonnet ! my bangs !
such a bustle as I've been in about you, I wish you
were in long clothes."

" Then I'd have to wear a bustle too ! "

" Ella you look tired, we had best let them show us
our rooms at once ; Buckingham, we shall have some
dinner together, I hope."

" Yes, 1 shall meet you here, and go in with you."

1^:

PV/io is Who in a Medley.

" This is pleasant, rooms en suite, and you beside us,
Miss Crew," said Mrs. Dale.

And now, while they refresh themselves by bath
and toilette, a word of them : Mr. Dale, like his friend
Buckingham, has reached fifty, is grey, also wearing
short side whiskers and moustache. He is a man
of sterling worth of character, honest as the day ; a
man whose word was never doubted, who, having
seen much of life, was apt to be a trifle cynical ; but
withal, so generous that his criticisms on men and
things are more on the surface than even he imagines.
A good friend, a kind husband to the pretty, penniless
girl, Ella Swift, whom he had married in New York
eleven years ago, and though unlike in character, there
is so much love between them that their wedded happi-
ness flows on with never a rift in the rill ; and though
she does not look into life and its many vexed ques-
tions with his depth of thought, still, in other ways her
brain is quite as active — a kindly, social astronomer,
she loves to unravel mysteries in the lives about her,
to set love affairs going to her liking, she not caring
to soar above the drawing-room, leaving Wall Street,
the Corn Exchange, and railway stocks to her astute
husband, who has inherited English gold, to which he
is adding or losing in speculations the American
eagle. With some thought of changing their residence
to fair Toronto, they had a year ago given up house,
and have been residing at the Hoffman House, New
York City ; then engaging Miss Crew, as governess to
their only child of nine years. Mr. Dale had been
somewhat doul^tful as to the advisability of giving the
position to Miss Crew, who merely answering their
advertisement in the New York Herald, stating ner-
vously that she was without references, as the people
she had been with had gone West ; but she was a fair,
delicate, lady-like, religious girl, interesting Mrs. Dale
at once by her loneliness and reticence ; above all, Gar-

.1).

JV/io is IV /lo in a Medley.

astute

ich he

erican

idence

house,

, New

less to

been

ngthe
their

'•^

1 ner-

Deople
a fair.

Dale

,Gar-

. ,'M

field took to her, and «he gained an influence for good
over him at once ; and by this time both Mr. and Mrs.
Dale have come to consider her as one of themselves,
though having decided to place their son at boarding-
school until such time as they take up house.

Mr. Buckingham is, as we know, an eligible bachelor,
fine-looking, tall, as we have heard, and a man of
many dollars; a calmly quiet man (a trait from his
German mother), who has lost two fortunes, but who
will not play for high stakes again, as he does not
care to begin over again at fifty, with nearly all ho
craves in his grasp ; two women jilted him when for-
tune frowned, but taking it coolly, he merely told
himself it was the dollar they had cared for, not he.
Passionately fond of music, a skilled performer, the
piano has been mistress and wife to him ; if he marries
he will be a good husband, but if he does not, he will
be almost as happy in the best musical circle wherever
his home may be.

Having dined, our friends gathered for a few mo-
ments' social chat before retiring, when Mrs. Dale said,
" I expect, Mr. Buckingham, you feel as important as
one of Barnum's shi>w-men in your role, for you are
aware you and Mrs. Gower must trot us round to see
the lions,"

" Any man, Mrs. Dale, would feel important as your
cicerone, and in company with Mrs. Gower."

" How polite you are. Oh, Henry, I see by the
Neim, "Fantasrna " is on at the Grand Opera House;
even if it is late, let us go."

" Nonsen.se, dear, we have seen it often enough."

" li you are tired, very well ; but I wanted to make
a spectacle of myself this time, and the ladies green
with envy over my new heliotrope satin."

" Well, if that isn't self-abnegation," laughed Buck-
ingham.

i[^i

rii

Instantaneous Photographs.

" Oh, you needn't sympathize, I only feel as the pea-
cock when he spreads his tail."

" How many churches did Mrs. Gower say there are
here ? " asked Miss Crew.

" One hundred and twenty ; so you will have a
choice of roads heavenward, Miss Crew," answered
Buckincfham.

"Yes, there are a number of roads, and only one
guide-book," she answered, thoughtfully.

" Mrs. Gower will put you on the right track," he
said quietly.

Here Mr. Dale returned, saying in pleased tones,
" Well, Ella, I have telephoned Mrs. Gower of our
arrival, and she says she will call at 11 ajn., then do
the Exhibition, where we are to remain until we see
Pekin bombarded."

" That is in the evening, and the best part of it this
perfect weather ; may I come ? " said Buckingham.

"Assuredly."

" Thanks, and au re voir."

" Good night."

CHAPTER III.

INSTANTANEOUS PHOTOGRAPHS.

jjOTHING is more deeply punished than the
neglect of the affinities by which alone
society should be formed and the insane
levity of choosing our associates by other's
eyes," read a lady, musingly, as Emerson's
essays fall from her knees to the soft carpet under her
cushioned feet.

" Yes, nothing is more deeply punished," she half
chanted in a musical voice, while a grave, troubled

Jnstn7ttaneous Photographs.

look came to the dark eyes, and a quiver of pain to
the sensitive lips. " And well do yoil and I know it,
Tyr, though you are only a dog," she continued, as she
patted a brown retriever beside her. " Yes, you and
I, Tyr, like only affinities ; the others seem to us mon-
grels, and to us don't seem good. I wonder if they
were so pronounced in the first week when the world
was young; but fancy is travelling without reason;
they were all thorough -breds in the good old days,
and one does not read of anything like Emerson's
words on affinities, or a case similar to my own ; but I
am half asleep, Tyr ; watch by me, good old dog."

And leaning her head back against the soft green
velvet cushioned back of the rattan chair, Somnus is
not wooed in vain ; indeed, one might imagine the
god of slumber had wound a garland of poppies about
her brow, so does she sleep as an infant.

As she rests, a word of her. A Canadian ; a native
of Toronto, with far-away English kin ; above the
medium height ; dark, comely, and slightly embon-
point ; a woman of thirty, but witli that troubled look
at present on her face looking older ; generous, warm-
hearted and conscientious ; with more than the aver-
age force of cliaracter ; too sensitive in days past ; too
impulsive, even yet, in this world of " they daily mis-
take my words." Even at thirty, she has had years of
trouble ; has been dragged in the dust under Fortune's
wheel, that others might ride aloft at her expense ;
earning her " dinner of herbs " that " Pooh Bah " in the
plural, may have the " stalled ox." But at last she
rests, and summer friends would again know her, who
fled at her first out-at-elbow gown ; but experience is
a good teacher, she will cherish only those who have
cherished her in her dark days. Society also now
desires her company in polite bids to its various webs,
in shape of dinners and lunches, with its other numer-
ous distractions, knowing she is in possession of a

Instantaneous Photographs.

rather pretentious little home, and is in a position to
repay ; for society is a debit and credit system.

" Once a widow always a widow " was not the motto
of Mrs. Gower, and so she would have again wed,
again gone to God's altar ; but the angel of death for-
bade, using his scythe almost as the words of the
church pronounced them man and wife, and the bridal
gown of the morning gave place ere the sun had set
to the black robes of a second widowhood. Truly,
" Sorrow there seemeth more of thee then we can bear
and live ; " yet still we live, was her cry. The death
of her friend, just at the time manly counsel would
have saved her little fortune from vultures, habited as
Christian pew-holders ! was very hard, not to speak
of that intense loneliness, the death of husband, wife,
or betrothed, brings into one's life ; one is as though
struck mentally and physically blind, not knowing
where to turn or whose hand to take ; for until such
relations are severed by death, one does not realize
how one has leaned on the one in the multitude.

" But," she would say, " one must harden oneself to
the inevitable, to Heaven's will, if one would keep
one's reason ; " and in time the sudden death of the
man she had so passionately loved, was as some terrible
dream. Not as she dreams away the moments now in
her pretty restful library, with its rattan furniture,
cushioned and trimmed in olive-green velvet ; one side
a library of her pet authors, with Davenport near;
walls painted in alternate green and cream panels ;
on the light ground are lilies from nature, gathered
from Ash bridge's Bay, and near the Island ; nestling
in their bed of green leaves an English ivy trails
around the pretty Queen Anne mantel, with two tall
palms, which bring content to the canary as the per-
fume from the blossoms on the stand give pleasure to
the sleeping mistress of Holmnest.

Her own individuality is stamped upon its walls also,

Instantaneous Photographs.

for on each alternate dark green panel is some pretty
bits of painting, bric-a-brac, or motto ; one reads, " Let
ilka ane gang their ain gait," showing her dislike to
meddling in another's business ; another reads, " The
greatest of these is charity;" and over a bust of
Shakspeare are his own words, " No profit goes where
is no pleasure taken; in brief, sir, study what you most
affect."

But she dreams, and what a troubled expression.
At this moment a coupe drives up a north-west avenue
of our city, stops at the gate of Holmnest, when a
gentleman, hurriedly springing out, saying, " come back
for me in about an hour-and-a-half, Somers," enters
the picturesque grounds, has reached the veranda,
and hall door on south side of pretty Holmnest, rings,
when a boy, in neat blue suit, answers.

" Is Mrs. Gower at home, Thomas ? "

" Yes, sir ; in the library."

" Very well, you need not announce me, I know the
way ; " and hastening his steps he passes through a
square hall, done in the warm tints now in vogue, sun-
beams coming softened through artistic panes of
stained glass, showing vases on brackets filled with
flowers, which w^ould delight " Bel Thistlethwaite,"
with a few appropriate pictures, giving life to the
walls ; the door of the library is ajar ; he enters.

" Asleep ! " he exclaims, softly ; " with Emerson's
thoughts for dreams and Tyr as watch ; but what a
troubled expression," he thinks, seating himself, evi-
dently quite at home ; a man, too, one would like to be
at home with, if there be any trutli in physiognomy, a
handsome man, five feet eleven in height, dark hair
and moustache, kindly blue eyes, amiability stamped
on his face ; a man who, had events shaped themselves
that way, would have made an heroic self-sacrificing
soldier of the Cross.

He is scarcely seated when the occupant awakes

^«;

i,'p.

Instantaneous Photographs.

li %

with a start and a terrified exclamation of " Oh ! " at
which the doj; phices Ids t'ore-pavvs on her knees, with
a whine of sympathy, as her friend, Mr. Cole, comes
forward with outstretched hand.

" When did you arrive ; is it so late ; you received
my message to dine with the Dales and Smyths with
me this evening ? but I am half dreandrig yet ; of
course you did, for you answered ' Yes.' Getting
yourself in trim for leap-year, I suppose," she said,
smiling ; " but how is it you are in your otHce coat ? I
want you to look your very best, as you are to take in
a young lady, a Miss Crew, who comes with the Dales;
she is a super-excellent sort of girl."

"Has she money ?" he says, laughingly.

" Oh, you need not pretend to be a fortune-hunter
to me ; I know you too well for that ; but remember,
I prophesy you will lose your heart to her. But, oh,
Charlie, I have had such a horrible dream," and she
presses one hand to her forehead, at whieh the lace
rufflings fall back from her sleeve, showing a very
good arm, her gown of ecru soft summer bunting, be-
coming her style, " that dream will haunt me unless
you let me tell it you, Charlie." -

" Oh, that's the use you put me to, is it ? all right,
tire away, I'll interpret ; it was only a mistake the
baptizing me Charlie, when I have to play the part of
Joseph."

" Well, in the first part, oh Joseph, I had been read-
ing this morning what held my mind as to the ascent
from Paris of the aeronauts. Mallet and Jovis ; their
courage, and Mother Shipton's prophecy impressed
me sufficiently as to dream, with the words of Emer-
son as to affinities also in my mind, that a party of
us — you, the Dales, Mrs. St. Clair, Miss Hall, Mr.
Buckingham, and myself, with a gentleman who was
masked — had been taking part in an entertainment in
the Pavilion, Hortieultural Gardens, in aid of the Hos-

t
.'%-

•f

'"*,'!

Ins tan taneous Photographs.

3h ! " at
es, with
}, conies

•eceived
lis with
yet ; of
Gettini^
be said,
coat ? I
take in
J Dales;

-hunter
leniber,
3ut, oh,
.nd she
ihe lace
a very
ng, be-
unless

1 ri^ht,
ke the
part of

1 read-
ascent
; their
)ressed
Emer-
irty of
1, Mr.
10 was
lent in
e Hos-

pital for sick children ; we <^ave readinfrs, vocal and
instrumental music, and laughed inwardly and glowed
outwardly, as we everyone, regardless of merit, received
repeated recalls, when afterwards the recalcitrant
balloon, which refused to inllate, when we gazed in
vain at the fair grounds, did ascend after our per-
formance, which fact emptied the Pavilion ere we had
concluded our last effort, everyone flying, as we do at
Toronto, as though there was a drop curtain with the
words in flaming colors, ' The de'il take the hind-
most;' the building was empty as our last supreme
ettbrt frightened the few dead-heads who had slunk
in ; we then laughingly made a rush to the balloon
ascension, and determined there and then to further
distinguish ourselves by becoming a)ronauts jyro tern.
What made it ridiculously droll, Joseph, was the fact
that the men in charge chanted continuously Emer-
son's words that had impressed me ere I slept —
' Nothing is more deeply punished than the neglect
of the affinities.' I was nearest the basket, and wild
with reckless spirit. As I remember, myself stepped
in ; the owners seemed at variance who was to pose
or rise," she said, smilingly, "as my atfinity, that is of
yourself, Messrs. Dale, Buckingham, or the man with
the mask, when, Anally, they signed to the latter to
enter ; I was nothing loth, for his voice, a sweet tenor,
had charmed me ; up we went, when to my horror
your bete noir, Mr. Cobbe, sprang from among the
branches of a tall tree into the basket.

" ' Too much ballast,' he cried, throwing out all the
owners had provided us with ; we ascended rapidly —
a feeling of faintness seizing me — up, up ; I feel the
sensation now," she said with a tremor ; " up, up, near-
ing the feathery clouds, looking like down from the
wings of angels. ' Too much ballast,' he again cried,
excitedly springing on the masked man, first tearing
off his mask, disclosing the essentially manly face ok'

Jnstnutaneous PJiotogrnpJis.

a gentleman whom I frequently meet, but am not
acquainted with, Imt in whom I take an interest, be-
cause of his tender caie of a little lady I used to see
with him ; Mr, Cobhe sprin^dni,' on him with the
words, ' too much ballast; down with affinities !' liurled
the poor fellow to earth, at which 1 cried out as you
heard ; his fall was a something too awfully real ; one's
nerves for the time sutler as severely as though all was
reality," she added in a pre-occupied tone, as though
mind was burdened with latent thought.

" But ' all's well that ends well ;' Mr. Cobbe is in mid
air, where I fervently hope he will remain."

" But you forget the poor man who was hurled to
the earth ; I know his face so well."

*' And I know yours, Mrs. Gower, and you are safe
and so am 1 ; and as Joseph, I interpret that you are to
give your charming self to an affinity, and don't fly
too high."

" The first part of your speech is epicurean, in your
second you play the mentor," she said, laughingly; " but
in your face 1 see you have something to tell me ; go
now to the telephone and tell them to send you your
dress coat, for j^ou have no time to go all the way to
the Walker House and he back by seven."

" No use ; I cannot stay for dinner."

"Cannot stay! Why?'"

" My father writes me he is going to sail for Eng-
land at once, and wishes me to meet him at London."

" Well, you ought not to look so grave over such a
meditated trip, Charlie, it will make a new man of
you ; and instead of betaking yourself to the Preston
baths, a sea voyage, I should say, will set you up,
making you forget the word rheumatism better than
any sulphur bath in all Canada."

" But," he said, in serio-comic tones, " v,^hat do you
think of my being forced into annexation ? "

The Foot-Ball of Circumstance.

it am not

tere.st, be-
ised to see

with the
;s!' Imrled
►ut as you
real ; one's
igh all was

as though

•e is in mid

3 hurled to

)U are safe
) you are to
id don't fly

an, in your
ingly; "but
tell me ; go
1 you your
the way to

dl for Eng-
at London."
over such a
lew man of
the Preston
,et you up,
better than

'hat do you
I?"

" Only that you use the word ' forced,' I should say
I congratulate you."

" At the same time that you keep your own freedom,
though," he said, despondently ; seeing her look of
gravity, he continued, touJiing her hand, " beg pardon,
Elaine, I should not say that, knowing your past ;
but," he said brightly, " I should like to see you wed
an affinity."

" I am afraid such pleasant fate is not for me," she
said, gravely.

"Do you believe in predestination, Mrs. Gower?"
he says, abruptly.

" What next ! from annexation to dogma. Tell me
all about yourself, and it is too lovely an Indian sum-
mer day to remair. ui the house, come to my favorite
seat in the garden.'

" Where I shall give you an instantaneous photo-
graph, from my father's pen, of the girl I am predes-
tined to change the name of."

" From your father's pen ! "

CHAPTER IV.

THE FOOT- BALL OF CIRCUMSTANCE.

'S they near a knoll imder a clump of trees
commanding a view of the road, a gentleman
\. ?J3 sauntering up the street gazes, as many do, at
4''r Holmnest with its pretty grounds.

" Look, quick, Charlie," said Mrs. Gower, in
low and rapid tones, apparently intent on spreading

jft rug on the rustic bench, " there he is, I mean "

"Well, I only see a very ordinary and thoroughly
^independent looking man, seeming as though he feared
3

T/ie Foot- Ball of Ciraunstance.

ifi

nothing, not even you, and as if Toronto was built for
him."

At this Mrs. Gower, laughing merrily, says, " And
not for the Lieutenant-Governor, Mayor flowland,
Archbishop Lynch, or the ' caller herrin'-man.' "

As the soft laughter fell on the air, the stranger
looked towards them, and looked so intently, that in-
voluntarily his hand is raised to his head and his hat
lifted.

"You say 3;ou have not met him, Mrs. Gower ; you
are a very prudent woman, I must say, coming out
here in your white gown, with ribbons the color of a
peach, creating a sensation ; you had better wed an
affinity since you won't have me, and get a protector
at once."

" That is the man I dreamed of whom the aeronauts
dubbed my affinity ; it's too bad we are not acquainted,
instead of only getting instantaneous photographs of
each other."

"What a trial!" he said, ironically; "but still," he
added, as with a sudden remembrance, " I have, strange
to say, had occasion to say, hang the conventionalities,
more than once, with reference to a fair-haired girl
with blue eyes, that seem, when I think of her, to fol-
low me ; no later, too, than this morning at W. A.
Murray's door, as you I have had only instantaneous
photographs of her ; once before at a window in New
York city, also there in a suspension car ; it is not
that I have fallen in love with her — not by a long
chalk, but she seems to have been in my life some time,
that by a trick of memory I have lost ; but I advise
j^ou, Mrs. Gower, not to allow that man to bow to you
again."

" Oh, he only lifted his hat in apology ; but I wish
you were not going away, and that I could see this
girl."

" t wish I hadn't to ; but this is the way time flies.

■p.

was built for

', says, " And
or Howland,
man.

the stranger
mtly, that in-
,d and his hat

. Gower ; you
^, coming out
the color of a
)etter wed an
;et a protector

the aeronauts
lot acquainted,
)hotographs of

' but still," he
: have, strange
ventionalities,
lir-haired girl

of her, to foi-
ling at W. A.

instantaneous
indow in New
jar; it is not
lot by a long

ife some time,
but I advise

to bow to you

y ; but I M^ish
could see this

way time flies.

The Foot-Ball of Circumstance.

1 whenever I come to Holmnest ; I am forgetting that I

% came to tell you I am just now the foot-ball of circum-

'1 stance, which compels me to cross seas to have a halter

:%^ put around my neck in wedding a girl whom I have

I never seen."

*"■ " Even if you have to, Charlie, you may love her at

first sight, so don't take it to heart ; if it is so that she
is no affinity, you will suffer only as many others,"
she says gravely, " in having a taste of the tantalus
punishment, in losing what we would fain grasp ; but
tell me all about it, as my dinner guests will be soon
arriving, and I did so want you for — myself, as well
as for Miss Crew."

" That's the first sympathetic word you have said,
' for yourself,' " he said, touching her hand, " but I am
to be always for somebody else," he said, a little sadly ;
" but I see you think I am never going to begin, so
here goes : My father, as you have heard me say, did
not marry a second time, not that he did not again fall
a victim to the tender passion, but that the mis-crea-
tor, circumstance, putting in an oar, sent him out of
England, when his bride-elect tliat was to be, was
coerced into marrying her guardian (one Edward Vil-
liers, of Bays water, London,) by his sister-in-law, a
domestic tyrant, and his housekeeper ; wlio, knowing
to rid himself of her presence he would probably wed
a woman of as strong a will as her own, when she,
penniless, would be thrust out, told lies, not white
ones, of my father, that he had married in Canada, in-
tercepting his letters, and heaven knows what ; at all
events, Lucifer's agent triumphed, for on my father
going across the water to claim her and scold her for
her silence, he found iier a wife with a baby Sfirl, when,
to reduce a three-volume story to a line, they, in des-
pair, wept and raved, nearly heart broken, vowing
that I and the little one should wed and inherit all the
yellow sovereigns ; and so, Elaine, it com>3s to pass in

-^1T'

!!t

'I !

The Foot- Ball of Circumstance.

years of evolution this youngster has become of age,
and I am presented with her as my bride. I have al-
ways known of this contract, but you know the kind
of man I am, ever shoving the unpleasant into a cor-
ner; for tlie bare idea of marrying a woman for money
has always been repugnant to me."

" I should say it has, for with you it has ever been
' more blessed to give than to receive.' "

" I don't know that, but to hasten, breathing time is
at last not given me, I am summoned to England by
those people and by my father's wish, who sends me a
copy of the will of the late Mrs. Villiers, a clause of
which I shall read to you ; but what a bore I am to
you."

" Nonsense ; who have I poured my life puzzles into
the ear of but your own kind self — turn about is fair
play, and besides, yours is a sensational life story, and
so more interesting than thoughts from the clever pens
of Haggard or Mannville, Fenn, or our own Watson
Griffin."

"Well, the will reads 'on mv dearlv loved

daughter, my little (Pearl) Margaret Villiers attaining
her maioritv and becoming "the wife of the aforesaid
Charles Babbington-Cole, son of mv loved friend Hugh
Babbington-Cole, of Civil Service, Ottawa, Canada,
my said daughter nhdll enter into possession of all my
real and personal property, .she to be sole executrix,
and to inherit all, (with, I hope, the advice of Dr.
Anneslev, of London, and Hugh Babbington-Cole afore-
said,) and subject to the following bequests: To my
step-daughter, Margaret Elizabeth Villiers, I leave my
forgiveness lor her unvarying unkindness to my.self
with my copy of the Christian Martyrs. To my dear
friend, Sarah Kane, five hundred pounds sterling and
my wearinf, apparel. To my husband's sister-in-law,
Elizabeth Stone, I will and bequeath my piano and
music for use in her mission work, with the hope that

The Foot- Ball of Ciraimstance.

ne of age,
I have al-
si the kind
into a cor-
t'or money

ever been

int^ time is
i^ngland by
sends me a
1 clause of
Di-e I am to

)uzzles into
bout is fair
'i story, and
clever pens
wn Watson

earlv loved
s attaining
le aforesaid
riend Hugh
a, Canada,
n of all my
executrix,
Ivice of Dr.
Cole afore-
s : To my
I leave my
to myself
To my dear
fsterling and
ister-in-law,
piano and
le hope that

sweet notes of music will make her less acid to the
children of God's poor to whom she brings the Gospel
message of peace, etc., etc' "

" So ! your late mother-in-law made a point there,
the self-righteous woman weighted religion then as
now. I have always predicted, because of your open
palm, that you would never be a rich man, Charlie; I
little thought the precious metal with a wife would
pour into your lap at the same time ; if you only
knew her and cared for her " she said, musingly, when,
noting his troubled look, she said brightly, picking a
beautifully tinted maple leaf from his shoulder, "See
here, old man, take this crimson-hued leaf as a good
omen, and we will read from it that your home-bound
path, I mean back to Holmnest and Toronto, will be a
path of crimson roses ; and now tell me, does the girl
write you, and is it in a stand and deliver manner ?
If so, I fear my verdict upon her will be lacking in
charity."

" No, my pater has letters from her which he does
not forward ; but here is the last one from my father,
in which he says : . . . ' I have received several letters
from Broadlawns, Bayswater, England, and from
Margaret also, in which they tell me time's up, your
bride elect is of age, and naturally anxious to come
into possession of her property. I need not go over
the whole matter again with you, my boy, but I do
most earnestly advise you to start at once, the daughter
of my lost Margaret nmst be good and true, even
though Villiers was her father ; she should be pretty,
also fair hair and sky-blue eyes (in woman's parlance).
I saw her when her poor mother made her will in 1872.
-Pearl was then about live years old ; she cannot fail to
be attracted by yourself, if Dickson does not flatter
you, and I don't think so ; your good looks are honestly
come by, so you needn't blush.

"'And now to business; enclosed you will find a

T/ic Foot-Ball of Ciraunstance.

cheque for five hundred dollars, for you are like me
more than in appearance, you don't save. What an
income you will have shortly, instead of bookkeepinor
on the paltry salary of S800 per annum, you and Mrs.
Cole, ahem ! will roll about King Street the envy of
the town, with an income of £5,000 sterling per annum.
While I shall have the pleasure of seeing some of your
mechanical ideas patented, and their models in the
buildings here, your nose and the grindstone will part
company ; how glad I am that you have not fallen in
love and married ; and now I ask you, believing it to be
best, believing it to be for your happiness, to leave for
the seaboard on receipt of this ; my chief has given me
a three weeks' leave, so shall run across, but to save
time, as I have business at Quebec, shall sail from
there ; meet me at Morley's, London, Trafalgar Square.
If my memory plays me no trick, I shall sail by the
Circas.nan, Sept. 16th, you take the City of Chicago,
one day later from New York.

" ' And now, 2^our le present, farewell ; you don't know
how I have set my heart on this matter, if 1 were ill,
the knowledge that the little daughter of my own love
was your wife would cure me.

'"Social events are right down smart with us; in fact
Ottawa is booming. Rumor says our next tid-bit will
be an elopement in high life ; even the soldiers can't
keep the enemy from poaching ; but we must be blind
and deaf ' till Grundy says now.'

" ' The American consul is a very knight of labor at
present, minus their short hours, as quite a large num-
ber are leaving for, to them, the land of promise, the
United States, whether they fly from the taxes or the
cold, I have not interviewed them ; by the way, you
will be the better for a warm heart beating against
your own this winter. And now one word of self, I
shall be glad of the run across the water, for I feel any-

■0

TJie Foot-Ball of Circumstance.

■e like me

What an

Dkkeepincr

I and Mrs.
e envy of
>er annum,
ae of your
els in the
e will part
b fallen in
inor it to be
o leave for
,s oriven me
ut to save
sail from
;ar Square,
sail by the
if Chicago,

don't know

1 were ill,

ly own love

\\ us ; in fact
tid-bit will
Idiers can't
1st be blind

of labor at
large num-
)romise, the
taxes or the
e way, you
iing against
rd of self, I
r I feel any-

thing but smart. I wish we could have crossed to-
gether. Farewell, my boy, till we meet at Morley's.

" ' Your affectionate father,
•"Hugh B. Cole.
"'C. B. Cole, Esq.,

" ' 500 Wellington St. Toronto, Ont.' "

"How strange it all seems, Charlie," she said dreamily.
" I shall miss you so much, I do hope she is amiable
and lovable, you and she must come to me until you
get settled ; poor fellow, you look stunned."

" I am paralyzed ! it at last is so sudden, but why do
you Hu\A^ r'

" At a remark you made at the Smyth's, or I rather
think it was when escorting me home, that 'you
deserved a good wife, for you had never sinned, never
told a lie.' So let us hope in your case virtue will
have a reward."

" See ! 1 must go, your guests are arriving ; how I
wish you had no one this evening, and I might dine
with you alone."

" My wish too, on this your last visit, unfettered."

" That means you cannot bolster me up in this case,
as you have more than once heretofore ; that 1 am in
for it," he says, looking at her sorrowfully.

" Yes, you are regularly hemmed in, and as I have
been before now, so are you at present the mere foot-
ball of circumstances, but ' out of every evil comes some
good,' they say, and as your father says," she added
with forced gaiety, for she is sad at the thought of
snapping of old ties, " You will be the better of a
warm heart beside your own in our winter climate ;
and above all, remember the good omen of this maple
leaf ; here, take it with you," she says, pinning it to his
coat, the suspicion of a tear in her eyes.

" Good bye, Elaine, if it must be so ; pray that I may
come out of it all right, for I feel horribly depressed ;

.f;

n^r

A Bona Dea.

and only you say I must go, would, I believe, show the
white feather ; I wish I might kiss you good-bye ;
there is that fellow, Cobbe, coming in, remember, that
* nothing is more deeply punished than the neglect of
the affinities.' God bless you ; farewell."

And leaving by a side gate and entering a passing
hack, one of the kindest-hearted sons of fair Toronto
takes his first step to another land ; easily led, yield-
ing to a degree, he is now led by the wish of a dead
woman, by the iron will of a living one, his father
following their beckoning hand also.

CHAPTER V.

A BONA DEA.

N animated converse with her guests during the
half-hour ere dinner is announced, the mis-
tress of Holmnest makes a picture one's eyes
dwell on — the folds of her soft summer gown
hang gracefully, while fitting her figure like the
glove of a Frenchwoman ; fond of a new sensation —
as is the way of mortals — this of playing the hostess to
a few chosen friends in a hon e of her own once more,
is pleasurable excitement; there is a softness of ex-
pression, a tenderness in the dark eyes, engendered by
the fact of her sympathy having been acted upon by the
leave-taking, on such an errand too, of her friend Cole,
which lends to her an additional charm. The conscious-
ness also that she is looking well, gives, as is natural
to most women, a pleasurable feeling in whatever is
on the tajjis, with the knowledge also, that her little
dinner will be perfect, her guests harmonious — save
one.

" So you think Toronto is rather a fair matron after

A Bona Dea.

, show the
good-bye ;
mber, that
neo-lect of

r a passing

ir Toronto

led, yield-

ot' a dead

his father

\ during the
d, the mis-
5 one's eyes
miner gown
jure like the
sensation —
he hostess to
a once more,
bness of ex-
gendered by
I upon by the
: friend Cole,
he conscious-
is is natural
whatever is
lat her little
onious — save

matron after

all, Mrs. Dale, and that your New York robes blend
harmoniously with the other effects at the Queens?"

" I reckon I do, Mrs. Gower; you did not say a word
too" much in her praise; I remember saying to Henry
before we started, my last season's govvn.s would do."

" And vou like Toronto also, Mr. Dale," continued
his hostess.

" Yes, better than any other Canadian town I hav*^
visited ; it is very simply laid out, one couldn't lose
oneself if one tried."

" It is laid out like a what do you call it, like a
chess-board," said Captain Tremaine, an Irishman.

" Yes, not unlike," continued Dale, " and as to quiet,
one would think the curfew rang; I noticed it particu-
larly coming from the Reform Club the other night."

" We all notice how quiet our streets are at night,
and after your London and New York City, we must
seem to you as if we had taken a sedative," said Mrs.
Gower, taking his arm to the dining-room; "but where
is Miss Crew, Mr. Dale?"

" She was too fatigued to come, she foolishly over-
taxed her strength, taking my boy to the Industrial
Home, at Mimico, I think she said."

"That's correct, it's a pet scheme of Mayor How-
Llnd's, and a vrorthy one too."

" Yes, .so she said ; they also visited your Normal
School, and talked of the Cyclorama of Sedan."

" Indeed ! they have overtaxed the brain and
memory, I fear ; what does Garfield say to it all ? "

" Chatters like a magpie over the superior glories of
New York, but is honestly pleased after all."

" T expect your little son is English only in name."

" Yes, and in his love for a good dinner," he said,
laughingly.

" Well, from all we Canadians hear, there is every
reason he should, an English dinner is enouofh 'to

ilT^

A Bona Dea.

\ :!■

H'i

'I I

!l I.I

tempt even ghosts to pass the Styx for more substan-
tial feasts/ " she said, ^aily.

"Mrs. Gower is always up to the latest in remem-
bering the tastes of her guests," said Mrs. Dale to her
left-hand neighbor, Mr. Buckingham, as tiny crescents
of melon preceded the soup.

" That she is," he said, complacently; "no man would
sigh for his club dinner, did our hostess cater for him."

" Goodness knows what Henry would do if our bank
stopped payment, or our Pittsburg foundries shut
down ; for I know no more about cooking than Jay
Gould's baby," she said, discussing a plate of delicious
oyster soup.

" He, I expect, makes himself heard on the feeding
bottle," said lively Mrs. Smyth.

" But you are unusually candid as to your short-
comings, Mrs. Dale," continued Buckingham, amusedly.

" Because I can aftbrd to be ; were I poor, I reckon I
should pawn off my mamma's tea-cakes on my young
man as my own, as men in love believe anything — they
are as dull as Broadway without millinery."

" By the way, Mrs. Dale, talking of millinery, where
are your bonnets goin*^ to, they are three stories and
a mansard at present ? "

" Oh, only a cupola, Mr. Buckingham, on which birds
will perch."

" How so ; I was under the impression the bird hunt
is a thing of the past ? "

"No, indeed! not while there are men in the field."

" How so ; I do not follow you ? "

" Stupid, you are born huntsmen, our bonnets are a
perch for a decoy, and," she added, looking at him
archly, " our faces are under them."

Here there was merry laughter from Mrs. Gower
and Captain Tremaine, the former saying gaily,

" You would not accomplish it, the strength of will

A Bona Dea.

substan-

1 remem-

ale to her

crescents

lan would
for him."
our bank

Iries shut
than Jay

i delicious

le feeding

our short-
amusedly.
I reckon I
my young
iiing— they

lery, where
stories and

which birds

le bird hunt

n the field."

)nnets are a
cing at him

Mrs. Gower
gaily,
ngth of will

of one- of the party would keep the whole uppermost.
I appeal to Mr. Smyth."

" I am with you, Mrs. Gower ; Tremaine must go
under, even thoutrh he is an Irishman."

" Irish (juestions always do get muddled, eh, Smyth?"
said Dale, jokingly, seeing that Smyth, intent on dinner,
had not heard the argument.

" That they do, Dale. Which is it, Mrs. Gower, the
Coercion Bill or Home Rule ? "

" Neither," she said, laughingly, " we were on the
' Peace Party ' (you remember the meeting at the
Gardens, on last Sunday) ; and I have been suggesting
that the Body Guard bury their pretty uniforms, and
Captain Tremaine raises the war-cry of, 'bury the
Peace Party, chairman and all, first.' "

" Oh, that's it ! Tremaine knows the indomitable
will of one of them would cause more dust to be kicked
up than one sees on a March day on Yonge Street."

" Out- voted. Captain Tremaine, we weep ' salt tears '
over your becoming uniform ; but seriously speaking,
though a High Court of Arbitration would be a grand
spectacle, it will be only after years of evolution, and
when, as Mr. Blake, the chairman said, ' the voice of
the private soldier, instead of the general officer, is
heard.' "

" If I should ever have the ill-fortune to be drafted,"
said Smyth, laughingly, " I should fight to the death
against my enrolment ; an hospital nurse, like the
Quaker-love, would suit me better ; such rations as a
man gets on the field."

" I know for a fact," said Dale ; " that recruiting
during the present year in England, has been far below
the average of the last few years."

" Indeed ! I was not aware," said Buckingham.

" By the way, Smyth," said Tremaine, " have you
seen, what do you call him, ' Henry Thompson,' in his
defence or answer to his critics ? "

IIIT"

A Bona Dea.

" I have, and he was able for them every time."

" Are you speakinj^ of the journalist who went to
jail in the interests of the Globe ? " asked Dale.

"Yes."

'* His defence was capital, I thoujjfht," said Dale, " and
I especially liked the way he stands up for his craft.
' There is no class of men,' he says bravely, ' in exis-
tence, animated by more humane motives than work-
ing newspaper men.'"

" I also read his reply with pleasure," said Mrs.
Gower, " and reading it, thought what a clever and
orififinal fellow he must be."

" Talmage and Silcox have been lauding the power
of the press to the skies," said Smyth; " they made me
wish I surveyed the earth from an editor's chiiir, rather
than from a tree I climbed to escape York uiud."

" Have you heard how the Grand is going to cater
to our dramatic taste this coming season, Mr. Buck-
ingham?" asked Mrs. Gower.

" Just a whisper, Mrs. Gower, as to Emma Juch,
Langtry and Siddons."

" Yes ; so far so good. Have you heard that the
rail makes no special rates for.travelling companies ? "

" I have ; so you may expect that those who will pay
the high toll, will be those of the highest standard."

" Then I suppose (though it seems selfish) we should
be content with the rail rates as they are."

" You will enjoy the debates, Dale," said Smyth, " in
the Local House during the session ; Meredith is just
the man to lead our party."

" But I am not sure that it is our party, Smyth ; I
scarcely know how I should vote here ; if Meredith is
right, why doesn't he prove to Ontario that Mowat has-
held the reins too long ? "

" So he will before next election," replied Smyth,
with a satisfied air.

" Don't be too sure, Mr. Smyth, eloquent though he

■/"%

A Bona Dea.

ime."
D went to
e.

►ale, " and
his craft.
, ' in exis-
an work-
said Mrs.
ever and

he power
' made me
iir, rather
ud."

y to cater
!dr. Buck-
ma Juch,

that the
ipanies ? "
3 will pay
ndard."
kve should

myth, " in
th is just

Smyth ; I
eredith is
lowat has*

d Smvth,

hough he

be," said his hostef.s ; " while that clever Demosthenes
of his party, Hon. C. F. Frazer, says him nay."

" Do vou meditate a loniif stay, Buckingham, in this
the white-washed city of the Dominion ? " asked Tre-
maine.

" Yes, off and on all winter ; you know I intend to
purchase some of your mineral lands, since you allow
them to lie undeveloped," he added, jestini^ly.

" You see, Capt. Tremaine," said Mrs. Gower, merrily,
the American Eagle done in silver is not as yet plenty
with us."

" Don't despair, Tremaine, Commercial Union is
looming up," said Buckingham.

" Treason ! treason ! " laughed Tremaine, " for we
know what it would father."

" Hear, hear," cried Smyth.

" Oh, I don't know," laughed Mrs. Gower, " they say
it is the Main-e idea for settling ; here's a pretty mess 1
here's a pretty, mess — of fish ! "

" We can wait," said Buckingham, quietly, " evolu-
tion will bring about the Maine idea, with you also."

" Did you say you are going to Maine, Mr. Bucking-
ham, we cannot do without you now," said pretty Mrs.
St. Clair, caressingly.

" Thank you, Mrs. St, Clair, I do not go ; but even if
so, you would, I fear, miss me less than your latest fad
in the pet quadruped."

" How severe you are, Mr. Buckingham. Are all
New York men so, Mrs. Dale?" She sighed, having
a penchant for him.

"It's annexation, Mrs. St. Clair," said Mrs. Dale,
mischievousl3^

" Annexation ! is Mr. Buckingham going to be mar-
ried ? "

" I believe so." At this juncture Master Noah St.
Clair, who had come instead of his father, was inter-

I'^nr

, .1'

■!,i

■

iii

A Bona Dea.

ested in other than his plate, while his mother said
reproachfully :

"It eant\ot be true, Mr. Buckingham."

" Mrs. Dale is disposed to ho facetious, Mr.s. St. Clair ;
you must not swear by everything .she says."

" That is an eva.sive answer, and I am dying to
know ; tell me, dear Mrs. Dale, what it means V

" Which, annexation, or Mr. Buckingham i " .said her
tormentor.

" Oh, both, of course," she said, breathlessly.

" Both ; well, when I come to tak«^ a good look at
him, Mrs. St. Clair, he looks important rather than
.severe, his reason is, he believes, the be.st part of
Canada pines fcr annexation; comprcnez vounl"

" Oh, is that what you meant," she replied, with a
relieved air, when, catching her son's eye, she said,
with assumed carelessness, " I do miss my men friends
so much when they marry."

" He is as cold as ice," whispered Mr. Cobbe, who,
though a man of birth and breeding, prides himself
upon being a flirt ; " he is an icicle, I wonder you waste
your warmth upon him."

" Nice man," she thought, "-and only the second time
I've met him; he must be in love with me, too, poor
fellow," and, in an undertone, she says, "That's, the
way all you men speak of each other, but he is only
so before people."

" You had better throw him over, an Irish heart is
warmer than an American," he said, in his deep tones,
into her ear.

"But the poor fellow would bit.'ak his heart," she
whispered, her cheeks flu.shing , he, equally vain, con-
tinued :

" Not he, a successful speculation would console him;
and I— and I would console you."

" Are you always so susceptible ? " she a.sked, turn-
ing her pretty enamelled face around to be admired.

■m

Coffee and Chit- Chat.

ther said

St. Clair ;

•I

(lying to

LS f

' said her

I look at
ther than
) part of

US f

Bd, with a

she said,

en friends

)bbe, who,
)S himself
you waste

,'cond time
, too, poor
rhat's, the
he is only

;h heart is
leep tones,

leart," she
vain, con-

)nsolehim;

ked, turn-
idmired.

" No, indeed ; but a man doesn't meet as pretty a
woman as you every day, as your mirror must tell

" How you gentli^nen Hatter," well aware that he is
admiring her pretty hand and <lelicate wrist, as she
holds aloft a bunc^ of transparent grapes.

"Not you," and for the moment he meant it ; the
particular she of the hour feasting on the nectar her
.soul loves, never dreaming that the next passable look-
ing female in propin(|uity with him will be also
steeped to the lips in the same food, " not you," he
said, with a fond look.

" Thank you," she said, prettily, and with the faith
of her early teens, " I must tell you a pretty compli-
ment a gentleman paid me at the ' Kirmiss ' last .season,
he said ' I was a madrigal in Dresden china.' "

" Too cold, too cold," he said, thickly, managinit: to
press her fingers as they rose from the table, ere she laid
her hand on the arm of Mr. Smyth, to whom she had
been allotted, but who never .spoiled his dinner by
giving beauty her natural food.

" On Mr. Dale declininf; to lingrer, leadincj his hostess
back to her pretty drawing-room, .she said in his ear :

" You have dubbed me queen of Holmnest, therefore
must obey when I bid you back to the dining-room
for a smoke."

CHAPTER VI.

COFFEE AND CHIT-CHAT.

|HAT a lovely little home you have, Mrs.
Gower," .said her friend, Mrs. Smyth, seat-
ing herself near her hostes.s, the pale blue
plush of the padded chair contrasting well
with her fair hair, pink cheeks and pretty
grey eyes.

" That chair becomes you at all events, dear,'' .said

H'W 1!^

iiiiii

\ Iff

. I

Coffee and Chit-Cliat.

her hostess, seeing that a maid deftly passed coffee
bright as decanted wine, afterwards small bouquets
of beantiful parsies and clematis among her guests,
from, iiuge glass and Japanese bowls.

" I could scarcely believe Will, when he wrote me of
your good fortune, you know, the children and I were
at Muskoka."

"Yes, I knew you would be glad. I bought this
pretty little place the week you left, it seemed after
years of waiting, my money (what is left of it) all
came right in a day ; you do not know how ^lad I am
to at last see you in a home of my own — and in a chair
pretty enough to become you, dear," she added more
brightly.

*' Oh, 3^ou always make the most of small kindnesses
shown yon, we were only too glad to have you."

"Be that as it may, I shall always remember the
bright hours with yourselves in the dark days of my
life," she said, warmly.

" When did you see Charlie ?" asked Mrs. Smyth, in
an undertone, for there are other ears.

" This afternoon."

"This afternoon!"

" Yes ; and you will be surprised to learn he takes
the rail for the sea-board to-night."

" To-night ! Why, and whither, it must be a sudden
move, for he was up for a smoke with Will the other
night and said nothing of it ; but," she added, laugh-
ingly, " he prefers a lady confidant when it's Mrs.
Gower.

"Don't you think, Lilian, that the opposite sex is
usually chosen to lend an ear ?" she said, carelessly, to
conceal a feelinor of sadness at the out-ijoinof of her
friend ; for she is aware that the old friendly inter-
course is broken, now that he has gone to his wedding.

"He has gone to be married; I suppose, he said
something to us a long time ago about it, but he told it

■1

*-'k

ik^A

Coffee and Chit- Chat.

d coffee
louquets
■ guests,

te me of
d I were

ight this
I'ed after
)f it) all
lad I am
in a chair
led more

indnesses

)U.

mber the
ys of my

^myth, in

takes

a sudden

he other

ed, lauorh-

it's Mrs.

ite sex is
■elessly, to
ng of her
dly inter-
wedding.
, he said
he told it

in a clouded kind of way ; I wish he had confided in
nie, for Will would not care a fig, but every woman
doesn't (haw such a prize as I. Perhaps when you
get nuniV)er two he will not allow the opposite sex to
confide : but talking of the green-eyed monster, re-
minds me of two scandals on our street." As she now
raised her voice, the other ladies pricked up their ears.
Mrs. Dale exclaiming :

" Scandals \ sounds like Bertha Clay's novels. May
poor Mrs. Treniaine and self come in. We have been
on sermons, servants, and the latest infants ; a scandal
will be as refreshing as Mrs. Gower's coffee."

" 1 guarantee you an appreciative audience, Mrs.
Smyth," laughed her hostess, "curtain rises over
'another nnid-hole for us to play in.' "

" What a case vou are, Mrs. Gower, but I must cut
them short, for I would not for worlds Will and the
other gentlemen come in while they are on."

" No fear of scandals in your home, Mrs. Smyth,"
said Mis. Tremaine, '' with Will always first."

" That's so; well, to begin, before I went to Muskoka,
a lady and daughter came to reside near us. As they
went to our church, Will said call ; I did. Since my
return, I heard froi i Mr. Cobbe," here turning suddenly
to Mrs. St. ( Jlair, '.o whom Mr.s. Gower had overlooked
introducing her said : " 1 beg pardon, I should not
name names." Contiiminsf, " Mr. Cobbe told me the
young lady had been married, and divorced. Some
young fellow, in a good position down East, hearing
she had some ready cash, wed and deserted her at
close of honey-moon. Well, the other evening she
was married again 1 at the house quite privately, and
to whom do you think ? to none other than, a.s the
newspapers state, Norman Ferguson Maclntyre!"

" To Norman Maclntyre ! oh, what a pity," cried
Mrs. Tremaine, in dismay, " his mother and sisters are
4

Coffee and Chit- Chat.

I m ■ , •!

if
1,1

!,'■

such pleasant people, and had very different hopes for
him ; it is simply dreadful."

" But he can throw her overboard, I am sure," cried
Mrs. Dale. " If he only have his wits about him, the
first marriage likely took place in Canada, the divorce
across the line, don't you see ; she is the precious prize
of the gaj"- deceiver, your friend is free."

" But, even if this be so, Mrs. Dale," said Mrs. Smybh,
excitedly, " no girl will care to marry poor Norman
afterwards."

" 1 am willing to stake our Pittsburjy foundry or his
chances," said Mrs. Dale, cooly.

" And I, Holmnest," echoed Mrs. Gower, " 2^007" Nor-
man has but to stand in the market-place."

" I think they have both lowered their social stand-
ing; don't you. Mrs. Tremaine ?" said Mrs. Smyth.

" 1 do, indeed."

"It altogether depends upon their bank account,"
said their hostess, sententiously ; and now for your
next, for your mouth is still full of news, dear."

" Oh, yes; but my next is a bona fide married couple."

" But are they according to the Church Prayer
Book ?" said Mrs. Dale, with her innocent air.

" Oh. yes, certainly ; and some say she is like a china
doll, and the husband, a great big, ugly, black-looking
tyrant ; but the gentlemen are coming, and I must cut
it short, and only say that a man handsome as Lucifer."

" Before the fall, I suppose," said her hostes.s.

" Yes, yes, yon naughty woman. Well, they say
this handsome fellow is there whenever the hu.-sband is
out, and a pock-marked red-headed boy (some say their
son) is there to watch tlie pretty wife, and their name
is St. Clair." Sensation !

At this moment a pin is ran into the arm of the
breathless narrator.

" Oh, mercy ! " she cried, looking around discovering
the boy Noah St. Clair, whom every one had forgot-

llMlii

--;«-

Coffee and C hit-Chat.

^opes for

ve," cried

him, tbe

le divorce

ious prize

r jSorinan

idrv or bis

^ 2}oor ISlor-

)eial stand-
Smyth.

k account,"
w for your
lear. ^^ '

ied couple."
ch Piayer

air.
ike a china
xck-lookino-

1 must cut
as Lucifer."

tess.

IL they say

3 husband is

)iue say their

d their nauie

s arm of the

d discovering
s had forgot-

ten, seated on a footstool behind her, who said veni^e-
fuUy, indioatini;- by a gesture Mrs. 8t. Clair and him-
self, " Tiiat's v\ir name ; it's t^.s-."

" Gracious, Mrs. Go\v*.'r,»\vliat liav^ I done ? Pardon
me, I was under the impression tluu tliis lady's name
was Cobbo. 1 don't know how 1 ^'ot things muddled ;
1 thouoht she was some relative of our Mr. Cobbe."

"Never mind, dear; I should have introduced you ;
don't apologize; tliere are other St. Glairs in Toronto
than my friends."

" I don't mind it in the least," purred the pretty
doll ; " some one is always talking about me. Women
are jealous of my complexion and all my admirers;
but 1 think my name is prettier than Cobbe."

*' Yet ' tell my name again to me,' am always here
at beauty's call," said Mr. Cobbe, hearing his name on
tnieihig with the other gentlemen.

" You, as a Bona Dea, have been our tca.st, Mrs.
Gower," said Buckingham, quietly, as he sank into a
chair near her own.

" And my inclinations, I hope," she said, laughingly,
"with no saving clause as to their beini; virtuous."

" I appeal to your memory of the ' Antiquary,' Mrs.
Gower; could any man living toast you as the Rev.
Mr. Batter<:-owl did Miss Grisel Monkbarns?"

" 1 don't know ; perhaps some would desire to make
a proviso."

"'J'henthoy M'odld err ; I should give a woman of
your stani]; any leiigth of line."

" Thank voi: , vour confidence would not be mis-
placed, when in li.snor ij.:uiid I have ever felt as though
I did not belong tf) myself.'

"1 should judge so; un<lerlying your gaiety consci-
entiousness holds you to an extent few would dream
of; you have frequently sacrificed yourself to a mis-
taken sense of duty. Am I not I'iglit ? "

" Ye6 ; 1 have been a slave to what I used to think

:v\t\

Coffee and Chit- Chat.

the voice of conscience, but which I am now sure was
extreme sensitiveness, and a sort of moral cowardice ;
but how strange you should read me so truly."

" Not at all, 1 f^jjp, a phreifcjlogist ; if you will allow
me the very great privilege, I shall read your character
to you in some quiet hour."

" With very great pleasure. And now will you do
me another favor ? Make my piano sing and speak
to us,"

" Thank you ; I should like to try your instrument.
It is from Mason & Risch, I see."

Having ari-anged a table at whist and euchre, Mrs.
Gower seated her 'i^f to enjoy the entrancing music,
while looking over a photographs to amuse the boy
Noah St. Chiir, but il /.as not to be, for the voice of
Mr. Cobbe said in her ear:

"This won't do ; you 'nuist come to the library with
me ; I have not had a single word with you all even-
ing, and am, as you are aware, an uninvited guest."

" Why invite you, Philip ? Alas ! there is invari-
ably discord with your presence," she says sadly, in
the lowest of tones, moving away from the curious
gaze of the boy.

"Sit here, Elaine, if you positively refuse to leave
the room with me," he said excitedly, indicating a
tete-a-tete sofa not within ear-shot of her oue.sts, man-
aging to detain her until, the hours creeping on apace,
freighted with the music of soft laughter, and ravish-
ing .songs without words bv the skilled performer, Mr.
Buckingham, when pretty Mrs. Dale's sweet voice is
heard, as she rises from the table, saying triumph-
antly :

" Win ! of course we won. Wh3% Mr. Dale will tell
you, Mr. Smj'^th, that in our card circle at New York,
mine is dubbed ' the winning hand.' "

" Indeed \ no wonder at our good fortune. Con-
gratulate us, Mrs. Gowtjr ; we won three straight

J sure was
cowardice ;

V-

"will allow
r character

ill you do
and speak

instrument.

uchre, Mrf:.
cint; music,
luse the boy
the voice oi

library with
-on all even-
id guest.'
le is invari-
ys sadly, in
the curious

use to leave
indicating a
ruests, man-
ing on apace,
, and ravish -
ert'ornier, Mr.
weet voice is
iinr triumph-
Dale will tell
it New York,

artune. Con-
Airee straight

■h

Coffee and Chit- Chat.

ffames, all by reason of the admirable forethoufjht of
my partner," cried Smyth, exultantly.

" Forethought always comes in a head's length, Mr.
Smyth. Now, if you could only gain a pocket edition
of the winnin"- hand, your surveys would yield you a
gold mine," said Ids hostess, gaily.

" Instead of as now, a few promissory notes," laughed
Smyth.

" The o-entlenien have been envying you your
monopoly of Mrs. Gower, Mr. Cobbe," said lively Mrs.
Smyth, in an undertone; "she is an awful flirt, you
had better take care of yourself," she added, mischiev-
ously.

"I mean to," he said savagely, and with latent
meaning, adding, " she is as tickle as her clime; I hope,"
he said, endeavorino- to control himself, " all you ladies
are not so heartless."

" Oh, no; we are as con.stant as the sun, compared to
her," she said, half jokingly.

" World you be .so to me," he said thickly, and com-
ing near her.

" Go away, Mr. Cobbe ; don't look at me like that,
you awful man,'" she whispered, laughingly.

" When may I call, you are the right sort of woman,"
he continued, persistently.

" Will says ,so, any way," she said, archly.

" vSay to-morrow," he persisted.

" Will! " she cried, mischievously. " Mr. CoVjbe'scom-
phments, and desires to know when he will tind you
in your sanctum, he wishes to smoke the pipe of peace
with you."

" Hang it," thought Cobbe, " .she has no ambition
beyond Will; give me the Australian won»en after all."

"Almost any evening, Cobbe, I am always good for
a .smoke ; but my wife says I'd better retrench, the
house of Smyth is increasing so rapidly ; good-night."

iifffTffTr

'•i'

jT
ill

Coffee and Chit-CJint.

" May 1 see you home, Mrs. St. Clair ? " asked Mr.
Cobbe, fervidly.

" It would be too sweet — but oh ! " and her arm
above the elbow is rubbed, foi- the boy Noah has
pinched her severely, saving,

" I'll tell papa."

At this juncture Thomas appeared, saying, a coupe
had arrived for Mrs. St. Clair and Master Noah.

" I must see you to-morrow, Mrs, Govver, after office
hours," said Cobbe, adding, on meeting the sharp eye
of Mrs. Dale, " I have something very particular to
tell vou."

" Say the day nfter, Mr. Cobbe, please ; I shall en-
deavor to restrain my curiosity so long, even though
I am a woman."

" No, no, I must see you to-morrov/ at five p.m.," he
said, impulsively.

" The yeas have it this time, Mr. Cobbe. Mrs. Govver
belongs to us for uO-jiiorrow," said Mrs. Dale, drawing
her wrap about her, over her cream -silk robe, slashed
with blue velvet, and laced amid innumerable button-
holes, her innocent look only apparent while, in reality,
.she is dissectinix him, " our kind hostess does some of
the lions with us to-morrow afternoon ; the evening,
she spends with us at the Queen's."

"Yes, we have no end of a bill for to-morrow," said
Mr. Dale; "the Normal School, Mount Pleasant Ceme-
tery, office of the Mq,il,{in(\ the University of Toronto."

At this there was a transformation scene, the face
of Mr. Cobbe chanofinof like a flash from inane sulki-
ness to jubilant triumph.

" To the University ! then Mrs. Gower will tell you
what a paradise we enjoyed, when I alone was her
companion there," he said, with excitement; and having
previously made his adieu, he departed, cliuckling in-
wardly at hi"^ parting shot, and thinking for once she
is nonplussed. " She is too high-spirited to sleep com-

"■B?'i

Across tJie Sea to a Witclis Caldron.

asked Mr.

d her arm
Noah has

ng, a coupe

S'oab.

, after office

le sharp eye

larticiihir to

I shall en-
jven though

ive p.ui-,

Mrs. Gower
)ale, drawing
robe, slashed

able button -
ile, in reality,
Iocs some of

the evening,

lorrow," said
easant Ceme-
iT of Toronto."
jene, the face
inane sulki-

' will tell you
done was her
[it; and having
chuckling in-
T for once she
d to sleep com-

fortably to-night, if so, she'll dream of me in spite of
herself."

" What a funny man ? " exclaimed Mrs. Dale, " re-
minds me of a Jack on wires. If I were in your place,
Mrs. Gower, I'd hand him over to his mother to bring
up over a-jfain ; till to-morrow, tarewell."

'' Au revoir, dear."

" Good night, Mr.s. Gower," said Buckingham, w ith
a firm hand-clasp ; " your evenings leave one nothing
to wish for, save for their continuance."

" If your words have life, prove them by coming
again ; good night."

CHAPTER VII.

ACROSS THE SEA TO A WITCH'S CALDRON.

^UOADLAWNS, on the outskirts of Bayswater,
London, England, on the evening Charles
Babbington-Cole, from Toronto, Cani da, is ex-
t>!#' pected, is all aglow with lights ; its exterior
a goodly spectacle with its many windows. A
long, low, rambling house, the front relieved by cornice
and architrave, and an immense portico from which
white stone steps, wide and worn by man}' feet, lead
to the lawns and gardens, which are gay with bright
flowers, intersected with old-fashioned serpentine
walks; one would call it not infiptl}'' a garden of
roses, such were their number, such their variety and
beauty. Great masses of rhododendrons, with the frag-
rant honeysuckle, sweet-briar, and lauristina lent per-
fume to the air. Some fine oaks, with beach and irrace-
ful locusts, gave beauty to the lawns ; stone stables,
with farm and carrijige houses at the back, with paved
court-yard, and kitchen-garden luxuriant in growth, a
very horn of plenty.

■f <r

Across the Sea to a Witc/is Caldron.

"A lovely spot, an ideal home," said numerous
passers-by to and from the modern Babylon. Alais !
that the interior should be a very inferno ; in the
library are assembled the family, for a family talk.

Miss Villiers, to whom did we not give precedence,
would trample on some one to gain first place. Timothy
Stone, her maternal uncle, and Elizabeth Stone, his
sister and Aunt to Miss Villiers ; the latter by sheer
strength of will, since her babyhood, has ruled at Broad-
lawns, even though, owing to disastrous speculation,
the whole family were penniless, save for the large
fortune of her step-mother. Miss Villiers lived for,
moved and had her being for kingdom. Intensely sel-
fish, and totally devoid of feeling, an apt pupil of her
aunt and uncle, she regards all sentiment, romance or
disinterested acts of kindness as mawkish, unpractical
foolishness.

A word of her looks. In height, five feet two, round
shoulders slightly high, thin spare figure, a brunette
in coloring; stony eyes of piercing blackness, always
cold and searching as though planted closely in the
forehead to read one through, as to whether any of
her dark secrets have been discovered ; a hook nose,
thin, determined lips ; hair black as the wing of a
raven; the back of her head covered with short, snake-
like curls, the front was drawn back in straight bands,
thus giving prominence to features already too un-
classically so.

As far as a man can be said to resemble a woman, so
did, in looks and character, Timothy Stone his niece,
save that his once coal-black hair is now white ; his
fishy eyes sunken, though keen as a razor ; in height,
five feet ten; of spare, alert figure, active as a prize
racer, knowing as the jockey who rides him.

Elizabeth Stone is an older counter-part of her
niece, save that she wears that fashionable mantle of
to-day — the cloak of religion, in which, unlike her

'11'

'^^w

Across tJie Sea to a Witch's Caldron.

mmerous
n. Ala;s !
; in the
y talk,
-ecedence,
Timothy
5tone, his
by sheer
at Broad-
)eculation,
the large
lived for,
ensely sel-
ipil of her
oiiiance or
mpractical

two, round
a brunette
ss, always
iely in the
her any of
hook nose,
wing of a
lort, snake-
ight bands,
dv too un-

\ woman, so
e his niece,

white ; his
in height,
) as a prize
n.

3art of her
le mantle of

unlike her

1-%

brother, she is so comfortable us never to allow it to
fall from her angular shoulders.

The library, an old-fashioned, cold looking room,
furnished in black oak, everything being in spotless
order, from books biblical and secular, to Aun^ Eliza-
beth's hands, folded just so on her stifi' gown of black
silk, as to cause one to long for (Jeskabille somewhere
other than in the principles of those present.

" The only one whom we have to fear is Sarah Kane,
and you, Margaret, luill keep her about the place in
sfDite of all 1 can say," said her uncle, in crabbed tones;
" mark my words, you are housing a rod for your own
back by your abon)inable .self-will.

"I am no fool ; did I dismiss her I .should convert
her into a deadly enemy at once ; but, as I have before
had occasion to remark. Uncle Timothy, that, thanks
to your tuition and blood, I am quite able to take care
of myself, and minims your interference."

" Don t squabble with her, Timothy, when the man
Providence is sending her as a husband may be in our
midst at any moment ; as you heard at the hotel, he is
now in the city."

" Oh bosh, Elizabeth, keep that tone under your
church hymnal, as I do ; between our.selves it is slightly
out of place," and he smiled .sarcastically.

" No, Timothy, in spite of the sinful example you
set me, I shall keep my lamp trimmed and burning ;
providence is very good to us in laying low of fever,
at Montreal, Hugh Babbington-Cole, thus giving him
time to repent, as also preventing his presence at the
wedding of Maroaret."

" At which you have been making mountains of
;mole hills," said her brother, grindy. " Babbington-
iCole could not possibly remember what Margaret and
[Pearl looked like in eighteen-seventy."

"Your memory is as usual convenient, Timothy,
Irelentless time would have shown him the difference

Across the Sea to a IVitr/i's Caldron.

' 'i
\ 'I

i!|l|

V7<

in years, of a girl just of age, and a woman of thirty-
nine.

" Enouf^rh, Aunt Elizabeth," interrupted her niece,
pale witli rage, " I simply won't allow you to allude to
the subject of ages ; if I am to play the role of twenty-
one, the sooner I get into the part the better for us all ;
we all serve our own ends in this game, self-interest is,
and ever has been, our strongest motive. For myself,
I hate Pearl Villiers as I hated my step-mother before
her, and I shall not willingly leave Broadlawns merely
because we have no income to keep it up, when, by
personating my step-sister — fortunately of my own
Christian, as well as surname, thanks to the British
habit of perpetuating family names — I gain the where-
withal to either remain in this peaceful English home,"
she said, ironically, " or roam across seas with the hus-
band or crank I am about to wed — a crank ! to re-
volve the wheels of fortune, while I leave you both
here like a pair of cooing doves. You, Aunt Elizabeth,
gain your revenge on Mr. Babbington-Cole for his
preference for my step-mother to yourself ; oh, yon
needn't wince, my ears have been put to their proper
use. You, Uncle, were spurned by my angel step-
mother, you, pining not forher, but her yellow sover-
eigns, so .... "

" You are a witch, Margaret ; how the d 1 did

you find it out ? "

" Timothy, Timothy, be good enough not to swear
in my presence."

" Oh, I have gleaned the truth in various devious
paths from Sarah Kane in a weak mood, also letters,
and I have not lost my sense of hearing ; as you have
told me since I could lisp that my wits are sharper
than Ro'lgers' cutlery ; yes, if Broadlawns went to its
owner or the hammer, you joined the Salvation Army,
and my step-sister dangled the purse, I feel it in my

if,,

Across the Sea to a Witclis Caldron.

I of thirty-

her niece,
io allude to
of twenty-
for us all ;
-interest is,
For myself,
ither before
,wns merely
p, when, by
)f my own
the British
1 the where-
Tlish home,"
ith the hus-
■ank! to re-
'e you both
it Elizabeth,
lole for his
;lf; oh, you
their proper
angel step-
el low sover-

, A 1 did

Qot to swear

'ious devious
also letters,
as you have
\ are sharper
s went to its
vation Army,
feel it in my

bones tliat I could now rival my tutors in living by
my wits," she said, cruelly.

" You are not devoid of common sense, Margaret ;
and as we may not have another opportunity before
your importunate suitor appears, I shall rcfresli your
memory by reading again a clause or two of your late
step-mother's will. . . . . ' to my husband, Henry
Villiers, I bequeath the life use of one thousand
pounds sterling per annum ; at his death I will and
bequeath the whole of my real and personal property

to my only daughter (Peai-1) Marofaret Villiers

on my little (Pearl) Margaret Villiers attaining her
majoi'ity, and becoming the wife of the aforesaid
Charles Babbington-Gole, son of my friend, Hugh
Babbington-Coie, of the Civil Service, Ottawa, Canada ;
my said daughter shall enter into possession of all my
real and personal property, with the advice of ])r.
Annesley, of London, England, or Hugh Bai)bington-
Cole, Esquire, aforesaid, my said daughter to inherit
all, subject to the following gifts. To Sarah Kane,
five hundred pounds sterling and my wearing apparel;
my piano, harp and music, I will and bequeath to the
sister-in-law of my husband, Elizabeth Stone, for her
mission-w^ork, with the hope that their sweet notes
will make her less acid to my poor little daughter, as
also to the daughters of the poor to whom she brings
the Gospel message of peace. To my step-daughter,
Margaret Villiers, I leave my forgiveness for her per-
sistent and unvarying unkindness to myself, with my
copy of the Christian Martyrs.' "

" Fool !" muttered her step-daughter, vengefully.

" Poor, carnal creature, we are now ordained to be
almoners of the gold she would have spent sinfully on
her daughter; we are saving Pearl from the perils of
the rich, for easier is it for a camel \'j ijo throuorh
the "

" Enough of that cant. Aunt; please keep it bottled

ni|4

rrl.',fT.

Across tJic Sea to n Witclis Caldron.

up, it don't go clown with us," interrupted her niece,
hastily.

" The will is plain enough, considerinsf that it was
written l)y herself, and witnessed by Dr. Annesley, and
that sneak, Silas Jones ; how much the latter knows is
hard to tell, I have pumped him indirectly without
avail ; Annesley, being a busy London physician, will
not bother himself in the matter now that Villiers is
dead ; he has no more love for us than we for him ; our
card is to expedite your union with speed and privacy ;
you will most likely go to Canada, as I expect Charles
(as we best accustom ourselves to call him) will prefer
such arrangement; I shall pay you regularly "

" Yes, you'd better not try any of your sharp tricks
on me. Uncle ; if the cheque is not forwarded to the
day, Trenton and Barlow will interview you ; my
sword will also hang by a hair."

" How confoundedly smart we are," he answered,
wratnfully.

" I have been brought up in a good school," she
replied, sententiously.

"lam glad you are able to appreciate our many
useful lessons to you," he said, sneeringly. " And now
to business ; three thousand pounds per annum will
be a large income for Canada; especially, as knowing
your generous nature, I feel sure it will be all spent
on your own wants ; had you not better leave us three
thousand, and pinch yourself," he said, sarcastically,
" on two thousand ? "

" Not much ! anything I don't spend on mj'-self, as
you observe, I shall invest in, I think, C. P. R. stock,
or even Grand Trunk, as it is looking up, there being
a rumor that next year it will form a connection bj-
way of Dnluth, with the Manitoba boundary rail, thus
placing itself in competition with the C. P. R. Yor
need not stare, I am making myself conversant with
the state of the Canadian money market."

Across the Sea to a Witclis Caldron.

her niece,

liat it was
loslev, and
r knows is
V without
sieian, will
Villiers is
r him ; our
(1 privacy ;
:'ct Cliarles
will prefer

harp tricks
"(led to the
^ you ; my

! answered,
ichool," she

our many

" And now
mnum will
as knowing
be all spent
tve us three
arcastically,

n myself, as
P. R. stock,
there being
imection by
ry rail, thus
P. R. Yor
ersant with

" How wise we are. I can toll you tlmt only a fool
would invest in such like, with that Ri;d llivor Valley
Railway bungle on. What I w;int to be made; aware of
is. have you deteiinined on taking no less than three
thousand per annum '{ '

" I have positively so determined. I don't think I
look like a fool."

" I do — in a pink inuslin, with as much ribbon hang-
ing over your bustle as would make a decent gown."

" You are neglecting your education, uncle, in your
favorite i>Jiuie ol* i/old orab. I'd advise you to jio to
the citv and take a few lessons from the clerks at
Swan vV Edgar's; they will tell you tliat in society a
bustle is a toiirnure. As for my dress, my role is
twenty-one, and I must bear some resemblance to the
sweet lines of the poet — of

' Standing with reluctant feet,
Where the brook and river meet.' "

" Dear, dear, what frivolity, and the suburban train
is due ; we should unite in thanking Providence that
this gold is in our hands ; but previously, Margaret, you
.should stipulate in writing that your unch: may pay
me the sum of one hundred pounds per annum for my
gooil works. There is Meg Smith, actually pining for
her drunken husband, who .says he won't reform until he
gets her again; but I have my foot down, and shall keep
them apart even if we liave to pay her board ; there is
no use in my telling them not to be" ' unequally yoked
with unbelieyers,' and then give in. 1 could cite dozens."

" Pray do not. It's my belief all you women care for
is power to rule ; the wretches would be far better
without your government. Heaven preserve me from a
woman with a mission," .said her brother in disousted
tones. " As to my promising to pay you any stipulated
sum, you will receive j^our allowance for wearing
apparel, and anything you can crib out of the house-

1.1 'f

'^1

r:4

A Troubled Spirit,

keepino; yon will ,all women take to that card natur-
ally) ; but remember, if I find mj'selt' on short rations
there will be the devil to pay."

" One word more, as the speakers sny," said Miss
Villiers, "ere we dissolve this protital>le (I use the
word advisedly) meetinp^ : what table sliall we concoct
as to the whereabouts of my an^^elic step-sisccr ] "

" What an unpleasant \vay you have of putting
thini^s Marcjaret," said her aunt.

" I prefer on occasion to call ' a spade a spade,'
Aunt P^lizabeth. Well, uncle, shall it be as to her self-
reliant spirit, and that she (being a mistake v/hich
means anything; has fled to that broad and conve-
nient field, the United States of America ? "

" Yes, that will pass ; but I scarcely thiidc he will
inquire, as he has never troubled himself about liis
betrothed or yourself until you hunted him up."

" At your instigation ; so disinterested in you, never
thinking of the feathers for your own nest."

" The suburban train is due ! " exclaimed her aunt.
'Do, Margaret, endeavor to act like a Christian."

" Never fear. Aunt Elizabeth ; I shall act my part as
well as you do, with self-interest as motive-power :
our sex niay without a prompter ; and now to the
drawing-room to awe the ignorarfc Colonial by our
British gold and conventionalities."

doc,

CHAPTER VIII.

A TROUBLED SPIRIT.

ITH minified feelinnfs of disinclination and re-
pulsion, also an undefined sense of dread and
reluctance, poorC. Babbington-Cole left the
ipi'j C'd]f of Chicago and, again orn lemi firnia,
made his way up from the seaboard to Lon-
where at Morley's Hotel he and hi.H father had

A Troubled Spirit.

:d natur-
it rations

said Miss
'. use the
^e concoct

: putting

a spade,'
) luT self-
ke which
ikI coave-

k he will

about his

»
up.

^'ou, never

her aunt,
lan.

ny part as
ve-power :
)W to the
al by our

ion and re-
dread and
ole left the
rra firnia,
rd to Lon-
'ather bad

arranged to meet. " Hang it," he thought moodily, " I
feel like an infernal frog out of Acheron, covered with
the ooze and mud of melancholy. Jove, if I could only
chance upon the Will Smyths or Mrs. Gower, what a
tonic they would be ; how they would enjoy this mad-
dinir crowd with all the world abroad, with no blue blood
in the beef they eat either, judgiiig from red cheeks
and stout ankles. What women ! cotton batting would
not be a safe investment here ; I hope the governor is
waiting for me at Morley's, but he must be, as he
took the Circassi ni from Quebec on the 16th. I'll
persuade him not to go out to Bayswater at all, but to
abandon this debt of honor, as in his sensitive nature
he dubs his promise to a dead woman, for I have no
hankerinfj after a martyr's crown. If I am coerced
(for I am made of very limp stuff) into this union and
she is not a girl I can care to spoon over, and must
' write me down as an ass ' foj;* selling my liberty to,
then adieu to wedded bliss — I shall again content my-
self in a den by myself, and my craze for mechanism
shall be my wife and my few real friends my mistress.
Jove ! though, I must strain my eyes and endeavor
to see a glimmer of light in the black clouds ; if
A\(i be a girl after my own heart she will sympathize
after a nnre practical manner than did the 'twenty
with Bunthorn,' in giving me the dollar to develop,
and obtain a patent for one or other of my inventions.
Yes, I'll be a soldier. I am nearing the battle-tield ;
with the smell of powder in my nostrils, I wlU gain
strength. Cabby is reining in his steed, so this, I
suppose, is my hotel."

"' Morley's, sir; and 'ere be a porter for your baggage,
sir."

"All right," and springing from the four-wheeler he
is interviewing the clerk.

" Has Mr, Babbington-Cole, froni Ottawa, Canada,
arrived ? "

fMi,(flTf?

'flTfftlr

■ -jr.

■ k ".■ 4

i 'i

III

iiij .ifii

ii(|i;

■;

1 '

56 A Ti'oubled Spirit.

" No, sir ; are you Mr. C. Babbington-Cole ? "
" Yes."

"Then here is a cablegram for you, sir."
It was from his father, and ran thus :

" St. Lawrence Kall,

" Montreal, Sept. 20th.

" To C. Babbington-Cole, Esq.,

" Morley's Hotel, London, England.

"Your father has been very ill — typhoid fever; called
me in ; is improving; asks me to cablegram you to re
turn by way of Montreal. Longs to see you and your
wife, which will be a panacea for him.

" John Peake, M.D."

" My father ill ! Oh that I could have foreseen all
this," exclaimed Cole, tl^inging himself into a chair in
the privacy of the bedroom assigned him. '' To have to
face my fate alone," he thought, '" and yet I have been
awai'e for some time that this was hanging over me ;
but the truth is, I thought the girl would never claim
me, that they would arbitrate, divide, have a grab
game among themselves, anything other than rope me
in. Had I been infted with Scotch second -sijxht, or
even cauticjn, 1 should not be in this tix now ; but I
have been made of wax, and so absorbed in my loved
inventions, tilling in an emotional half hour with an
occasional flirtation, with my nose to the grindstone
the rest of my time, that this possible ' game of barter,'
in which some one says ' the devil always has the best
of it.' rarely occurred to me ; but this will never do
in action, only shall 1 now find repose. I ')yiiiHt go out
to Bays water, and 1 '])iUHi wed this girl, unless Heaven
works a miracle — no, unless I act the cov ard's part,
cut and run, I am in for it. \i 1 could only moralize
on the pantheon of ugly horrors half of our mar-

A Troubled Spirit.

riages are, and that one might imagine most of them
were perpetrated in the dark, or on sight, as mine,
then I might console myself by thinking that I have
as good a chance of hap; iness as most. My brain is
on tire ; if I only had one friend in this vanity fair,
wherein to me is no merriment, the babel of sounds
seeming to me the guns of the enemy w^arning me
to retreat; talk of delinicm tremens, I have all the
blue devils rolled in one ; a stimulant is what I want,
to be able to face the music."

And making his way to the bar, in a short time his
spirits, with the aid of John Barleycorn, arise ; though
he knows in the reaction they will be below zero.

" And now for BaysM'ater and my skrinking young
bride," he thought. " I declare," he said, half aloud,
with a forced laugh, " I can sympathize, for the first
time, with the ily who had a bid from the spider to
walk into his parlor. Is there a roaring farce on any-
where ? " he asked the bar-tender.

"Yes, sir; a reg'lar side-splitter at the Haymarket.
You w^ill 'ave time to take in the matinee and dinner
at Broadlawns, Bayswater, too, sir."

" How tl: 3 deuce did you know I was due there ? "

" Mr. Stone and Miss Villiers have called three times
to look you up, sir."

" Indeed ! "

" Yes, sir ; Mr. Stone, he came in, and Miss Villiers,
she waited outside in the trap."

The mere mention of the people from Broadlaw^ns
having come to hunt him up, had such a depressing
effect, that he abandoned all idea of distraction at the
play.

" There is not a particle of use of my trying to sit
through the farce with this thumping headache ; have
a hansom here for me in a couple of hours, to convey
me to Broadlawns ; I shall walk out and get a glimpse
of the city."
5

f ' ■!'

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A Troubled Spirit.

i il

■1 !

1 .

" All right, thank you, sir."

" Some one hath it," he thought, entering Trafalgar
Square, 'that the grand panacea, the matchl(;s.s sanative
which is an iril'allible cure for the blues, is exercise, ex-
ercise, exerciHel so now for a trial; here goes for five
miles an hour."

" On, and ever onwards, with, and j^et apart from,
the stream of busy life, alone and lonelj'" amidst the
throng, not once staying his steps; winging his flight
in the vain effort to tlee from self, dril'ting on the
waves of unrest, they engulfing him, his face white
and worn as a ghost, his blue eyes weary and with a
hunted look, a neuralgic headache driving him to the
brink of madness; the panorama of wonderful sights
on which, under other circumstances, he would have
feasted his eyes. Peers of the realm, having gained
notoriety in one way or another, passed unnoticed, with
lovely women, from professional beauties reclining in
their own carria<_jes, whose tovs were men's hearts, with
the world as a stage, to the q,vowed actress, whose
bright eyes looked from a hired equipage, who ])layed
for men's ijohl on the staije of the theatre ; far-famed
Regent Street was travf-rsed-with less interest than he
would have accorded to Lombard Street, Toronto; for
man loves freedom as a bird — there he was free, now he
feels his fetters.

" Take care sir," said a policeman, kindly.

"Blockhead! it would serve him right to coMie to
his senses under the feet ofc' liiy horse," said the only
occupant of a low carriage, in the voice of a shrew, as
she drove on.

At this juncture Cole shook himself to rights, as it
were.

" She was uglj'- enough to give a fellow n «'^are, after
our pretty Canadian women," he said to the policeman.

" Oh, she isn't no type of what we can show you,
sir ; she's but small, but enough o' her sort, say I "

: i-ii

iilk

A Troubled Spirit.

" Ditto ; and now be good enough to hail a cab for
me.

" Yes, sir ; here you are, and thank you, sir."

"To Morley's hotel."

" All right, sir."

On reachinsr his destination he learned that Mr.
Stone had driven in to ascertain whether he had
arrived, when, on hearing that he had, but was out,
had waited ; when a lady, calling for him, had gone,
leaving a note for him, which on opening read thus :

" Dear Bahbington-Cole, — Am very pleased to
hear of your safe arrival ; have important business, so
cannot wait ; in fact arrangements for the immediate
marriage of my niece to yourself ; kindly come out at
once, on your return.

" Yours sincerely,

" Timothy Stone."

" The net is well laid," thought poor Cole ; '-' they are
bound to rope me in ; how strange it all seems ; even
my name sounds unfamiliar, having at home, in dear
old Toronto, dropped the Babbington ; but I must
adorn myself for the altar." And once more he seeks
retirement in his own chamber. " Hang that evolu-
tion of a woman's corsets and curling tongs, viz., the
modern dude ! such a chokino- and ti<;hteninix a fel-
low's throat and legs undergo ; I wonder if my shrink-
ing bride will ex])ect me to kneel to her. Ah ! there
goes for a rip ; under the knee, though, as luck would
have it ; not being (|uite educated up to a chamois pad
and face powder, my modest Pearl will have to be
satisfied with candle and throat moulds. I wonder if
she will compliment me on my handsome black mous-
tache, as mv women friends at home do ; and now to
fortify myself with dinner, or at least oysters and a
glass of stout. Hang it, how faint and dizzy I feel."

f ' m

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60 Vultures Habited as Christian Pew-Holders.

CHAPTER IX.

VULTURES HABITED AS CHRISTIAN PEW-HOLDERS.

N due time his hansom enters the gates of Broad-
lawns ; at the door he is met by Mr, Stone.

" Welcome to Enofland and Broadlawns," said
the spider to the fly, his ferret-like eyes scan-
nino; his victim eaoerly, as if to read whether
he would give him trouble. " We have been expecting
you for twenty-four hours ; the ladifes have been most
anxious. Simon, bring this gentlernan's baggage up-
stairs, to the east room ; and put in an appearance soon,
Babbington-Cole, or the ladies will think you a myth."

"Thank you; as I dressed at Morley's, I shall be
with you in a few moments," responded Cole, in sub-
dued accents, feeling that struggles would be now of
no avail, that he was well in their net; but the
house itself would have depressed him under any cir-
cumstances. It was solid, massive, thick-set gloom;
happiness and mirth were far away ; the cold, chill
atmosphere of distrust, dislike, deceit and hypocrisy
dwelt in its dark corridors and gloomy apartments.
The last gleam of " Home, sweet home," had fled with
the spirit of the second wife of its late master ; she,
poor thing, was wont to say, " Broadlawns is like a
lovely, smiling face, with a black, lying heart ; its ex-
terior is briglit with Nature's beauteous flowers, its
interior a very Hades."

Miss Villiors and Miss Stone rose to greet Mr. Cole
on his enterinnf the oloomv, but handsomely furnished
oak drawing-room ; his flrst glance at the former
served to show him that the lady who had wished he
might come to his sen.ses under the feet of her horse 1
and Miss Villiers were one and the same."

"Jove! that vixen," he thought; "but, thank Heaven,

ank Heaven,

Vultures Habited as Christian Pew- Holders. 61

there are two dauprhters ; the other is my one, for my
father says she is the prettiest ^irl in all England, and
this one, ugh, she makes one's flesh creep."

"My conscience, 'tis that dolt," thought his bride-
elect, giving her hand with her false smile. " We ex-
pected you to dinner, but cook has my orders to get
you up something, so come with me to the dining-
room," she add'^d, insinuatingly.

'" Don't trouble about me. Miss Villiers, I beg ; I had
a bit of dinner at Morley's."

"Muff," thought Miss Villiers, spitefully, "not to
have taken his chance to become acquainted."

" Margaret is, as you are aware, Mr. Babbington-
Cole, the Christian name of my niece (and a beautiful
name it is) ; she will be better pleased if you drop all
formality, and call her so, eh, Margaret."

" Yes, under the circumstances," she answered, with
a meaning glance.

" Thank you ; I have not seen your sister yet ; is she
quite well?" he asked, timidly; for, with a forboding
of evil, he unconsciously looked to the sister as an escape.

" Margaret's fascinations fall flat," thought her
uncle, with a malicious chuckle.

" I don't take ; he wants a milk and water miss, but
no you don't, young man ; you are yny tool," thought
his bride-elect, setting her teeth.

" My poor step-sister is well — I hope, but we never
name her ; she is a — a mistake ; however, she is not
your one."

" But is she not here ? " said Cole, nervously, now
really frightened, " does she not reside with you ? My
poor father said — " here he utterly broke down. Ac-
customed ever to lean on some one, of a clinging, trust-
ing nature, with a strong spice of feminine gentleness,
which caused him to turn to some woman friend for
advice or moral support, so that here, in the hour of
his greatest need, he feels doubly alone, as he gazes

I
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'■ ^"W^

62 Vultures Habited as Christian Pew-Holders.

I ^ if

t .ill

around at the three hard, cruel faces, each with a set
purpose and false smile perceptibly engraven, he is in
despair. Miss Villiers especially ; will he ever cease
to be haunted by her as she sits in a high Elizabethan
chair, an ebony easel exactly on a line with her face,
and partly behind her, on which is a frightful head of
Medusa, the reptiles for hair looking to him, in his
hijVhly nervous state, like the tight, crisp curls and
braids covering the head of his bride-elect, and the
lines from Pitt's " Virgil " recurred to his memory :

" Such fiends to scourge mankind, so fierce, so fell,
Heaven never summoned from the depths of hell."

Mr. Stone broke the momentary silence by saying, in
matter-of-fact tones :

" It is natural, I suppose, to a man of your seemingly
nervous temperament, to be a little upset at not
meeting your father ; but, in my opinion, life is too
short for sentiment, especially when wasted as in this
case, for your father, according to cablegram sent us,
is improving, and is, 1 dare swear, kicking his heels
about St. Lawrence Hall, Montreal, waiting impatiently
for your return."

" Yes, Uncle Timothy, yours is the practical view of
it ; sentiment is, or should be, a monopoly of the poets;
self-interest, with pounds, shillings and pence, are good
enough for us."

" Margaret means to convey, Mr. Charles, that you
should be thankful to Providence that you have been
spared to come to us ; to a land, also, flowing with
milk and honey, ready to your hand and purse," said
her aunt, sanctimoniously adding, " How is religious
life in Toronto ? "

" Religious life ? " he said, half dazed, wholly ab-
sorbed in the thought that he was to be held in bond-
age by that stony-eyed woman with snake-like hair —
his Medusa.

Vultures Habited as CJiristian Pezv-Holders. 63

" Alas, I fear you are dead in sin, Mr. Charles. You
do not evon know the nieanino^ of my woril.s. I have
heard that New York is the most wicked city in
America, and you, I fear, frequenily go there to j)arti-
cipate in the pleasures of sin. 1 ch-ead to nhow my
niece to go out, even as your wife ; it was only the
other day 1 read, copied fi'oin one of your news[)apeis,
that at Taldeqiiah, which I suppose is near you, that
a Chickasaw Indian was arrested by a deputy United
States m.-irshal with three assistants; the company
camped on tlie prairie, with the exception of the mar-
shial, who, riding on, reached his goal ; waited there
until weary, he rode hack, and what did he find ? The
entire posse with heads cut off, and the Jiulian Hed.
America must be a very Sodom and Gomorrah But I
see you are not listening to me, Mr. Cliarles. We liave a
samtly young man here, the Rev. Claude Parks, whom
1 must ask to influence you to a better frame of mind,
with an intense ori^^titude to Providence for the favors
ah lut to be showered upon you."

Thus did Miss Stone give vent to her feelings to
unlisteninii' ears. Fond of hearin<x her own voice, it
mattered little to her that she received no i'e])liK.s but
to be told impatiently that '• he was ill," and to be
compelled to waste the eloquence she seduced herself
into believing she possessed, upon a man with now his
hands pressed upon his feverish brow, now his eyes
tixed on vacancy, now upon the entrance as though he
woidd fain flee, incensed her almost to ra«'e : durinor
the absence of Mr. Scone and his niece she had deter-
mined to improve the occasion, and so read him no end
of lectures. The two absent ones, after a few minutes'
whispered conversation in the library, had crossed the
lawn to a neat cottacj'e where the clergyman in charge
of the Bays water Mission existed on one hundred and
tifty pounds per annum. As they stepped through
the flower beds, which the moon rising in unclouded

fl |.!flTr

64 Vultures Habited as Christian Pezv- Holders,

!' '

; !

^ii

!!!l-

iii'i..

splendor lit with her soft white light, Miss Villiers in
cold, hard tones, said :

" Yes, you are ri^^lit ; he showed his hand, and of
how much he loved me at first siijht, as he asked in
that scared way for my sweet sister, but bah ! such
maudlin folly in our wasting our precious moments
over hi8 feelings in the matter ; they are of no more
consequence than are the blades of grass we crush
beneath our feet in reaching our goal ; let him laugh
who wins, even though the goal be reached by a foul."

" Yes, the sooner we hold the lines the better ; he
has not spirit enough to be a runaway horse."

" Let him but try, there is the curb bit and halter."

" Oh, you need not tell me, Margaret, that you will
have him well in hand. Yes, and before that paradise
of fools, the honeymoon, is over," laughed her uncle
sardonically.

" Yes, the grey mare will be the best horse this time ;
but what a blessing his father is laid low ; it would
have been all up, when he saw how cut up our precious
Charles is. I did hope, had they come over together,
they might have been shrewd as their Yankee neigh-
bors, and gone in with us. Ndw, if his father should
die, we have nothing to fear ; if he lives, we must exer-
cise our wits, that is all. * nd, now, as to your little
fiction as to the telegram summoning you away at
daybreak, where will you stay ?"

" Oh, anywhere, in some quiet cheap boarding-house
in East End, London ; perhaps Tom Lang's."

" I suppose it's soft of me, uncle ; but I may not have
a quiet word with you again. You must mind, I mean
what I say. You must pay aunt one hundred pounds
per annum for her own requirements and beloved mis-
sion work, though what she gives would not buy salt
to their porridge, unless to that of her pet parson
himself."

" When you know this, Margaret, why make such

]^ult lives Habited as Christ ia)i Pcic- 1 folders. 65

an ass of yourself as to give it her; for, in my opin-
ion, fshe is hoarding."

" It is in the blood ; but you are a monopolist," she
said sententiously as, merely tapping on the door of the
cottage, they entert. • sans cereiuonie, meeting the Rev.
Claude Parks in the hall, who, shaking hands with
both, said : " I had some calls this evening, but expect-
ing you in, postponed them. At what hour to-morrow
am I to tie tlie knot ?" he asked smilingly.

" Never put off till to-morruw what can be done to-
day, Mr. Parks ; you may take that for your text next
Sunday," said Miss Villiers decidedly.

"Nothing like it, Parks," said her uncle in oily
tones, rubhino- his hands.

" I shall give you another," said the curate rejoicing
in his coming fee. " 'If, when done, 'twere well, 'twere
well 'twere done quickly.' Do you desire me to return
with you ?"

" Yes," said Miss Villiers, " and at once, if we are to
act on our joint quotations, for it is only two hours
until midnight ; come, get your robes of office, and let
us be off."

Thus it was that the ways and means did duty, the
curate standing much in awe of Miss Villiers, as well
as of Miss Stone; some saying the latter was his curate,
others facetiously protesting that he was hers. And so
she considered him not as the ambassador of Christ,
but as a paid servant of her own, for so does too often
the Anglican Church pay its clergy only sufficient for
a dinner of herbs ; knowing that man, be he priest or
sinner, being a dining animal, has, at a weak moment,
a craving for the " stalled ox," and if his appetite be
too strong for him, sells himself, like Esau, for a
" mess of pottage."

But now to return to Miss Villiers and her uncle,
with the Re-' Claude Parks, as they make their entree
lake such 9 to Broadlaw s and its oak drawing-rooms.

A Lucifer Match.

CHAPTER X.

A LUCIFER MATCH.

„EV. MR. PARKS, Mr. BaU.incrton-Cole, of
'n wlioni you Imve heard us spuak, from
Caiiiida," said Miss Villiers ; and Ben-
'"^M sougli'>' modern curate of the conventional
type Hasiitd across the memory of pool- Cole.
He was a meek younn; man, thougli a true Christian,
wh(j spoke in a monotone, Ins liair parted, to a liair, in
line with tlie hridi^e of his nose, and wearino- his hands
meekly fol(le(h

After their goinij round and round the Darometer,
EnfTflish and Canadian, Miss Stone said, primly :

" It matters little whether the poor carnal bodies
suffer from the cohi. I fear, out there, souls are cold
unto deatli, starvin<4 for spiritual life and heat. I hav^e
been telling Mr. Babbinijton-Cole, and I feel sure you
will coincide with me, Mr. Parks, that with so many
infidels and wild Indians in his land, they should have
their lamps trimmed and burning."

" You are always orthodox. Miss Stone," chanted Mr.
Parks, meekly. " You look ill, Mr. Babbington Cole ;
was the sea too much for you ?"

" Yes, and now my head is in a whirl. I feel as if I
am in ior brain fever. Would to God I had remained
in Canada," he answered feverishly.

"Tut, tut; a night's rest will set you up," said
Stone hastily. *' You Canadians are pale in any case,
looking as though you feed on offuel."

" Cablegram, sir," said Simon, tapping at the doo?-

"It's for you, Babbington Cole," said Stone, '
ing it.

"From my father's medical man," said Cole ii'^r-
vously, as, on reading it, he returned it to the env^elope,

mr,

A Lucifer Match.

and was about pocketing it, when Miss Villiers said,
puttinnj out lier hand:

" I presume we may see it."

Cole, though witli visible reluctance, handed it to her,
when she read as follows :

" St. Lawkence Hall,

" AlONTKEAL, 25th Sept.

' To C. Babhington-Cole, Esq.

"Typhoid fever left; but taken cold, sore throat;
looking most anxiously for the return of yourself and
Mrs. Cole. Pray don't delay .

"John Peake, M.D."

" Too bad, too bad ; but you may yet find your
father quite well," said Stone, with assumed feeling.

"'In the midst of life we are in death,' " said Miss
Stone. " I trust vour father has not been a careless
liver, Mr. Charles ; as a young man, I remember he
was much ffiven to the thinofs of the world.

" My father is no smooth-tongued hypocrite, but has
a truer sense of religion than many representative men
and women in our church of to-day," said Cole, warmly;
while thinking, but for his mistaken sense of honor,
I. would not now be in this abominable lix.

"You will, I am sure, be anxious to return at once,
Mr. Babbington-Cole," said Mr. Parks, in measured
tones. " And as the first step towards it, as it grows
late, if you will arrange yourselves, I will proceed
at once with the service."

"To-ni<xht!" exclaimed the victim.

" I think it best, Babbington-Cole," said Stone, firmly,

for you are not the only one who has received a tele-

ijraphic message this evening ; mine summons me away

daybreak for the Isle of Wight, on urgent business ;
and as you have crossed the pond to marry my niece,
what do you gain by postponement ? "

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f''f"f«

i. i

A Lucifer Match.

" By delay," said Miss A^illiers, fixing her stony eyes
on hiin, as .she motioned him to stand beside her, " by
delay we may miss seein;^ your father alive."

" Tru(3,' said Cole, " and I must find him alive to
explain ail this," he added, with feverish haste. And
while the ;service was said in monotone by the clergy-
man, so intent was he in performing hidden rites of
vengeance upon his bride for the pantheon of hideous
idols she was making him walk through life in, that
he was deaf to the words :

" Wilt thou take this woman to be thy wedded wife?"

And the first caress he received fron. his bride was
a pinch, sharp and telling; he said, excitedly:

"Take it all for granted, Mr. Parks, I am really too
ill to take part."

At the words, " I pronounce that they be man and
\Hfe together," etc., muffled footsteps and the noise of
j: anting breath is distinctly heard, and a pale woman,
who had evidently come from a distance, with flying
feet entcicd ; the clergyman only seeing her, the others
having their backs to the entrance ; but she nears,
staying her feet to listen as she hears the w^ords which
add another couple to the long line of loveless unions,
her hurried breathing falls on the ears of those present.
All turn round. Miss Villiers eyes her menacingly,
while Miss Stone and her brother simultaneously point
to the door, as she interrupting Mr. Parks' congratula-
tions, says in heart-rending tones of despair :

" Yes, I will go, for I am too late, too late, alas ! for
my poor young mistress and my oath to protect her."
And she vanished noiselessly.

The fetters securely fastened, Mrs. Babbington-Cole
said, wratht'ully : ^

" A lunatic asylum is the only fit home for Sarah
Kane." Turning to her new-made husband, she says
explanatorily, "an old servant, and a crank. Uncle

l^*j

A Lucifer Match.

Timothy, you had better see her caged up somewhere,
or pay her off, and dismiss her."

*' Yes, I must ; we can't have a madwoman going
about like this."

" Alas ! how unorratet'ul of Sarah," sisrhed Miss Stone.
" I fear the seed we have sown fell on stony ground,
Mr. Parks."

'■' I fear so, indeed," echoed Mr. Parks, as he departed,
his heart orladdened on thinkincj of the efood British
gold in his pocket ; arid from Mr. Stone, mean though
he was, it was worth paying a sovereign to become the
possessor of a yearly income of two thousand pounds.
The poor bridegroom thought not of the parson's fee,
which, had he wedded a woman of his own choice,
he would have paid with an overflowing heart, he,
poor fellow, being as generous as morning sunbeams
on a beauteous June day.

The ceremony over! the fraud consummated! the
bird snared ! the man fettered ! all joy in living, all hope
in his heart crushed by a woman. Cole since hearing
the solemn words of the agitated woman, felt as he
threw himself into a chair, burying his head in his
hands, as he leaned forward elbows on knees, as though
did some one put a knife to his heart he would be
grateful ; he felt feverish and his brain throbbed as it
had never throbbed before. Starting to his feet, he
said brokenly, " It is now my turn to dictate ; you will
excuse me, I muHt have time to think, and in nolitude ;
I go to my own apartment."

"You had better have some supper with us first to
celebrate the event," said his bride, jocosely, for she
feels triumphant.

" No, I thank you, food would choke me, and I am
in no mood for revelry."

'•'You had better, Babbington-Cole," said Stone (who
never offered a meal that he had to pay for), " you
had better ; an empty stomach is a cold bed-fellow."

vf'WT

I :

A Lucifer Match.

But he was gone. Six ears sharp as needles listened
to the sound of his retreating footfalls, slow and
heavy, in ascending the stairs ; they heard him go in
and lock his door,

" A loving bridegroom," said Stone, malevolently.
" You have evidently made an impression, Margaret."

" As you did on my sainted step-mother, when she
spurned your ofier beneath her feet, history repeats
itself, most affectionate of uncles."

" ' The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity,' " said
Miss Stone, reprovingly; "let us show a Christia..
spirit, and prove we are thankful everything is set-
tled ; we have worked hard for it, and have a right to
partake of the feast prepared for the wedding party."

" Had you not better call your recalcitrant spouse,
Margaret," said her uncle, as they repaired to che
dining-room and seated themselves ;" perhaps you do
not know that the vay to a man's heart is through his
stomach."

" No, I shall not disturb his peaceful slumbers ; by
leavinof him to himselt' he will the sooner come to his
milk. For a beircxarlv eiffht hundred-dollar clerk —
Colonial at that — he does not show gratitude as he
should for a three thousand pound per annum wife."

"I agree with you, Margaret, but I doubt not you
will bring him to a more Cliristian frame of uiind,"
said Miss Stone, dwelling on each mouthful of veal-
and-ham pie with the relish of an epicure.

"Alone once mo/e, thank God!" said Cole to him-
self in despairing tones, throwing himself on to a sofa
of stiff, cold horse-hair; "and now to collect my un-
welcome thoughts," he sighed wearily, now walking
restlessly to and fro, now flinging himself down, lying
perfectly still.

Some one says that " locality is like a dyer's vat."
This room assiijjned to Cole would in itself have lent a
gloomy, funereal aspect to one's tone of mind, from the

iL,

A Lucifer Match.

cumbrons bedstead of dark inahooranv to the darkest
of hanofings and carpet, every article as cold and
polished as the Vuack hair-clcth furniture. No pretty
feminine knick-knacks, no brii:;ht pictures, nothing to
relieve the eye.

" Alone," he groaned, " yes, but for how long ? She
will, I expect, think she has the right to come liere ;
had she forced her hatefid presence upon me to-night
I feel that reason would have Hed. What could mv
father have been about to sell me like this ? But
there has been some devil's work. He has been
deceived, and I have l)een completely hemmed in by
the moves of tlie miscreator circumstance, tlie cable-
gram of his physician to them and to myself to-
night. She a modern Medusa, to be a panacea for him
or any one ! Poor father, how you have been duped.
That thev are all plavinij: some devil's cT^ime is clear
even j my throbljing brain, no won<]er that ever since
I set foot on England's shore I have liad a terril:)le pre-
sentiment of evil hanging over me, and now the very
worst has come to pass : they have roped nie in. I
have given her, that awful wo?nan, my name ! God
save me from madness ! Hist! what sound was that?
They come I an 1 yet the hideous midnight revelry is
still on below ; but they come, a tap ! Jove's thunder-
bolt, or Vulcan's hammer would be of no avail. 1
shall feign sleep."

Hf-,

r''

Their ''Rank is but the Guinea's Stamp."

CHAPTER XL

THEIR " RANK IS BUT THE GUINEA'S STAMP."

'ND what does our Dioi^enes find to say ?" said
Mrs. Gower, gaily, as on the niij^ht of the 9th
Nov^ember she gathered a few friends to
supper, after an evening at the Grand Opera
House. " Come, Mr. Dale, like a good man,
confess that Mrs. Langtry is worth letting your tub
go to staves for."

"Well, on the whole, yes. I think she has im-
proved."

" Improved ! but I suppose one must be content
with even such admission from you."

" But.mydear lady, when a man has seen the best that
London, Paris, and New York can put on their theatre
boards, what you in Canada ofifer is merely pour
passe z le teif)ip."

" Yes, I suppose one grows to feel like that; but I am
glad I have yet a few sights to see, if, by seeing every-
thing, one loses one's zest for anything."

"But you surely do not admire her choice of plays ? "

" No ; but I do really deem her a born actress, as
clever as she is charmino."

" One could easily see, Mrs. Gower, that you got the
worth of your ticket in emotional feeling," said Mr.
Smyth, laughingly, "for you visibly trembled when
'ex-Captain Fortinbras' made his triumphant expose"

" Malevolent wretch ! a thrill of horror did run
through me, as well as of pity for his unfortunate
victim."

" My feelings are not so easily acted upon," said
Mrs. Dale. " 1 was very coollj^ watching to see if she
could disentangle herself from the villain's clutches,
and her arms from her odious lace sleeves."

Their ^'^ Rank is but the Guinea's Stamp!' 73

" The latter absorbed me," said lively Mrs. Smyth ;
"if I had such arms I should never cover them, njt
even in mid-winter ; you ou^ht to pay more for your
ticket tlian we do, Elaine, you get more — more feelings
— than we do."

" Yes, I must trouble you for some more oysters,
Mr. Dale ; ' nerve tissue is expensive,' " she laugliirgly
answered.

" Her gowns, her robings, were in perfect taste," said
Buckingham.

" Yes, Oscar Wilde would have breathed a siirh of
satisfaction," said Mrs Gower.

"Speaking of our color-blending pet," said Mrs.
Dale, " he wishes his baby was a girl ; he says girls
drape so much better."

"Just fancy a thinjj like that living in our stirring
ti»nes, and cilling itself a man," said Dale, contemptu-
ously ; " picture him beside the two liberated Chicago
Anarchists."

" Poor fellow ! he would feel badly had the Com-
munists the control of his wardrobe," said Mrs. Gower.

" His would be a capital garb for a surveyor," said
Mrs. Smyth ; " 1 wish Will would adopt it."

" Then would surveyors be on the increase when his
measure would be taken," laughed Mrs. Gower.

" Lilian has vivid recollections of my last home-
coming, when I was a mass of sticky York mud to my
knees," said Smyth.

" I remember, Dale, you were disgusted at the
Emma-Juch concert by reason of larcje .hats and small
chatter," said Buckingham. " What did you think of
the manner of the audience to-night ? " •

" I think that, on the whole, when one considers the
antecedents of tl^^ moneyed people of Toronto, that
they behaved themselves better, showed more consi-
deration for the feelings of others, in fact, ignored
their fine feathers— remembering that they were not

'I'TT

immmm

111

,1
'i

, i 1

■1

i :

' : '

,1
' 4

74 T/ieir ^' Rank is bui tJie Guinea! s Stamps

the only occupants of }ihe theatre — better than at any
other j^atlu'rini; of ' iieautyand fashion' (in newspHper
parhmce), that I have made one at."

"Yes; so 1 thoUjL^ht," said Bnckinjj^luam ; "and at
the theatre, one escapes the worrving nuisance of
recalls, as felt at Toronto."

" J wish some star in the concert world would have
the courai;e to insert after her name, no encore," said
Mrs. Gower, " for thou<]jh we do recall, it is astonishing
how evnuyeux the best numljers are in repetition."

" Will did an awfully daiini; thinnf at the Cai-reno-
Jiich concert,'' said Mrs Sm\th, eagerly; "we had
seats immediately beiiind the Caw sons ; and you know,
Elaine, what a rude, boisterous "

" My dear," said her friend, in mock reproof ; " they
are in society! have, of course, the rlollar, and, perforce,
are fashionable! what in poor people we should desig-
nate as rude and underbred, we must call in the Caw-
son's, and that ilk, 'quite the thing, you know;' but
proceed, 7)\a ch<re."

" Well, Will tidgetted, and they chattered across
each other in audible remarks, on'acquaintfinces in the
audience, on a luncheon they were to give, as to the
wai--paint of a lady friend who had been presented to
Queen Victoria, when I, theaiearvst of her subjects (I
use the words figurativel}', as Bunlette says), pitied
royalty ; but the climax was reached when in Hatf's
' Ever of Thee,' a particular favorite of Will's, the 'un-
ruly member' was heard with renewed vigor, when
this husband of mine rose in his might, and to his
feet, saying audibly, 'Come, let us try if the low price
seats hold ()etter-bred people.'"

" Bravo! bravo! " cried Buckingham,

" Ver}?^ well put," said Dale; "short a time as I have
been in Toronto, I have observed that for culture and
refinement one must look to the people who live on
modest incomes, or salaries ; middle class is a phrase I

Their ''Rank is but the Guinea's Stamps 75

find no use for. In tliis country there are the ' vulrrar
rich,' vvliose ' tank is hut the guinea's stanip,' and Wfll-
hnd p()(»r ; tliere aie inipoverislud <.:entry, wiih an
innate refinement sliowinjjf in their too ot't( n struij:-
jj^lino^ (Irsct-ndants ; tliere arc the moneyed i)eoj)ie, lack-
in*,^ what filthy lucie cannot buy, namely, o-ood hn-ed-
ing'. and who never wen.iy in parading their jewels,
furniture and fin(i clothes.'"

" Very true," said Mrs. G jwer ; " I have frequently
tliouii'ht at some of our lar.-e social oatherin<rs, tliat
it is a jtity one's blood caiiiiot be anal_j. zed instead of
one's gown."

" What a resurrection there would be," said Buck-
ingham ; " not a few would long to pocket their own
heads."

" A sympnthetic artiste must feel any want of
oneness in her audience," said Mrs. Dale ; " 1 should
throw my roll of music at them and retire."

" At which, dear, they would only give their un-
wearied cry of ' encore,'" said her hostess ; " it is very
evident we are all at one in a very decided distaste for
mongrels; but, Mr. Buckingham, during your run on
the Kingston and Pembroke rail you missed hearing
the Rev. Jackson Wray."

" Yes ; did he please you ? "

" Extiemely ; both in his sermonizing and in his
lecture on George Whit^field; he is ehxpient, and his
imagery and figurative language charmed me."

" Indeed ; in that case I re_,ret to have missed him.
Did you hear him, Dale ? "

" Yes, and thouorh I rejrret the not being at one with
Mrs. Gower in all things," he said, smilingly, "must
say he pleased me not."

" Pleased you not ! " echoed his hostess ; then I aban-
don you to your tub ; the scholarly, the literary world,
would be a desert did your sweeping criticisms pre-
vail"

..i .iii.. (..

iiiiiiririiiri"iiTirTtffiiiiiitiiff

! !

76 T/ietr "Rank is but the Guineas Stamp."

" But bow so, Dale ? one would almost make sure of
findiriLj in him a rather superior excellence, knowing
that he holds a pulpit in such a city as your London."

"Granted, Buckintrham ; hut not only at Liondon,
but over the whole Christianized world, mistakes are
to be found in the pulpit."

*' Oh, no, Dale, I cannot go with you ; 'tis in the
pew that nii takes exist."

" 1 go with you there, Buckingham," he replied,
wilfully misunderstanding him ; " the pew system is
selling out the Gospel by the square foot," at which
his friend laughed.

" Mr. Dale," asked Mrs. Gower, "do you never allow
the critic within you to go to sleep, allow your really
generous nature full play, and give yourself up to en-
joyment ? "

" I do ; for instance, now, here is a real enjoyment ;
but, prfiy, do not dub me a critic."

'I fear I must in some of your moods; but see, the
mere word, or the silvery chimes of midnight, are
lending wings to your wife, and Mrs. Smyth : they are
deserting us. Are you examining -the heavens, dear ? "
she says, following Mrs. Dale to a window.

" Look quick, Mrs. Gower, he won't see you if you
peer throug'i the slats; and how awful ! in among the
bushes, out in that torrent of rain, there is a "

"Don't alarm Mrs. Gower," said Buckingham, quietly,
who had neared them unnoticed ; " if there is anj'one
loitering about, let me open the shutters and window,
and step out."

" Good night, Mrs. Gower," called Smyth, from the
hall ; " our carriage stops the way, and if I don't make
a move, Lil never will," he says, meeting her.

" Mr. Dale is too fascinating," laughed his wife.
" Good night, Elaine ; Will thinks he hears baby cry-
ing, or he would not stir." ,,

" Nice little baby, don't get in a fury 'cause mamma's
gone to a play at the theatre," sang Smyth, jokingly.

Their ^^Rank is but the Guinea's Stamp!' 77

" Did you really see anyone, Mrs. Dale ? " had asked
Buckingham, in a grave whisper.

" I really did ; the — but hush, she returns "

" You look pale, Mrs. Gower," he said, kindly, " put
me up anywhere to mount guard over you for to-
night."

" Oh, no, I thank you, not for worlds," she said,
nervously; but recovering herself, added, "you know
I have Thomas, and Mrs. Dale may only have seen a
shadow, like a cloud which will pass."

" Clouds sometimes precede a storm."

" But not always," she says, with a sudden resolve,
"for if Mrs. Dale will stay with me all night, she will
be its silver lininf;."

" Indeed, I shall with pleasure," she said, eagerly,
adding, in mock condescension, "Good night, Mr, Dale."

" What do you mean, Ella ; our cat) is here ? "

" I am going to stay with Mrs. Gower, Henry, so
good night, dear; an extra blanket and night-cap must
be my substitute," she said, as he kissed her good
night.

"Good "ight, Mr. Dale; you are keeping up your
character tor genero-;ity," said Mrs. Gower.

" Come along. Dale," said Buckingham, glad of the
arrangement ; " I shall be with you as far as the Rossin
House."

Oh, Henry," cilled his wife, as he was entering the
cab, " don't forget the schools are on for to-morrow ;
Mrs. Gower says to come up at one, to luncheon ; don't
forget Garfield and Miss Crew ; and tell Miss Crew to
seud me tirst thing, by eh-cti'ic despatch, 82 Yonge
Street, my plum walking dress, and bonnet to match,
and "

" No more, dear, please ; you should have given it to
me in manuscript form, I fear I shall not remember it."

"Poor Capt. Cuttle, when found make a note on,"

riiri

1 ;

•if

. H

: ■

' .'.

78 T/ieir "Rani' is hut the Guinea's Stamp."

said Mrs. Gower, jokincjly, but rather nervously, peer-
iug out, in an<l ainonij the (hiriv bushes.

"I'll coach him," lauQflied Buckiii<xham.

" Etc., etc., etc.," called out Mrs. Dale, as the hack
rolls away.

As the friends turn from the door, Mrs. Gower her-
self seeing to the fastenings and putting the chain
on, Thomas said :

" Eii'^^ pardon, ma'am, but can you step this way,
please ? "

" But, Thomas," she said, trying in vain to battle
with her fate.

" Yes ma'm, I know it's a shame to be a pestering of
you at this hour, but it's "

" Very well, Thomas, I .shall attend to it ; excuse
me, dear Mrs. Dale, for a few moments, and then we
must really go to bed."

" That's all right ; I know what the calls upon a
housekeeper are."

" Quick as a flash, on the exit of her hostess, the
portiei-e hangings are drawn, the g^jS at one end turned
out, the windovv flown to.

" Yes, my la<ly crouches there still, and — yes, that is
he on the kitchen steps ; the light f lom the window
points you oat to me, my dear ctipid — done up by a
west-end tailor ; the door opens, which shows me my
kind hoste.ss ; and now for the woman — for ferret out
this mystery I shall — for in some way, unknown to
me, this gentleman and follower are worrying the life
out of my friend."

With a waterproof on, noiselessly she opens the win-
dow and shutters; a step and the veranda is reached;
with beckoning hand she endeavors to attract the at-
tention of the woman, but without succf.ss, as she is
wholly absorbed in watching the door by which the
man entered. Afraid of attracting attention by call-
ing out, she twists a couple of buttons olf her water-

iil^^

|j|»ii

ivr^v

gut.

Their '''Rank is but the Guinea's Stamp." 79

proof, throwinix them on to the o;ravel walk; her ohject
is frained and dut'eated simultaiieouslv, for the woman,
takinii' ffi<;lit, makes for the <xate, at whicli Tvr, who
had made his exit on the man makin<Tf his entrek, swift
as a deer, ran barking after her; hut slie is safe out-
side the ^ate, at which Mrs. Dale (juiets Tyr, who has
con)e up to her, rul)l)inu^ his cnld nose to her still cuMer
hands. And now to mak(^ another attetnpt. in a few
moments the gate is reached ; yes, the woman is stand-
ing under the tlie shade of a tree on the boulevard,
the lamplight falling full upcm \[rs. Dale.

"Down, Tyr, bequi«'t; down, I say. Come here, young
woman ; don't fear, I only wish to speak to you."

" I won't go there ; let me alonfi, for I warn you, I
am a desperate woman," slie growled, in threatening
tones, Tyr making a dash to be at her.

" Come here, Tyi\ it's all li^ht. But what is j'^our
trouble ? If you will onlv trust me, I feel sure I can
help you," she says, breathlessly, for she does not wish
her frifnd to miss her.

" Yint help ma ! go away with your smooth serpent
tongue; away to that other hus->y, in her silks and
jewels, robbing an honest woman of her "

But her sentence was never Hnished, for the man is
coming; and quick as a deer she is out of sight.

Mrs. Dale is quietly seated by the cheerful grate,
apparently absorbed in "Cleveland's winning card," as
given in Judge, when her hostess returns, looking sad
and troubled.

" I don't know how it is T feel so nervous to-night,
dear," she said, seeing to the window fastenings ; I am
so glad vou are with me. but you will find me very
doleful.""

" Not a bit of it, Mrs. Gower; I am no relation to
an acijuaintance of mine, who is not content unless one
is making a buffoon of oneself for her especial delec-
tation."

'JO

§!

■■•«. J

-J

On the Rack.

" I fear she would cut my acquaintance in my pre-
sent mood. I am going to a»k you a favor, dear ; it is
to call me Elaine ; I shall feel less alone in this big
world, and can talk to you more freely, hearing my
Christian name. I dare say it is a childish fancy for
a woman of my age, but "

" But me — no buts. Elaine, we are true friends, and
you have some secret trouble which I ought to share,
else, what use is my friendship to you ; you will tell it
me, dear?" and the pretty Irish eyes look up into the
dark ones bending over her with a questioning look.

" Tell me first, dear, did you recognize anyone in the
garden to-night ? "

"'I did, Elaine."

At this, covering her face with her coldly nervous
hands, she said, brokenly:

" God help me, 1 am driven by the winds, and tossed;
I must sleep on it to-night, and if I feel strong enough,
tell you all to-morrow."

" That's right, and to insure your being brave enough,
you must take the best tonic, sleep ; so let us mount," she
said affectionately, rising and takijig her friend's arm.

" Very well, dear; and the dropping rain shall be my
lullaby in wooing the god of slumber."

CHAPTER XII.

ON THE RACK.

T was no heated fancy of a half-delirious brain of
our poor friend, Cole, that he had heard a tap
on the gloomy door of the east chan)ber, at
Broadlawns, on the night he was snared by the
huntress ; held by the fetters of a loveless union
Margaret Villiers ; but he paid no heed to the
stealthy tap, repeated whenever the revelry below was

with

On the Rack.

loudest; but as silent as the grave, he almost holds his
breath as he watches the door, a look of agony in his
tired eyes, whiih throb as does hl.> head in neuralgic tor-
ture; but now, his strange mdnight visitor, as it' driven
to desperation by his silence, says through the keyhole :

" For heaven's sake, let me in ! "

But no response ; he will trust no one und^r the roof
of this hateful place, to which he has been trapped, in
which he has lost his freedom, in which the terrible
conviction has seized him that he is going to be laid
low bv the fell hand of sickness. What is that ? Yes,
he sees a slip of paper passed under the door ; his mid-
night visitor is evidently bent on obtaining an inter-
view ; pale as a ghost, and trembling in every limb, he
creeps noiselessly to the door, picks up the paper, and
reads the following words :

" 1 am the woman who came in too lute to stop your
marriage ; your oivn friends, who are far away, would
tell you to see me. For God's sake, let me do what I
can for you, even now."

But for her wording, as to his "friends far away,"
he would have paid no heed ; he remembers now, in a
dazed sort of way, amidst the medley he has been in
ever since his arrival, that there was some woman who
appeared, was maligned, and vanished, ail in a few
seconds. Yes, if he could only feel sure the oak door
only separated him from one not in league with his
enemies, as he now feels them to be, the lock would be
immediately turned ; but, should it be a fraud whereby
to obtain admittance for the terrlMe woman he has
wedded, and whom he loathes and fears at the same
time ; and so, with his cold, nervous hand upon the
lock, he hesitates, when she again appeals a last time
through the keyhole.

" 1 must go, and leave you to your misery, if you
will not open the door ; they are preparing to come up
stairs."

(

. ■ i
., « &

■■w

] 1 i-.TTMl*

1 •

On the Rack.

At this, the dread of loneliness, the craving for sym-
patliy, witli the sinking feeling of sickness coining over
him, the natural instinct of self-preservation impelling
him to risk somethitiQf in endeavorincj to secure one
friend to be about him if he cannot shake off this
feeling of intense lassitude, low spirits, head and brain
on tire, and throbbing as with ten thousand pulses,
cause him with a sudden fear lest she should go, to
turn tlie key, when noiselessly, a pale woman with an
intensely sad expression in her whole countenance,
and prematurely grey, enters.

"Poor fellow! and a kindly, handsome face, too;
what a sacriiice ! God knows how willingly [ would
have saved you; Imt their moves were hidden from
me," she sai<l piteonsly, in a low whisper, gazing into
his face tearfully, while taking his hands in her (jwn.

In the reaction he flung her off, saying, brokenly,

" Why were you not in time ? What trust have you
brolcen so, bl-gliting mj very existence? Out upon
you, woman, you may gi) and leave me to despair."

" No, no, I mu-st stay ; I %inll stay ; you are ill, but
will be more calm; tiiough with Kevl God help you,
you will never find peace, never be at rest."

And tliiovvnig her apron over ht.-r face, she, too, sank
on to the sofa where he was; but he is, after a few
moments, quiet aLjain, ami drawing the covern^.g from
her face, which she has used as if to shut out the view
where all, all is misery to the hvst degree, she turns to
look at him; both hands white, cold and trembling,
cover his face, through his lingers drop scalding tears,
silent tears of woe.

" Do not give way so, sir. Poor fellow, you are in-
deed to be pitied, away from your home, away fiora
your own l;ind. They sent me off to London on ujes-
sa^es — to o^ct me out of the wav — for some things for
Miss Villiers, as then was."

" Don't remind me. God help me. Swear, woman,

On the Rack.

f "

in-
tVom
mes-

fs for

swear ; he said excitedly, " to stay by me to get me
well ; quick, for my inner consciousness tulls me I sliall
be, nay am, ill ; elucidate this mystery, is it money they
want, how can I escape ? swear, swear to stay by me
in this phice, smelling of brimstone. Swear!" he con-
tinued, forgetting time and place, as he raised his
voice, only remembering his wretchedness.

" For heaven's sake try to calm yourself; tliey have
heard you, they come ; not a sound ; they will tuin me
out, and you will have only them. 1 conjure ' /ii,ciirb
yo'jrself ; not a sound." And takinir botli his hands to
her knee, with motherly tenderness, st-eks by gently
strokinor or hohlinnf them in hers to soothe him to even
momentary calm.

" I sa3^ Cole, are you sleeping ? " said the voice of
Stone, turniuiX the handle. " You should have been
down with us; we have been feedinix like fighting
<s.

" I am sure I heard him talkinnf," said Margaret.
"Mean fellow he is; feigning sleep."

"Good night, Cole, or rather, morning; pleasant
dreams/' said Stone, !nalevoI»'nt]y.

"Look, uncle, at aunt rolling into her bed-chambe'* ;
veal pie and -tout will be her nightmare. Good night,
spouse," she s-iid, through the key-hole.

At this, Sarah Kane had grct difficulty in quieting
him. " I kiss my han<j to you" — for she is hilarious;
a glass of beer, a change o name, three thousand per
annum secured, have b'en a p()werful sr.imulant.

"It's my belief he lieard every word we said, but
wouldn't give in," said her uncle, as ihey went along
the hall.

" Of course, he did, the mean pup ; but n^ver tear, I'll
mak*^' him knuckle uridei-."

" That you will," he said, chuckling.

When all is again ([uiet at Broadiawns, Charlie
Cole and Sarah Kane again breathe more freely.

. ■, ■

&
Stt'

li'iW**'

'f.i'

On the Rack.

i ' >

" Tell now, nov\" h*^ .«ays feverishly, " how I am
to i^et away from here and v/ithout, remember, that
woman ? You will have to stay by me, for I am too
ill, God help me, to act alone "

'' First, you must undress and get into bed ; my, but
you are weak ! "

"I am ; please ia-ke this key and unlock my trunk ;
I am not equal to any exertion."

" Were you ill crossing the ocean, sir ? "

" I was, but nothing like this ; the medical attendant
on board said I must liave some mental worry which
preyed even then upon my bodily hf alth."

" Your name, Charles Cole, how well I remember it,"
she said, reading it on his linen. " My poor dead
mistress and friend trusted me — God help me if I have
seemed unfaithful to my trust. Perhaps I should liave
found out and followed my young mistress, but Silas
and I thoucjht I had best watch her interests here.
God pity me," she said tearfully, falling upon her
knees. " Good Lord, watch over her, lead my steps to
her, for I have failed in preventing their bh'ck deeds
here ; so I shall go to America to try and find you, poor,

ciear. wronged Miss Pearl."

Here Cole, with a groan of weakness and dizziness,
falls half undressed upon the bed, at whicli Sarah
Kane tiies to him, takes off his boots, assisting him to
get under the clothes.

"Poor, poor feet, like ice," she says pityingly; "I
must do something for him. Heaven help him among
such a horde of ci'uel hearts ; I must at any risk go
down and get a foot warmer. Poor fellow, so gentle
and amiable-like, he deserved a better fate, and should
have a physician at once ; but the mind, the poor sick
mind, as well as body, how will that be calmed ? 'J'here,
there, don't mind anything; try to sleep. 1 am going
down stairs to get a foot-warmer foi- you."

"No, no," he said nervously, "you must not leave me."

071 the Rack.

" I have listened in the hall, and they are all snoring,
sleeping heavily after the late supper. 1 must, indeed,
sir, see to the warniinir of vour feet : it will onlv take
nie five minutes ; please consent, for your own sake."

" Well, go; and I wiQ lock the door after you, lest
the wretches come in;" and attempting to sit up he
feels too weak, falling backwards with a heavy sigh.

Sarah Kane, now really alarmed, slips off' her shoes,
silently unfastejis the door, making a speedy exit;
passing the doors of theslt-epers without detection, not
so though on entering the servants' win<x — the cook and
man-servant seeminif both restle.ss, she hesitates, then
on with flying feet accomplishes her oliject, bringing
also mustard ; up again this tiuie, not risking the back
stairs and the servants, the front stairs, which, being
thickly pad<led, cover her footfalls.

Back again, she finds hi n staring fixedly at the
door in u vvov, lest any but herself should appear.
She now ^.pplies the foot-wanner, also putting mustard
plasters to the nape of the neck and pit of the stouiach.

"You look tired," he said iano-uidlv, " but 1 cannot
say go and rest, I am not brave enough."

" I am accustomed to do without sleep. I nurse
many sick. Sijice my poor mistress died, and they
sent sweet Miss Pearl out to the States, I have no
regular duties here, but thought it wise, as they did
not bid me go, to stay on and watch them. They often
quarrel over my being here, Mr. Stone wanting to
drive me out. Miss — I mean — but no, never mind —
there, there," stroking his hands, " the aunt and niece
thinking, and true, that I know too much. It's a I'act,
sir, but I have not known how to check them for all.
God help me, but when I see you well and away from
this home of the Pharisee — this place with a heart of
stone and a tongue of oil, or evil, as it suits — I must
see what is best, even so late."

And so the poor, half-distracted thing talked on and

;|H

^' r

)'^m$amoiem

■VM

Lucifer's Votaries Rampant.

on, often in a disconnected sort of way, but her tones
were s<'otlnn<^"

"Go on," he said, openinij his ej'es ; " wliat trust
have you broken," lie re|)eated, " briiiglnc^ me to tliis?"
Here he izrew excited, but, evidently too weak to talk,
said lanLiiiidIv, outtinu; Iut hand to liis lirow :

" Feel that, their work," he said feverishly, " and in
part yours, as you have not exposed theui ; why have
you J lot ? "

" What would the world heed had I, in ihcir employ,
lifted up luy voice a;^ainst them ? thev are all Piiari-
sees, all strict ch'ireh-^r(jers. and would turn the wrath
against myself, for I do not make loud pnij-ers, their
hypocrisy di ivinir me to my closet, instead of to the
be-seen-of-nien sort of reli(>ion ; no, no one would have
believed me, though I think now of one who would,
and he is Dr. Annesley, of the city. 1 have erred in
judo'iiient, but never thought they would marry you
to Miss Villiers; nay, look at it cauuly, if you can, sir,
and u:et well sooner. My father was an attorney, but

was penniless; my

late

romies tleeced Inra, an(

mistress took me here, and I was her friend and con-

tidant, for they were cruel to her and her child. Sil

I ones an

Sil

d I knew of Miss Pearl and yourself, and

as sail

CHAPTER XIII.

LUCIFER S VOTARIES RAMPANT.

^ES, Silas Jones shall hear of how we found
his precious Sarah Kane alone in a man's
bed-room," sneered the cohily cruel voice of
Mrs. Cole, entering, and not making a seduc-
tive picture in bright green dressing gown,
with large purple tlowers, her hooked nose as red as

Lucifer's Votaries Rampant.

her hijxh cheek bones, her awfdl eves [\.nn\, staring and
stonv, her uncle and aunt t't)llowin<T.

"Oh dear, oh dear! H'Niven h''lpus! I fori,n)t to lock
the door vvhen I brought the poor frllow the i'oot-
warmer," thouujht Sarah Kane, di.>tractedly.

"I tliouixht 1 heard a iat>l)eiinir ij^oinLj on before you
called nie, M'irf,'aret," said liei* uncle, savajj^ely.

" How dare you brin^- disrepute on a virtuous h<ime
by coniiitg to a man's hed-rooui at niglit. and alone,
Sarah Kane ? " asked Miss Stone, quivering with rage
at being disturbed after her late supper.

"Sarah Kane, go and pack up, and see thnt you
develop no lisjht-Hngt'r tricks; you leave Broadlawns
at daybreak," hissed MarL'aret, between her teeth.

" Pl(!ase let me stay, ma'am, until Mr. Cole recovers ;
indeed, indeed he is very, very ill."

" That is 'niy atildr — go ! " and she points to the now
open door.

" She has been kind to me, she mu^t stay ; I am too
ill for her to leave uie ; if she goes she must take me,"
said Cole, sitting upright, his pulse rapidly ri>ing.

" We don't haibor women of her stamp," said Mar-
garet, beside herself with raije at her having <j:ained
the ear of Cole ; she would willingly have torn her
limb froui limb.

"Get out of here, and at once,, Sarah Kane, unless
you would have me use violence," said Stone, savagely;
for from the words of Cole he sees she has made a
favorable impression.

" I implore you not to go and leave me here," said
the sick man, excitedly; " u\Y brain is on tire. I am
weak and ill ; oh ! Ity everything you hold sacred, stay
by me and nur.se me; if not, 1 go too, if I ha\e to
crawl to the door;" and he attempted to rise.

"This is nonsense. Cole; she must iro ; I have
wanted to turn her adrift before this. We shall pro-
cure you a medical attendant at once ; though, 1 think,

£1

. 1

Lucifer's Votaries Ramparit.

did you take a l)erth in a stftamer immediately for
America, it vvouM be best, and set you up all tight,
especially witli Margaret as nurse. Sarah Kane, what
are you waiting for ? "

'For the impetus of someone's foot, I presume,"
sneered Maryaret.

Sarah Kane, with a pitiful look at Cole, her lip
quivering an<i whole frame trembHng, prepared to
leave the room, sayin«x, as she smoothed his pidows :

"Try and keep calm, sir, you will get well all the
quicker, and I shall go and tell Silas Jones, and see if
he can hel[) you."

At a sign from Margaret, her uncle followed her
from the room, when she said, hurriedly:

" 1 am going t < give the wretch permission to remain
until morning, to prevent an interview with Silas
Jones ; after breakfast, you say you will drive her in
to Mrs. Mansfield's. We have never let her know she
wants her. but now she will be capital bait; Sarah
Ka?ie will bite, and so be hooked, when you can lodge
her for safe keeping at Tom Lang's, who, if needs be,
may give her the luxury of a straight-jacket."

" I feel inclined to say No, and kick her out at once;
otherwise, yours is a good plan."

" It is the only gag to fit the case ; hut out of that
room sUe shall go. She may go and pack up. I'll show
them who is mistress."

" Yes, do ; besotted fool, that Cole is, to have turned
us against him. You don't think that viper will go to
Silas Jones at daybreak, do you V

" No ; his shop won't be open until seven. By that
time cook can have an eai ly breakfast for you, and
you will then at once drive off to London, and if Silas
Jones comes prowling around here after her, leave him
to me, that's all," she said, cruelly, returning to the sick
room.

" Go to your room at once, Sarah Kane, pack up

Lucifer's Votaries Rampant.

your things, and he ready to leave this house at seven
sharp ; go,' she said, stamping her foot. Don't pollute
us by }'our presence any 1,. Mger."

" 1 pray of you to let me stay and nurse him ; I
will do just what you wish, spare you from fati'^ue,
be no trouble, only let me stay," she cried, imploimgly.

Margaret turned her stony gaze upon her. " Put
her out, Uncle Timothy^ or I shall."

" Get out, woman," he said, taking her by the shoul-
der, Miss Stone shoving her, and saying :

" Be thankful, hussy, you are getting off so well."

" At your peril send her forth ; it will be the worse
for you all when I recover, if you do," said Cole, with
the utmost excitement.

" Keep cool, Cole ; you don't know what" a viper we
have harbored. I am only going to take her to a Mrs.
Mansfield's, and, if she can speak so much truth, she
will tell you she is a friend of hers," said Stone, venge-
fully.

" You are heaping coals of fire on the viper's head
by taking her there, Timothy," said Miss Stone, won-
deringly.

" Is this person a friend of yours, Sarah ?" asked
Cole, forlornly pressing both hands to his thiobbing
tf^mples. " How cruel they are to send you from me.
Do you know of a good physician, Sarah ?"

" Oh, yes, sir ; Dr. Annesley, of London ; he "

" Hold your prate, Sarah Kane, and mind your own
business," cried Margaret, trembling with rage. " Get
out of here," and with a smart push she is outside
and the key turned.

For a few moments Sarah Kane stood irresolute,
when the clock struck three.

" Yes, that will be best," she thought, " but I have
no time to lose," and, quickly Hying to her own apart-
ment, she hurriedly packs up, but not the handsome
wardrobe willed her by her late mistress, of which she
. 7

cnll
m n

am*

111 /

Lucifer's Votaries Rampant.

knows not-, Vmt simply her own ino'lcst apparel ; this
she places in two trunks, wccpiniLJf silcntlv tlie while
for the evil come uj)on tln^ poor sick man in yonder
east chanjber, for her own f'()rce<l desertion of him into
the cruel hands of the inmates at Broadlawns. for her
own undefined plans to find her younuj niisti'ess, and
endeavor to reinstate her in the fortutie willed her,
which she is in douht now that the law will i^ive her, as
she has not married Charles B. Cole. She weeps on, as
she thinks of the fearful fraud that has been committed ;
for heie is Mr. Cole married ! actually married to Miss
Villiers, in Sarah Kane's estimation, the most wicked
woman tluit lives, v\dien he had been the intended hus-
band of her sweet, pfentle Miss Pearl.

" Woe, woe, that I did not (^o to Dr. Annesley. and
tell him of the prolonj^jed absence of Miss Pearl, in-
stead of watching lieie, or to a lawyer; but I dreaded
their fees, as they liave paid me no salary for five
years, nor can I claim it, as they told me if I staid I
should get nothing. I have erred in judgment. God
help irie and that pooi- sick man. Yes, I must slip away
and ..ell Silas. Itis ft)rtunate Mary is with him still, or
they (if by some mischance they miss me) might again
make occasion to malign me as to going to see a man ;
how easily those smooth-tongued hypocrites can take
away one's character, and they doing the real harm all
the while. My grey ulster and hat will not be too heavy;
it Is quite a cool morning, and being up all night, and
snpperless to bed, makes me feel chilly. How^ sur-
prised Silas and his .lii^i^er will be. I know he will
want me to marry him at once, but I feel too old and
grey ; but, as he says, so I have told him for years; and
he has waiti'd and waited until tlie clouds at Broad-
lawns would lighten, and now tliev are blacker than
ever. Kind Silas, goo<l and true Silas, what will you
say to this terrible mivrriage of poor AJr. Cole to awful
.MlssVillier.s?"

Lucifer's Votaries Rmnpant.

And now her expeditions finr-ers havinpf set her
house in order, her grey hair rolled hack from her hrow,
her small, ref,nilar features, sensitive mouth, and good
hlue eyes looking wan and anxious, locking her door,
she slips down the back stairs, anil out into the chill
dulness of an October morning. In fifteen minutes
she knocks at the house of Silas Jones, the front room
of which he calls his shop, selling in a quiet way sta-
tionery and current literature. The city clocks ure
ringing the last quarter before four, and Mai-y is the
first to hear the unusual sound on th«i knocker at that
early l)our. Waiting to hear it repeated, she lifts the
window, when, at Sarah Kane's voice calling Silas,
they both hasten down to open the door.

" Dear me, Sarah ; what's up ?" said Mary, kissing
her. " What a scare yon gave me !"

"You have been up all night, Sarah," said Silas
Jones, reproachfully, leading her in, as he again locked
the door. ' However, as this is the earliest kiss I have
ever had, I shall not scold you too much ; but whom
have you been looking nearer your own grave for this
time, Sarah ? You have been nursing again, I sup-
pose, and are returning to Broadlawns ?"

"How you chatter, Silas, dear; Sarah can't get in a
word edgeways," said Mary, kindly, but curiously.

"I was onlv giving our Sarah time to catch her
breath, she has been i-unning and is cold," he said, rub-
bing her hands. " Make her a hot drink over the
spirit-lamp, Mar3^ please."

" The very thing, Silas, dear ; what a good man you
will make our Sarah ; here, dritdc this, Sarah, and
promise to marry Silas this day week (my wedding-
day too, Sarah), for indeed, you want someone to make
vou stav in your bed o' iduhts."

"Yes, Sarah, dear, Mary is right; for it's my belief
the wretches at Broadlawns wish to see you in your
grave, seeing as you know too much."

V'\

■I \

Lucifer's Votaries Rampant.

\ .J ;
I

" Oil, Silas, that yoiinj^ man, Mr. Cole, came; and they
have married him to Miss Villiers, in>tea<l of our sweet
Miss Pearl," iilnrted out Sarali, in tremblincr tones.

"You don't say, Sarah; what a i'earfid piece of
wickedness," cried Mary, with distended eyes.

" I am not sui'prised at any villainy on their part,"
said Silas, with knitted brows. " Let me see, the will
reads, on Miss Pearl cominef of am; and marryinsf
younjjf Mr. Cole, she inherits all (so Dr. Annesley told
me, and, by the way, he sent me word he wants to see
me); well they have got rid, the de'il knows how, of
Miss Pearl, and this ugly vixen marries the man to
inherit; bad business, their having similar Christian
names ; so it's from there you come, and not from sick
nursing ' Tell us all, dear."

" Well, Silas, that's just what I ran here for, for
they've as good as turned me out, at least, I am to go
at dny break, and "

" Did they dare to turn you out. you a lady born,
though their drudge — faithful in nursing, faithful in
your housekeeping. Shielding them, when you could
have pat the blood-hounds of the law on their track,
hoping things would light themselves in this very
marriage ; but to Miss Pearl — turn you out, after wast-
ing your youth and mine in a martyr's life, to see that
right was eventually done to the innocent daughter of
your dead frit nd, growing literally grey in this self-
imposed duty, while we both lived lonely lives apart,
when they should be in a felon's dock for breach of
trust; never mind, it is my turn now, they shall be
exposed, and compelled to disgorge ; Miss Pearl must
be found, Mrs. Mansfield may know .something."

" Mrs. Mansfield, yes, Silas, that is were Mr. Stone is
going to drive me at seven sharp this a.m., and, oh dear,
it is near six ; I must hasten back, else they may make
me black in Bayswater, for they have called me a
hussy to-night, Silas, because I went to poor Mr.

Lucifer's Votaries Rampant.

for

in
iould
ack,
very
^ast-
that
ter of
self-
ipart,
;h of
,U be
must

Cole's bedroom, who is very ill, and lie was sorry when
they turned me out, Silas, for he knows he has fallen
into their net, and he is ill in mind and body ; God
help him. He is kindly and handsome, is yielding and
pliable, and so an easy prey ; he was to have met his
father, he tells me. Ah, he would have saved him, but
he is ill, he learned on his arrival, and away otf across
the sea at Montreal ; but I had to come and tell you,
Silas, for 1 missed you last evening-, when they sent me
to the city, so I should be out of the way, and alas! I
cune back too late to save him," she said, tearfully.

" Don't f^o near them again, Sarah," said Mary,
sympathetically.

" Yes, Sarah, that's it ; stay with us, and we will pet
and nurse you, and you will be my wife."

" No dears, I could not remain inactive so near poor
Mr. Cole ; he hates them as his enemies, it is best for
me to go to Mrs. Mansfield, I shall be near Dr. Annes-
ley, and must see what can be done ; you will come
and see me at Mrs. Manstield's, so good-bye, now, dears."

"I shall come to the citv to-morrow, Sarah, so look
out for me, dear," he said, buttoning her ulster.

" You shouldn't be parting us at all, Sarah," said
Mary, tearfully.

" But only for a few days, Mary." '

"You must marry me this day week, Sarah, dear,
for somehow I feel as if evil will come to you parted
from me ; promise, it will bridge the time," he said,
followinof her out into the grey morning light.

"I promise." And there and then, in the dim gaze
of the earliest bees in life's hive, she is pressed to his
loyal heart.

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Feiiciyig off Confidence.

\V.

CHAPTER XIV.

FENCING OFF CONFIDENCE.

^HE knowlerlge that, with the morning, her
friend would look for a confidence as regarded
the intrusion hy a man into the grounds of
Hulmnest on the evening previous, unless,
indeed, by fencing she could ward off" such
confidence, caused Mrs, Gower to pass an almost sleep-
less night; and so, with the natural desire to put off
the evil dav, she arose later than usual, linuferiui; over
bath and toilette. But now in warm morninir robe of a
pretty, red woollen nmterial, with ecru lace rufflings,
she is worth a second look ; though her thoughts are
sad, for under the dark hair on her brow, her eyes
wear a wistful expression, and on her sensitive lips is
almost a quiver of pain, as she stands at her window,
looking mechanically on the familiar scene.

'He always looks up," slie thought, as.a gentleman
passed, ami must now either reside in the neighbor-
hood, or take it in in his morning outing. How a
lonely woman notices any seeming interest taken in
herself. 1 have not seen much of him since poor
Charlie Cole went away, and strange ; but I miss his
face if I don't see him for some days. 1 remember
tellinji Charlie of a dream I had of this very man, and
liis hde noil', Philip Cobbe. That reminds me again
of my promised confidence to Mrs. Dale, it was weak
in me to make any such promise — I, who have never
had a confidant, even when a girl. I have met
some who would have been staunch and true enough,
I feel sure, but I never thought heart secrets were alto-
gether one's own ; and as to this chatter over men's
kind or loving attentions to one, is just about the
meanest thing a woman or girl can be guilty of. It is

Fencing off Confidence.

sufficient to deter men from beinoj commonly civil.
1 have known women prate an<l boast by name of
those who have pai<l them Uie hio*hest compliment a
man can, that is of askin^^ them to be their wife ; yes, I
positively shrink from meetini^ my kind, little friend,
Ella Dah% she has a positive craving for knovwledixe,"
she tliought, with a half smile ; " and had she been Eve
she would have cut short the eloquence of the serpent's
tongue, and have succumbed, merely out of curiosity.
Aad yet she is a dear littlti woman, craving to be
'trusted all, or not at all,' and meaning good tome;
and perhaps I shoidd be less lonely did I empty my
griefs into the lap of another's mind; l)ut again, in con-
fiding in a married woman one conrides in her husband
also. It is natural, but, at the same time, not alto-
gether pleasant; but at that peremptory ring I must
give up dreaming here, or my 'Madonna of the Tubs'
will be giving me notice."

" Good" morning, dear. Pardon my not having
been down to welcome you," she said, warmly, Huding
her friend and the morning papers ensconced in a
rocker by the grate, Tyr stret(;hed on the rug.

" 1 have just come down, Elaine, and have had my
mirrored refiection as couipany, and don't I l<Jok comi-
cal, encased in this dressing g(nvn 3'ou hmt me ? Won't
I have to eat a substantial breakfast to fill it out ?"

"All right, dear, if my seraph of the frying pan
condescended to till my orders, we have bloaters on
the menu."

"I am rea'ly for them, Elaine, and feel bloated
already," she said, as they seated themselves at table.

"I wonder what kind of a day we shall have for
your review of the city schools ? Old Sol does not
seem to have made up his mind whether to laugh or
weep," said Mrs. Gower, as she touched the bell to
remove the fruit.

" I hope he will be good enough to weep over some

)

Fenchig off Confidence,

other city, for I am sure Henry will not bring my
waterproof."

"But Miss Crew will, she seems so really thought-
ful. What do you intend doing with her when you
place Gartield at school ? "

"ThAt's just what I am'in a quandary about. Hike
her, for she puzzles me."

" What a droll little creature you are, Ella; you have
a perfect craze for working out problems, even to a
woman," she said, laughingly."

" Now you musn't think, Elaine, that my interest
in you has the remotest connection with the mystery
at Holmnest," she said, opening her blue eyes in ap-
parent innocence, but in reality her words being a
reminder to her hostess.

" The mystery at Holmnest ? What a tragic sound
you giv3 it, it makes one's flesh creep, but 1 have not
forgotten how large-hearted you are, dear, when you
do not forget, * Share ye one another's burdens.' "

" Yes, you must tell me all, Elaine, and 1 feel sure
that with, or without the'advice of Henry, your trouble
will either vanish or lighten by your sharing it with
me."

" Yes, perhaps so," she said gravely ; " but we must
not spoil our breakfast, and the play of knife and
fork. My little tragedy must be the afterpiece this
time."

" As you will, Elaine, but don't bear it too long alone.
Tragedy is heavy. How cozy and home-like break-
fasting with you is after hotel life."

'• I am glad you think so, Efla."

" Your dark leather chairs and handsome sideboard
look well against the brown paper on the walls, and
oh, you won't mind telling me who hung your drapings,
portiere hangings, and all that, they are in such good
tawte."

" Murray did them for me ; it was a case of two

Fencing off Confidence.

1 }l !

two

heads being better than one, where I was at fault he
set me riglit."

" Your home is small, but all so home-like, except
for one great want, a man to hang his hat up in the
hall as your hu.sband, and a child to call you mother."

"Quite a tempting picture, Ella," she answered, a
little sadly, " but 7' humme propose Dieu dispone."

" Take the man, when he proposes, Elaine ; I cannot
bear to see you alone."

" That is my advice to my friends also, Ella ; but,
speaking of living alone, will yon and Miss Crew come
to me when you place Garfield at school, and during
the absence of Mr. Dale north-east with Mr. Bucking-
ham ; say you will, it won't be for long."

" It's the thing above all others that will please me,
Elaine. Excuse my Irish blood, but I must give vent
to my feelings by giving you a hug," she said, merrily,
as they rose from table.

" Angels and ministers of grace defend us, Elaine,
here's a ladv visitor ; and now that her umbrella is
down, I see Mrs. Smyth. But, fond as I am of her, I
wish her back to her home, for I wanted the morning
alone with you."

" You are both looking charming, it's a pity I am
not a gentleman caller, but what lazy people you are,"
said lively Mrs. Smyth.

'•I*^ow that I have emerged from the under side of
Fortune's wheel, I do believe I am growing epicurean,"
said Mrs. Gower, gaily.

"Don't I look too sweet for anything, Mrs. Smyth?"
said Mrs. Dale, promenading up and down the room ;
" haven't I grown stout ? "

'* But you are all uneven," laughed Mrs. Smyth.

" Now, that is cruel, Mrs. Smith ; 'tis ' love's labor
lost,' after having utilized all the mats, towels and
pillow-shams in my bed-room as stuffing, to be simply
told I am uneven."

' U^

:|l

111 I

Fencing off Confidence.

" Stuffinnf never goes down with me, Mrs. Dale,"
laughed Mrs. Sinvth.

" It's a j^'o<k1 thing for us you are not a man," said
Mrs. Dale, demurely.

" Women all angles would cry ' hear, hear ! '" laughed
Mrs. Gower.

" But vou don't ask me what brought me in this
mornini;."

" No, I am too glad to have you ; but is it a call of a
moutli full of news?"

"Yes, which I shall stuff you with 'as pigeons do
their young.' "

" Me, too !" piped Mrs. Dale.

" Mr. King is in town, Mrs. Gower; there, I thought
I should electrify you, but you don't seem to care."

" I do, for we shall now have news of the Coles."

" And is that all you will welcome hi n all the way
from Ottawa for ? "

" That is all, Lilian ; these little flirtations, pour
passez le tevip, soon burn themselves out."

" What a funny woman you are, Elaine; sometimes
I can't make you out at all."

"Don't try to, dear, when I puzzle you; life is too
short for problem-solving, though our little friend here
doesn't think so. But did Mr. King name the Coles ?"

" He did."

" Thank you, Thomas," said Mrs. Gower, receiving
her letters, which had been put in the letter-box by
the letter-carrier.

" One moment, you will excu.se me, dears, while I
run my letters over." One marked " Immediate," she
read to herself as follows :

"The Queen's, Wed. Eve., Nov. 9th.

"My Dear Mrs. Gower, — It is with extreme plea-
sure I again And myself in the same city with your-
self, and am anticipating with intense eagerness an

Fencing off Confidence.

interview. I cro west to-morrow p.m., so ^5hall go up
to Holiiine.st ill tile iiioining.

"As ever, yours devotedly,

"Cyril King.
" Mrs. Gower,

" Holmnest, West Toronto."

" Oh, dear ! oh, dear! he may be here any moment,
and i am in a quandarv as to what I shall do with
him. This little settling up of ones affaires de cueur
is distasteful, hut 1 have not bet-n a hit to blame here,"
she thought, cpiietly tearing up the note, and making
a holocaust of it.

" Oh, I can assure you, Mrs. Dale, she had scarcely
any waist covering at all," said Mrs. Smyth, in disgust,
" she looked simply dreadful."

"Who is the woman this time, dear ?" asked Mrs.
Gower, amusedly, as she fastened some camellias to her
gown ; " what fair one are you throwing mud at now,
Lilian ? "

" Oh, that Mrs. St. Clair. Miss Hall walked down
with me as far as College Street this morning, and she
says, or rather mouthed, for she is too full of affecta-
tion to speak plain, but managed to convey that Mrs.
St. Clair's dress began too late during the Langtry
season. Her dress was cott'eur de rose (what there
was of it), n • sleeves, well there was an invisible band,
Miss Hall said (I wondered at her, the way she talked,
as she is so thick there). Now, what do you think of
Mrs. St. Clair, Elaine ? "

" I think that she would be the cynosure of all eyes
— men's, for she is very fair to look upon."

" But, Elaine, she is enamelled ! Miss Hall's descrip-
tion reminded me of how an American paper describes
such — as if they in their opera boxes sat in a bath
tub."

■I '^
.* pi
H

"h:

rrf

MILLS MEMORIAL LIBRARY
McMASTER UNIVERSITY

'\m!".n'.r«rw'hfmui"mnwi»i<mr

100

■ ■ )■

Fencing off Confidence.

•* Oh, that's hard, said Mrs. Dale ; " who was she
with, and was the boy Noah ready with his pinchers?"

" No, it was that horrid boy's night off, I suppose,
for his father was on duty ; the little wretch nearly
gave me cancel ; the two Wilber girls and our Mr.
Buckinghatn were the party ; oh, Elaine, it's most
absurd, but Mr. Buckingham is the 'foreign count'
gossip said Mr. St. Clair is jealous of."

" I am not surprised ; all Grundy's scandal brews are
a froth of lies, Lilian."

" But it is true that Mrs. St. Clair flirts and
enamels."

" If so, she is very pretty, and has a husband with
an eagle eye — and," she added gaily, "a son with claws
that even you speak feelingly of."

" Well, good-bye, it is getting near our dinner hour,
I must off; and, as I live, here is the King from.
Ottawa ; you are here opportunely to play gooseberry,
Mrs. Dale ; oh, I must tell you, you know, how quiet
Mrs. Tremaine i.s. Well, she went back in the dark
last Sunday evening for her dolman, it was so cold, but
when she hung it over the front of the pew it proved
to be the Captain's trousers ! "

" How do you do, dear Mrs. Gower ? " he said with
em,pre8semenl, his strikingly handsome face aglow with
pleasure.

" ' Mrs. Dale, my friend, Mr. King,' from the tower-
crowned citj'-, dear."

" And you come to a spire-crowned one, at which,
Mr. King, don't become unduly elevated."

" I am in the heights," he said, with a swift glance
at Mrs. Gower.

" Then beware of the attraction of gravitation,"
laughed his hostess, thinking, " I shall have to do a
little fencing, 1 can see by his face."

" Excuse me, Elaine, I see my family are arriving."

" Quite a cavalcade, Mr. King," she said, gaily.

Fencing off Confidence.

101

"And mercy me, that young monkey is on horseback,
while the driver is LMvinjx his attention to bell rinjrinjr ;
I must Hy. May I brinj^ them upstairs, Elaine ?"

" Certainly, dear ; and as your colony will want you
all to themselves, send Miss Crew to the drawing-
room ; she will be happy with the piano."

" How handsome he is ; I wonder if he thought me
uneven," mused Mrs. Dale, as .she left the library.

" Thank heaven, they are all despatched," he said,
fervently, leaning over the back of her chair ; '' look
around at me, dear, and tell me I am welcome."

"You are;" and turning her face, her cheek was
brushed by his whiskers ; " but I am going to be very
proper, and tell j^ou to take that very comfortable
chair, at the other .side of the room."

" Why, what have I done ; don't send me away, when
my heart is bursting to take you in my arms."

" With your temperament, how full, metaphorically
speaking, your arms must be."

" No, no ; you only, with your warm eyes and hand-
some mouth."

" Come, come ; no more of this, Mr. King."

" Since when have you dropped Cyril ; I cannot
bear my surname from your lips."

" 'Tis .safer so ; and you knov: I have tried to act up
to this, since knowing you have a wife."

" Yes, yes, you have ; but you magnetized me from
the first, and had it not been for that meddling fellow,
Dubois, telling you, I believe, dearest, you would have
learned to love me, wholly, and alone."

" Thank heaven he did tell me, and in time."

" I think there has been every excuse for me, dear-
est ; you are aware of the circumstances of my mar-
riage ; then, after fifteen years of such wedded bliss, I
find you, my heart's mate. I often think how tame
life is before the meeting with the one that is to fill
one's being with rapturous content ; well, if they come

r,.-

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102

Fencing off Confidence.

to one while one has one's freedom, if not, what miser-
able lonelini'ss; wlmt an arra}' of jt^alous fears. Do
not turn me out of some corner in your heart, Elaine,"
he pleaded, "just because the Cliurch and the law
come between us; it is no fault of mine that I have
met you too late to otf'er you my name ; therefore, pity
my misfoitune, be kind to me ; j;ive me a corner in
your affections; you will, won't you, darlinf^," he
pleaded, earnestly, his winsome voice cominnr on the
air like sweet notes of sonf^ to the accompaniment of
'II Trovatore,' exquisitely rendered, by Miss Crew,
across the hall.

" You must never ao^ain talk to me in this strain,
Cyril," she says, putting her feelinp^s aside, for she
pities him intensely; " it is harmful for both of us;
be a man, be brave. T, too, have trials ; help me to bear
them i>y seeing you at the post of duty ; let us forget
that we have hearts; let us harden ourselves by look-
ing at life teeming with ill everywhere.

Let us, from this moment, begin over again, and
talk as though the room was full of a gaping crowd ;
let us talk of an3'thing but ourselves. Of Chamber-
lain and the fisheries; of who will run for mayor; of
how tl^at hot pickle, the French calnnet, will be
formed ; of whether Bishop Cleary washes he had been
tongue-tied before his imagination went without bit
or curb on our girls ; anything but ourselves, Cyril,
for pity sake."

" No, it will not do, dear; we can never be as common
acquaintances, though you charm me in any mood,"

" Very well ; if that be so, you must go. Tho.se
song.s, without words, by Mi.ss Crew, with the scent of
flowers, have been enough to intoxicate one; but you
knoio that since the knowledge came to me of your
having a wife, that I have told you, repeatedly, our
acquaintance must end unless you always rememljer,
in our intercourse, the fact of your being bound to an-

^nai

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T/ie Tree of Knowledge.

103

other. If yon care to meet Mr. and Mrs. Dale, and a
youn*; lady friend, stay to luncheon, if you will not
more than look at nte as a friond — for I wdl be rliat."

" I cannot face .stninuM'rs now, nnd .shall nro, hut
.shall write you froni the west; an<i pray ht n»e liave
a line in answer, savin;; yon will see nu- on inv return r"
he .said, beseech ini^flv, his handsome face clou<led.

" I .see 1 must tell you .somethinj.,^ I had not in-
tended," she said, nervously, " they are cominj; down-
stairs to luncheon ; I have promised, nay, am under
oath," she said, j^iavely, "to marry a man who would
make trouble, did he hear your words."

" For heaven's sake, Elaine, don't he mad ! you
would be wretched, chained to a man like that; for
the li<,dit has all left your dear face, even when you
name him."

" Beg pardon, luncheon is served, ma'atn," said
Thomas.

"I must hasten to the dining-room, and I fear I
don't look very cdm. Good-bye; remeiuber and be
brave; others there are who have no more a bed of
roses than yourself."

"God bless you, good-bye ; nnd I implore you, .say
1^0 to him. I sj)eak, as you know, from experience,"
he whispers, with a tight hand-clasp.

CHAPTER XV.

THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE.

^OUR visitor is a strikingly handsome man,
Mrs. Gower," .said Mr. Dale, coming from
the window to the table; "we shall be los-
ing you one of the.se daj^s as — Mrs. Gow< r,"
he continued, noticing by her pallor and
the light in lier eyes that she had been feeliiiiif intensely.
"He is wondrously so; and as w^ell, what is more

"''ir

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104

77/^ Tree of Knozcledge.

perilous to the hearts of our sex, he possesses a rare
i'aseinatiou of manner."

'' 1 have been tellini^ Henry not to jump at conclu-
sions, for. perhaps Mr. King is marrieil," said Mrs.
Dale, curiously.

" He is, dear ; hut your husband is not one of those
absurd beings who ima^^ine all one's men friends to be
possible suitors."

" Far from it, Mis. Gower : I am a believer in men
and women friendships, and if, in the numerous mis-
takes society makes, she wouhl obliterate her opposi-
tion to such friendships, she would have fewer ii: itri-
monial blunders to chronicle."

'• That is very true, Mr. Dale ; I have frequently
found it both mortifying, distressing and annoying to
the last decree, at little social gatherings at Toronto,
to find myself openly accused of flirtation, because
some man friend and I dared to enjoy a tete-a-Ute
chat on some mutual topic of interest."

" But some women do flirt when they get a man in
a corner, whether he is married or no," said Mrs. Dale.

" Yes ; but because some do, we should not all drift
as we are, into no conversation between the sexes,"
said Mrs. Gower.

" No, certainly not," said Dale ; '■ Emerson says, ' I
prize the mechanics of conversation, 'tis pulley, lever
and screw;' and it is especially delightt./ between
men and women — when it occurs."

" Yes, as you say — when it occurs — Mr. Dale ; but
why is it, that the more solid tone of conversation of
men is so seldom blended with the, at times more
refined, even if it be more frivolous, chit-chat of my
sex ? Simply because of our dread of gossip ? "

*' Then there is something ' rotten in the state of
Denmark,' " said Mrs. Dale.

" There is, dear," said Mrs. Gower, gravely, rising
from the table.

The Tree of Knoivkdge.

lO.-i

" Mr. Smyth is in the libran', ma'am," said Tliomas.

" Oh, ask him it" lie has lunche(], Tliomas."

" He has, ma'am."

" I am vul<j;ar enough to have dined, Mrs. Govver,"
said Smyth, meetin*; them at tlie door of tlje lihrary.

"As you please," she said, J^aily, givin;^ lier liand;
' let ilka ane jjfan*; their ain j^ait.' "

'• Your son is acting; on that motto, Mrs. Dale," ho
said, Ij.yKing from the window. " Don't stir, he is in
the hack way ; and has evidently been wrestlinj^^ with
our York mud."

At this juncture Garfield appeared, breathless ; and
his pretty Norfolk jacket and knickerbockers all be-
spattered.

" How did you come to grief, my son ? " asked his
father.

" Well, papa • first, I knocked down a spairow wibh
my catapult; it died game, falling on a foreign bird
perched on a lady's steeple bonnet. Well, she was
mad, phew ! called me names for killing birds. 1 told
her not to try to be funny, when she had stutied ones
on her head-dress. Next, 1 saw a man down street
putting a mouth on his poor horse ; man ! how he
sawed, tore the bit nearly through his head ; well, I
ju.st let another lead tiy, knocking his Christy stiff into
the mud ; then, he out of his butcher waggon and
after me. 1 remembered some dimes in my pocket,
got 'em, threw 'em behind — he bit, and 1 took my
chanee and distanced him," he said, panting for breath.

'• That was sport," said Smyth, laughingly ; but I
have had to shut down on my boy's hunting, we swell
our city treasury by fining such tire-arms."

" Go to the kitchen, you poor little man," said Mrs.
Gower ; " and ask Thomas to I rush you ; he will get
you some lunch, there is mud even in your curls ; here,
let me kiss you."

"le said, condescendinslv.

r-n

:3?

you may,

106

yVte Tree of Knoiuledge.

•f

■■,

\l''

)

' Come along, son ; mother will go with you."
" You don't ask what brought me in at this hour,
Mrs. .Gower," said Smyth.

" No, I have scarcely welcomed you, as yet."
" Well, i must out with it, even if it shortens my
stay ; for I liave only a few moments. On my way
up to dinner, I literally ran against King, he was in a
brown study, and I in a hurry. ' Hello ! ' I cried, at
which he stopped, and quite abruptly (so unlike him),
said, 'Tell Mrs. Gower I have heard from Mr. Cole,
senr., who has been ill at Montreal. His physician.
Dr. Peake, ordered him to il'lorida, positively forbidding
him to pass the cold season at Ottawa. He is ex-
tremelv anxious about Charlie, who has not written
him. A newspaper, with the announcement of his
marriage, being the only communication from Bays-
water direct;' and here it is, he gave it me for you.
From some outside source he has heard that Charlie
is ill, and wishes any of us to let him know immedi-
ately at his hotel, Jacksonville, if we have, or receive
any news. He admits to King, that with the exception
of the girl herself, the remaining members of the
family Charlie has married into are a bad lot."

" Poor Charlie, he dreaded this marriage," she said,
regretfully ; " but seemed to be hemmed in by circum-
stances — a betrothal. Thenshe hadfivethousand pounds
per annum, and his father wished him to carry it out;
and Charlie is so yielding, altogether. When he told
me about it, at the very last, I too advised him to go
and carry out the arrangement. You see, as we know
he was heart whole, and his salary was small, and he
seemed born only to work the will of others, that it
seemed a half natural sort of thing for him to drift into;
still, if he is ill, and the family are horrid, and he over
there alone, I feel sorry he went at all, poor fellow."

" A miserable marriage would break Charlie Cole
up completely," said Smyth.

'>i

The Tree of Knowledge.

107

Cole

" Have you no mutual friend at London," said Dale,
kindly, " to whom you could apply, and who niij^ht
give you the facts of the case. Perhaps I can assist
you. You told me before, Mrs. Gower, that it is to
Bayswater suburb, your friend wont ; 1 knew a very
prominent physician residing there, to whom 1 shall
write, if you wish ; a medical man is very often the
very best medium in such cases."

" Oh, if you would, Mr. Dale ; it would be a perfect
relief to all of us," said Mrs. Gower.

" Here is the marriage insertion," said Smyth, read-
ing : ' At Broadlawns, Bayswater, London, England,
on September 28th, 1887, by the Rev. Claude Parks,
Charles Babbington-Cole, Esq., of Toronto, Dominion
of Canada, to Margaret, daughter of the late "

" What's that ! Miss Crew has fainted, poor girl,"
cried Mrs. Gower, " and hurt herself, I fear ; there is
water in the dining-room."

" I'll get it," cried Smyth.

Mrs. Dale, returning, said, "I wonder what caused
it ; she is delicate, I know, but I never knew her to
faint before. My vinaigrette is on my dressing-table ;
would you get it, Heniy, like a dear ? "

" Thank you, Mr. Dale, she revives."

" Then I shall go, Mrs. Gower ; and here, I shall
leave the English newspaper with you ; Lil wants you
all to come over this evening, then we can talk over
some plan — Mr. Dale's is a good one — to elicit informa-
tion as to Charlie's position ; Miss Crew is to come,
too. Good-bye till evening."

"You had better go upstairs and lie down. Miss
Crew ; you look very white, and I fear you have hart
your head, poor girl," said Mrs. Gower, kindly.

" I did give it a knock, but you are all too kind ; if
it won't make any difference, I shall lie here for a few
minutes."

■I'

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mmmm

108

T/ie Tree of Knoivledgc.

" Very well, dear ; and a glass of wine will be good
for you/'

" Oh, she never touches it, Elaine, she is rabid blue
ribbon," said Mrs. Dale.

" And a very good color to wear, but when one is
ill," said Mrs. Gower.

" Never mind the wine, Mrs. Gower, my head aches
very badly, but all I want is to rest it a little; but
shall feel very uncomfortable, though, if I delay your
out-going ; do go now."

" Yes, I suppose we must."

" Garfield, you stay with Miss Crew, darling, while
Mrs. Gower dresses, and I put on my wraps."

"All O. K., maiinna." After a few moments spent
with 'The Pansy,' he comes over to the sofa.

" Miss Crew, Miss Crew ; wake up."

"I was not sleeping, dear."

" But your brows were knit like this ; and you
looked so white. What did you faint for ? I wanted
you to come with us."

" Oh, never mind, don't talk about me ; I want you
to give me your catapult."

" Yes, I leckon I will, as young Smyth had to give
his up ; but I hhoukl like it if I get mad at a man for
ill-treating his horse."

" But a better plan would be to read the name of
the owner on the vehicle, and report him."

" Oh, that's to'o slow ; when a fellow gets mad, he
wants to let a lead tiy right then," making a move-
ment as if he was firing.

" Oh, but that is not the best way, my boy ; the wise
men of old waited until they were out of their temper."

" We don't ; we just go, bang ! but it was pretty
good of them, I reckon. What did they say right at
first, though ? "

" They said, when the evildoer was brought before
them, having done them a great wrong, ' By the gods,

The Tree of Knoivledge.

109

were I not in wrath with thee, I would have thee
slain.' "

" Well, I guess that was noble of them ; I reckon my
catapult must go," he said, fondling it, '" and here goes,"
he said, putting it into the fire ; but as I don't want
to hear it hissing me, I'll put a finger in each ear."

Here Mrs. Gower, with Mr. and Mrs. Dale, entered,
robed for the outer world, looking comely and com-
fortable. Mrs. Gower in blue, broken plaid skirt, with
plain overskirt, and waist of same color, bonnet to suit,
tight mantle, with fox boa and muff. Mrs. Dale in
plum color, with seal mantle ; both women with the
hue of health on cheek and lips, and with bright eyes."

" Come, Garfield, \wy son, into your overcoat with
the speed of a New York despatch," said his mother.

" It seems too bad to leave you. Miss Crew," said
Mrs. Gower, sympathetically; "are you sure I can do
nothing for you before we start ? "

" Quite sure, thank you ; my head aches a little, but
I have some Dorcas work here, which will make me
fcget I have a head, I hope."

" Then you will be rewarded ; axi revoir, dear."

" And now for the tree of knowledge," said Mrs.
Dale.

After visiting the Wellesley and other city schools,
the Church School for boys, the Collegiate Institute,
Jarvis Street, and the Upper Canada College, they
decided to place him at the latter, principally on
account of the boarding school; they being, at present,
unsettled as to their future plans.

"Your city schools are admirable, and were we actua'
residents, housekeeping, I should ask nothing better
for my boy. Some of your finest public men, I am
told, Mrs. Gower, have sat at those desks. "

" Yes, so I have always l^eard ; but I think, in Gar-
field's caoC, you have acted wisely. A boy coming from
school to hotel life, has every incentive not to study."

■ !;.

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110

TAe Tree of Knowledge.

" Yes, that's just it. At the U. C. College, the ex-
ample will be there in the other boys at their books,
and I consider it a great boon to be able to place him
under such nianaofement. The masters are talented
gentlemen ; and it* a boy does not make something of
himself under such guidance, mentally, morally and
physically, then he must be made of very poor stuff,
indeed."

"Garfield, dear," said his mother, "you will have to
be as starched as a Swiss laundry, minding your p's
and q's, like an Englishman."

" Oh, yes, I know ; but they are the stuff, mamma.
You see they give a fellow cricket, and drill, as well
as book knowledo^e."

" Yes, they are wise ; you will study all the better.
See that you make a man of yourself w^hile there,"
said his father."

" I shall never forget my goal, papa."

" And what is that ? "

*' To be President Dale, of the United States of
America; and I reckon, when I run, my opponents
won't have any dirty stories to rake up about me, for
I'm going to begin right now."

" But they frequently coin falsehoods. What would
you do in that case ?"

" Put mamma on their trail ; have 'em up, and make
'em swallow or prove them."

" All right, my ten-year-old ; mother will be your
right hand man," she said, endearingly.

" I expect the lies men have to face in the arena of
public life are their worst foes," said Mrs. Gower.
" Beecher said, ' If the lies told about public men could
be materialized, they would roof in and cover over the
whole earth.' "

" He spoke feelingly," said Mr. Dale ; Dames Rumor
and Grundy, with the newspapers, had him in a tight
place."

"^nu

Tfi.

••i a if-

T/ie Tree of Knowledge.

Ill

;Hl

" Shall we go on further, Henry, and purchase the
mattress, etc., for Garfield ? "

" No, I think not, Ella ; I have to meet Dickson,
from New York, at the Walker House, at six ; can't
you come in the morning, dear ?"

" Oh, yes."

" Do you dine with your friend, Mr, Dale ? "

" Yes ; so we arranged."

" Then you come back with me, Ella, and this wee
man, of course ? "

" Yes, if we don't weary you."

" You know better, dear. Oh, Mr. Dale, will you
kindly go into Mr. Smyth's office, and say we tind it
impossible to go over this evening, but will to-morrow
— Hwns cerenionie, if agreeable."

" Consider your commission executed, dear Mrs,
Gower." I shall drive up for you, Ella, this evening
some time ; au revoir" and, lifting his hat, he is gone.

After a delightful walk through the busy streets,
from the Upper Canada College, by way of King Street
West, thence north to Holmnest, they find Miss Crew
a little quieter, perhaps, but apparently quite recov-
ered froni her recent swoon. Putting aside her Dorcas
work, the three ladies sit in the firelight and gloaming,
to chat until dinner hour.

" I regret you were not with us. Miss Crew ; the
schools would have interested you," said Mrs. Dale.

" Yes, I am sorry, too ; for ever since our arrival I
have heard so much in praise of the city schools,
especially."

" Their praise is ever in our mouth," said Mrs. Gower;
"but my views on the subject are somewhat contra-
dictory. Though going with the progress of the age, I
don't feel quite sure that this mixing up of the children
of the rich and poor is to the ultimate good of either."

" Oh, I think it's better, Elaine, to bundle them all
in together."

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112

T/ie Tree of Knowledge.

" I don't know, Ella ; the Industrial School system
recommends itself very much to me for the poorer
classes, among whom, if there is any originality, it
will out."

After dinner, to which Mr. Cobbe, coming in as it
was announced, made one at, Miss Crew, not feeling
quite herself, begging to be excused, retired to her
room, and Garfield into the arms of morpheus on the
lounge; when, during a temporary absence of Mrs.
Dale, Mr. Cobbe said, quickly, while laying a hand on
either shoulder of his hostess :

" What do you have that woman here all the time
for ? If she is going to spend the evening, J shall go."

" Were I Mrs. Ruggles, of Pickwick fame, I should
object to my friend being called a woman," she said,
half jokingly ; " as it is, I "

At this moment some pebbles were thrown against
the window, cracking the glass. Mrs. Dale, now re-
turning, said :

" What i is it the window fired at ? Thin<;s are com-
ing to a pretty pass," she said, with -latent meaning ;
" We should have closed the shutters ; don't, Elaine, I
shall do it."

" I had better go out and frighten away the tramps,"
said Cobbe, his face Hushing with angry impatience.

"Yes, Philip; if you will be so kind."

"You are a gentlemanly man, and a good looking
one, Mr. Cobbe ; but I don't love you," said Mrs. Dale,
emphaticalU', shaking her clenched fist after his retreat-
ing form.

Mrs. Gower could not but smile at her little friend's
vehemence, as she played with the bracelets on her
shapely arms, her head bent in thought.

" Thomas is a good servant, Elaine ; he has just
fastened the hail door on the heels of Monsieur Cobbe ;
8,nd now, ima chere, this is the time and place for
confidence," she said, earnestly, while laying her jew-
elled fingers on her friend's brown looks.

mi '

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^m^ir-yj^.

The Oath in the Tower of Torojito University. 113

CHAPTER XVI.

THE OATH IX THE TOWER OF TORONTO UNIVERSITY.

^ES, dear, draw over your rocker, he will not
return, and since you are willing, I shall
pour niy griefs into the lap of yonr mind ;
ijisjiir seeking, as you sa}', to lessen the dead weight
on my own.
"Just about this time last year, not so late tliough,
for the trees were lovely in tints of deep orange and
crimson, with the brown of the oak. Our beautiful
suburbs, with the Queen's Park, looking like hr.g«
bouquets in the hand> of Dame Nature ; you know my
passion for scenery, Ella. One day — a bright and glori-
ous day, it had been — the blue sky, almost out of sight,
it was so uplifted ; a day sufficient to raise one's spiiits
as by some powerful stimulant, I was returning from
town to my modest quarters (not here you know, dear),
about four p.m., through the park ; when, Mr. Coltbe
overtaking me, suggested our going up into the tower
of the Toronto University to enjoy the view. I con-
sented, knowing that the slanting beams of the sinking
sun would kiss good-night to the tree-tops, lighting
them with ad<litional loveliness. We entered the
grandly beautiful building, the janitor, unlocking the
door to the tower, reminding us of the rule, " keys
turned at five." Up, and ever upwards, the spiral
stairway, making one dizzy in the ascent ; at length,
the top is reached ; and, oh ! the view, Ella, was more
than beautiful. My eyes only rested with a passing
glance at the handsome villas skirting the park, ever
returning to dwell on the superb mass of color in the
trees ; the sun seeming to linger lovingly while photo-
graphing their shadows upon the grass.

" I sat silent, or nearly so, for some time, when some-

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114 The Oath in the Tower of Toronto University.

how the very air seemed full of such quiet, solemn
grandeur, that thought becoming active, travelled in
and about bygone scenes and faces, bringing tears to
my eyes, as a strange tit of loneliness came upon me.

" I was just in the mood to say yes, to a proposal to
link my life with another, when Philip Cobbe pleaded
his suit, saying, ' In a home together we w^ould be com-
panions each tor the other ; that we would be happier
in a little home together than in the cold formality of
a boarding-house ; that in our short acquaintance, we
knew each other as well as people who had a life-long
knowledge of each other ; that we were each too warm-
hearted to be content alone; that the long, dark autumn
was coming on, in which we would be all in all to each
other ; that his love for me tilled his heart.'

" Then, Ella, he was really eloquent in his descrip-
tion of a little home together — a picture particularly
inviting to me in my loneliness and in my despondent
mood.

" I had been, as you know, under fortune's wheel, sea-
son after season, in the ice-bound winter, in the scorch-
ing sun of summer ; sometimes in doubt in which I
suffered most. With a purse as ' trash,' society turned
a cold shoulder to me. Summer friends did not see
me ; my real friends at a distance — yourselves among
the foremost —could not prevail upon me to visit them,
as I knew the only sin society refuses to pardon is an
out-at-elbows gown ; and I was too proud to accept
gifts I could not repay.

" Yet,still I hesitated in accepting Philip's offer, which
seemed tempting in its home view ; but would it be
wise for me to marry him, simply because my life was
a lonely one ? I was in the act of telling him, * I
would sleep on it, and give him his answer, to-morrow,'
when saying so, we were startled by the city clocks
and bells striking, ringing and chiming six o'clock !
Ella, Ella, my heart with fright seemed to stop beat-

•V««6

The Oath in the Toiver of Torofito University. 115

ing ; even

throu^fh

yet a nervous tremor runs
when 1 recall that moment ; it was too true, on Philip
consulting his watch, really, in the gloaming ; for the
sun was then sinking to rest at about tive-thirty.

"'Great Heavens !' I cried ; 'the tower door will be
locked!' At this, can you credit it, Ella, the face of
my companion grew exultant, as he cried :

" ' Then we shall be here together until morning, and
you will have to marry me ! '

" At this, Ella, a shudder of repulsion ran through
me ; all my liking for him seemed at once to leave my
heart, fear taking its place. ' What shall we do ? ' I
cried ; ' there are no passers-by ; God help me, for
truly, " vain is the help of man." Think of something,
do something, Mr. Cobbe — go to the foot of the stairs —
hammer on the door — anything — get me out some way,'
I said, almost in a frenzy. 'There is no one in the build-
ing,' he said. ' I would be no more heard than vou hear
your dog Tyr whining for your return. You will have
to stay. We will be married, which some women would
not grieve at. Come, come, cheer up ; we will be mar-
ried quietly in the morning ; say yes, with a kiss.'

" ' Go away,' I said ; ' you must have matches, I
have hit upon a plan. I am going to tie my bonnet
to the end of your cane, and set fire to it. Some one
will see it, and tell the janitor or steward, and we shall
be liberated ; here, quick, the matches ! '

" ' I have not one about me,' he said; and which I now
feel sure was a falsehood. ' Oh try, try ; search every
pocket; if you will only free us I will promise anything,
only get us out of here,' I said, half beside myself.

" ' You will promise anything,' he said, excitedly ;
* then, down on your knees, and swear by all you hold
sacred, to become my wife.'

" ' Oh, that is too awful an oath, ask me anything but
that,* for I was sure now I could not love him.

" * No, no ; swear, or you stay here all night.' ' Half

1''

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'\
i
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116 The Oath in the Toiver of Toronto University.

my money, when J get it, instead, for pity's sajke,' I
said, distractedly.

" ' Nonsense ! I swear to liberate us from the tower
and building, if you swear as I have dictated ; if not,
take the consequences.' Again, he pleaded his suit,
winding up by asking me 'How I thought I would
look facing a crowd in the morning, emerging from
such a midnight resting-place, and in his company ; of
how the students would have food for jokes, for the
remainder of the term ; of how the newspapers would
get hold of it,' etc.

" Driven to desperation, I knelt and swore by all I
held sacred, to become his wife — unless he himself set
me free — the latter clause he allowed, laucfhinir at the
idea; he then held me to his heart, telling me I would
have a good husband in him, and never have cause to
repent of my oath; tying my bonnet on, for I tren)bled
so, my hands were useless ; how I got down the steps
on steps I don't know ; he must have carried me; for
what with the strain on my nerves from the whole
scene, added to the spiral stairway, I felt dizzy and
faint ; but we reached the bottom, and my astonish-
ment and indignation is easier imagined than described,
on seeing him coolly turn the h«^ndle and open the
door ! The bells we had heard were fire-bells. The
janitor, true to his trust, had locked the great door
and gone to a lecture-room for a moment, intending
after to mount for us.

" Philip seemed uplifted to a state of insane exulta-
tion at the success of his plan ; for, on my upbraiding
him on such base means to attain his ends, he laughed,
as he said, 'All is fair in love or war,' as turning the
key in the oak door of the main entrance we were out
in the free air. Free ! yes, but with my freedom gone.
I looked at him with a sort of curiosity, as merely
shutting the door, though I suggested burglars ; he
for answer, taking me in his arms, saying thickly, to

The Oath in the Toiler of Toronto University. 117

the accompaniment of the key turiiinfr, ' Make the
best of me, love, it was only by stratagem 1 coubi win
you ; I am lonely, so are you ; I will make you happy,
so help me God !' and so it is, Ella, you tiiKi me en-
ga((ed to wetl Philip Cobbe."

" But, as you must see, there must be other reasons
than my disinclination to have prevented our union,
for, vou see, he still haunts me, thouiih not lovin^LT
me so faithfully, perhaps," she said, gravely.

" or course I see it, you poor dear," she said, coining
nearer, and kissing her friend, " and you must never
marrv that man. What a romance of the tower it was :
I have been fascinated listening to your recital. 1 now
see what he meant by his — as he thought — strange
manner, on Henry naming that we were going to the
University with you. But, mark my words, there will
be a tragedy if you wed this man ; I know something."

A tremor ran through Mrs. Gower ; she clasped her
liands nervously, her lips quivered, and her dark eyes
dilated, as she said, leaning towards her friend,

" You mean about a woman ! "

Here Garfield awoke at the entrance of his father,
whose rinjj his mother and Mrs. Gower had not heard.
Miss Crew, entering, hat and mantle on, and carrying
the out-door wraps of Mrs. Dale.

" Why, you both l<;ok startled ! " said Mr. Dale ;
" have you been enjoying a spiritual seance ? "

" No, Henry, but you had better avoid me, for I have
been tasting of the tree of knowledge."

" We have had dogma, also, Mr. Dale ; and your
wife does not believe that the end justifies the means,"
said Mrs. Gower, as Thomas brought in a tray with
delicious coffee and sandwiches.

" I hope such doctrine won't be forced down our
throats some day, Mrs. Gower. Roman Catholicism
seems to be coming upon you, wave by wave, and you
in Ontario don't even seem to dream of a breakwater."

1 i

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118

Btrcfs of Prey.

And so he talked on of city news, of the immense
circulation of tlie newspapers, of the power of the press,
etc., seeinj^ there had been f^rave talk, and giving
each time to bury gravity in heart's casket.

"Good night, little man; and so you get your feet
on life's first rung, at Upper Canada College, on Mon-
day morning."

" Yes, Mrs. Gower, and I mean to show them what
a New York l)oy can do."

"That's right; defy circumstance and fate, and
mount."

" Good night, and good-bye, dear Mrs. Gower, for I
leave, as you are aware, for a run north-east, to look
at some mines with our friend Buckingham."

" Yes, so I hear ; what birds of passage you men
are ; but you don't leave until Monday, when your
good little wife and Miss Crew come to me during
your absence."

" I really don't know what Ella would do without
Holm nest and — you."

"Take care of yotirself, Elaine," said Airs. Dale,
with a meaning pressure of the hand.

" What for ? " she said, rather sadly.

" Oh, for somebody ! "

CHAPTER XVII.

BIRDS OF PREY.

N the neat little parlor, with flowering plants in
the window, its walls adorned with old-time
Scripture prints and modern play-bills in droll
blending, back of the shop-room for stationery,
at Bayswater, on an evening late in October,
sits Silas Jones, listless, and, with idle hands, appa-
rently staring into vacancy, in reality wandering in

Birds of Prey.

119

busy thoufjlit into dim prison-houses and private asy-
lums at London, in search of Sarah Kane, who, on his
callinj^ to see at Mrs. MansHeld's some weeks «i^o, as
arrunj^ed, was informed by a housclveeper in ciiarge
that her mistress had gone south for the winter, and
had tohl Mr. Stone .some months a<;o she would like
Sarali Kane to ^o with her as companion. When he
sent her word she refused the offer, and that as to Mr.
Stone bringing her, neither of them had been near the
place.

On this, Silas Jones had racked his brain to discover
her, advertising time and apain ; sure of foul play. One
day he thought of seeing v hat the detectives could <lo,
another of consulting a lawyer ; he had, though know-
ing it would be useless, gone to Broadlawns, and
interviewed Mr. Stone, who had answered carele.ssly :

" I never even try to keep track of servants we dis-
charge. Why of Sarah Kane, who was a viper on our
hands ?"

" As to that, Mr. Stone, I shall not allow you to
blacken the best woman in God's world. She went
with you to London ; where is she now ?"

" I tell you again I don't know, even whether she be
alive or dead, and if you come about Broadlawns again,
1 shall have you up for trespass. An Englishman's
house is his castle, sir."

" Oh, Silas Jones, Silas Jones, she has grown tired of
you," said Mrs. Cole, vengefully. " We found her in
Mr. Cole's bedroom at midnight. What can an old
man like you expect ?"

" I don't mind your wicked words, they can't hurt
Sarah ; it's your deeds ; and I implore you, if you have
any of the woman nature in you, tell me where I can
find her."

" And I answer, as Mr, Stone did, I never bother
myself as to the whereabouts of discharged servants,
so consider yourself dismissed," she said, calling Simon.

120

Birds of Prey.

n (

" Yes, ma'am."

'■ Open tlie door for Silas Jones, bookseller, Bays-
water." And so had he been answered in harsh, un-
feeling tones, as almost broken-hearted he had wended
his lonely way mechanically back to the little parlor.

It is well he has sold out his business to the young
man Mary has married, for he cannot give his mind to
anything other than the loss of the one woman, in
his simple loyalty, he has ever loved, and of how again
to find her.

" Silas," said his sister, " I just now asked Dr. Mac-
Neil, as he came up the street, how poor Mr. Cole is,
and he says he is in for a bad attack of that nasty
rheumatic fever ; just think, brother, of him only out
of brain fever and into this ; it's out and out too bad."

" Does he ask for Sarah, still ? "

" Yes ; doctor says it's most pitiful to hear him ; and
he (doctor) says, but it's 'cause he doesn't know the
truth, that, of course, they are not to be blamed for
the not brinfjinof her, since she be so bad."

" Sister, I can't stand this suspense and trouble any
longer; it's killing me. If it costs me every penny I
have in the world, I 'rwiisi find my Sarah. I shall go
into the city to-morrow, and put the detectives to
work."

At this juncture the shop door was hurriedly thrown
open, when Sarah Kane, cold, pale, and trembling, fol-
lowed by the driver of a hansom, cacne in quickly
into their midst.

" Now, Missis, you'll be as good as your word, I
'ope, and gim me my fare."

But she is in the close embrace of Silas, while Mary
pays, dismisses him, and locks the front door, her hus-
band being in the great city.

'• Silas, it's my belief you are demented ; let our Sarah
go. I want to hear where the old de'il took her to, and
how she comes in like this, with no bonnet or shawl,

V, Bays-
rsh, uii-
w ended
; parlor,
e young
mind to
:)uian, in
)W ajjjaiii

Dr. Mac-
Cole is,
at nasty
only out
too bad."

bim ; and
know the
amed for

)uble any
penny I
shall go

ctives to

y thrown
(ling, t'ol-
quickly

ir word, I

lile Mary
her hus-

our Sarah

Her to, and

or shawl,

Birds of Prey

121

and her hair blown about like that. There, that's more
like it," she said, kissing Sarah, as Silas, not i^peaking
a word, only keeping his gaze tixed on Sarah's face,
leads her to a chair, when, dropping on his knees, says
earnestly,

" Thank God ; thank God."

Now seatinsT himself beside her, and holdinix her
hand in his, Sarah says, her lips quivering:

" Yes, God be thanked, 1 am at home, home ! Oh
dears, vou will never know the sweetness of home as
I do, after the awful life I have had since L last saw
your dear faces; and only that I ran away, leastwise,
bribed the boy with mv watch and chain — '

" You did !" cried Mary, in astonishment.

" Freedom is sweeter than jewels, Mary dear; but I
must begin at the beginning. Yes, Silas, the tea has
warmed me; I must tell you all now. You know how
suspicious the people at Broadlawns are? Well, you can
imagine the scene I went through when, running back
from you that early morn, I found them waiting for
me ; they had got into xw^ room with another key ;
they called me all the foul names in the spelling-books
in hingland, I do believe. My lieart, but it was fear-
ful ; and poor Mr. Cole calling me, and they not letting
me near him ; but I cant go on till I hear of him.
How is he, and was it brain fever V

" Yes, Sarah," said Mary, hurriedly, " and he could
not bear Mrs. Cole near him ; ravinj.- more even when
out of his head, if she was in the room."

" Poor, poor young gentleman, and how is he now ?"

" Well, he's just out, litce, of brain fever, and into
rheumatism."

" Dear, dear ! " she said, in troubled tones ; " Silas, I
feel, dear, that I must endeavor to bring .somj .speck
of comfort into his life, for I blam-j myself now for
not long ago going and talking it over with Dr.

:."2:S.
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122

Birds of Prey.

Annesley ; will you come up to the city with me, to-
morrow, and try to see him ? "

"Anywhere, so I am with you; for I do believ^e,
Sarah, I shall never be brave enough to lose sight of
your dear face again," he said, tenderly, still holding
her hand.

"And, now, go on Sarah, and tell us where that old
sneak thief took you to," said Maiy, curiously.

" Yes, I must. Mr. Stone bid me only take my
Gladstone bag, for he was not going to spoil the
phsetoR with my trunks. So, merely putting in a few
necessary articles, thinking, as you remember, to be
back in a day or two ; well, we drove into town ; but
not in the direction, as I remembered, of Mrs. Mans-
field's ; we went a long, long way east ; and when I
wondered, he answered, shortly, that he had business
that required immediate attention, first ; well, on we
drove into streets and localities unknown to me. At
last, after a two hours' drive, we stopped at the end
house in a terrace; it was a gloomy street, though
some of the houses were well-lookin-g enough. In one
of the windows of the house at which we stopped,
was a card, 'Lodgings for single gentlemen ;' but that
was a blind, Silas, to cover the real state of affairs.

On Mr. Stone knockinor, a bolt and chain were
drawn and unfastened, and a big, strong, coarse-look-
ing boy, large mouthed, and with cross eyes, opened
the door.

" ' Is your master in ? ' inquired Mr. Stone. ' Yes,
sir.' ' Come in, Sarah Kane,' said the wicked master
of Broadlawns. ' I have a good deal to say here, and
you may as well come in doors, after your early morn-
ing walk' (that v\as here, you know, Silas) 'and
your visit to a gentleman's bedroom last night.' It
might have been Mrs. Cole ; he spoke in such cold,
hard tones.

" We were shown into the front room first flat ; the

"■ 1l ^ty,p.-

Ill

Birds of Prey.

123

old

the

room with the notice in the window ; it was ex-
tremely dirty and untidy ; with a sinnfle bed in one
corner ; and what furniture there was looked like
odds and ends picked up at sales ; three chairs, one of
brown leather, the others faded red and blue rep. On
a table were pipes, tobacco, burnt matches, ale mufj^s,
and cards, with copies of BelVs />(/<?, in different stages
of dirtiness ; the room was littered with a man's
clothing, and altogether unsavory. I was reluctant to
enter, and stood on the door-mat.

" ' Just go in ma'am ; here's the master,' said the boy
grinning.

" If the room was unsavory, the man was. Oh,
Mary, if you saw him," she said, shudderingly ; " he
looked like a bully or prize fighter ; a heavily-built
man, short of stature, with bull-dog head and face ;
he wore no coat, and his shirt was unclean."

" Well, Lang, how are you getting along ? "

" Do you mean as to funds, Mr. Stone ; are you
going to say the word, ' forego the back rents, take
that lump sum for the house, and cry quits, that's the
question ? ' " he said, with a wink. " Come in, Missis ;
I'm quite a dude, you see ; but ladies don't mind
that."

" I prefer to wait for Mr. Stone, out in the phaeton,"
I said, with latent disgust.

"Here they exchanged what I now know was a
meaning glance, Mr. Stone saying, ' Sarah Kane is a
most particular young woman, as you shall hear, Lang ;
come this way, Sarah.'

" I protested that I preferred waiting outside, to no
purpose. * This way, Sarah Kane.' ' Yes, this way,
Missis,' they said, one going before and one behind
me up a stairway, covered with a common carpet, but
thickly padded ; there were five doors opening into a
square hall ; all doors shut. Turning the handle of
one, Mr. Stone said, smiling grimly, ' Another lodger.'

■ ■ r

'■'^ ft t

HPHiPliiii!

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124

Birds of Prey.

' Yes ; he's out airing ; you befc, they keep me busy,'
he answered, with another of his odious winks, saying,
' Here, Missis, j ust step in 'ere while the Squire and me
square accounts ; ' this time he winked at me ; and I
began to think it a mechanical way he had of winding
up a remark."

" Nasty beast," said Mary.

" I was no sooner in, than the key was turned, and
I knew myself a prisoner ; I called, hammered on the
door, did every conceivable thing to make a noise ;
finally I sat down on the one greasy chair of green
rep, and cried as if my heart would break. I thought
of you, Silas, and you too, Mary, of poor Mr. Cole;
and hope vanished, knowing by whom I had been
trapped. Froin time to time I could hear a murmur
of voices ; then Mr. Stone's unmusical laugh ; and the
unfastening and fastening of the door. Then I gave
myself up to despair ; I could make no sign to the
outside busy London world, for my small room was
only lit from the hall by a curious window, up near
the ceiling. A single bed, wash-stand, and tiny look-
injj ijlass, hanffinof to the wall, too small and cracked
to be of any use ; every article being stale and dirty.
Mr. Lang brought me a cup of tea, and some bread
and cheese, telling me to make myself at home ; and
'that even though I was in a single gentleman's house,
no matter,' with another odious wink ; ' that Mr.
Stone had told him I would not be sorry there were
no ladies,' etc. ; but to make a long story short, Silas
and Mary, the people at Broadlawns imprisoned me to
get me out of the way, so I should not speak of this
fraud of a marriage."

" That's it, my poor Sarah."

" Days passed into weeks ; and had it not been for
my pocket Bible, the Pickwick papers, and a long
strip of muslin embroidery and housewife I had put
in my bag, I don't know what would have become of

ser
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wil

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Birds of Prey.

125

busy,'
lying,
i(i lue
and I
nding

d, and
on the
noise ;

green
bought
'. Cole ;
d been
lurniur
md the

I gave

to the
3m was
ap near
.y look-
cracked
d dirty,
e bread
ae ; and
's house,
hat Mr.

re were
>rt, Silas
3d me to
of this

been for

a long

had put

ecome of

me; I tried to keep calm, if only to devise a scheme
f)f escape. One day was much the same as another,
Mr. Lang trying in many ways to get private informa-
tion of Broadlawns, tellinsr me, to raise my wrath,
that Mr. Stone had told him I was demented, and
nothing I said was reliable ; but I could not triist such
a man, so left him no wiser. Every day, for fifteen
minutes, I was compelled to go up two flights of stairs
to a room with an open skylight, and where I was
made, wiliiL.,']y though, to walk up and down ; some-
times Lang, sometimes another man, whom I loathed
even worse, or the cross-eyed boy, accompanying me
as jailer; this they called a pleasure airing. Yester-
day, growing desperate, I offered my watch and chain
to the cross-eyed boy, to liberate me. He listened,
eyeing them greedily, saying to my delight,

"' Well, I'll try, Missis ; for I'm a bit tired of airing
of you and the three men, and a doing of other
chores.' ' Are there three other prisoners beside my-
self,' I cried. ' Oh, no, ma'am ; they be just a lodging
'ere on the quiet, loike yf>u be.' * You will free me,
then, and gain my watch and chain ; see how pretty
it is, and pure gold.' ' Yes, the first chance I gets ;
but ye're not lying ; ye'll give it all square ? '

" But to hasten, for I feel tired and weak, though
oh ! so much better in mind ; the middle man gave me
my airing to-day, to whom I never spoke, though he
langhf'd and jeered at me continually. 1 worried my-
self by thinking that, perhaps, the boy was only a spy,
when this evening, after Mr. Lang had brought mo my
tea, and T was again locked in, to my joy, in a few
minutes, the key turned, and the boy said, huriiedl}',
' Come alonL^ Missis ; don't wait to take nothing ;
master's out, and Bill's run to the gin-palace, telling of
me to keep guard.' Even as he spoke, we were down-
stairs, the bolt and chain undone, and, thank God,
with the free air of heaven about us. ' Give us your

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126

Birds of Prey.

'and, Missis, ye're goin' the wrong way ;' and on we
sped with Hying feet. ' Good-bye, Missis ; now for the
timer. It's a dandy,' he said, pocketing it ; ' there's a
'ansMin ; you'd better take it, you are out of breatli ;'
and with a shrill whistle, the man stopped ; when the
boy tlew, and I took the hansom ; and here I am home
at last, thank God."

" What wretches ! " cried Mary.

" You leave me no more, Sarah : you are evermore
m?/ care ; go to bed now, dear, and rest, for we will go
up to London to-morrow, to ask Dr. Annesley's advice.
I shall go now to Broadlawns for your trunks ; good
night. Oh, how light my heart is now I have found
you again, Sarah," he said, tenderly kissing her.

" We will be an old couple, Silas, dear," she said,
quietly ; " do you know, to-morrow will be our joint
birthday ; this is the eve of All Saints."

" Yes ; and we shall be married to-morrow, when
we are in the city ; age doesn't count ; our hearts are
young, Sarah." ^

" Yes, Silas ; I feel so happy I could sing,

" ' Now we maun totter doon, John ;
But hand in hand we'll go ;
And we'll sleep thegither at the foot,
John Anderson, my jo. ' "

" Our lives have been ever hand in hand, Sarah, for
we exchanged hearts long, long ago ; but here is
George ; I shall go now with an easy mind, for he will
guard you safely; good night."

" 1 have only time, to-night, to wish you joy, George,
for I require rest," she said, going upstairs.

Well, this is good," he .said, rubbing his hands;
" '■ ui. good night, sister, that is to be ; my little wife
Ik IV has her mouth open to give me your story."

Wher; Silas Jones, with the light waggon, drove up
the carriage drive to Broadlawn.s, the family were at

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Birds of Prey,

127

supper ; so Simon, glad of the chance, got the trunks
down and into the waggon, without words ; but as
Silas Jones was thanking him for his assistance ; tell-
ing him of Sarah Kane's escape, and inquiring for
Mr. Cole, Mr. Stone, leaving the dining-room, encoun-
tered him, when he said,

*' I am taking Sarah Kane's trunks away, Mr.
Stone."

" And who has authorized you to do anything in the
matter? " he inquired, haughtily.

" My future wife, Sarah Kane."

For once, he was non-plussed ; when Miss Stone,
passing through the hall, said, stiffly :

" I am sorry I cannot congratulate you, Mr. Jones,
on winninjr a Christian woman."

" What can it mean," thought Mrs. Cole ; " she is in
tight keeping ; safe enough." As a feeler, she says,

" You must have the faith of Abraliam to trust her
still ; someone said she is living with a bachelor at
London."

" Mrs. Cole, let me tell you there is such a thing as
British justice, which we mean to have, when you
shall eat your words in a court of law," he said, indig-
nantly turning on his heel, and out into the night.

Simon, at his post in the sick room, told the good
news of Sarah Kane's escape.

Turning suddenly, in his eagerness to face Simon,
and hear more, the sufferer groaned in rheumatic pain.

" Can you not manage to bring her to see me, when
they are all out ; the once you did bring Mr. Jones, he
said, when he found Sarah, they would go out to New
York or Canada ; I particularly wish to see them.
Jove ! the pain ; the liniment, Simon ; rub me, please,
and close the door ; if 1 could only escape, like Sarah ;
you will do what you can, I beg of you, to bring them
to see me ? "

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Bin/s of Prey.

" I will, sir, if I loses my situation by it."

Below stairs the V)irds of prey held council with
closed doors.

" What the devil did that man Jones mean ly darins:^
to throw threats in our faces, Margaret?" said Stone,
with seemin;j^ bravado, thoucfh, in reality, in dismay.

" Impudent bluster, perhaps, but I shall put my ears
to their proper use," and slipping off her shoes, she
crept noiselessly up to the door of the gloomy east
chamber, which had been closed so they could talk
privately, thus playing into the ear of the enemy.

" Well," said her uncle grimly, as she returned.
"Well?" she answered, in the same tones, her eagle
nose more prominent, her awful eyes more stony
than ever. ' She has escaped ! and is even now at the
bookseller's."

"The devil!''

" You may well say so. Thomas Lang has sold you.
Simon does not know particulars, for our friend Cole
was earnest in inquiries.'

"Is it too late to go into the city now?" he said
nervoush'.

"Yes, and you are too cowardly to face 'ills you
know not off' alone. Let me see; the lower class are
awed by pomp and show. We will drive into Wind-
sor Terrace in the morning in the carriage and pair.
If Lang has sold you, you must buy him, by letting
him have the house at his own figure. A*jain, should
she have escaped without his connivance, be prepared
by selling everything you can. You, -o guardian to
my sweet step-sister, have unlimited powers until our
pet is of age, which interesting e\ ent, they don't seem
to know, has taken place. Rake in all the gold you
can, uncle, as the United States looks inviting at pre-
sent ; to-morrow will be a busy day. Aunt Elizabeth, so
voii might t(ill cook to have breakfast an hour earlier.
Good night."

"^Tr^r

The Islet-Gemmed St. Lawrence.

129

As she left the room, her uncle said '.

" She is every inch a Stone, Elizabeth, and not a bit
like her chicken-hearted father."

" That's true, Timothy, but she ^rows plainer every
day, and looks nearly as old as I do."

" Yes, she is no Hebe ; but had the blooming god-
dess been possessed of her wits, she would have blind-
folded Jupiter."

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE ISLET-GEMMED ST. LAWRENCE.

sN a mornini]f late in December Mrs. Gower sat
alone in her pretty re.stiul library, with its
olive-green velvet cushions and hangings, its
water-lilies, like the beauties in our bay, with
their green stalks and leaves painted on the
panelled walls, its English ivy trained up and around
the Queen Anne mantel, with graceful palms standing
on either side of the floral blossoms on the stand. The
occupant looks well in a close-titting gown of navy
blue flannel, embroidered in rose silk ; there is a half-
smile on the lips, and the dreaminess of some tender
thought in the dark eyes, as she idly opens and closes
a black lace fan, with a spray of honeysuckle painted
thereon. A gentleman's card lay beside her work-bas-
ket on the table.

" So Alexander Blair is his name," she thought ;
"how very, ver}'" long," with a sigh, "it has taken
to come to me — his name, of course, I mean." She
thought, with a smile, putting the card to her lips,
"how foolish of me, but I have always had that way.
I remember travelling to Port Elgin, from Toronto,
and on my arrival, my trunk, containing my dearest
treasures, was not forthcoming. I was wild with grief,

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Tlu Islet- Gemmed St. Lawrence,

when, after enriching the telegraph offices, at the ex-
pense of my purse, in three days it was again in my
possession ; and what did I do, why kissed and fon-
dled both trunk and key. Elaine Gower, you are a
foolish, impressionable woman. And so I dropped my
fan at the Grand, last night. His card says, ' With
compliments, dropped at the theatre.' He scarcely
seemed a stranger seated beside me at ' Erminie,' and
I feel sure he felt likewise. How handsome he is, or
rather how essentially manly, with the look of strength
in his broad shoulders, and of honesty of purpose in
his fearless, blue eyes. He is iron-grey, and slightly
bald, I noticed, when he stooped to pick up my hand-
kerchief, but his beard and moustache are brown. He
is decidedly dark ; I wonder if Highland Scotch ; for
dark, and true, and tender are the North. His name
suits him. I like them both for old association's sake,
one being the maiden name of one whose memory is
sacred, the other, the Christian name of my loved
dead. I wonder what poor Charlie Cole would think
of my having made his acquaintance" in this romantic
fashion. I remember, he also had had instantaneous
photographs, as we laughingly called them, of a young
lady who had interested him."'

At this moment Miss Crew, entering, in walking
costume, said :

" I met the letter-carrier as I came in, Mrs. Gower,
and here is yowx share."

" Thank you. You look better for your walk ; but
did you walk ?"

" Only from the Spadina Avenue car terminus, but
I had some little walking in my district, but the Col-
lege Street Mission is worth fatiguing oneself for. Oh,
Mrs. Gower, have you heard how Mayor Howland pur-
poses raising building funds for the cottage in connec-
tion with the Industrial Home at Mimico ?"

HHSHBH

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The Islct-Gemmcd St. Lmvrence.

131

" Yes, I read it in some newspaper, the Glohe of yes-
terday, I think."

" Won't it be something to be proud of, if the chil-
dren carry it out."

"Yes, and I believe they will; children are very
much in earnest, when the heart is touched ; and now
for our correspondence ; take off your hat and mantle
here by the grate, though Gurney's furnace does keep
us very coihfortable all over the house."

" Pardon my interrupting you, Mrs. Gower ; but I
am reading a letter from Mrs. Dale, in which she says,
to be sure and remind you to write her somr descrip-
tion of your yachting on the St. Lawrence ; those
English friends of theirs would so much like to get
some idea of the lite, as they purpose purchasing an
island."

"Yes, I must do so; but I fear any poor words of
mine, will fail in doing justice to its many delights;"
and on finishing reading her letters, seating herself at
her escretoire, she wrote as follows :

" The Islet-Gemmed St. Lawrence.

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dai.e, — It has never been
my lot to read anything descriptive of river-life, on
our loveliest of streams, that I have considered did
justice to its varied charms ; so you may imagine how
powerless I feel, in the task you have assigned me ;
but when 1 tell you that that martyr to ennui, Jack
Halton, this summer owned to myself that he had, at
last, found something worth living for, you will there-
fore not be surprised that I, loving nature as [ do,
should have gone into raptures.

" In the first place, our steam-yacht, the Ino, was the
trimmest little craft, the daintiest little beauty on the
river ; and we had the perfection of host and hostess,
each in their respective niche, leaving nothing to be
desired. I told them they must have had ' Aladdin's

'Si

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132

The Islet-Gemmed St. Laiurence.

A..

lainp' stowod awny soniPwhore; for we had but to
clfip our liancls, and our will was done.

" Day after daj', never tirint^, ever with lenewed
zest we l)oarded the hio, to dream away the houi.s in
the most ravishing bits of scenery my eyes ever be-
held. With hampers full of dainties and substantial,
we wanderetl in and about the islands ; sometimes
meetin^r other idlers like ourselves, and pic-nicking at
some chosen spot; sometimes the guests at one or
other of our ac(iuaintances having summer homes in
this our Canadian fairyland. Truly, if all the year
were June, the world in woods would roam ; for our
gay little Ino was a spirit of the waters, and though
we had no spiritualists on board, still we had table
rappings on some good story by our witty host ;
neither were we so spiritual as to despise the material,
which we proved as we sat to dinner ; and such
dinners, Ambrosia ! Yea, and for our goddesses ;
though with sunburnt faces we women did not much
resemble the latter, our men looking handsomer the
browner they grew ; but as for dinner, we had from
dishes to tickle the palate of our club epicures to —
hodge-podge, which we relished.

" Yes, from morn till eve, and often late, late, in the
white moonlight, we lived an ideal life on our pet
yacht, the Ino.

"One will sometimes say, in meteing out great praise
to some favored spot, that one would liv and die
there ; but here, who talks of dying ? One would fain
live forever ; for, every moment one lives^ one breathes
a new life ; for on the luxuriously appoii»ted Ino, we
gazed out from curtained windows, or from under
a cnnopied aich, while we reclined on softest of
cushioned seats, and literally drank in the ' Elixir of
Life.' The air of the pine groves as we passed, the air
of the grandly dark and dashing river, full of ozone,
is the air to inflate one's lungs with, and carry back

Tlw Islet-Gemmed St, Laivrenre.

l:{;j

with one to our crowded cities, winch .seemed so far
away in that land of beauty.

"Some delisfhtful eveninu^s, we would tread a mea-
sure on the ((reen sward, to music of tlute and violin ;
for, had one or more of our j^ioup not heeri irinite
musicians, the scene was enough to inspire one, and
so, in songs, merry laughter or sentiment, our days
passed as a dream.

" For we stem the shining river,
The river of tlic isles.
On our fairy yacht, the Inn,
With our love beside our side.

For I there met a sorcerer, who robbed me of my
heart, and whose spells I could not break Uiitil 1 tied
from this scene of enchantment. And agfain we board
our trim yacht, and what varied scenes of beauty met
the eye, whenever and wherever we gazed. Such
lights, such shadows, such artist bits, such tree<, such
rocks, such everything ! Surely we were in fairylantl,
and not in plain, practical Canada.

" On some of the islands are ideal summer homes ;
now we came upon a fairy-like structure, in Italian
villa style ; now, upon a palatial mansion ; now, upon
a camp all alive, and signalling Ino the fair.

" The only specks in my sun were, that the American
islands were made more beautiful bv their owners
than our own ; and that uneuphonious names had been
given to some of these charming islets. Fancy one
* Pitch Pine Point ' — I failed to see the point of chris-
tening it so.

"The rocks take most fantastic shapes intheshadowed
moonlight. By and under the rock-bound shore, I used
to fancy I saw nymphs dancing on the rippling waters,
which was to them music; and, dreaming on, as we
lazily stemmed the tide, it all came to me, that in days
of yore, the youths from the shore, coming to row and

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Tlie hlet-Getmned St. Lawrence.

sport in Uie waves at eve, saw the water-sprites, and
fell in love ; when the sea-^ods, for revenge, fell upon
them, transforming them into some of the most fantas-
tic-shaped rocks we see ; and, the sea-nymphs, pitying
the sons of men for their fatal love, prayed the gods
to transform themselves into trees, to grow into the
clefts of tiie rocks ; and so protect their would-be lovers
from old Sol's tiery beams, and their wish was granted.

" But wo invariably turned ere a bend in the river
robbed it from our sight, to take a last loving glance
at the beauteous Isle Manhattan, where we had been
most hospitably entertained by its charming American
inmates. It is beautifully wooded, and an elegant
mansion thereon, with one of the most hospitable of
verandas, stretching long and wide, with many
American rockers and pillowed rattan sofas, on which
we have reclined or sat while partaking of iced claret
and, for those who liked it, champagne carte blanche,
and where we had one of the most perfect views from
the commandinjj tower of the villa.

"A view that wants a Lett, an Imrie, or an Awde to
sing of, a Longfellow to immortalize — my pen is lifeless
in describing its beauty ; a beauty that would ravish
the soul of a poet, and send an artist wild; a view which
brought to my mind the remark of a dear old Scotch-
man, whom a party of tourists came upon, lost in ad-
miration of the Falls of Niagara.. On one of the party
asking him what he thor.ght of the Falls, he said, ' Eh,
man, I just feel like takin' afFmy bonnet til't.'

" In the far-stretching scene of loveliness here, in
the heart of the Islands, one should go Co the Tower, at
Manhattan alone, leavjng the merry, madding crowd
on board the yacht, or on the veranda ; one should go
alone, or in dual solitude, where a clasp of the hand,
or a look, is sympathy enough ; for one should carry
with one one's fill of such a scene of perfect beauty,
to brighten darker days and drearier times."

Eye-Openers. 1H5

CHAPTER XIX.

EYE-OPENERS.

JN the morning, of All Saints' Day, and while
numerous bells, in tuneful voices, reminded
London of souls departed, and souls to be
saved, Silas Jones and his twin spirit, Sarah
Kane, having arrayed themselves in best bib
and tucker, had taken the underground rail from
Bayswater, and with the multitude were trying not
to lose one another in the London fog — a regular pea-
souper, in which the coat-pocket of Silas had been
picked of pipe, tobacco and handkerchief.

" Mercy me, Silas, look well that they don't steal
the license."

" You are right, Sarah; which the thieves would not
ask for leave or license to take ; 'tis a big world our
London ; and it's my belief the thieves' quarter is the
biggest half."

" We should have made sure of the license, Silas, by
being married at fivst."

" That we should, dear ; but you have always let a
fancied duty come between us. And now for Picca-
dilly and Dr. Annesley, in this fog,"

" Hello, Missis ; a feller can't see in this 'ere yeller
fog; 'ere, get into my barrow; it's clean, and I'll run
yer through," said a boy's voice, rurning against them;
and which Sarah Kane recognized as that of her
liberator, the cross-eyed bov.

His offer was hurriedly declined by Silas, who dread-
ed Sarah taking her hand from his arm. On ascer-
taining from the boy that he had hired to peddle fruit
for a huckster and that he had pawned the watch
and chain they offeied to redeem them, and give him
a sovereign and-a-half for them ; which offer he joy-

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•••— " Ha'

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1 HUH'

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13G

Eye- Openers.

fully accepted ; they also, giving him tlieir address,
told hiiii, it' at any time he wanted advice or assist-
ance, to come.

A policeman now directed them to tlie residence of
Dr. Annesley — a genial, kindly old gentleman, who was
at home, and pleased to see them. On their relating
tlie doings at Broadlawns, he was both astonished and
indignarit, disgusted and outrageous.

"As to any sharp tricks in money matters, I am not
surprised," he said, impatiently ; " but that they should
have dared to perpetrate such an outrage as the mar-
riage of Mr. C. Babbingtoti-Gole, to that intensely dis-
agreeable, ugly, cruel, Miss Villiers, is monstrous,
monstrous ! "

" You may well say so, sir," said Sarah Kane, sadly.

" How is it you had no suspicions, Mistress Kane,
and you under the same roof ? "

" I onlj'' overheard a word now and again, as to a
marriage ; but 1 never suspected this horror ; I sup-
posed it meant Miss Pearl, and that they were going
to bring her back, when of age."

" Nothing can be done for Babbington-Cole ; he is
tied for life ; but how he could ever have fallen into
their net. is more than I can imagine," he said, in dis-
gusted tones.

" You know, I told you they took him by surprise,
sir ; and his father lay ill ; and cablegrams came
telling him to wed Margaret Villiers, and hasten with
her to his bedside ; and he was just demented-like,
between it all, and brain fever coming on."

" Well, well, it is a bail, very bad business. I confess
to the having been so disgusted, on Villiers making
Stone guardian to Miss Pearl, until she attained her
majority, that I, metaphorically speaking, washed my
hands of the whole affair ; especially on Miss Pearl her-
self telling Brookes & Davidson, her mother's law-
yers, that she agreed to it; this she said, on their

rprise,

came

with

1-Uke,

their

Eye-Openers.

137

tellinof her that, as her father had had softeninfj of
the brain at the time, nothing he said was worth con-
sidering."

" Depend upon it, doctor, Mr. Stone liad use'd coercion
to induce Miss Pearl to agree," said Silas Jones.

" Yes, I see, he must have," he answered, thought-
fully.

"And you don't know anything of poor Miss Pearl's
whereabouts, do you, sir?" asked Sarah Kane, anxiously.

" Yes, I can give you a clue, for I love her for her
own and her mother's sake ; and as time went on, and
I heard or saw nothing of her, I wrote T. L. Brookes,
the sei'ior p.- itner, fot I have had nothing to do with the
hypocrites at Broadlawns, since Villiers' death ; and
he sent me an address at New York. Here it is, ' Mrs.
Kent, The Maples, Murray Hill ; ' but, it is only a
clue, for I have written, and have not, as yet, received
a reply."

" Oh, please copy it for me, sir, for Silas and I are
going to be married, and go out and find her. I
promised her mother to look after her ; and I have not
heard from Miss Pearl ; but she has written, for she
said she would ; but they have read and destroyed
them, the same as they did to some t'iiat came for Mr.
Cole just before and after h'^ arrived,"

" Horrible ! h( »rri ble ! How is he now ; you just come
from there, I presviine I "

On Sarah Kane relaihig her late enforced retire-
ment under Tom Lang's roof, and her escape therefrom,
he opened his eyes in astonishment, saying, indignantly:

" The rascal ! and you know nothing of the locality? "

" Nothing wdiatever, sir."

" Even if she did, Dr. Annesley, Stone would coin
some plausible ^a.son for placing her there."

" Yes, yes, J >>v^,s : he is as cunning as the arch-fiend ;
people would beluvc hun, too, as he is a good church-

man.

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138

Eye-Openers.

" But, you know, Silas ; he has his falsehood ready.
Sir, he told my jailer that I was demented, and —
worse."

" Ah, his plots have no flaw ; poor creature, after the
kindness and respect Mrs. Villiers showed you, and
which yon deserved ; too bad, too bad."

" The poison of their lying tongues has already done
Sarah harm in Bayswater, Doctor. People pass her
without a nod ; they at Broadlavvns say they found
her in the bedroom of a gei deman guest at midnight,
and that she stole out of i ' ouse at three in the
morning to meet another."

" Shocking ! you can have them up for defamation,"
he said, sternly.

" But, sir, I must tell you, it was to poor Mr. Cole's
bedroom I went, and he with brain-fever coming on,
to do what I could to comfort the unfortunate gentle-
man ; and it was to Silas and his sister I went at night
to tell them of the awful marriage ; that I was turned
out, and going to Mrs. Mansfield's, which I was foolish
enough to believe," she said, with tears.

" Well, well. Mistress Kane, there, there, don't recall
it ; go oft' to a clergyman's and marry this good man ;
and here are five pounds to buy some trifle in Cheap-
side, to remember the day by. And now, let me see,
there was something I wished to see Jones about," he
said, kindly, rubbing his forehead. "Yes, I have it;
did they give you all the wearing apparel of the late
Mrs. Villiers, Mistress Kane ? "

" Oh, no, sir ! I would not expect such beautiful
things. I thought Miss Pearl should have them, when-
ever I see Miss Stone wearing the lovely furs and
satins."

" Did you ever receive five hundred pounds sterling,
Mistress Kane, left you, by the will of the late- Mrs.
Villiers ? " he asked, slowly, and with emphasis.

" Sir, you take my breath away. Silas, tell him, no,

( ,■ a« li.

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Eye- Openers.

130

sir. I ! 1 1 receive such a sum. No, nor one penny
since Mrs. Villiers' rleath ; but that, I cannot claim, for
I have staid on willingly, to watch dear Miss Pearl's
interests, and this is the end. Come Silas, let us go
now to the parson ; it will be our first step out of Old
England, to find Mi;5s Pearl," she said, nervously, her
tears flowing apace, partly with the troubled excite-
ment of the words of Dr. Annesley, partly at the hav-
ing, at last, a clue to the whereabouts of Pearl Villiers.
Not so, Silas, who loved her to* well to allow the
words of Dr. Annesley to pass unnoticed.

" Do you really mean that the late Mrs. Villiers left
Sarah a legacy, Doctor ? " he said, in some excitement.

" I do ; and infer from your united words that that
rascal has pocketed it ; I must see to it," and going to
the telephone, ringing up Brookes h Davidson, ascer-
taining that they were both at their offices, said :

" Hello ! Have been interviewed re Villiers' estate,
am now sending the persons to you ; they are quite
reliable ; shall see you to-morrow."

" All right, send them on."

" This is all I can do for you at present," he said ;
" and I advise you to make oath as to your not having
received the legacy ; it will save time.

" 1 am selfish enouorh to be glad you are going out
to New York; something tells me you will trace Miss
Pearl ; and I can a-suic you both, you have my fullest
sympathy in your dealings with Stone ; I can scarcely
restrain myself from taking the law into my own
hands, going out, and charging them with their
villainy."

" Thank God for your friendship. Doctor," said Silas
Jones fervently, as he smoothed Sarah's bonnet-strings,
and gave her her satchel.

" Good-by3, sir, and heaven bless you for your kind-
nesses," said Sarah Kane, with feeling.

" 0, pshaw ; my only regret is that you have only

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140

Eye-Openers.

found me out to say farewell ; but you must both come
back, and bring Mi.ss Pearl, to see an old man."

On reaching the offices of the law-Hrm, Sarah Kane
made oath as to the not having received either money
or wearing apparel.

W. Davidson, Q, C, saying :

" My eyes are being opened every day by the reve-
lations of my clients ; but what you say confirms my
suspicion, that the schemes of some certain people are
such cunningly devised fables, as t > make it next to
impossible for all the law courts in the kingdom to
convict them."

On leaving Temple Bar, they dined comfortably at a
restaurant, talking faster than they ate. Afterwards,
by the words of a clergyn an, t^ey were at last made
one, at which, with hearts full of thankfulness and
quiet content, they took a Bayswater omnibus.

Again in the little back parlor, where Mary had a
table groaning under its good things, with a bright
fire to welcome them, to which they had scarcely done
justice, and beginning to relate their adventures in the
city, when Simon, the man from Broadlawns, entered,
-aying, hurriedly :

" I gave my word to the young gent up to the house
that I'd fetch you folks up to see him when they, over
there, were out ; so, come along, please, if you be in a
mind to give the poor genth'iiian his way."

" Yes, indeed, we will, Simon," said Sarah Kane,
readily tying on her bonnet. " Come, Silas, dear."

He rose, somewhat reluctantly, for the neat little
parlor is doubly home to him now, with the sweet, gen-
tle fa^je of Sanih lookinu* -tt him with the lovinj; eyes
of a wife.

" But are you sure, Simon, that they are all out, and
for the evenirig, for 1 cannot answer for myself if I
come across them ?"

" Sure as the Bank of England, Mr. Jones, they be

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Eye-Openers.

141

and
if I

at the parson's. He's a showinor of them off to a big
missionary from foreign parts as liis best angels."

" The Rev. Mr. Parks is so good," said Sarah, " thas
I always regret that his eyes are closed to the color of
his angels."

" The trouble be, Mistress Kane, that they blindfold
more nor parson," said Simon, as tliey hurriedly made
their exit.

" Mistress Kane no longer, Simon, for I am glad to
tell you we were married in the city to-day,"

" Lawk-a-day ! you don't tell me ; but I am mighty
glad to hear it. You will hnve a man of your own
now, to take your name out of the gossips' mouth."

On arriving at Broadlawns, they went at once to the
gloomy east chamber, when Sarah could scarcely re-
press an exclamation of intense pity at the c lange
for the worse in the appearance of the long-sufrering
inmate. He was wasted to a shadow, and his brown
locks had been sViaved during brain fever, his kindly
blue eyes looked black in the transparent paleness of
his face, as did his whiskers and moustache, but in
which many grey hairs had come. Holding out a thin,
white hand, he welcomed Sarah warmly, saying :

" Oh, it in good to see your face again. I expect I
look like a galvanized corpse, Sarah. What with the
horror of my forced union with Medusa (a pet name
I have for Mrs. Cole), and then brain fever, which, I
don't wonder, caught me, and which, having that
woman about me, aggravated. You banished, and ma-
ligned, at which I stuffed the bedclothes into my ears,
and now my old enemy, inflammatory rheumatism, I
have had a pretty tough time of it."

" Yes, indeed, you have, poor fellow," said Sarah,
restraining her tears, and scarcelv able to look at the
wreck before her ; " but you are on the mend now,
and we must trust in God to bring you around soon.

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142

Eye- Openers.

It has been a heartbreak to me, Mr. Cole, that I was
not allowed to nurse you."

" Only another piece of their cruelty, Sarah. But
tell me about yourself. Where did that old sinner in-
carcerate you ? tell me everything," he said, with feeble
eagerness, for sometimes the pain was intense, causing
him to set his teeth, or catch his breath.

But Silas Jones, seeing how nnich she was affected,
and wishing to give her time to recover, himself gave
the sick man a vivid picture of her imprisonment and
release.

" Jove ! what a wretch — I mean Stone ; for the man
Lang was simply his tool. Gad ! I shall exercise a
treble amount of will-power to get well, and out of
their clutches, and back to dear old Toronto. * Out of
every evil comes some good,' they say ; though, in my
case, not much ; in Sarah's, yes, for you have given me
a tonic, Jones. From this moment I am determined to
recover."

" That's right ; be brave, sir, and you'll pull through
right smart," said Silas Jones; for Sarah is swallowing
a lump in her throat."

"Yes, bear up, Mr. Cole," she said, trying to smile,
as she seated herself on the bedside, taking his poor,
worn hands into her own, warm with vitality. " But
Silas has not given you a bit of good news — that the
happiest part of our lives is to come, for from to-day,
we pass them together !"

" Yes,"said Silas, coming beside her, laying his hands
on her shoulders ; " yes, I have nothing more to wish
for, with Sarah beside me. I cannot remember the
time, sir, that I did not want Sarah."

Two tears rolled down the sick man's cheeks, as he
thought of his own wretched fate ; but, by a visible
effort, controlling self, he said, simply :

" I am glad you are together, and happy. Yours is a
blessed union. God help me to health and strength,

■-■-f

Eye-Openers.

that I can free myself of her presence," he cried im-
ploringly. " Sarah, I have a fancy — it may be a dying
one, heaven knows — it is to see a likeness of Pearl
Villiers, the girl T was, by right, to have married."

" Here she is, poor dear," she said with alacrity, un-
fastening a locket suspended to her chain.

" How strange ! how like her ! only older, and more
careworn. Sarah, I have seen a face like this three or
four times on the other side of the water ; the face,
too, strange to say, haunted me ; a nice, good face,
rather than pretty ; but if the careworn, troubled look
was gone it would have been pretty. Yes, the same
features ; small, pale, and regular."

"And with fair hair and slight figure ?" cried Sarah,
clasping her hands.

" Yes," but with the restlessness of the invalid he
changed the subject, saying :

" You and your husband are going to America, you
say. I am going, too ; wlien I get well. You might
meet me tliere, if you can't wait for me," he said,
wearily; " and, yes, there is something else I must hasten
to say before those people return. I have received no
letters since my arrival, only a few newspapers ; here
they are. I love them because they come from dear
Toronto," he said, in nervous haste, taking from be-
neath his pillow a copy of the Mail, two of Gvli), with
a Globe.

"Letters were here to meet you, sir V

" Then the sneaks have read and kept them," he
cried, angrily.

" Perhaps I should not have told you, sir ; but I don't
like you to think your friends have forgotten you."

" You do me no harm, Sarah, by your eye-openers.
Wrath is a good tonic ; tell me ir you know what post-
mark was on them."

" Here are some envelopes I picked up from the grate
the morning they sent me av/ay."

"IP*

"ao. 2.

b:^

Hi'

.1 II

'■■if

III

■^

■■;■■ ^

yiilLii,

144

Eye-Openers

" Yes, they said their letters would be here to meet
me. This is quite plain, from Will Smith ; this I can
scarcely decipher ; but it's — yes, it's Mrs. Gower's writ-
ing ; and this from a namesake of yours, Mr. Jones.
Ah, it's good to see even these scraps. I could preach
sermons on the wickedness of my jailers," he said,
weakly, " but now, at once, before they come back, take
my address here, on "

"How dare you enter my roof ! it is more than flesh
and blood can stand," said Mrs.Cole, entering stealthily,
her face in a flame with rage — a virago, from the crown
of her head to the sole of her foot, and arrayed, with
her usual contempt for harmonious coloring, in pea-
green satin, jet trimmings, with crimson bows.

" Calm yourself, Mrs. Cole ; we are in the presence of
a sick man," said Silas, with intense pity for the in-
valid, and endeavoring to curb his own tongue.

" Don't dare to address me, but get out of my house
immediately ; there, follow your bonnet, Sarah Kane,"
she said, furiously, pitching her bonnet and'satchel into
the hall, on which some change rolling therefrom, she
was the richer by a half a sovereign, which, stealthily
picking up, with an inward chuckle, she slipped into
her boot.

" What's all the racket about upstairs ? Wait a few
moments, Lang," said Stone, who, on returning, ascer-
tained he had been waiting for him in the kitchen for
a full hour, they having missed each other in the morn-
ing.

Sarah Jones, in nervous haste to be gone, picked up
her bonnet and satchel, taking the hand of Mr. Cole in
good night.

" Remember ! and here is my, address," he whispered
nervoii.:ly.

But the woman he has married is too sharp for them ;
for, on Sarah turning from the bedside, she snatched
the paper, tearing it into fragments.

►r--'

" Your Rcu Were Like a Spc/iy

145

" Gi>od night, Mr. Cole. I am truly sorry for you ;
you are too good for the inmates of this house."

" Again you dare to trespass," said Stone, meeting
them on the stairs, turning and follovvinir them down.

"I warned you before that I should make you pay
for this. I am master here, and I tell you I shall kick
you out if you ever show your ugly faces here again,"
he said, choking with passion.

" Good evening, Mistress Kane,"vvinked Lang, as they
passed him. " it was not square of you to skip off
from me without paying your board. I'm dead broke,
so you or your follower better pay up now ; it's only
five sovereigns, and save law expenses."

" You are unwise, Mr. Lang, to add insult to injury,"
she said, quietly, as she went out into a serener night,

"Provide yourselves with pla.ster.s, and we shall pro-
vide ourselves with copper toes, the next time you tres-
pass," shouted Mrs. Cole, over the banisters.

" We shall only trouble you once more," said Silas
Jones, curbing himself, " when Mrs. Jones will give
you her signature in exchange for live hundred pounds,
with interest on same, left her by the will of the late
Mrs. Villiers."

CHAPTER XX.

"YOUR EEN WERE LIKE A SPELL."

^HE silver chimes of the mantel clock rang four
p.m., as Mrs. Gower descended from lier sew-
ing-room on the last day of the old year. She
looked well in a gown of soft, .<:^rey silk,
hanging in full, straight folds, ur elieved by
ornament, save a few sprays of sweet heliotrope at her
collar-fastening.

She stood at the library door, unseen by Miss Crew

? Pi

Viifi

<!f*T^

146

Vour Een Were Like a Speil."

the only occupant, who made a pretty picture, the last
beams of the setting ,sun cominor in throujjh a west
window, lighting up her fair hair and pretty brown
gown, the firelight lending color to her pale cheeks ; a
cabinet photo is in her hand, at which she is gazing so
earnestly, and witli such a troubled expression, that
she has not heard Mrs. Gower, though singing softly,
as she descended the stairs,

" Your een were like a spell, Jeanie ;
Mair sweet than I can tell, lassie.
That ilka day bewitched me sae
I couldna help inysel', lassie."

" Who are you trying to read, Miss Crew ? "

"Your friend, Mr. Babbington-Cole, Mrs. Gower,"
she said, with a start, placing the photo back in its
frame.

" And has it told you its name was Babbington-Cole,
ma chere ; we only give the latter ? "

" Yes ; but you know his name is -Babbington-Cole,
Mrs. Gower," she answered, evading the question.

" We do. Do you like his face? "

" Yes, very much ; he looks so kind and sweet-
temnered."

" Poor Charlie Cole, he is all of that ; excessively
amiable people so often wed the reverse. I do hope
it is not so in his case." " It is a dreadful fate," said
the girl, absently. " But we must hope for the best.
Miss Crew; but his long silence makes me fanciful;
however, if we don't receive news direct very soon — as
I have had some queer dreams of him lately — I shall
write the clergyman at Bays water."

" The reverend — I mean, how will you address it ;
just to the clergyman, or how ? " she said, intent upon
her work.

" Yes, that's very true, I don't know his name. Oh,
I have it ; Mr. Smytli left the paper with the marriage

"Yoi/r Er/i Were Like a Spell!'

147

insertion ; I do hope it has not been destroyed ; " and
going to the rack, to look over its contents, Miss Crew,
excusing herself, left the room to get into her wraps, as
sh^ was due to tea at the Treniaine's. Mrs. Gower,
1( ig in vain for the English newspaper, seated
herself comfortably to read the report of the Board of
Trade dinner to the Honorable Joseph Chamberlain.

Miss Crew entei'ed, robed for the winter streets.
" Good-bye, Mrs. Gower ; I shall not be late."

" J.U revoir ; give Mrs. Tremaine my love ; and say,
as the Dales may return from New York this evening,
I found it impossible to leave ; and be sure and wear
your overshoes : our streets are in their usual winter
break- neck condition. I do hope the new Council
will enforce the by-law."

" I hope so, too ; I had an awful fall the other ihi,y ;
th' ity treasury would be oversowing did they collect
t nes," she said, going out ; when, at the hall door,
she returned, saying hurriedly, " Oh, here is the Eng-
lish newspaper you were looking for, Mrs. Gower ; it
was upstairs."

" Thank you, good-bye.'"

" Having made a note of the clergyman's name at
Bayswater, and become conversant with the news in
the city papers, she gave herself up, in the gloaming,
to quiet thought.

" Yes, I like him very much, there is a manly,
straightforwardness in his words ; a steadfastness of
purpose in his honest blue eyes ; a firmness in the
lines of the niouth, with a kindliness of manner ; all
stamping him as a man whose friendship would be
true, whose love faithful ; how strange, that at last I
should meet him at the house of a mutual friend. Mr.
St. Clair tells me he has known him for years, and
the Tremaines since summer ; had any one told me
two weeks ago, that I should sing ' Hunting Tower '
with him in ten days, at the St. Glairs', I should have

, il

'•Z 1/ 1

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ir -''

148

" Voiir Een Were Like a Spell.'"

thought them romancinoj. He has a sweet tenor voice,
he asked me if he might call ; how pleasant it would
be if he were here now. I used to wonder and wonder,
in meeting him so frequently at lectures, concerts, or in
the cars, and walking about, what his name was. Now,
Alexander Blair has cume to me ; and his tenderness
to the little veiled lady, who was, 1 suppose, consump-
tive, by the slow way they walked. I wonder where
she is, I never see her now : his care for her touched
my heart.

I am so glad he has come into my life : I feel lonely
at times ; and he is so companionable, I know. What
dependent creatures we are, after all — houses and
lands, robes a la mode, even, don't suffice. Intercourse
we must have.

" But," and a shudder r^n through her, " what a
desolate fate mine will be if Philip Cob be will persist
in keeping me to my oath. We have not much in
common : he is kind, but neither firm nor steadfast,
and now this woman comes between us ; and what
would she not do were I h's wife ? As it is, I live in
daily dread of her doing something desperate. It was
enough to terrify any woman similarly situated, the
way in which she acted that Sunday evening, coming
from church ; and again, that night at the Rogers'
meeting in the Pavilion. A ring ■ Can it be the
Dales ? No, it is Philip ; I wonder what mood he is
m.

" Alone I for a wonder," he .naid, warmly. " Leave
the gas alone, Thomas, the firelight is sufficient."
"And thinking of me, and wishing for me,' he said,
as the servant left the room. " Yes, I can tell by your
eyes."

" There Philip, that will do, I am actually afraid to
have you in my house. Remember that woman last
night ! if looks could kill, then would I have been
slain," sht; said, tremblingly.

" y'o2/r Ren Were Like a Spell y

149

" She can't harm you, and I'll put a stop to her
tricks. You see, Elaine, she is so infatuated with me,
she can't keep away," he said, personal vanity upper-
most.

" But, that's just what I want you to see, Philip ; it
would be running too great a risk to marry you."

" 'Pon honor, love, 1 don't know how to shake her
off."

"You did not seem to exert yourself last night.
When I looked over my shoulder to speak to you in
the crowd, coming out, she had her hand on your arm;
and you were bending down listening to her."

" I know ; and when yoii looked, she clutched her
hold of my arm all the tighter," he said, with the
eagerness of a child.

" What did she say ? "

" She said, you shant go home with her to-night."

" Exactly the same words she used that Sunday
evening. Words and an act that will ever be stamped
on my memory. That act came between my heart
and yours, Philip, for all time," she said, sadly think-
injx of his foolish llightiness in allowinsr anythino- of
tbo kind to break up their friend.ship, if no more.
" 'i^'ou must see, Philip, that you should set me free."

" No, no ; don't talk like that ; you should want
me all the more when you witness her infatuation," ho
said, with his juvenile air, attempting to kiss her.

" No, Philip ; I cannot let you come near me with
the occurrence of last evening so fresh in my memory."

"Oh, nonsense; when I am your husband you will
be just as irvfatuated about me as she is."

" Do you know, Philip, you are as vain as a girl."

" Well, yes ; I suppose I am vain ; but so would any
man be who was as successful with the fair sex as I
am," he said, drawing himself up to his full height of
live feet nine, a look of pleasure in his large bright
eyeSi

■.i,\

12' •

^7.

V""""""

i wn wi^numi^

mmm

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■]}

150

" Your Een Were Like a Spell!'

" I can assure you, Philip, I fait anythinjcr but vain
at the Pavilion, or coming out of church, with the
spiteful eyes of that tall, common-looking, over-dressed
Mrs. Snob full upon me, as social astronomer ; she took
in the situation at once."

" A fig for what sucli like see or think ; I thought
you were above valuing the opinion of our wealtV ■
plebeians."

" But we were so conspicuously placed ; T shrink
from giving such women food for gossip."

"Hang them all ; our east-ender, Mrs. Snob, Ragsel,
and the whole ^ribe, or anyone that bothers you,
Elaine."

" But, Philip, do be rational ; release me from my
oath ; give me my freedom ; we will never be happy
married, or with our engagement still on ; for she will
grow bolder, and more persistent with each advance ;
do, for pity's sake, free me."

" No, no ; you ask too much," he said, angrily, think-
ing of these comfortable quarters of which he should
be master, and of the woman beside him also.

" But see how you left me for her last night ; you
miust be fond of her."

" I am not, so help me God ; but I could not shake
her off without making a scene."

" But just fancy, Philip ; if we were married she
would prowl about the place even more than she does
at present."

" It is all your own fault, Elaine, that she gives you
those scares in the evening ; for she only comes when
she knows I am about ; if you lived more to yourself,
and did not have all these women about vou, I would
come in the afternoon, like to-day ; and she would be
none the wiser, for she is at work in the day and can't
come."

" It is a fearful life for me."

" Be reasonable, Elaine : any man as fascinating to

■--. ^-..,^p

" Vo?ir Een Were Like a Spells

151

your sex as I am must, o* necessity, have women
breaking their necks for them."

" How you amuse me," she said, smiling ironically,
comparing him with someone else.

" 1 don't see why ; you know I speak truth," he said,
innocently ; " let me come in the afternoon ; don't
have any one else ; than, pet, she will not see me watch-
ing to see you when your guests are gone at night ;
and so you will not be troul3led with her."

" But just think what a proposition you are making;
she is to control our actions."

"Yes; but only for a time, pet; she will, perhaps,
tire of pursuing me ; if she had me, and you were out
in the cold, I feel sure she would agree to my proposi-
tion."

" You certainly have a most amusing way of putting
things."

" I know I have ; it's my large, kind heart and wish
to please ; and when we are married I will both charm
and amuse you "

" No, no ; it will not be safe for me to marry you ;
for how about this other woman ; would you charm
and amuse her also ? "

" Just as I was in the humor ; if she angered me, I
would not think twice of setting Tyr on her."

" Dinner is served, ma'am."

On repairing to the dining-room ; and having done
ample justice to a substantial dinner, prepared with a
view to the possible advent of the Dales ; and when
the oyster soup, roast beef, with delicious vegetables,
had been removed, dessert on, and Thomas dismissed,
Mr. Cobbe said, in pleased tones:

" I must congratulate you on your cook, Elaine."

" Then you congratulate myself, Philip ; for my
seraph of the frying-pan knows next to nothing of
the art ; I devote two hours of each day to my culin-
ary department."

• ■ 1 • ^
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X-

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'■'■Si \f, I

:;;.g •; ;
•■■-; 3c

152

" Your lien Were Like a Spell!'

■1 ■'■V

" For which you have the thanks of your guests,
and for which Brid<fet will make you pay."

"Yes ; I know ; but they all do it; when the}^ feel
their wings, they demand higher wages, or fly.

" When will you marry me, Ellaine ? " he said, lightly,
as they entered the drawing-room.

" After all I huve said, yott still ask this," she said,
freeing herself, and at her wits' end to know what to
do with him, remeuibering her oath ; but this woman,
and what revenge she may take, terrifies her. Mr.
Cobbe lights the gas ; but the inside shutters must be
shut ; and as she closes them, he assists her, standing
so near that his cheek touches hers.

" Don't speak to me like that, Elaine ; we love each
other ; and hang her for coming between us ; come
here, pet, and sit beside me ; it is a treat to have you
all to myself. "

"No; I am in no humor for a tete-a-tete; and the
Dales may arrive at any moment."

" Hang them ; can't they go to a hotel ; I dislike
them ; and surely you had enough o'f them, and that
doleful Miss Crew, while Dale went north,"

" Tastes differ, Philip ; I have a sincere friendship
for them ; as to their coming now, most of my little
friends' wardrobe is "

Here a sharp ring at the hall door startled them.

" What ! a ring ; that woman will be the death of
me ; I tremble now, once evening comes, at every peal
of that bell."

" Beg pardon, sir ; a person — a — a lady, says she is
waiting to speak to you, sir."

" Go, Philip, quick, for heaven's sake ; this is dread-
ful," she said, in a gasp, holding her hand to her oide.

" Mr, Blair," said Thomas ; and the old gold portihre
hangings are again closed, and they are alone.

"Forget I am with you; dont try to speak yet,"
he said, kindly leading her to a seat; 'you will

--*-■?-!■■

^'Your Een Wetr Like a Spells

1 5:3

breathe naturally in a few minutes, you have been
startled ; but it is all quiet now ; your servant care-
fully fastened the door; lean your head back to this cush-
ion ; there is something, after all, in material comforts.
Ah, now your color comes, and your eyes — well," he
said, smiling, yet with a grave tenderness, " your eyes
have lost their startled look, and may again weave
their spells." For she had now opened her eyes,
keeping them closed so she could better listen to his
voice as he talked on, giving her time to recover that
self which in alarm had fled.

But with her nerves more quiet comes a thought
which she must set at rest. So intent on her question
is she, that self-consciousness is altogether absent, as,
looking into his face, she says,

" You must be a married man ; you are so good a
nurse, knowing exactly what is best for ono ; are
you ? "

" No ; I was," he said, indicating, by a gesture, a
mourning ring on the third finger of his left hand.

" Forgive me ; I should not have asked you so
abruptly."

" I don't mind you, you don't seem a stranger ; and
my poor wife was an invalid, so that her death, thir-
teen months ago, was not unexpected."

" No ; under those circumstances, you would be
more or less prepared."

" Tell me, did you deem me impertinent to turn my
eyes to your face when we have so frequently met,
before our introduction ? "

" No ; else I should have to share in your blame ;
for [ should not have seen you had I not been guilty
of like fault," she said, drooping her eyes.

" Believe me, I couldna help mysel', lassie, no more

than I now can help myself coming to your house,

and feeling so at home with you, as though I had

known you for years, instead of for days. Do you

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154

" Vo?/r Ecu Were Like a Spells

feel a little as 1 do," he s^iid, in his eager earnestness,
turning his blue eyes full on her face.

" I do ; you will never be a stranger to me," she said,
simply.

'* Thank you ; do you know that evening coming
from the Grand, after ' Erminie ; ' I was in the seventh
heaven after having been so near you."

" ' So near, and yet so far,' " she said, smiling ; " for
the frowning battlements of the conventionalities were
still between us."

" Yes ; but I dreamed that your pretty lace fan
would waft them away, being a woman (though, by
your ejT'es, I feel sure a warm-hearted one) ; still, you
cannot know how my heart leaped when I saw that
you had forgotten your fan ; my first impulse led me
to follow you with it, but Scotch second-sight sug-
gested the means I adopted, to tell you my name.
How did you like it ? "

" Very much, indeed," she said, smiling, as looking
into his face half shyly, remembering how she had
pressed his card to her lips ; " I love both your names,
for reasons I may tell you another time. Are you
Highland Scotch ? "

" Yes ; and from fair Dunkeld."

" Indeed ! you must be proud of your birthplace ;
the scenery must be beautiful, were it only in among
your groves of trees. I love the giants of the forest
so, that r wonder in the Pagan world thev have not
been as gods ; now we sing,

" * Ye groves that wave in Spring,
And glorious forests sing,
Alleluia.'"

" You have a passion for trees, I see, and would
surely like Dunkeld ; 30,000,000 alone are said to have
been planted by a Duke of Athol ; we father on to
the scenery a spice of romance running through us."

" Vo»r lieu Were Like a SpellT

loo

not

" Don't try to excuse it by fathering it on to other
than your own nature ; our age is too practical ; but
Emerson expresses my thouglits exactly when he says
'everything but cyphering is hustleil out of sight;
man asks for a novel, that is, asks leave for a few
hours to be a poet.' But, perhaps, you don't agree
with me ? "

" I do, or I should have a larger account at my
bankers ; I fear I am not a canny Scotchman, for I
have spent a good deal in giving my poor wife and
self a glimpse of the poetry of other lands."

" That was right, and kind. Do you know I think
the world would be a better place to live in if, after
one had made a sufficiency, one was compelled to give
place to others, and it' no credit was given in any case."

" That, without doubt, would settle a goo<l deal, and
do away with communism," he said, laughingly ; '• for
there would be no large fortunes to srrab. As to no
credit, I fear, until we reach Elysian fields, we shall
have failures, duns, and other fruits of the credit
system," he said, gravely.

" Do you intend remaining in Toronto ? " she said,
intent upon her embroidery.

" That depends," he said, trying to read her ; " don't
go away ; that old gold chair, with its crimson arms,
becomes you (in woman's parlance), and brings out
your warm tints."

" I should think you would admire a woman like
pretty Mrs. St. Clair, as you yourself are dark."

" Yes ; she is a pretty little thin.,' ; a triumph of art
though ; but, if you will allow me to say so, I admire
your style ; usually there is more force of character
in dark women rather than in fair,"

" Yes ; do you think so ? "

" I do ; now, for instance, there is St. Clair, miser-
able at the aimless existence of his wife : she is either
in hysterics or in — cosmetics."

It.-:* HS

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156

" Your Ecn Were Like a Spell."

" We hear he is insanely jealous of her."

" Rumor, as you know, dear Mrs. Gower, says more
than her prayers. He tells me he is not jealous ; for
he does not believe any man would be silly enouofh to
give him cause; but that by he or his son (^oing about
with her, her quest for admiration is held in check."

" Oh, I see ; that is the reason they attend lier so
closely ; what a pity we are so foolish as to throw
away life happiness, and the passing of our time in
rest and quietness for the evanescent soap bubbles of
a pa;3sing hour ; but it is growing late ; come and see
my palms in my pet room, the library, before you go."

" Thank yon ; " the mere words were naught, but he
looked so quietly happy, as he drew the hangings for
their exit, that the color came to her cheeks as she
remembered her oath, to as quickly fade on the clock
striking ten, and the hall bell ringing simultaneously,
as a man outside stamped the snow off his boots, im-
patiently saying, hurriedly, the startled look again in
her face :

" Ten o'clock ; I fear I must postpone your visit to
the library.'

" Is there any trouble I can shield you from ? if so,
you have only to command me," he said, quickly, taking
her hand in good night. " No, no, not now," she said,
with a troubled look.

" Think, and tell me on New Year's Day," he said,
buttonino- his overcoat.

" I shook her off, Elaine," he said, impulsively, not
seeing Mr. Blair, who was rather back of the door.
*' Oh, I beg pardon," he continued, sulkily. "I thought
you were alone, and watching for my return."

" It is so late," she said, as Mr Blair made his exit.

" Nonsense, who was the man ; I don't think it's
right of you to have gentleman visitors," he said, in
aggrieved tones.

" Now, Philip, does not that sound rather absurd ?

■*••«■ « f^^

" Vo?ir Een Were Like a Spell!

157

and, as I have before told you, I wish you would not
come here at such a late hour ; I don't like it," she said,
gravely, as they went into the dining-room, where the
usual little supper stood on a tray.

" But we are engaged, it's you who are absurd," he
said, pettishly ; " but don't let us bother about it, my
frosty walk has been quite an appetizer. Did you find
it long, pet, while I was away ? but I forget, you had
that man here. A ring ! bother."

" It is Miss Crew, who is, you know, visiting me.
Excuse me a moment, I hear Captain Treraaine's voice."

" Hang all her visitors," he muttered.

" T am glad to see you back, dear ; come into the
dining-room, both of you."

" Thanks, I believe if you only had potato and point,
you would ofi'er some one the potato."

" If so, they should thank you ; for, from admiration
of your hospitality, to imitation, was but one step."

" Blarney, blarney, you might only say that to the
Chinese. These oysters are very tine, nothing like
eating them off' the shell."

" Just my taste ; these were sent me by a friend."
' " I never saw a man look more at home, than you,
Cobbe; if all bachelors looked as contentedly jolly, we
would not pity you so."

" No pity for me, Tremaine, thanks. I have given
many of you cause for envy."

"He is not at all vain, Captain Tremaine," said Mrs.
Gower, amusedly.

" Not for him," said Tremaine, jokingly.

" What is to be our color for 1888?"

" Orange or blue, Mrs. Gower ; half the men I have
met to-day say one, half the other ; opinions are
divided."

" Had the other man been a green Reformer, though,
I would have bet on him," said Mr. Cobbe, buttoning
on his overcoat.

: ft V,

: .( ■*;■

•III

■'■"•a I

158

A Happy Nnv Year.

"There is something in that," she said; "for some
would say he would have the Ontario Government at
his back."

" So he would, and good backers they would be, too.
Good night, Elaine; shall I see you at St. John's Church,
to-morrow ? " he said, in an undertone.

" Don't ask me, after my last experience ; I am
going all the way to Holy Trinity Church, with Miss
Crew ; but >3hall be at home Monday, excepting while
at the polls."

" All right, an revoir."

On his exit, Tremaine said, laughingly,

" Good night. If the candidates were as sure of
their election as our friend Cobbe is of his, they
would sleep till Tuesday without a narcotic or a charm
from the irood fairies."

CHAPTER XXL

A HAPPY NEW YEArC.

HAPPY New Year! A Happy New Year ! " is
on every tongue, and how exhilarating is the
cry uttered by thousands. From the weakly
voice of our aged loved ones, to the bird-like
notes of the wee children, mingling with the
merry sleigh-bells, do our politicians take up the refrain;
and our manly men, and ambitious women, sing out in
various chords, as they swarm to the polls, "A Happy
New Year ! A Happy New Year ! "

And Old Boreas takes up the refrain, and blows till

his cheeks crack, down Yonge street, from his northern

realm. Yea, forty miles distant, does he send his cold

breath. A Happy New Year ! A Happy New Year.

And our young men and maidens, our girls and our

A Happy New Year.

159

boys, lauf]fh till the air ri'r^s. Hurrah for the north
wind, we'll go to the Granite and have a j[^ood skate.

And one gathers from the merry medley that our
King Coal, and the Sentinel, are this year's favorites;
but those who have put money up, and those who have
not, must even wait with bated breath till midnight,
or till dawn ; and in dreamland, see their pet schemes
forwarded, their own man in the Mayor's chair.

It was a busy da}'^ at Holmnest, a bee-hive with no
drones, by eleven a.m. Mrs. Gower has polled her
vote ; afterwards, with Miss Crew, drove through snow-
mantled Rosedale, down villa-lined Jarvis street,
through those stores of wealth, Yonge and King streets,
along the margin of the silver lake, ere turning the
horses' heads to the north-west and Holmnest; visiting,
also, some of the poorer streets, in which quarters Miss
Crew has found God's poor, many cases having touched
her heart, she now leaves little parcels of good things
to gladden these homes.

" You will become bankrupt, Miss Crew," said Mrs.
Gower, as they are driven home.

" I am almost so, now ; and if it will not bother you,
I should like to tell you of a plan I have in view."

" Bother me ? I should say not. You should know
I take too much interest in you for tliat." " Thank
you ; some connections, until recently, have remitted
to me a sum amply sufficient for my needs ; I know not
why," she said, in troubled tones, " they have discon-
tinued it ; but they have, and it remains for me to
face the difficulty, now that Garfield has outgrown my
tuition, I cannot remain dependent on the Dale's kind-
ness; and of Mr, D- ^e's generous, good treatment of me, a
stranger, 1 cannt t say too much ; but I must exert
myself to get r^ new situation," she said, nervously.
" And will you, dear Mrs. Gower, do what you can in
advising me ; I have been looking in the newspapers,
but have seen nothing suitable."

1 1

'Z. 1^

100

A Happy Neiv Year.

" Excuse me, Miss Crew, " but are you entitled by
law to receive this remittance you speak of ? if so, you
should not quietly relinquish it, but should consult a
lawyer. We, at Toronto, are blessed with several
honest, as well as clever, law firms. I will accompany
you readily, or do anything I can for you."

" You are very kind, buo 1 shrink from lawyers,
they ask so many questions," she said, timidly.

" You must not mind that, dear ; if you were ill,
what would you do, send for a medical man ? and the
more questions he asked, the better he would under-
stand your case."

" I wish I was braver ; but I am only a girl, and
have had much trouble, which has made me very
nervous and timid."

For one so extremely reticent, this was quite a con-
fidence.

" Yes, it would have that efiect on one of your tem-
perament ; but witli me, my troubles have made me
more self-reliant ; finding few to tru«t, I have leaned
on myself."

" Yes, you seem to me very brave ; but don't you
think I should advertise for a situation at once V

" No, decidedly not. You should ask Mr. Dale to ad-
vise, and I shall be very pleased to have you with me
all winter."

" How very kind you are, Mrs. Gower," and the
tears came to her eyes, •' but I should be more satis-
fied, adding to my purse."

" Very w^ell, dear ; I commend your decision, but re-
member the bed-room you occupy is Miss Crew's own,
and your little home-nest will be ever ready for you ;
but do not forget my advice, which is to confide in Mr.
Dale, fully and entirely ; he can, and will, give you the
very best advice."

" Oh, I don't see how I can. If you only knew ; but

I a,

A Happy New Year.

161

how selfish I ain, .spoilinc^ your drive, and on New
Year's Day, too."

Here a small sleigh, in which were seated a comfort-
able-looking couple ; the man a mass of grey tints —
complexion, hair, whiskers, over-coat, and fur cap —
looking like a man who had led a sedentary life ; the
woman, fresh of color, partly bent by the breath of
old Boreas, both looking (piietly happy, but so intent
on turning their heads, as if on a pivot, first on this
side, now on tluit, as they drove down handsome
Saint George street, as to be oblivious of the ap-
proach of the sleigh in which were seated Mrs.
Gower and ]\liss Crew.

" Look out, there," shouted the driver. At this, the
man,, giving his whole attention to his horse, turned
him out of the way just in time to save a collision ; the
woman, as they passed, looking at the occupants. She
gave a great cry to stop them, but the driver had given
his horses the whip, and on they dashed. Miss Crew
had leaned forward, pale as death, her lips blue and
parted, she tried to f lame the word, " Stop," but failed.
Mrs. Gower, in sympathy, defining her meaning, cried :

" Stop, driver, please."

On his doing so :

" Is the sleigh we just passed out of sight ?"

" No, ma'am ; the gentleman has turned, and is a fol-
lowing of us. Would you, ladies, like a New Year's
race ? if so, I'm your man," he said, grinning.

^^)nt Miss Crew, white as the snow^ and looking
whiter by contrast with the pretty red hat, has leaped
out 0+' the cutter.

" i^^y dog-skin coat is very warm, Mrs. Gower ; don't
wait ; I must speak to them," she said, in the greatest
excitement, her eyes glistening, her color coming and
going.

" But you will take cold, dear ; get in beside me
again until they come up."

SS.i

n f "

162

A Happy Neiv Year.

I ^

" No, no, I beg ; I wish fco meet them alone, she
whispered.

" On one condition ; are they friends V

" Yes ; oh, yes, she is one of my best."

Mrs Cower, seeing them ahnost close, wishing her
an alfectionate good-bye, bade the man drive on, and,
as was natural, full into a reverie over the strange oc-
currence liappening to a girl of Miss Crew s remark-
ably reticent cliaracter. JShe seemed pleased, but so
intcnseh'- excityd, one could scarcely tell her real feel-
ings. She thought, " But I sincerely hope it v^ill be a
britfht incident, tor her to betiin 1888 with ; for a more
truly pious, gentle, amiable girl I have never met."

Or. the driver drawing in his horses, to allow a gen-
tleriK ,nly-looking man to pass, who was crossing Bloor
W. st. at the head of St. George street, Mrs. Gow^er

waking from her reverie., sees Mr. Buckingham.

'• The compliments of the season, Mrs. Gower," he
said, lifting his hat.

" The same to you. Whither bound ?"

" To Holmnest."

" Then you had better come into the sleigh ; ' there's
room enough for twa. "

" Thanks ; with pleasure."

" Driver, you see the young lady ahead of us. I
expect she is coming to my place. Just pick her up,
please."

" All right, ma'am."

"I suppose you will think our sleighing a make-
believe, after Lindsay and locality."

" You will be surprised to hear I now come from
New York. Dale telegraphed me to meet some rail-
way men, so i have been there ever since."

" But won't your interests north-east suffer by your
absence ?"

" Oh, not materially, 1 hope ; still 1 am anxious to

A Happy Nezv Year.

163

be on the spot. There is a splendid mine out that
way I should like to oret hold of."

" Iron, I suppose ? "

" Oh, yes ; it is, you know, to be the great industry
of tno luture."

" But you only mean if we get Commercial Union ? "

" Yes, as tar as Canada is concerned."

" What is the name of this special mine. you covet ?
I have heard Mr. .Dale speak of several ; this may be
one."

" It is the Snowden, in Victoria county ; the ore is
a fine grained magnetite ; the mine is favorably situ-
ated, having a railway running into it."

" Indeed ! all very favorable ; «Io you think you will
succeed in becoming a purchaser ? "

" Of that, I regret to say, I am somewhat doubtful,
as I am told there are several obstructionists connected
with it ; but I am not going to worry about it," he
said, quietly ; " if I don't get it, there are others."

" What an easy temperament you have," she said,
looking into his quiet unmoved countenance.

" My dear Mrs. Gower, I hold that a man should
have himself under such perfect control as to be able
to look at himself, in a manner of speaking, with other
eyes; sit in judgment upon himself; dissect his mo-
tives, reward or punish. I look upon one who lets
loose the reins of reason, giving blind passion or im-
pulse full swing, as only an animal of the swine
family, whatever his name may be," he said, smiling.

" What must he think of me," she thought ; I am as
impulsive as a Celt. " What a superior race of beings
man would be were his convictions your convictions."

" 1 think he would be happier, for he would not give
way to excitement, which is, in my opinion, a sort of
insanity ; and also in its reaction, which is melan-
choly."

" That reaction, after excitement, is one of the

Ik ■ •

164

A Happy New Year.

t I i^-

strongest blue ribbon arguments ; we had a ' chalk
talk ' thereon at the Pavilion on last Sunday after-
noon ; what do you think of the Prohibition move-
ment ? "

" I go with it, to the letter, for the mass of humanity
cannot, or will not, control themselves ; how do you

go^

" I believe in temperance in all things. Professor
Blackie says, ' We have too much of everything in our
day ; too much eating, too much drinking, too much
preaching, etc ; ' and 1 am so far at one with him, that
1 believe in temperance, and coffee, even on New
Year's Day," she added, smiling. "Stop, driver, please."

" Come, get in, Miss O'Sullivan, and a Happy Nev;
Year to you, dear ; this is my friend, Mr. Buck-
ingham."

" I was on my way to your place, Mrs. Gower, to
ask Miss Crew to come and spend the day."

" She is out with some friends ; but you must lunch
with me, and wait for her."

"Whose is that large, hospitable house, Mrs. Gower, at
the head of St. Georii^e Street ?" asked Miss O'Sullivan.

" A Colonel Sweeney's, dear, wlio, I was going to
say, has a lieait as large as his house, he is so kindly
hospitable."

Here they overtook Mr. Blair, whose handsome face
lit with pleasure, as he lifted his hat ; and, somehow,
Mrs. Gower was glad of the advent of the young lady,
though, before seeing him, she had not minded her
itte-d-tete with Mr. Buckingham, with whom she likes
to talk.

In a few minntes Holmnest is reached, when Mrs.
Gower, tellinii: Mr. Buckingham to make himself at
home, he nmst stay for luncheon, and until it Is time
to take the Midland rail, went upstairs to make her
toilette for the day.

Mr. Buckingham looks and feels at home ensconced

[.iiLa±L

WIW^W^^W^^^^^MPII. mill. . .1111^,1.1111 Hil!,ilill.l|.l.._

A Happy Neiv Year.

165

in a deep, softly padded chair, near the blazinjv grate,
in the restful library ; he is soon lost in the Iron Age.

On Miss O'Sullivan, a sweet-faced, biue-eyed girl,
entering, looking bright as the morning in her
pretty red woollen frock, the occupant, with the innate
courtesy of his countrymen, laying aside his news-
paper .adapted himsel^' to her girlish chit-chat in a
manner tliat charmed her, until the entrance of Mrs.
Gower, in a very becoming gown of brown silk, with
old gold plush trimming, ecru lace chemisette, and
elbow sleeves — for she dressed for all day, and any
friendvS wdio may come to wish her a glad New Year ;
she first goes to the kitchen to see that the machinery
is actively in motion, as she had set it before going to
the polls; one servant maid, with the boy, Thomas, being
sufRcie: j for the requirements of her cosy little home.

" Well, vou both do look comfortable," she said,
entering the library.

" Yes ; I think vve do," said Miss O'Sullivan.

" We only want you to want nothing more," he
said, in pleased tones, placing a rattan chair, with its
dark green velvet cu-hioned back and seat, and turn-
ing the fire screen to protect her face.

" Not yet, thaid\s ; my poor palms have had no
water to-day. How do you think my plants are look-
ing, Mr. Buckingham ? "

" Very fine ; but if you kept them more moist they
would do still better ; but most amateur gardeners
make a like mistake," he said, cutting some bits of
scarlet geranium; "this bit of color will make your
costuriie perfect."

" The costume ! but what about the woman ? "

" Oh, the woman knows right well," he said, lead-
ing her to the mirror.

" Give me the good taste of an American gentleman,
in preference to a mirror, which is frequently untrue."

" Luncheon is served, ma'am."

M r

:l. IJ

166

''Better Lded Ve Cnnna Be^

CHAPTER XXn.

" BETTER LO'ED YE CANNA BE."

*FTER a substantial luncheon, to which they
bring p^ood appetites, given by their exhilara-
ting outing in the frosty air, they cross the
hall to the drawing-room, when Thomas
opened the door to Miss Crew and Mr. Cobbe.

" Ah, here is our truant," said Mrs. Gower.

" Me ! " laughed Cobbe, wishing her the compliments
of the season.

Mr. Buckinijham thouq-ht he detected a sliijht cloud
of dissatisfaction pass over her face, even as she wel-
comed him.

" I have made fifteen calls already ; the fair sex like
to be remembered, Buckingham."

" Man is too selfish to forget what hecoald not do
v/ithout, Cobbe."

" Give me an American for a due appreciation of our
sex," said Mrs. Gower, gaily.

" No, no ; you are wrong. Yoii ought to know an
Irishman to be the most ijallant man that lives," Mr.
Cobbe said, sulkily.

" Well, yes, perhaps you are the most gallant," she
said, thoughtfully, " but in the bearing of an Ameri-
can man towards inv sex there is a somethinor more —
there is a gentle courtesy, a deference, a grave tender-
ness."

" Tut, tut," said Mr. Cobbe, turning over the leaves
of an album impatiently.

" I fear you flatter us " said Buckingham.

" No, I think not ; simply becfiuse your great Repub-
lic is so highly civilized and progressive, the outcome
of which is our enthronement with you ; while, in other

^nami«ni^^m«fQRff^iBnipv'ijjuu'JUUKJi^-

^'"■"^•i'lit""^?;*:*^

V ',. IT -T" rKT '.

''Better Loed Ye Canna BeT

167

countries, we are still midway between our footstool of
the dark ages and our throne with you."

Here Mr. St. Clair, Captain Tremaine, and a young
barrister, a Mr. McCullogh, made their entree.

" Your drawing-room is looking very pretty, Mrs.
Gower,"said Tremaine; " the holly and mistletoe brings
me home again."

" Yes, it looks so well against the blue and tan pan-
els, that I am tempted to let it stay."

" Where did you get it ; it is very fine and healthy ? '
asked St. Clair, admiringly.

"Well, thereby hangs a tale ; it is a Christmas gift
from Santa Claus. All I know about it is, it came
(Thomas thinks) from Slight's."

"It was no slight to you, Elaine," said Cobbe, jok-
ingly.

On the mention, before so many, of her Christian
name she made an expressive mioue at Tremaine, un-
seen by the others, whose attention was momentarily
given to several booklets and cards which lay on a
pretty gilt stand, and while Miss O'Sullivan and Mc-
Cullogh turned the pages of " Erminie " for Miss Crew
at the piano.

" Wait until Monday, Buckingham. I take the Mid-
land then, in your direction," said St. Clair.

" Impossible, St. Clair. I should have been as far as
Lindsay yesterday."

On the clock striking three, St. Clair started to his
feet, buttoning his coat.

"Good-bye, Mrs. Gower, 'Time and tide,' you
know."

" Oh, yes ; but Time i.-s not such a churl as to bid
you away before I have had even a look at you."

" But we men come to look at you, to-day, and, as
usual, gratify ourselves. Au revoir. I promised
Noah to be back at three, to let him off for a skate."

■fl>w

"i 1

168

Better Lded Ye Canna Be!'

" * What's in a name ?'" said Tremaine. "I wonder
what relation he of the Ark was to that boy."

" But fancy ! I heard a clerpryman in this city bap-
tize an unoffending infant Shadrach, Meshach and
Abedne^o."

" Did ho throw in the ' and ' ?" laughed Tremaine.

"Oh, no. Did I give it?"

" Yes. Well, I just call my boy plain Paddy."

" Do you throw in the ' plain ' ?"

" Oh, come, now ; you ladies are having the best of
it all through to-day," he said, making his adieux.

" At the polls too ?" she said gaily.

Several callers now came in in rapid succession, Mr.
Cobbe rising as the last made their exit.

"Think of me, Elaine. I shall come in and cheer
you up when I get through," he said, in a, loud whis-
per, as she was having a last quiet word with Bucking-
ham.

" Here Mr. Blair entered, and both men thought
they saw a something in her smile that had not been
given them,

" Good-bye has come again, Mrs. Gower," stild Buck-
ingham. " One must always regret leaving Holmnest ;
but I have only time to catch my train."

" Good-bye, and may all your wishes be granted."

Miss O'SuUivan, saying she must really go, took Miss
Crew (who had a new light in her face), Mr. McCul-
logh accompanying them.

" I am fortunate," said Mr. Blair, as the portiere
hangings closed after them ; Mrs. Gower smiled.

" Rest, after running about ; though I think the
fashion of New Year's calls is fast dying out."

" It is, undoubtedly ; this is my third and last. You
are looking well after your frosty drive," he said, seat-
ing himself at the gilt stand beside her.

" Don't you think my friends have good taste ?" she
said, directing his attention to the cards and booklets ;

> I' A

''Better Lded Ye Canna Be!'

169

" this white ivory card is pretty, with its jrolden edge,
white roses, and snowdrops, and gold bells, as they

ring.

" May every Christmas chime awaken in your heart

Each bliss of Ijy-gone years in which your life had part."

" Yes," he said, thoughtfully, " if one could only
drink a good bumper of the waters of Lethe, and for-
get the pain, reint^nibering only the bliss."

" BuJ^'tis the memory of the bliss that brings the
pain ; at least I have found it so," she said gravely.

" Yes, you are right ; I have not thought of putting
it to myself in that way ; but I must not izive you a
sad train of thought. Ah, this is original," he said,
picking up a large caid, on which was painted a bunch
of .«.carlet poppies, with the lines :

" O! sleep ; 0! gentle sleep, how have T frighted thee.
That thou no more will weigh my eyelids down.
And steep \ny senses in f oi'getf ulnesa ? "

" All the way from Ottawa; he evidently sees your
eyes, which keep his open," he said, trying to read her.

" You are fancifid, Mr. Blair;" but her color deepens
under his gaze ; " but, be it as you say, he shouKl close
his eyes, possess his soul with honor, and clasp the
hand of duty."

" You give him a hard task, still I would lay any
wager on your kindliness of heart, on your strong
sense of honor. I don't think you would fool with a
man's affections," he said, earnestly.

In spite of herself she trembles, for she feels that
he is more to her than any living man ; and as he sits,
his elb 'Ws on the table, his Hnfrers ran through his iron-
grey hair, looking at her, lier eyes droop, her hands
nervously play with the cards, her sensitive lips show-
.'ng Iter emotion, as .she thinks of Mr. St. Clair's words
to her the evening of their introduction, of the no-
12

170

''Better Loed Ye Canna Be."

f\ r.

bility of this man's character, of his devotion to his
late wife, of his clean record among men as to his
truth and honor in all business transactions ; and now
she knows, intuitively, in fact, did at their first meet-
ing, that his heart is seeking hers.

" I am right, you would not play with a man's affec-
tions ; you have had sorrow yourself ; tell me."

In spite of herself, a tear glistened in her e3'es as
she looked into his face, as she thoqght of her oath.

"]No; do I look so faulty, frivolous and foolishly
wicked ?"

" No, you have a sweet, kind, womanly face," he
said, smiling gravely ; " and were I to tell you of my
lonely life, and how I long for just such a womanly
presence, just such companionship to gladden a home,
to make my broken life complete, with a sweet sense
of peace and rest, would you send me from you deso-
late ?" and his voice thrilled with intense feeling.

" If so, and that my act left me also desolate, would
you not forgive me ? " she said, brokenly.

" I would forgive you, yes ; for I could not live with
enmity in my heart towards you ; but, why do you
speak su ? " he said, earnestly, her words giving him
the key to her heart, as he came over beside her, and
with an ami around her, drew her head to his chest.
" Don't resist me ; you know I love you, and you will
be my ain bonnie wife." He felt her tremble, though
she yielded to him. " Better lo'ed ye canuii be," and
stooping, he kissed her on the lips : " those lips, a
thread of scarlet," and he looked at her tenderly.

At this her color deepened, and, with a sigh, she
said, her voice trembling with emotion : " Release me,
dear, it can never be ; I am promised to another-. Go
now, and leave me to my fate," she said, tearfully.

" Never ! You sliall be my wife, and that before the
next moon wanes. Whoever this man is, he has not won
your heart. Yes, m^/ heart twin, my own companion

''Better Lded Ye Canna Be."

171

every day for our iourney thronfjh life, my Elaine, not
his ;" and, nt^^ain and aijfain, for a few blissful moments
that she is strained to his heart, do his kisses come to
her lips, " Look up, dear wife, and tell me \>y one look
that I am in your heart. Yes, love, your eyes tell me
that our lives will be ai^ain worth livino- again com-
plete. No, I will not let you go ; and I just want to
see this man who thinks he will rob me of you."

At this juncture the hall-bell rinprs, jnst as the clock
was striking seven, the hour Mrs. Gower had ordered
dinner ; and, as quick as her hastened heart-beats
would allow, donning society's mask, she is playing
(yhopin's music, while Mr. Blair is intent on "The
Miniatui'e Golden Floral Series;" when Mr. Cobbe
enters, evidently by his manner having done more than
"look upon the wine when it is n.'d."

'■ Well, Elaine, don't scold me, I could not come back
any sooner," he said, with a jovial air ; " but, lang it,
I never see you alone these days."

" Can it be possible, she has promised herself to this
swajrcrerinj' fool!" thouorht Blair.

" What's the matter, Elaine ? " he continued, leaning
on the piano, and looking into her face, " you have a
tragedy face."

"Sometimes T seem to be taking part in one," she
said, gravely ; hoping he would remember the woman.

"Oh, I see; you have been playing 'Faust;' if you
want something devilish, try French opera ; German
is horns and hoof, and no fun."

Seeing his mood, she abandoned all hope of fixing
his attention on any quieting thoi ght, glancing at Mr.
Blair for sympathy; one look told her his (^pinion of
her friend. " How he must despise me," she thought,
introducing them. " And now, you must both dine
with a lone woman."

" It will give me great pleasure to begin the year
so," said Mr. Blair, with the determined air of a man

•^ tig
*•■ J"*

•3

) ;

172

'Better Lded Ye Canna BeT

who could and would hold his ground, as he put her
hand throucjh his arm, whisperinj^, "Courage!"

"You look very much like a lone woman, T must
say," said Cobhe, sulkily. " I told you before, Elaine,
that I don't think it's right of you," he said, lecklessly.

As they crossed the hall to dine, the geraniums
dropi^ed from her gown.

'• Oh, my poor fi(jwers," Mr. Blair picking them up,
Mr. Cobbe said, jealously, " Poor flowers, indeed ; I
sho\ild just like to know who gave them you."

Fearinof he would think it had been Mr. Blair, and
not feeling equal to a scene, she said, hurriedly :

" A frienil who has left town ; but vou are too
sensible to allow such a tiifie to spoil your dinner."

From the moment of their passing through the por-
tiere hangings into the hall. Blair had seen the face of
a woman peering through the vestibule door, Thomas
havinor neirlected fasteninjr the outer door on lettinsj
in Mr. Cobbe. On enterinu: the diniuij-room, Mrs.
Gower, in lookiniir over her shoulder in niakiui; the
above remark, saw the face. Not so Cobbe, who was
wholly absorbed in rage at the present state of affairs.

Mr. Blair felt his companion tremble as she sai<l to
herself, " That woman !" At that, pressing her closely
to his side, he again whispered, " Courage !"

" Thomas, go quickly to the vestibule door."

" Yes, ma'am."

" Why, what's the matter now, Elaine ; do you ex-
pect another gentleman ? "

" Go and see." " No, no ; if he comes I'll see him
soon enough, and the soup smells too tempting."

Thomas returned and waited, when Mrs. Gower said,
nervously, "Are both doors securely fastened, Thomas ?"

" They are, ma'am."

" Queer time for a visitor to call, just at dinner hour,"
said Cobbe, in aggrieved tones.

This was more than Thomas could stand, who had

''Bctto' iJcd Ye Cnnna Be."

-in

more than once confided to the kitchen his opinion of
Mr. Cobbe for doinfj likewise, so he said, resjiectfully :

" Beg pardon, sir ; but it was iJmt lady for you, sir."

" Hanfj it ! you told her I wasn't here, I hope."

" No, sir ; I said you was at dinner, and I couldn't
disturb you, sir ; so she said she would wait outside."

"It's very cold for her," faltered Mrs. Gower.

Here the merry sleigh-bells jingled and stopped at
the gate ; voices are nearing ; arul now the hall-bell
again rings, when Mr. and Mrs. Dale are heard in the
hall stamping the snow off their boots, and divesting
themselves of their wraps.

" Thomas, get plates, etc."

They enter looking as if Jack Frost has given them
a chilly embrace, for they have had a cold drive from
town.

" Welcome ! this is a glad surprise, though I half
expected you yesterday. Mrs. Dale, allow me to in-
troduce Mr. Blair; Mr. Dale, Mr. Blair; and now be
seated ; I am so glad to have you back again, Ella ; I
have missed 3'ou much."

"Thank you, Elaine ; we both wished you were with
us; Henry's Engli.sh friends, the Elliotts, ai-e delight-
ful, and were charmed with your description of river
life on the St. Lawrence."

"They will think I have scarcely done it justice, on
their revelling in it themselves."

" We have Ella Wheeler Wilcox and Ro'^iC Elizabeth
Cleveland, at New York, this winter, Mrs. Gower,"
said Dale, in gratified tones.

" What a treat it would be to meet them ; they will
give new life to the women's literary circles."

"Oh, where is Miss Crew ? " asked Mrs. Dale.

" Out spending the day at the O'SulIivans."

"I am glad of that," said Dale, kindly. " Mi.ss
O'SuUivan has the brightness our little friend lacks,

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174

''Better Lded Ye Canna Her

i'Wi

and will, perhaps, win her confidence, which we have
been unable to do."

" That is very true," said Mrs. Gower, who now
related the incident of the morning;, rei^ardiiit; the
couple they had met while out sleigh-drivin<,' ; at
which Mrs. Dale was all eyes and ears, her pretty
little face ajiflow with excitement.

" How strange ! and she persisted in seein<( them
alone ! did she seem <ijlad ? "

" Oh, yes ; for such a (juiet, self-contained little
creature, very much so."

" And did she tell vou nothinfj on her return ? "

" No ; she had no opportunity ; we had callers, and
Miss O'Sidlivan was here ; but she looked happier,
poor, lonely, wee lassie."

" She is likely to remain lonely, too," said Cobbe ;
" a man does not want to marry a girl as stili' as his
beaver, and as prim as its band."

" Poor girl ; one cannot expect her to show that
careless joy in living our girls show, ^ho have happy
homes and ties of kin."

"In my opinion," said Dale, "the women and girls who
take life easiest, and seem to feel that the oood things
of life are their heritage, are the American women."

" I don't go with you, Dale," said Mr. Cobbe ; " I'll
back up some of our own women against them for
monopoly of that sort."

" I am at one with you, Mr. Dale," said Mrs. Gower,
" for this reason : from the time an American woman
can lisp, she is taught the cardinal ideas of the coun-
try, viz., liberty and equality."

'•' From your standpoint, Mrs. Gower, your sex should
be all Republicans," said Mr. Dale. " What country-
man are you, Mr. Blair V

" A pure and unadulterated Scotchman ; and I hope
you like the land o' bagpipes, heather and oatcakes
sufficiently as to like me none the less."

Better Ldcd Ye Canna y>V."

175

" No ; for was I not Enj^lish, I would be Scotch."

"And I," said Mrs. J)ale, "vvunid liave liked you
better were you Irish- America'!."

"You are candid, at all events," he said, smilirg.

" You had better live as near perfection as possible,
by reniaininj^ in Canada, Mr. Blair," .said his hostess, ris-
\w^ from the table. "Come, Ella, we shall leave them to
their cij^arettes and the subjects nearest their hearts."

" YoM are one of the most thoua'htful women I have
ever met," said ])ale, drawinir the hanirinj^s for their
exit; '■ bat our smoke will be but a passing cloud ; we
shall soon sun ourselves in your presence."

" Listen to him," said his wife, merrily ; " don't I
bring him up well."

As the two friends sipped their coffee from dainty
Japanese china, the red silk gown of Mrs. Dale con-
trasting prettily with the brown and old gold in the
dress of her friend, they made a sweet, home- like pic-
ture, in this tasteful little drawing-r(joiri, with its
gaily painted walls, hangings in artistic blending, its
softly padded furniture, not extravagant — for Mrs.
Gower's income is but SOOO per annum — now that
house and furniture are paid for, but Roger's bill was
very reasonable, for all is in good taste; and with two
or three good pictures, a handsome bronze or two, with
a few bits of choice bric-a-brac, all the latter gifts
from friends; with the glowing grate, the colored lights,
the holly and mistletoe, all make an attractive scene.

" And now about yourself, Elaine ; I hoped on my
return to have found your mercurial friend out in the
cold."

" No, Ella ; I can do nothing with him," she said,
gravely.

" Can't he get it into his head that no woman
would marry a man with another woman dangling
after him. I have no patience with him. Does she
haunt your place still? "

■A li

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17G

''Better Lded Ye Canna Be!'

" Yes ; she is certainly most constant. Did I tell
vou of a t'rioj'ht she o-ave ine at two public meetliiujs ?"

" No ; you wrote ine that you must do so on my
return."

"Just fancy coming from the Rodi^ers' mass meet-
ing, before the mayoralty election. I went with
Philip, and she must have followed us, for she managed
to get near us, and in the crush making our exit, took
hold of his arm, and luoidd not let him see me home ;
picture me in that crowd, having to tight my way
throuijh, and alone ! I think I shall never for^ret that
nifjht : fortun^'.tely the cars were runnino- • so takinjx
the Carlton, College and Spadina Avenue car, I man-
aged to reach home. Ella, it was aw^ful, the lonely
home-coming," she said tearfidly ; -'the cowardly (I
suppose it was) fear of meeting acquaintances ; but
the feeling thnt I was engaged, nay, under oath to
marry a man who couM allow^ this, was worse than
had 1 met dozens of acquaint;inces ; the late hour;
then after I had left the Spadina A-venue terminus,
the lonely walk up here — all togethei' made me so
riervotiH 1 was not myself for a day or two."

" I should say vou would be ; it was dieadful ; and
as you say, dear, the feeling that you were engaged to
such," she said, contemptuously, 'added bitterness to
the act ; oath or no oath, he must release you."

" He won't."

" He shall ; and I am determined to sta}^ with you
until I can interview that woman. What a horrid
man he is, any way."

Here the gentlemen entered, and a truce to con-
fidentials.

" Has my little wife told you, Mrs. Gower, that I
have tickets for ' Fau>t,' and we hope you will care
to accompany us ? "

" No ; she had not told me, though v/e were- speak-
ing tragedy."

'Better Lded Ye Canna Be.''

177

"Well, yours was the prologue; now for 'Faust;'
you wi!! come ?"

" Yes, with pleasure," she said, feelinf^ that her
tete-d-tete with Mr. Blair is over, for Mr. Cobbe would
remain ; feelincf also that such tete-d-tete was too full
of quiet content for her to indulge in, engaged as she
is to another.

Mr. Blair very reluctantly rises to depart, :-;oeing
that the evening he has promised himself, in dual
solitude with the woman he determines shall be his
wife, is broken in upon.

"Good-night, Mrs. Gower ; the walk to town will
seem doubly cold by contrast with the warmth of your
hospitalities," he said, holding her hand, a look of
regret in his blue eyes.

"Button up well, then, to ensure my being remem-
bered for so long," she said, quietly.

" Good-night. Elaine ; expect me to-vnorrow, at five
p.m.," .said Mr. Co' 'be, with an important air.

Out-<ide, to Mr. Blair, he said, " Fine woman, Mrs.
Gower; I am in luck, but she has too much freedom,"
he said, pointedly.

" How do you mean ? " a^^ked Blair, by an effort
controlling hitimelf to speak aul tly.

"Oh, too many gent'emon coining and going; I
must arrange for our marria ^e at once."

" You are honored by a pioniise from her to marry
you, then ? "

" Yes ; but by more than a promise ; by an oath,"
)jo said, flightily ; "and she is not the only w(.man
who is infatuatcfl with me," he added, chuckling at
his crrrn pan ion's discomHture

" You are fortunate," said the canny Scotchman,
hating him for his words : but aware ^;hat there is
some my>«tery in the case, knowing Mrs. Gower to
shri' k from fultillino- her enfifatrement ; haviuLf recos-
i.i/ed the face of the woman at the vestibule as the

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TJic Three Links.

woman he has seen prowling about Hohunest at niirht-
fall, lie affects a I'rientlly air to draw his companion out,
trusting that his intense vanity will lead him to com-
mit himself insomuch as to give him a hold upon liim,
which he will use as a means of t'reeini.'- Mrs. Gower.

Hearing steps beliind then.i, he looks, an(i io ! the
light of the street lamp shows the face of the woman
of the vestibule

" By Georg(^ you are a lucky iVIlow ; here is this
poor little woman at your heels ; j^ou are too gallant
to allow her to walk alone ; step I ack and introduce
me," he said, with the vague hope that he might in
this way find the hold she has on Cobbe ; but VJionime,
propose, Died dUpose, for he said importantly :

" So she is ; between you and I, the more faithless
I am, the tighter she hugs ; " and, turning on his heel,
the woman with him, tliey go at a run down Major
Street, leaving Blair, in blank disinay, standing in the
cold of the snow-mantled niglit.

After seeing talented Modjeska at the Grand, in
" Faust," Mrs. Gower, having wislied her friends a
warm good-night, as she sleeps, dreams of a manly,
handsome face bending over her, while the liglit in his
eves give point to his words of " Better lo'ed ye canna
be."

CHAPTEIi XXIII.

THE THREE LINKS.

^N a cold afternoon, in January's third week,
when fair Toronto's children wore the colors
of Old Boreas ; when the spirits of the air
floated on the frozen breaths of humanity,
and when imagination held that the jjjiant
cyclone of the North-west had hurled into our midst a
bit of the North Pole, on such a day Holmiiest is a

TJie Three Links.

179

snug spot ; not one of those mansions with a small
coal account that some of our moneyed citizens exist
in in cold grandeur durinix winter's reisrn ; but small,
warm and homelike. So thought Mrs. J)ale, who is
again spending a few days with her friend, and who is
now seated with Mr. Blair beside the orlowlnix grrate
in the <irawing-room ; he cannot keep away, and hav-
ing confided his hopes and fears to her, they have
become warm friends.

Mrs. Gower and Miss Crew are down town shop-
ping, the latter having abandoned her intention to
seek employment other than her voluntary deeds of
good as a city missioner, she having received a bill of
exchange from the mother country on the Bank of
British N^orth America ; whether from this cause or
from thf i":u-- of her constant visits to the (juietly happy-
looking couple she had met on New Year's Day, her
friends can only guess; but she is certainly looking
happier, though still reticent as to her private history,
merely telling Mrs. Gower, to whom she has become
much attached, that before lonsj she will ask their
advice, and tell them all.

Mr. Cobl)e has just called, but had not gone in,
ascertaininjx from Thomas that his mistress was not
at home, but that Mrs. Dale and Mr. Blair were in the
drawinij-room — he volunteeringr the latter information,
instinct telling him it would not be agreeable; for the
kitchen did not approve of him as the coming master
at Holmnest, saying one to the other, " Pretty t^y iie
is, to think of dividing up of the likes of he between
our missis and that bold hussy as follows him."

At this moment, in the drawing-room, Mrs. Dale, as
she alternately pats Tyr's head, or, with deft fingers,
embroiders a cushion, says, with a curl on her scarlet
lips, her Irish eyes flashing :

" I am glad Elaine was out. You see, he knew
enough not to come in and be entertained by us."

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180

The TJircc Links.

" Yes, he knows enough for that," he said, mechani-
cally, waking from a reverie. " I wish to heaven we
could interview the wom.an. I am ccmvinced we would
elicit information. sufficient to absolve our dear friend
from her oath. I am driven to my wit's end, I am in
such misery, 1 can assure you, Mrs. Dale, this matter
has taken such hold of me t'lat I neither eat, drink,
sleep, nor even think naturally."

And the ring of truth is in his words, as he starts
up, and paces up and down the room like a caged
lion, eager for action, yet compelled to inactivity.
Papers and magazines strew the carpet where he had
been seated, on which he had in vain tried to fix his
thought. Now he again flings himself into his chair,
she sees his brows knit, his eyes small with the in-
tentness of inward musing ; his manly, independent
bearing is crushed, his firm, determined mouth is still
set with a fixed purpo.se, but his face has lost its
glow of happine.ss.

He haunts Holmnest some hours -of each day, his
eyes following her every movement as she goes about
her home duties, or sits quietly reading, or holding
book or newspaper, under pretence of doing so, giving
herself a few moments' silent thought, ever and anon
lifting her eyes to his face, as quickly to withdraw
them, lest sympathy lead her to betray a grief akin
to his. One day he asked her how it was she had
come in the first place to allow Mr. Cobl)e the privi-
lege of friendly intercourse, when she told him all.
Of the deaths of loved ones, of her long and tedious
law suits, of her lo.sses through the wrong-doings of
others, of the flight of summer friends, of her diffi-
culty in earning a sufficiency to eke out her small in-
come, and of Philip Cobbe being introduced ; when
his jovial, free-from-care nature diverting her atten-
tion from her many cares, she and he gradually
drifted into a very friendly acquaintance, which re-

The Three Links.

181

suited in their walk through the Queen's Park. Of
her oath she had already told hiin on the ord of
January, on his relating to her the boastful words of
Mr. Cobbe on the evening previous. At which he had
been driven nearly desperate, as also on her resolve
that, in honor bound, she must be true to her oatli.

She had never allowed him to kiss her sinc>i those
few blissful moments that lived in the memory of
each, in which he had asked her to become his wif(3 on
Monday, the 2iid of January, and when he h.ad read
her heart.

"It's a miserable fix for Elaine," said Mrs. Dale,
picking out a few false stitches she had made in giv-
ing iier attention to liim as he paced the tloor in his
agony of mind. "She cares for you, but will remain
true to her oath ; she will go on in this wrctclied way,
Mr. Ccjbbe cominof and ecoinix, boastinu' of his enirau'e-
ment, to keep rivals at bay, and that woman haunting
the place until a tragedy ends the whole farce. Elaine
will postpone and postpone her union with that man
until she dies broken-hearted, poor thing. She has had
no end of trouble in the past, and now this must all
crop up. Nasty Cobbe; I haia you," she said, emphati-
cally.

"So do I," he said, moodily; " but what availeth it ?
We, with our strong natures, are as wax in the hands of
this vain, foolish, empty-headed fellow; he has the whip-
hand of us. [ never felt small, impott^nt, powerless in
my life until now. You don't know what mad thoughts
come to me sometimes, when I see her fjoinir about in
her sweet womanliness with a pretence of gaiety lest I
feel for her, making this tiuiy home, sweet home ; now
going to her kitchen, now .sewing qiiietly ; again sing-
ing, though in unsteady tones, the songs of my own
land."

" Perhaps it would be better for you ; easier, I mean,
if you kept away from her."

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182

T/ie T/iree Links.

"Kept away! that's what she tells me. No; come
I must. I am not fit to attend to business, to face the
busy hive of men down town. I have not as yet
rented an office, or ynit out my .shingle as broker and
estate aL;ent, .so tlie world which knows me not does not
miss me. Did 1 not come, 1 .shonUl be tortured by the
thouglit that Cobbe had persua'led her to marry him,
and that with the false hope of makin*^ me forf^et her,
and the woman to give up her game as lost, she
would consent. No ; I shall come in the .seemingly aim-
less way; but not aimless, for 1 am her bodyguard.
Already my being liere, and holding myg,ound, has
more than once prevented a tete-a-tete, and saved her
from (I make no doubt) his hateful caresses. He hates
me, and would revenge himself upon me if he could ;
and, insomuch as he can, he does do so — by using her
Christian name, leaning familiarly over her shoulder
as she reads or sews, following her even to the kitchen.
Once he dared tc ki.ss her good-bye, but I don't think
'he will try that again ; for, on his loolving at me mali-
ciously, to note my jealous}^ I gave him one look, at
which he made a ha.stv exit."

" So far so good, Mr. Blair ; but you and myself are
really doing nothing to free Elaine. We miunt get a
hold of the won)an ; .she is not very well clad ; is, I
dare say, poor ; I shall try if the dollar will grease the
wheels of her tongue. Now, how shall we manacre it ?
This evening I .shall express a wi.sh to telegraph Henry.
You must offer to accompany me ; this will allow of
time to work on Mr. C'obbe's Mary Ann, We shall
walk up and down on the other side of the street (thus
putting ourselves in Grundy's mouth) until .she appears,
when, pouncing upon hei-, we will miake her tell her
relations to Cobbe. You understand ?"

" Yes, but he will be here alone with Elaine."

" Just like a man : as jealous as a rooster in a barn-
yard. Miss Crew will be here, and chance callers."

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The TJirec Links.

183

" Very well ; it shall be as you say, though I mor-
tally hate not bein<j^ present when he is here ; hut here
she ("oines, her cheeks like roses, and eyes bright from
the frosty air," he said, brigiitening-.

"Oh, you pair of fire-worshippers!" she exclaimed,
giving her hand to Mr. Blair. " I have had a glorious
walk from Yonge, through Bloor west, and up here.
We toc'k the Yonge up-cars, when Miss O'Sullivai,
who was one of us, carried off Miss Crew till to-
morrow."

" I suppose King Street wore its usual afternoon
dress of dudes and sealskin saccpies," he said, drawing
her wrap from her shoulders.

" I suppose so ; but we only went as far as Roche's.
What a world of a place it is. Mrs. Francis says, ' One
can buy everything but butcher's meat there,' and she
is about right. The up-cars were, as usual, over-
crowded ; we were to blame for taking one, I suppose,
as so many poor fatigued-looking men were obliged to
stand. However, we were sorry for them in a prac-
tical way, for we only occupied one seat by turns ; the
company should run extra cars about six, or label
them, ' For men only.'"

" On the other side," said Mrs. Dale, " men say it's
a poor rule that won't work both ways, so, as we advo-
cate e(pial rights, they, as a rule, don't yield their seats."

"Is tliat so ? ' said Blair. 'I wonder at that, for
Mrs. Gower tells me there is a shrine to woman in
everv house."

" Oh, never mind her, she is our champion, fights and
wins our battles. I used to hope she would marry
among us, and strut under our big bird ; but alas, she
sees more beautv in a common Scotch thistle," she
says, teasingly.

. Blair smiled, gravely, saying with his eyes on Mrs.
Gower, in her pretty, dark blue gown, with broken
plaid over-skirt,

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184

The Three Links.

■■^3

HI.:

"I fear not; to the shamrock she plights her troth."

At this tlie color rushes to the roots of her hair, to
as quickly recede, leaving her like marl)le, and, gather-
ing up her wraps, saying, in unsteady tones,

" Excuse me a moment, [ must see v/hat the kitchen
is about: it is near dinner time."

Blair, drawing the hangings, said, wistfully fol-
lowing her into the hall :

"Forgive me, dear."

" 1 nmst, when you look so sorr}^ ; but, that compul-
sory oath is killing me, Alec; driving me into heart
disease," she said, tremblingly.

" My darling ! is it possible ? but I can see it. Your
heart is fairly jumping, your hands cold, your nails
blue ; come in here for a few minutes' (juiet," he said,
sorrowfully, leading her into the library, taking her
wraps from her, seating himself fpiietly beside her,
simply tiiking her hands, while whispei'ing soothing
words. His own heart breaking the while, that he
may not take her in his ai'uis ; but with her breath
comirig in gasps, the excitement would have killed her,
even di<l she permit any demonstration of feeling from
him, which indeed, she had unconditionally forbidden.

On the dinner-bell ringing, she said, in low tones:

" You are nice, and good, and kind to have talked
to me so quietly until I recovered the use of my
tonirue. You see, de.ir, I can give it a rest sometimes ;
now come for Ella, to our dish of roast beef and York-
shire pudding. Don't look so grave, Alec ; ' Richard is
himself again.' 1 wish you would go away for a time,
leave the city ; as you have not commenced business
actively, really got into harness, yoa could easily do
so ; it would be easier for me, I think, if 1 did not see
you," she said, almost breaking down.

"I cannot," he said, looking into her face gravely;
and it would not help you; all I can manage, is to keep
to the conditions you made : that in coming I must

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77ir Three Li/>ks.

185

not speak of my love for you ; aii<l you must own, dear,
that 1 fulfil those conditions; holdintjf myself continually
in check, curbiujx mv feelinjis, never outwardly lettinfr
loose tlie reins of passion, even when I see iliat man
hanf^inn^ about you."

" Yes, you are very f]rood ; but still, I — oh, I don't
know what to say or do," she said, in anguish, cover-
ing her face with her hands ; then, by a violent effort
controlling herself, took her place at table.

During dinner, she was pale and flushed, talkative
and silent, by turns ; her companion keeping the ball
moving to give her a rest.

On their returning to the drawing-room, Mrs. Dale
gave them some music, thus giving each time for quiet
thought. The sweet sounds suddenly ceasing, she
wheels round on the piano-stool, saying, energetically,

" I feel restless this evening, active exercise will cure
me ; a brisk walk down street, or even the t jboggan-
slide."

But Mr. Blair does not take her up, and sits with
averted eyes, not thinking Mrs. Gower well enough to
be left with Mr. Cobbe.

"Well, Ella, Mr. Blair is too gallant not to accom-
pany you. You will both go; when I tell you that I
wish to see Philip alone, I am going to again appeal
to him."

" I am afraid it will be too much for you, Elaine,
perhaps," she .said, hesitatingly, for she does not like
to give up her plan ; " perhaps Mr. Blair ought to stay,
he need not be in the .very same room with you."

" Yes, that is a good idea; I shall go to the library,"
he said, in relieved tones.

" No, dears, you will both do as I wish. With the
knowledge that I am alone, I shall doubly nerve my-
self to the task."

For she dreads that Mr. Cobbe's excitable temper
will give way, causing a scene.
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186

A Hand of Ice Lay on Her Heart

" Well, if you are i^oinLf to talk to liim, Elaine, tell
him ever3'tliing ; and that Mr. Blair and 1 say he is
brenking your heart."

"I fear. Ella, your united opinions wouM have little
weight with him," she said, with the ghost of a smile ;
" but I shall tell him all, never fear," slie said, earnestly
feeling that Mr. Blair was, as usual, following her
every word. " Never fear, 1 shall be a good pleader,
for 1 have my life's happiness at stake ; away with you
at once, and don't come back with broken bones from
the slide."

CHAPTER XXIV.

A HAND OF ICE LAY ON HER HEART.

T is a cold, frostj^ night, the moon and clouds
seeming to have a game of hide-and-go-seek
across the sky, when Mis. Dale is already
enveloped in her warm dark blue blanket suit
and Tam-o-Shanter, with Mr. Blair, in heavy
brown overcoat and Christy hat, not having been in
our land long enough for his blood to have lost its
warmth and to feel the need of furs.

Before they start Mr. Cobbe rings the bell, and is
admitted to the lil)raiy, Mr. Blair turning out the gas
in the drawing-room, and Thomas receiving orders
that " no one is at home."

" Suppose she should not come this evening," said
Mrs. Dale, as she and her companion returned from a
brisk walk to a post box, and reared Holmnest.
"You know, she misses his trail; at all events, does not
watch for him here every evening."

" Hush ! she is in the shade of .that pile of lumber
and bricks in front of the hou.se that is being built
next to Holmnest," he whispered, hurriedly.

-.1

■Ti, i

A Hand of Ice Lay on Her Heart.

187

" So she is ; that is lucky; nii<l now to follow our
plan. We shall not see her for some minutes, but
endeavor to interest her by our talk about that scalla-
wafj and poor Elaine."

"I don't think, on second thoui,dit, that that would
be our best plan ; we had better ^'o up to her and
demand to know her relations to him," he said,
quickly, in an undertone.

" No, no ; I know best."

As they neared, the tall, slight tif,^ure, clad in a brown
ulster and small round hat, disappeared to the other
side of the lumber, almost out of sight, but well
within earshot.

" Stand here a minute, Mr. Blair ; before we go in
I want to tell you what I fear will be the result of
Mr. Cobbe's determination to marry Mrs. Gower
against her will," she said, in clear tones. On this
they could hear that the woman took a step nearer in
the deep snow on the boulevard, that had drifted in
the recent storm to the lumber. " You must see
yourself," she continued, " that the compulsory oath he
compelled her to take is killing her ; and none know
better than you do yourself that her love is not his ; al-
most all friendly feeling even she had for him prior to
that oath, has fled ; yet still he will keep her to it ; and
she will marry him some day, in a fit of desperation to
get rid of him, and tn show you that you are free to
marry some more fortunate woman. It's my belief he
is a mere fortune-hunter, and cares no more for her
than we Americans care for you, in annexation; we
only care for the loaves and fishes (especially the
latter). 1 simply hate to go in to the house ; it makes
me double my fists to see him making love to her."
The last words she said to rouse the woman's wrath ;
she knows her sex well, for, ploughing through the
snow a few steps, she faces them.

I r

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Photographic

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33 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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188

A Hand of Ice I. ay on Her Heart.

1* -

" Mrs. Dale "ives a little scream. Mr. Blair, turninjr
quickly, says, in decided tones,

" Oh ! you are here ai^ain ; well, I ain not sorry, for
I had determined to put a detective on your track to-
morrow, and am glad to have an opportunity of warn-
inff you first."

"Any woman would do no more nor T do, ju.st stand-
ing here when I please," .she .said, doggedly, her teeth
chattering, partly from nervousness, partly from cold.

" Poor thing ; you are half frozen," said Mrs. Dale,
to show .she was not unfriend !3^

" We shall not detain you long, young woman," said
Mr. Blair, quickly, as he thinks of the woman he
loves worried by the man he hates; "all we want to
know is your name and address, and what hold you
have on Mr. Cobbe ; for a woman of your re.spectable
appearance would not follow a man about unle.ss she
had .some hold on him — some real right to watch his
movements. You have overheard this lady and my-
self talkinj/ over this matter, and I can- assure you it
would add materially to our peace of mind could we
compel Mr. Cobbe to do right by you ; come now, no
delay, no beating about the bu.sh ; tell the truth and
shame the devil ; out with it."

" Gentlemen lie (juicker tlian a working girl, like
myself," she .said, .su.spiciously. " I have heard what
this lady said, but how do I know that it's all square ?
Phil, .said if you caught me hanging around after him,
you'd get me took up, and here is a peeler coming ; I
see what you're after."

And .she tries to run, but Mr. Blair holds her firmly
until the policeman pa.sses.

" I tell you I mean you no harm ; but you tmist tell
your connection with Mr. Cobbe, and at once."

" Give me till to-morrow night, sir, for the ]ove of
heaven, and I will try again if Phil, will give your
lady up, that I have wished to kill for coming between

'A Hand of Ice Lay on Her Heart.

ISO

us ; aye, and would have fired Hohnnest on her some
nijrht, but for this ladv's words that she don't want
my man. My name is Beatrice Hill, and 1 live at 910,
Seaton Street ; I will tell you the rest to-morrow
night, if he will not give her uu," she said, bursting
into tears.

Mr. Blair made a note of the address, Mrs. Dale
saying kindly, " You had better come around to the

kitchen and get thawed ; you are " when, turning

suddenly to Mr. Blair, who has his back to a couple
coming down the street, she says, quickly,

" Here are the Smyths ; stand where you are ; and
you too, Beatrice Hill."

" Hello !" cried Smyth, coming upon them suddenly
(that is Toronto's pass-word). " How do you do, Mrs.
Dale ; how do, Blair ? "

" How happy would I be with either," .said his lively
wife, aside to Mr. Blair; oh, I beg pardon," she con-
tinued, seeing the other is not one of them. " How is
Mrs. Gower ? "

" She is not very well this evening, and is, I hope
resting. How is it your little son is out when he
ought to be under the bedclothes ? That's one thing I
am glad my boy is at boarding-.school for.

" Oh, this young man has been to a party at the
Halls, and we had to trot up for him. Give Elaine my
love, and tell her one look at handsome Doctor Mills,
on our street, will cure her ; he cured my baby. So,
come around to-morrow, all of you. Oh, Will, we had
better go in to Holmnest for a minute. I want to tell
Elaine you have heard from Charlie."

" Oh, no ; go in to-morrow. This little chap is nearly
asleep."

" All right. Mrs. Dale, please tell Mrs. Gower that
Charlie Cole is at New York, and she may expect to
see them any day. Good night."

"Goodnight."

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190

A Hand of Ice Lay on Her Heart.

" Come, Mrs. Dale, we had better go in at once ; you
must be very cold."

" Yes, I am. You had better come round and get
thawed out in the kitchen, Beatrice Hill, I will bring
you."

" No, thanks ; I am used to it. I'll just walk up and
down, to keep from freezing."

" Perhaps you had better not try to see him to-night,
it is so cold."

" Not try to see him !" she exclaimed. " I see him
too seldom, and love him too much for that," she said,
pathetically, " and I must see if he will pro'iiise me to
come no more where neither of us is wanted."

" Remember ! you are to be here to-morrow night to
tell us your hold on him, unless he gives Mrs. Gower
up," he said, firmly.

" I will, sir; thank you both," she said tearfully, as,
turning towards the gate of Holmnest, they each slip
a five dollar bill into ^er hand.

" Poor thing, I think she is hard up,"-said Mrs. Dale,
as they ring the bell ; " see her examining the bills by
the lamp."

" Yes, so she is, to see if they are ' Central '; had she
not been sold by my hete noir, I should say she was a
canny Scotchwoman."

" On Thomas opening the door, they see Mr. Cobbe
draw close the^^o^^^iere hangings of the library, as if
to say, no admittance.

" Have you a match, Thomas ?"

" Yes, ma'am."

" Then light one jet in the drawing-room, please."

Here they sit quietly talking for half an hour, dur-
ing which, at times, Mr. Cobbe talked loud and excit-
edly, while sometimes Mrs. Gower's voice came to them
in pleading, or quieting tones.

At last he goes into the dining-room, asks Thomas
for some sherry, drinks two glasses ; is again in the

■^

A Hand of Ice Lay on Her Heart.

191

hall, his over-shoes, coat, and fur cap on, in his excite-
ment pickincf up Mr. Blair's j^loves, which, when in the
street, findinjj; his mistake, he dashes into the road.

Angry and troiil)led by Mrs. Gower's words, he is
kinder to Beatrice Hill than he has been for some time.

" You here again, Betty. Yovb are infatuated with
me, anyway."

" Indeed, I am, sweetheart, but my love doesn't
content you. You bet, I'd sooner have a black look
from you than a kiss from any man living. The
saints forgive me, when I think of the holy Father
and cardinals, and how I worship you, Phil."

" Yes, you are wiM about me, I know, Betty, but we
men are different to you, you know ; we have so
many adorers, we can't go mooning forever around
one woman."

" And you are not angy with me to-night, Phil, for
coming again to get a sight of your dear face ?"

" No, 1 am not angry with you to-night ; but you
must not come again ; they don't like it," he said,
importantly.

"If I don't see you, I may as well die," she says
despondently. " I love you better than any of them
ladies do," she says, feeling her way.

" Hang her, she is as fickle as her clime," he says,
half aloud, thinking of Mrs. Gower.

His companion made no response, knowing who he
meant, but her heart is lighter at his words.

" Hang it, Bet, it's a freezer ; if you have any
money about you, I'll hail this sleigh if it's empty."

" Yes, sweetheart, here it is," giving him one of the
fives.

In a minute they are under the buffalo robe, when,
according to promise, she coaxes, entreats, and implores
him to give Mrs. Gower up, but he angrily refuses
to listen to anything on the subject ; entertaining
her, instead, with recitals of all the girls on King

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192

A Hand of Ice Lay on Hey Heart.

street who, he is sure, are dyin*^- for an introduction
to l\ini, and of several women of his acquaintance
beinfj infatuated about him, his companion assentincr
to all he said ; getting out at his own quarters,
paying the driver to 910 Seaton street, pocketing the
change. Beatrice Hill alone, thinks out her plan for
the following evening with tears, which she brushes
away with bare hands, having given her mits to her
fickle swain to keep his hands from the frost.

"Yes, I must tell them all,'" she thought, weeping
silently, " else Phil will make her marry him. Father
Nolan would tell me to do so, to save him from
guilt. He will turn to his faithful Betty again when
he sees how they sit on him, when they know all."

As the hall door had closed on Mr. Cobbe mak-
ing his exit, Mr. Blair said, turning out the gas :

" Let us go to her."

Mrs. Gower meets them in the hall, looking pale
and agitated, her eyes larger and darker in her pale
face, her sensitive mouth quivering. .

" I was just coming for you," she said, and on her
eyes meeting Mr. Blair's, in answer to his loving, stead-
fast gaze, her's told him that her appeal has been in
vain.

" He would not free you ?" he said, compa.ssionately.

" No."

" Well, then, he must be compelled to," said Mrs.
Dale, energetically; "we are not going to stand by
with folded hands, and see the remainder of your life
made wretched by a weak, vain, frivolous thing like
that. You have had trouble enough in the past,
heaven knows."

" Yes, we must act ; we must endeavor to inter-
view the woman," he said sympathetically, preparing
her for what might occur.

" I fear your kind efforts in my behalf will prove
useless, Alec. You would only ascertain that she is

A Hand of Ice Lay on Her Heart.

19:^

some poor creature whose heart h.e has gained, but who
is not bountl to him in any way. She is faithful, where
he is false," she says, gravely, " and is breaking her
heart for him — a way we have — that is all. No,
* Blessed are they who expect nothing,' I must keep
well in my mind for the future. I scarcely deserve
this from Fate, for I have been pretty brave hitherto
through troubles, that at the time were sufficient to
crush all hope, leaving not the faintest gleam ; but I
struggled through the clouds in my sky, which, finally
parting, I saw the sunbeams once more. My plan now
is, to close up this my home, sweet home, or ask you,
Ella, or Mr. Cole, to take it of! my hands for a year.
It would please me best to know some one I care for
was among my little treasured belongings."

" Mr. Cole, Charlie's father is at the Tremont Hotel,
Jacksonville, Florida. My placa is to ask Miss Crew
(as you don't require her services, and her mind is
easier as to money matters), to accompany me for the
remainder of the winter to same place as my friend
Charlie's father; he is a most worthy man and a gentle-
man. At the close of winter we would cross to the
British Isles. To myself, a Canadian, it would be
a complete distraction, as I have never been across ;
and I pray fervently, will take me out of self," she
said sadly. " We would visit London and some pretty
rural spots, the Devonshire lanes, perhaps ; and then
the Emerald Isle, thence to bonnie Scotia's shores ;
taking, perhaps, more than a peep at fair Dunkeld,"
she says, trying to smile in the grave face of Mr. Blair.
" I have foreseen the result of my appeal to Philip,
and so have been laying my plans for some days."

As she spoke, trying vainly to hide her emotion,
more than one tear had been stealthily brushed away
by her sympathetic little friend, who, seeing that Mr.
Blair is suffering intensely, from suppressed feeling,
says bravely, though rather doubtful at heart :

{Sin

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Mr 1

3: )

194

"Here Azun\ T/iere Aiva\

f )i

" Mark my words, Elaine, that woman will free you ;
say j^ood nij^ht to u.s, Mr. Blair, I am medical attendant
}}vo fern., and Elaine must take a sedative, and room
with me to-night."

" You are rii^ht, Mrs. Dale ; be brave, Elaine, he says,
holding her hand in his firm grasp, " to-morrow your
clouds must again pass, I shall come in after luncheon.

CHAPTER XXV.

"HERE AWA', there AWA'."

5|^#j|HE following is an ideal Canadian winter day ;
imi m ^\^Q g]^y^ a^ far-off canopy of brightest blue,
with no clouds to obscure the sunbeams, which
pour down on fair Toronto, melting the
icicles when his smiles are warmest, and glad-
dening the hearts of the million. There is just enough
of frost in the air to make a walk to town pleasant,
cheering and exhilarating, so that Mrs. Dale is glad
when Mrs. Gower proposes their going. The whole
city seems to have turned out, and the streets are alive
with the busy hum of life, and the tinkling music of
the merry sleigh-bells

Mrs. Gower, who had slept little, arose with the
determination to appear reconciled to her fate, not
wishing to add to the sorrow of Mr. Blair and Mrs.
Dale, on her account ; feeling that there will be time
enough to give way, when " large lengths of miles "
divide them. She cannot bear to dwell upon the
separation, she has decided, is for the best, and dreads
to think of her heart loneliness, w^ith Mr. Blair gone
out of her life, and the sympathy of Mrs. Dale, not be-
side her. How she will miss her quiet talks with
him, his manly advice and interest in all her acts, the

"Here Azva', TJiere AivaT

105

oneness of their views on many questions of the day —
relijOrious, social, and in i)art political. The Tremaines
and Smyths also; with her many favorite walks and
resorts, th^- public library, and other places of interest.
Yes, to leave tliem all and her snug Holmnest, is hard ;
but to j^o on in the way events have shaped them-
seives — Mr, Cobbe, a privilef^ed visitor, as her future
husband ; the woman hauntinj^ her home ; her misery,
seeing daily the grief telling on Mr. Blair would be
harder still ; so, nerving herself for the parting, she
determines on making her preparations at once.

No one meeting the friends, as they walk into town,
would imagine that the dusky shadow of sorrow sits
in each heart ; the pretty little face of Mrs. Dale
being set off by a bonnet, with pink feathers, her
seal coat and muff making: her warm and comfortable.
Mrs. Gower, in a heavy dark blue gown, short dolman
boa and muff of the be:ir ; a pretty little bonnet
blendinjx with her sown, the crlow of heat from exer-
cise lending color to her cheeks. Down busy Yonge
street to Eaton's ; Trowern's, with Mrs. Dale's watch ;
thence to gay King Street, to Murray's, Nordheimer's,
the Public Library, back again West, and to Coleman's
for a cup of coffee, are all done ; at the latter place
they run across Mrs. St. Clair with Miss Hall.

" Oh, you two dear pets, I am so awfully glad to
have met you," says pretty Mrs. St. Clair, effusively ;
" I want to know when you can talk over a programme
with me — tableaux, readings, etc., in aid of the debt on
our church. Say when ? "

" I really cannot, Mrs. St. Clair," said Mrs. Gower ;
just at present I am very busy, and am daily expect-
ing a small house party."

" Dear, dear ! that is too bad ; what shall I do ; you
are so smart, and would know ju.st what would take.
You will talk it over with me, Mrs. Dale," she said,
beseechingly.

jk'M

'18 '
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'^Here Awa\ There Azca'."

Ill

" No, thank you ; on principle, I object."

" How funny ! niijilit 1 ask why ? "

" (.ertainly. I think oti'erinL^'s to such an object as
a church debt should be vohintary."

"Hut, Mrs. Dale, people expect a little treat for
their money."

" They have, or we have, the church service, and
the ministrations of the clerfryman."

"That's just the way Mr. St. Clair damps my
ardor," she says, poutini^Iy ; I do so want to pose as
Mary Stuart. Mr. CJobbe says I'd look too sweet for
anythini,' ; you won't be jealous, Mrs. Gower."

'Oh, fearfully so; but joking apart; how do you
think he would pose us Bunthorn ? "

" I see you are lauj^hing at him, Mrs, Gower?"

" Not at all ; the twenty forlorn ones would keep
him in <rood humor, and the bee in his crown wouM
be a safety valve for his restlessness."

"No, no; I would not like that, and I wonder you,
above all, would propose it ; for the whole twenty
would fall in love with him, he is so fascinatinij ;
don't you think so. Miss Hall ? "

" Yes ; but it would be good fun ; you cawn't do
bettah, Mrs. St. Clair."

*• It has my vote, too," said Mrs. Dale, as she and her
friend wish them jjood morninsr.

" What a well-matched couple Mrs. St. Clair and
Philip would have made," says Mrs. Gower, as they go
east to Yonixe street.

" Yes, I have thought that before to-day, Elaine ;
it's a pity to spoil two houses with them."

Here they come across Mrs. Smyth waiting for a
Spadina Avenue car.

"Oh, Mrs. Gower, who do you think I have just
seen ?

" Perhaps our mutual friend Charlie Cole," she an-
swered, smiling.

"/Arc A7i>a\ There AivaT

107

" Well, you are smart, to guess exactly ; have you
seen tljein ? Isn't she frijifhtfullv Ui^lv ?" she savs, in
one breath.

" No, I have not seen them. What a pity she is not
pretty. I received a letter from Charlie, saying to ex-
pect them."

" Oh, you sly thing ; why didn't yon let us know ?
Oh, how ugly she is ! May we come round this even-
ing ? Here is my car."

" Certainly. We have been to your husband's office
to invite you"

" Thanks. O !" she cried, stepping on to the car.
" Will gave me a new piano yesterday."

" Whose make ?"

" Ruse's, Temple of Music, over there."

" 1 congratulate vou." As thev walked on she con-
tinned, absently, " What a pity she is plain looking"

" Who ; not Mrs. Smvth C

*' Oh, no, Ella ; her animation will always make her
pretty. I was thinking of Charlie (Jole's wnfe. I
wonder where she saw them ?"

'■ Oh, somewhere in town, I suppose. So you ex-
pected them to-day."

" Yes, and I would have told you, but I want their
advent to be a surprise for Miss Crew, whom I have
frequently found secretly studying Charlie Cole's
photo. She is so guardedly reticent, that 1 am curious
to see if suddenly confronting him will cause her to
show any interest in the original of the photo."

" But you should make sure of her, Elaine. She
maj'' remain at the O'SuUivans ; and as 1 own to tak-
ing an interest in human bric-a-brac, I hope you will
call for her."

" I fancy she will return for certain, as she tells me
the couple we met on New Year's Day are coming to
Holmnest this afternoon ; the woman, (piite a lady-

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198

'^ Here Azva\ There ^hua'."

like looking person, is to alter her black silk ; but we
shall call on our way home for her."

" Yes, that will be best, and hero is our ca** ; but it
is too crowd m1. As members of the Humane Society
we had better wait for the next."

As they wait in front of the Dominion Bank, Mr.
Cobbe joins them.

" Good morning, ladies ; won't you turn west, and
have a promenade, Elaine ?"

" No, thank you. Time has gone too fast for us
already."

" O, pshaw ! I want to speak to you. When do you
return to New York, Mrs. Dale ?" he says pointedly,
disliking her, and feeling freer at Holmnest in her ab-
sence.

" I have not the remotest idea, Mr. Coblje, indeed,"
.she added, in return for his ; " we may take dear little
Holmnest off* Mrs. Gower's hands if she carries out her
present intention to leave Canada for a time."

" Leave Canada !" he exclaims, flushing.

" Please, stop the car, Philip, quick."

" What does it mean, Elaine ?" he whispers, .seeing
them on board ; but the bell rings, and off* they go.
Two yards distant, and he calls out, " I shall be up
after office hour.s."

" Talk of cruelty to animals. 1 gave him a blow,
but he richly deserves it. But I do believe, Elaine,
you are sorry for him," she says i amazement, and
under cover of the noise of travel.

" I am. He is his worst enemy. Yes, I am sorry for
his weak, vain nature. A man without stability of
character, in our stirring times, is of no more account
than are the soap-bubbles blown by a little child."

Getting out of the car at Webb'.s, to leave an order,
they there meet Miss O'SuUivan, who, with her own
bright smile, comes forward quickly to shake hands.

" Oh, Mrs. Gower, I am so glad to see you. I have

"/Avr A7.'a\ There Aica!'

i9y

sonietlnii<( to toll you. Miss Crow loft our place for
Holnuu'st lit ton this a. \\\., wwA I have Iut promise to
tell Mr. J)h1(! hor history, and ask liis advice."

"I am glad of that, doar,"

" Oh, so am I, she is such a darling: l>ut I was not
satistiod to have lior without some ;f(;i>tl iientleman
friend t(j advise her,"

" Has sho confidod in yoursolf ?"

" Yes, Mrs. Dale ; hut not until last niLjht."

" Was it sensational enoui^h to keep you awake, or,
as I suppose, of no more interest than ' little Johnny
Horner sittiu'^ in the corner eating; his Cn» . tmas
pie ?

" You see, dear, Mrs. Dale is distrusted wi^h Mother
Goose for not telling us of his bilious attach , laugho<-l
Mrs. Gower, " G' od bye, dear, here is our car, College
and Sp.idina Avenue."

" Yv . will not be disappointed in Miss Crew'.s story,
Mrs. Dale. The bilious part is not omitted ; poor dear,
I am so sorry for her."

On reaching Holmnest they find Mr. Dale, who has
returned from the North-We.st, and Mi.ss Crew, in the
library.

Mrs. Gower, not pretending to notice that the latter
has been in tears, and to give her an excu.se to make
her exit, asks her to carry her wraps upstairs for her ;
and then to go and give theui some music during the
few minutes before luncheon.

" Mrs. Gower is taking better care of you, little wife,
than you are of her, now that the roses from the frosty
air are fading. I notice she is paler and thinner."

" Don't blame me, Henry," she answered, stroking
his whiskers ; " blame Mr. Cobbe. I declare to you
both, I never name him without doubling my tists."

" Mj'' impression has always been, dear Mrs. Gower,
that he will be no companion for you in the hand-in-
hand Journey through life."

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200

Electric Tips Among the Roses.

WWfTF

"Yes; but you are not cofjnizant of certain facts
which has led to our beinir in our present relation to-
wards each other," she says, crravely; "and of wliich
we must tell you, perhaps to-morrow. We have enough
on for to-day, and there is the luncheon bell, come."

" Oh, Henry, do you know that the Coles are ex-
pected here to-day, and have you told Miss Crew ?
becau.se, don't," she whispered hurriedly.

"No; I thought it as well not to," he said, in con-
strained tones, adding, ".she has been telling me her
sad story, poor girl ; which you and Mrs. Gower will
know shortly, little woman."

1:1

CHAPTER XXVI.

ELECTRIC TIPS AMONG THE ROSES.

jURING luncheon, Mrs. Gower, , seeing that her
companions seem too full of bu.sy thought to
be talkative, exerts herself keeping up a
con.stant flow of little nothings, requiring no
replies ; her spirits became less depressed by
the effort to keep sorrow at bay, her pleasant walk to
town has really been a tonic to her. And now the
knowledge that the Coles may come in at any moment ;
that a handsome face, so full of power and sympathy
with herself, will be here also; with the meeting by
the Smyths and herself of the wife of their old friend
Charlief Cole ; all this is a powerful stimulant to her, as
well as the little surprise and excitement for the quiet,
fair-haired girl, with tear-stained cheeks, on her left.

" Would you like a trip down to Florida with me,
Miss Crew. Orange groves and outdoor blossoms
would be as a glimpse of Paradise, with one's eyes full
of snow flakes.

Electric Tips Among the Roses.

201

" Yes ; I should like to jjjo anywhere with you, Mrs.
Gower ; that is," she achls, ^lancini^. timidly, at Mr.
Dale, altvady now he knows her history, turning to
him as a child to a parent; "that is, if it would be
best for me."

" Do you really contemplate this trip ; if so, and
you do not leave for a few days, I think it would be
the very thiii<]j for Miss — , for this little lady," he
says; thinking she is merely running away to escape
the remainder of the winter,

" I do ready intend going," she said, slowly, and

with an uncon-^cious sigh.

He looks at her earne-^tly, thinkinj there is some
latent reasort, when his wife, makinLT ^ moiie at him,
accompanied l)y an almost im})erceptil»le sluike of the
he;id, when, Mrs. (Jower, cliang ng the sijltject, sa^'s :
" Did you see how Professor Hei komer has been laud-
ing the Americans, Mr. Dale ? "

" I <lid ; but I only agree with him in part."

" Not so with me ; I am at one with him, to the
echo ; but I should tell you I have oid}'^ seen extracts
from his expres.sed views, in which he saJ^s, * he was
impressed by their keen, nervous temj^erament, keen
intelligence and ambition to excel ;' and when he says
America will become a leader of art in the nations as
of nearly everything else."

" I don't ffo with him that length." he said, shakinsf
his head ; " give me the Old World for art in the pre-
sent, as well as in the future."

" In the present, I agree with you, I think ; but
their very ambition to excel, their-go-ahead-ness, to
coin a word, will, I feel convinced, gain them tirst
place in the future."

"That's right, Elaine ; give it him, he is too conser-
vative, this dear old hubby ol' mine ; the stars and
stripes float over the smartest people on earth."

At this L general laugh makes them all feel less
U

T-

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202

Electric Tips Among the Roses.

blue, Mrs. Gower saying, as they leave the dining-
room :

" Well, let us see which of us, England, United
States or Canada, will be the smartest in taking a few
minutes' rest, and getting into a dinner gown." Wend-
ing her way to the kitchen, she meets Miss Crew,
bringing water and seeds for the birds.

"Thank you, dear; that saves my time; when you
have done that, run away up to your room, and put on
your pretty heliotrope frock ; the Smyths may dine
with us."

" Very well, I shall ; and oh, Mrs. Gower, may I tell
Thomas when my friends come (you know I told you
I am going to have my black silk altered), he is to
show them into the dining-room; though, perhaps, they
would not be called gentlefolk, still, they are not ser-
vants, and they are .so good."

" The highest recommen<iation you can give them,
dear ; I shall tell Thomas myself."

Closeted in their bedroom, seated side by side, upon
a lounge, Mrs. Dale tells her husband of Mrs. Gower's
troubles, and the stratagem by which Mr. Cobbe has
obtained her oath to marry him ; of the woman who
haunts Holmnest ; of how for lonrj months Mrs.
Gower has been imploring him to release her from her
compulsory promise. Also of Mr. Blair's love for
Elaine ; and of how he has surprised her into a con-
fessing of her own for him ; but of how in no way has
she allowed him any demonstration of that love since
those few moments on New Year's Day. Of her own
and Mr. Blair's plan to induce the woman to speak."

" You astonish me, Ella ! " he exclaimed ; but I
agree with her ; she cannot break her oath,s4e belongs
to him; does she know of your plan to interview the
woman ? "

" Yes ; but thinks we shall elicit no item of import-
ance ; but, Henry, dear, say nothing to her of our plan

Electric Tips Among the Roses.

203

for this evenini:^ ; I only tell you, so that should you
miss Mr. Blair and myself, you will not remark on it."

"I see. How do you like this Mr. Blair ; you know,
I have only met him once ? "

" I like him very much ; you should hear that
reticent Mr. St. Clair praise him. He is though, really,
a manly, f^enerous, straight-forward, determined fellow ;
just the rev^erse of Mr. Cobbe."

" Yes ; well I hope it will come out all right for poor
Mrs. Gower, though I had hoped that she and Buck-
ingham would have made a match," he said musingly.

" So have I ; but he has been too deliberate, a trait
his German mother is to blame for ; and he may have
iniajxined there has been somethiny: between her and
Mr. Cobbe Now, hubby, I am just dying to know if
Miss Crew has confided in you, and if there is any-
thing worth a snap in her story."

" 1 cannot tell you just yet, dear ; and, besides, we
have not time ; it is three-thirty, time for my little
wife to dress."

On descending at four p.m., to her cheerful drawing-
room, Mrs. Gower has so far conquered her feelings as
to cause a casual observer to say, she is quite happy,
and at ease ; for her dark red gown is becoming, and
she has compelled her mind to dwell only on the plea-
surable excitement of a re-union with her old friend,
Mr. Cole ; wondering also what he will think of her
new friend, Mr. Blair. The air, redolent of hyacinths
and roses, tells her he is in the drawing-room : and the
color deepens in her cheeks as her heart throos faster.

" He comes to meet her, from a table, piled with blos-
soms, which he is placing in Japanese and glass bowls.

" You will become bankrupt, Alec."

•' Not while there are blossoms in the market, and
} ou to accept them ; 1 am a canny Scotchman, you
know ; you should always wear this gown," he says,
quietly, pinning some roses near her chin."

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204

Electric Tips Among the Roses.

" You said so of my old gold dress, you fickle man;"
and, as she speaks, her eyes rest for a moment on his.

With a sij^h, he returns to his task.

"Don't, Alec, it breaks my heart to hear you sigh
like that, and 1 a»n trying so hard to keep up."

" I sii^h that I am forbidden to take you in my
arms," he said, gravtdy, as their fingers meet in arrang-
injr the flowers.

" But, you know, I am acting for the best."

"Do you allow him ?" he .said, with a steadfast look.

" Never, when I can prevent it."

" These flowers remind me of an incident I have
often thought to tell you, Elaine. Do you remember
one time, about a year and a half ago, going to make a
call upon some people who were transient gue.'^ts at
the Walker House ? they had left town ; and while
you waited, while this fact was being ascertained, a
wee lady, an invalid, was carried in by an attendant,
and placed on a sofa ; she was emaciated and fair com-
plexioned. On your leaving the parlor you asked her
to accept a bouquet you carried; it was composed
almost entirely of ro.ses. Passionately fond of flow-
ers, she was very pleased, telling you so ; do you re-
member ? but your face tells me you do. That poor
little lady was she whom you haJ frequently met in
the street with me, before she became too weak to
walk ; that was my poor little wife."

" And I met you as I was entering the hotel," she
said, softly.

" Yes ; I was going to Brown's livery stables for a
cab ; I generally went myself, instead of using the
telephone, as Jessie thought I got an ea.sier one."

" Poor little creature ; 1 did not recognize her, be-
cause meeting her with you, she had always been
veiled. I remember how pleased she was with the
flowers ; my kind friend, Mrs. Tremaine, had given
them to me lo brighten my room ; I could not afford

ler

in
to

she

)v a
the

Ibe-
ien

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Electric Tips Among the Roses.

205

such luxuries then," she said, sadly, " Your wee wife
had a sweet little face, and I frequently thouLjht of
her again. Meeting the manager, Mr. Wright, one
day, I asked him about her, when he said ' she and
her liusband had left town.' It was all very sad for
you, Alec."

" It was, she told me, a winsome lady, bonnie, and
sae strong-looking, had given them to her, and from
her description, I knew it must be you. I endeavored,
even then, to ascertain your name, but failed," he said,
gravely, holding her^ hands among the roses for a
moment in his own ; when Mi.ss Crew entered, with
her work-basket, followed by the Dales, Mr. Dale
carrying son\e open letters, with newspapers, which he
placed carefully on a table be.side him, as he .shook
hands with Mr. Blair.

" Talk about the sunny south," cried Mrs. Dale ;
"one sighs for nothing in this atmosphere; vvhat with
the sun streaminor in all day from south and west, the
perfarne of flowers, the Christmas decorations not yet
down, the glowing grate, even with the snow outside,
we are pretty snug."

" I am glad you feel so, dear; I suppose with my small
income, I am recklessly extravagant in not shutting
out the sunbeams ; but my furniture must fade, rather
than that my flowers, birds and self, live in gloom."

*■ I think you said real estate is your busijiess, Mr.
Blair ; have you opened an office yet ? " inquired Mr.
Dale.

" Broker and real estate is what I have been en-
gaged in ; but I have not as yet rented an office ; there
will be some good rooms over the Bank of Commerce,
when completed ; but that is a long look."

" Three years ! a life-time, from a business stand-
point; at least, as we look at things on the other side,"
said Dale.

" I wonder what the Central Bank will be converted

<*M i

a '^

if! •:

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206

Electric Tips Among the Roses.

into ; it, I should say, is a good location, it' the public
wouldn't fiorht shv of a man hanixinoj out his shin<;le
from such walls," said Blair.

" The owners should give it a man rent free for a
term of years, who would paint it white," said Mrs.
Gower, half in joke.

" They have it black enough now," said Dale ; " its
career is a disgrace to the city."

" It is indeed," said Mrs. Gower ; " and one of the
worst features of the case is, that we have lost con-
fidence ; men are daily asking, wrho is to be trusted ?"

" Here is the North-Endev, taking up the refrain ; it
.says," said Mr. Blair, reading, " ' other bank failures
have been bad enough, but in sheer, utter, unadulter-
ated baseness, this excelleth them all ; ' and here, in
another newspaper, they say, 'whole families are
beggared by it, having nothing to buy bread.' "

"How terrible!" cried Miss Crew, clasping her
hands ; " if I only had money." and she glanced timidly
at Mr. Dale, " how much I should like to as.sist them,"

Here Mrs. Smyth enters, full of excitement.

" Oh, I am here before them ; I am so glad," she
said, untying her bonnet.

"Allow me to take your things upstairs for you,
Mrs. Smyth."

" Oh, thank you, Miss Crew ; but it's too much
trouble for you."

" Not at all."

" How lovel}'' your flowers are, Elaine ; you cause
me to break the tenth commandment."

" Cease, then, and help yourself ; as you love them."

" Thanks ; oh, I just met Emily Tudor and her
mother, on Huron streat, on my way up ; and what do
you think ; they have lost every cent by the Central.
Emily and Mary have left school, and are looking for
situations ; the mother seemed just heart broken."

" How dreadful !" cried Mrs. Gower, " they are such

A Serpent in Paradise.

207

a worthy, honorable family, and the delinquents ! are
rolling away in parlor cars to luxury in fairer climes."
Here Miss Crew returns, and Mrs. Gower, asking
her to give them some music, in the midst of Ley-
bach's " Fifth Nocturne," the Coles drive up, ring, are
admitted, and announced by Thomas.

CHAPTER XXVIT.

A SERPENT IN PARADISE.

|AD a bombshell exploded in thei*" midst there
could not have been more pity, astonishment,
and dismay, than was felt by the group of
friends in the prett}' little drawing-room, at
the sad change in poor Charlie Cole, and the shock
experienced at their first sight of the extremely plain
woman beside him with the stony eyes and terma-
gant written on her brow. But horror-struck as they
are, all wear society's mark, excepting the fair-haired
girl, who still sits transfixed to the piano stool ; in the
introductions her back is turned, though shs had had one
glimpse on their entree, she having wheeled around
for one instant ; but now it is her turn, and Mrs. Gower,
stepping towards her, laying her hand kindly on her
shoulder, says, " Turn round, dear." Turning her small,
clear-cut features, white as a statue, standing up, but
not lifting her eyelids, she acknowledges the introduc-
tion in conventional form.

The face of Mrs. Cole, a dull red, with a redder
spot marking the high cheek bones, took a momentary
grey hue, while Charlie Cole, with a violent start, and
a half-formed " oh !" dropped his heavy cane, for rheu-
matism still troubling him, he was obliged to use it
as a support ; Miss Crew made an involuntary step to
reach it, but Mr. Blair is before her. On raising her

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208

A Serpent in Paradise.

head, her eves meet tlie stonv <;aze of Mrs. Cole, at
which, in spite of a vi.sible eti'urt to control herself, she
trembles almost to falling.

" The piano stool is uncomfortable ; take this chair,"
said Mr. Dale, kin<lly placing one beside his own, and
giving her her work-basket. Oh, how grateful she is
to him, as she bends over her wools and flosses.

" Allow me to take your wraps, Mrs. Cole, or will
you come upstairs at once ?"

" Never mind me, Mrs. Gower, I shall just unbutton
my mantle."

" But you are going to stay with me, so may as well
make yourself comfortable at once.''

" Oh, I don't know, Mrs. Gower, Mr. Babbington-
Cole requires such an amount of attendance, that, on
second thought, it is best we should return to the
hotel," she said, doggedly.

" But, Margaret, you told them at the Palmer House
you "

" It does not signify what I told them ; that is past ;
perhaps your hearing has become impaired. 1 said, on
second thought," now thinking — goodness, how they
stare ; think I am not spooney, I suppose ; says, " You
see, Mrs. Gower, I have to think for us both. A man's
mind is not tiood for much after a lonar illness.'"

"My poor friend, you do look as if you had had a
hard time of it," said Mrs. Gower, with latent meaning ;
" but you must know it vvoulrl be a real pleasure to
have you stay with me, and Mrs. Cole also. Do take
off your mutiler, Chailie, the room is warm. Excuse
me calling your husband by his Christian name, Mrs.
Cole, but it is a habit 1 must break myself off now."

" Yes, I suppose so, now he is a married man," she
said, showing her teeth ; " but he'd better keep muffled

"p" ' ...

" How did you stand the voyage, Mr. Cole ?" inquired
Dale.

A Serpent in Paradise.

209

" Very badly. You see I am pretty well battered out,
and could not get about much. A stick is a shaky leg
in mid-ocean."

" You are right. Did your uncle and aunt come out
with you, Mrs. Cole ?" continued Dale.

" What the mischief does that grey-haired, weasel-
eyed man know, I wonder," she thought, saying,
briefly, " Yes."

" Poor Charlie, you had nurses enough," said Mrs.
Smyth ; who felt so badly at seeing her old favorite so
carelessly dressed, his last season's overcoat, and a pur-
ple and white muffler; looking feeble, emaciated, and
unhappy, and with such a wife, that she is almost
silent, and nearly in tears.

" Are you acquainted with Mr. and Miss Stone, Mr.
Dale V asked Mr. Cole, wiping the perspiration from
his brow.

" No, not personally, but by reputation," he says,
pointedly. " A friend of this little lady here," indicat-
ing Miss Crew, " who is also a friend of my own at
London, has written me the particulars of your mar-

riage.

" Indeed !" said the invalid, brightening, feeling
braced up by being at last with friends ; not so the
woman he has married, who mentally wishes herself
back at New York, in the congenial companionship of
her uncle and aunt. She hates this pretty, modern
drawing-room, with its comely women becomingly at-
tired, its bright flowers, its home-like air.

Here Thomas enters, telling Miss Crew some friends
wish to see her, at which she leaves the room for five
minutes, with Mr. Dale.

" Do you purpose settling at Toronto, Mrs, Cole ?"
asks Mr. Blair, unconsciously referring to her as the
best horse.

" I had some thoughts of doing so ; but since seeing
it, I rather think not."

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210

A Serpent hi Paradise.

iv?

While Mr Blair momentarily occupios her attention,
Mrs. Gower, with Mrs. Smyth, one on each side of
their old friend, pet and sympathize with him more
by looks than words.

On Miss Crew and Mr. Dale returning, the face of
the latter wearirijr a set, stern look, he said, on seeing
Mrs. Cole, arising to depart :

" Mrs. Cole, might 1 ask what has caused you to
change your mind about staying with Mrs. Gower ?
You entered with the intention of makinor her a visit,
and one can see at a glance that the being here would
be a panacea to your unfortunate husband ; I again ask,
why you have changed your mind ?"

During his words her face was a study, in its vari-
ous stages of wrath, culminating in the hissing of the
followinjj words:

" If yours are Canadian manners, I cannot congratu-
late you, Mr. Dale. My reason for changing my mind
is 7)1]) reason, not yours."

" Your words and actions, Mrs. Cole; force me to act
at once."

"Come," she said, with a sneer at the speaker, now
turning to her husband, " Come, Charles, I regret to
interrupt these ladies in their attentions, but you must
button up your top-coat."

" I wish you'd stay even for dinner," he says, ner-
vously.

" No, the night air is bad for you, come at once ; "
and she fixes him with her stony eyes.

" Sit down again, Mrs. Cole ; " said Mr. Dale, firmly ;
and to the renewed astonishment of all, " I have some-
thing to say to you."

" No, I take no interest in the sayings of an ill-bred
man. Good-evening, Mrs. Gower."

" This won't do, Mrs. Cole ; I regret your line of ac-
tion, as it forces a disagreeable duty upon me in my
friend's drawing-room, and not in a court of law, as I

A Serpent in Paradise.

211

had intended. My friend Dr. Annesley, of London" — at
this, she set her teeth in a determined way — " Dr.
Annesley has written me the sad history of this little
lady."

" You are a very rude man to detain me, while you
prate of a perfect stranger," she says, her face hlazing,
and makinf]f a move to the hall, "Come, (Jharles."

Mr. Cole, instead of nearini^ her, hobbles across the
room, seating himseif beside Mr. Blair, whose face
with its look of power, draws him unconsciously.

" In as few words as possible, Mrs. Cole, I affirm on
oath, and from indisputable evidence, both from Messrs.
Brookes & Davidson, barristers, London, England, and
from parties now in this house, that you, with your
uncle and aunt, Mr. and Miss Stone, late of Broadlawns,
Bayswater, London, England, have," he said, sternly,
consulting some English letters, "appropriated the in-
come from the estate of your late step-mother, for the
last ten years, to your own u.ses, merely sending a sum to
pay expenses at school to your step-sister, who, to fur-
ther yonr base ends, you had banished from her native
land ; which allowance, even, you cruelly stopped some
three years ago ; since which time she has been com-
pelled to earn her own living. Not compelled, had she
had the nerve to push her claims and assert her rights ;
but being a nervous, timid girl, the outcome of cruel
treatment by you and yours, during her childhood,
she, in fear of other evil deeds from you all, dropped her
surname, and assumed the maiden name of her mother ;
and this poor girl, who by law and the will of her
dead mother, the heiress of five thousand pounds ster-
ling, per annum, was for two years, a mere drudge, as
nursery governess, at New York City." Sensation !
" By a wicked fraud, you also are married to the man
to whom as a child she was betrothed ; but T pass this
over in consideration of the feelings of your unfortu-
nate dupe, and of a lady now here also. To return to

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212

A Serpent in Paradise.

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■ •

P-1

the seivitude of tl)e ^\x\, your step-sister, whom you
robbed of her birthrirrht. A year ago, on ujy wife ad-
vertising; in the columns of the New York Herald,
for a governess for our little son, the girl you have
wronged, answering our advertisement, was accepted ;
and since that time has been an honored member of our
little circle."

Mrs. Cole, who has only remained in hopes he would
show his hand as to what steps the prosecution will
take, now in uncontrolled rage bursts forth :

" Mrs. Gower, I ask you, as my hostess, to order a
servant get me a hansom, at once ; \ never was so in-
sulted in my life before ! " her reason for asking for a
cab being, she sees now she will go away alone, and
the driver will know the streets.

" My friend, Mr. Dale, does not moan his words as
insults, Mrs. Cole ; and I fear, I must ask you to re-
main until he has finished. However my servant shall
immediately telephone for a hack ; " and giving the
order, it was quickly Hashed to Hubbdrd's.

Mr. Dale, now taking the trembling hand of Miss
Crew, led her forward, saying deliberately:

" This, my friends, is the heiress of whom I have
been speaking ; who has been so basely defrauded of
her fortune. This is Pearl, baptized by the family
name of Margaret (her mother's nam^), her father was
the late Edward Villiers, and she is step-sister to Mrs.
Cole."

To describe the sensation his words caused, would
be impossible, no one attempting to hide their horror
at the wicked conduct of Mrs. Cole and her relations ;
or their joy at their quiet little friend's good fortune.

" It is a put-up job, a black lie from beginning to
end," shouted Mrs. Cole, driven to frenzy at her de-
feat ; and before the friends of the man whom she has
married, and whom she has despised for falling into
the net ; " my half-sister behaved so badly, we sent her

A Serpent in Paradise.

213

to your pious city of Xew York, where she would find
kindred spirits," she sneered ; '" and she was <irowned
three years aujo in tlie Niit^jara River."

Mr. J3ale had left tlie room (hiririi^ tiie concfratula-
tions of Pearl Villiers, as we must runv call her; and
now returns witli the (|uietdo(>kin;; couple Mr.s.
Gower had seen on New Year's Day ; and wlio proved
to be none other than our old friends, Silas Jojies and
his loved wife Sarah, who made oath to the truth of
Mr. Dale's statements.

Insane at her defeat, at her loss of power, for which
she had lived, for which she had sold her soul to
Mephistoplieles In a ra^'j at her humiliation before
Silas Jones and iils wife, wliom she has Idthorto walked
over, whom she feels will rejoice with her victim over
her discomfiture ; and whom she feels will .sin<^ the Te
Deum Laudamtis over his freedoui, which she knows
he will grasp at as eagerly as the timely njpe by the
drowning man ; and so, hissing forth many words
of fierce invective and malicious threats, she takes the
hack from Holmnest.

Mr. Dale's first expressive act on returning from
escorting this amiable creature to the cab is to shake
hands with Mr, Cole ; then, crossing ihe room to Pearl
Villiers, to congratulate her, he ascertains she has
fainted.

" No wonder, poor girl," said Mrs. Gower, coming to
her relief ; " I expect, this is not the first time her
terrible step-sister has caused her to find relief in un-
consciousness."

"Do you remember, Elaine, she fainted once before,
on Mr. Smyth announcing the marriage of Margaret
Villiers with your poor friend here ? "

" I do, distinctly."

" I wonder," continued Mrs. Dale, " was she aware
of her mother's wish that she should marry Mr. Cole? "

" Yes, Miss Pearl knew it right well, poor, long-suf-

214

A Serpent in Paradise.

t 1 i
t

fering darling," says Sarah Jones, who is supporting
her, while whispering soothing words of comfort. She
now recovers, and is able to sit up, smiling at the sight
which meets her eye, of Mr. Cole shaking Silas Jones
by the hand, as if it was to be perpetual motion.
Then, hobbling to the mirror, tears off his unbecoming
muffler, throwing it at Tyr; saying, half wild with joy
at his deliverance :

'■ Away with her fetters; I shall begin to look like
a Christian again ; if I had a razor now, it would not
be used on the jugular vein, but on my beard; but
Mrs. Smyth, Mrs. Gower, see how grey I am, Jove ! "
and he ijave a oflance at the fair-haired ijirl, who with-
drew her ej'-es, while both color. " Medusa was my pet
name for her ; oh, it was a den of villainy, eh, Sarah,"
he said, excitedly.

" It caps anything I have ever heard," said Dale,
seeinij how weak Cole looks, and makinjj him take an
easy chair.

" Dinner is served, ma'am."

After dining, Mr. and Mrs. Jones sitting down with
them at the pressing invitation of Mrs. Gower, Mr.
Dale read all the communications he had received re-
lating to the fraud practised by Miss Villiers, and the
Stones antagonistic to the interests of Pearl Villiers ;
Brookes & Davidson undertaking to ptosecute in the
interests of the latter, should she so decide. Before
leaving England, some weeks previous, they had
robbed and plundered the estate to such an extent as
to reduce the actual income from five thousand pounds
sterling per annum to three thousand.

These facts had been ascertained by Messrs. Brookes
& David.son, who said, as the delinquents had shel-
tered themselves beneath the stars and stripes, they
were safe personally ; but some of the properties
could be wrested from parties to whom fraudulent
sales had been made by Mrs. Cole. Her plea would of

A Serpent in Paradise.

215

course be that she, Margaret Villiers, had wed Charles
Babbington-Cole ; but that had no weight, for a clause
in the will would make such plea not worth a row of
pins ; they, the lawyers, only wishing they were in
England, when they would indict them for fraud.

"You will prosecute the wretches. Pearl ; for we are
going to make you feel at home, and call you so," said
Mrs. Dale, eager l3\

But the girl, saying in a low voice, though heard by
all, that she will not go to law ; that three thousand
per annum is ample for her ; that in most cases, per-
haps, the lessees were not cognizant of the fraudulent
sale, and so would be punished, while the guilty
people were the gainers.

"They have a nice little nest egg," said Mr. Blair,
indignantly ; " so does the green bay tree flourish."

" Yc3," said Mr. Dale ; " and will likely pose as
saints on the other side. Only that our little friend
here would suffer much during a complicated law-suit,
and that the enemy are hard to reach, I would advise
her not to turn the other cheek, as she is doing but to
fight; howevrr," he says, smilingly, "for Canada, Miss
Pearl, you are (|uite a little heiress."

" Ladies and gentlemen," said Silas Jones, as he and
his happy wife bid them all good-night, " Sarah and I
don't know how to thank you for your kindness to
our Miss Pearl."

" Yes ; may the blessings of heaven rest upon you
for it," said S-irah, tearfully and reverently, as the
girl kissed her, lovingly.

" Amen," said Silas ; " and I would add that this
poor gentleman has gone through a fiery furnace of
affliction in his forced union with that vixen of the
iron will and heart of stone ; but shv; will troul)le you
no more, sir, it was only your name she wanted ; it
meant gold,"

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216

Squaring Accounts.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

SQUARING ACCOUNTS.

|X the evenini^ of the day on which the Coles'
had arrived, and Miss Crew liad come out in
her true colors as Pearl Viiliers, the heiress,
in wliich her step-sister, Mrs. Cole, was
branded with the name and character slie
has earned as devotee of the father of lies ; tiiere was
so much to say, and so many to say it ; so many hand
clasps for the poor victim, Charlie Cole, on the incom-
ing for his wife of Will Smyth, the Tremaines the
A. Jones, and others, that the slipping out of Mrs.
Dale and Mr. Blair, to meet the girl, Beatrice Hill, is
unnoticed.

After waiting in the shadow of the house, building
on the next lot, for a considerable time, and evening
is fast waning into night, Mr. Cobbe appears in the
distance, coming at a brisk pace ; nears, opens the
gate, is up the walk, rings, and is admitted.

" Now she will come, I fervently hope," said Mrs.
Dale, impatiently ; " horrid pair they are, interfering
with our hearing the circus indoors. If our friend, Mr.
Cobbe was mated to that hideons scold, Mis. Cole, I
reckon he would not get too much line. But she would
never have trapped him, he knows too much ; unless,
indeed, she had settled half the plunder on him to
close his mouth with the bon-bons that his soul
loveth."

" Your words, Mrs. Dale, give me an idea; I wonder
if he would pose as 'Pooh Bah,' and pocket an insult,
in the shape of a bribe, to give our dear friend her
freedom."

" Yes ; I do believe he would," she answers, eagerly;
" I wonder we have not thought of that before."

n
v
c

Squaring Accounts.

217

" But how can we work it ; I cannot appear, though
my bank notes are at his service ; I wonder if your
very philanthropic husband would undertake the deli-
cate mission ? "

" Indeed, he would ; he just loves making rough
places smooth for people."

" It is very good of him," he said, gratefully." I fear
this girl, Hill, is as slippery as Cobbe himself ; you
had better return to the house, and I shall go to her
address, Seaton street; and if I do not find her, shall
see if I can elicit any item of importance from others
in the house."

" But you will wi>*h to come in and tell Elaine good-
night first ; you will not sleep otherwise," she said,
teasingly.

" You are right ; but T must practise self-denial ;
indeed, it is my life just now, and endeavor to earn a
blissful reward bv cfaininff her release from Mr. Cobbe.
Did you over see such a contrast in faces and expres-
sion as that vixen. Cole's wife, presented, compared to
our dear Elaine ? "

" No ; unless it was myself, which of course you
did not see," she said, saucily ; " but I like you all the
better for it. I hate your men who are all things to
all women ; go now, and success attend you. Good-
night."

Walking rapidly, winged love buoying him up, he
soon reaches the Spadina Avenue terminus, when, for-
tune smiling, he has not to wait the twenty minutes
for the car, for the driver is in the act of turning the
horses' heads south. Entering, wrapt in thought, he
does not notice the numbers on this broad highway
who make their ingress or egress. Pretty girls, peeping
from cloud-like fascinators, attended by their chosen
valentine, or by chaperon, evidently, by their gay trap-
pings, bent on scoring a last dance before Lent, for
this is St. Valentine's Day, and to-morrow will be Ash
15

218

Sqnarmg Accounts,

•1

lUi;

Wednesday, and so good-bye for a season to the plea-
sures of Terpsichore. No, he is observant of nothing, ex-
cepting the many stoppages, at which he is impatient.
Even electric lighted King street is passed through
unnoticed ; men thinking, on seeing his bent head and
knit brows, poor fellow, probably bit by the " Central."
Girls whispering, ' He has missed the ring in his
Shrove Tuesday pancakes this evening, getting only
the button What a pity, for he v.'Ould be handsome
if he would only see us."

At the crossing of his turn north, the driver calling
Sherbourne street, he changes cars, and in due course
leaves them, to walk up Seaton street. Reaching his
number, he rings the bell of a small rough-cast house.
A man in his shirt sleeves, and with the smell of fresh
pine about him, opens the door.

" Does a young woman, named Hill, live here ?"

"Yes, sir ; just step in, please," and ushering him
into a sitting-room, at one end there being a new pine
table nearly finished, tools and shavings about. A
woman, who is nursing a baby, says : " Take this chair,
sir ; but I'm a'm&st feared Beatrice has too bad a head
to see you."

"Tell her, please, that I must see her, if she is able
to sit up at all," he says, decidedly.

" Very well, sir," and going to another room on same
flat, he could hear half -angry words and sobs.

The woman returning, eyeing him suspiciously, said:

" No, sir ; she says as how she'll see you to-morrow."

" That won't do. I w/tsHiave the information she
has promised, otherwise the detectives will do the
work for me at once," he said sternly.

" Detectives ! oh !" she cries, quickly, in changed
tones, leaving the room; when there is more parleying
on the part of the woman. She now returns, saying :

" Please, step this way, sir."

Going into the girl's room, who is evidently a vest-

Squaring Accounts.

219

maker, by the pile of said articles on a table, another
on the sevvins^- machine. She gives a sulky nod, pointing
him to a chair. She has a seedy gown on, untidy hair,
and no collar, looking as if she cared for naught. There
is an attempt at decoration on the flowered wall-paper,
in shape of business cards pinned thereon, with the
inevitable bow of ribbon; three cane chairs, a trunk, a
bright rag carpet, two tables, and a small lounge, fur-
nish the room. Conspicuous among the photos lying
on a table, and the only one enthroned in a scarlet
plush frame, is a smiling photograph of Mr. Cobbe.

Determined on showing nothing like feeling, in her
half hysterical state, he says, briefly:

" Well, what have you to tell me, as you failed in
keeping your appointment ? I have come to hear."

" And suppose I go back on my word, and don't tell
you ?" she said, doggedly.

" Then you shall be made to speak," he says, with a
brave front ; though his heart is heavy at her words.

" Oh, I know what fine gentlemen's boasts add up
to," she sa^yrf, crossly and defiantly, dashing away her
tears; " to just nothing."

" You shall be put in the lock-up if you are caught
prowling about any one's residence after this."

"And what would you gain by that ?" she says, cun-
ningly.

While Blair, sighing for woman's tact, wishes Mrs.
Dale was with him, when a sudden thought occurs to
him ; rising, as if to go, he says, with assumed careless-
ness :

" Very well ; if you won't help yourself and me, by
making a clean breast of it, things will have to take
their own course, and that man," indicating by a ges-
ture the photograph of Mr. Cobbe, " and that man will
be lo.st to you, as the husband of a certain lady in the
north-west end."

SflSBi

220

Squaring A ccoti n ts.

At this she is humble enough, her tears bursting
afresh.

" Oh, no, no ; I am just crazy to-night, that my
Phil is with her ; and I have been crying my eyes out,
because I daren't go up, because of you coming out to
make me tell on him ; oh, oh, oh."

" But can't you see, girl, that this is the only way
you will keep him to yourself, by telling what hold
you have on him. If you don't, as sure as you are
alive, he will marry yonder lady, and spurn you like a
worm under his heel," he said, with angry impatience.

"Oh, never ; oh, oh, oh, me ! I suppose 1 had best tell,
then." And going to the trunk, taking out a small box,
which she unlocks with a key, suspended by a ribbon
around her neck, she takes therefrom a few lines
written on half a sheet of paper, handing it to him.
It read :

"SiMCOE St., March 16.

" Dearest Love, — Be sure and be on time at the
Union Depot. It's all nonsense your asking me to
marry you before we start. It's not common sense of
you. The other women who want me would tear youi
pretty eyes out. No, Betty, my petty. I will marry
you when we get to Buffalo ; not before ; so do not
make me angry, when you ought to be the happiest
woman in Toronto at going away with your own

" Philip."

" Did he marry you ? " asked Blair, placing the
paper carefully in his pocket-book.

Coloring, as she hangs her head, she does not notice
his act.

" What's that to you ? " she said, doggedly.

" It's everything ; speak, or take the consequences."

" He didn't, then ; but he's not free to marry that

Sqii

laring Accounts.

221

hussy, since I have his writ promise, where is my
paper ? Give it me."

" Softly, softly, young woman ; I want him to do
right by you."

" But you'll only rouse the devil in him, sir ; and
he'll see me no more," she says, wringing her hands.

" Listen to reason, girl, I will borrow this paper, and
on my honor ; but pshaw, you won't credit me with
so scarce a commodity," he says, half aside. " Lend
me the letter until this time to-morrow, and here is
ten dollars; when I return it you shall have ten more."

"Not much; you bet, it shan't leave my eye-sight
for any money."

But after a weary talk she unwillingly consents ;
when he leaves the house.

During the next three days and nights Mr. Blair
was half beside himself with anxieties, doubts and
fears ; for Mr. Dale, even with the letter to Beatrice
Hill in his hand, could do nothing with Mr. Cobbe.
As mulish as the girl Hill, he refused to release Mrs.
Gower from her oath ; finally, in fiery wrath decla^ ig
there would be a heavy breach of promise case, did
she break faith.

The result was, that with the Dales, Pearl Villiers
and Mr. Cole, at Holranest, a busy week was spent.

Mrs. Gower telling Mr. Cobbe, since he would have
it so, she would wed him sometime or other, parting
with him at the foot of the altar, henceforth to meet
as strangers ; that but for his own acts, they would have
been friends ; but she could never forget all she had al-
ready suffered in nervous fear of the girl Hill.

And so, as rapidly as possible she prepares, as before
arranged, to leave Holmnest for some months. Charlie
Cole was to join his father at Jacksonville, Florida,
the following day ; Pearl Villiers and herself follow-
ing. The house to be left in care of the kitchen, the
Dales making it their home when in the city ; but in

222

Squaring A ccou n is.

a day or two, they would be most likely summoned
to New York on peremptory business for a few days.

Mrs. Dale and Mrs. Gower were amused in a sad
sort of way, for their thoughts were orravely set, on the
attitude taken by Mr. Cobbe. Still, it was a sort of
distraction to note the manner of each toward the other;
of Pearl Villiers and Charlie Cole, the latter demand-
inor, and the former seeming to think it her duty to
wait on him, humor him, go out for little sunlit
walks on the veranda with him, play his favorite
music, and endeavor to make up to him for her step-
sister's wicked a(5t, in coming between them.

" It's a rather dangerous game though, Elaine ; they
will trade hearts unconsciously."

" Yes, I have feared that, Ella ; God spare her from
that misery," she says, gravely, with hands pressed
to her own aching heart.

" Pearl," said Charlie Cole, as throwing away his
cane, he leans lightly on her arm, as they pace up and
down the sun- warm veranda, half an hour before the
hack arrives to convey him to the Union Depot, " Tell
me, Pearl, dear ; but for my wretched union with your
wicked step-sister, would you have married me will-
ingly, mark me, willingly ? " he says, probing her.

" I would," she says, truthfully, blushing vividly ;
•' but I don't think it's quite right to talk of it now,
Charlie, is it ? only, if we had known long ago when
we have met as strangers, Margaret might have been
spared this sin."

" How your eyes seemed to follow me, Pearl. Our
friend, Mrs. Gower, and myself have been the foot-ball
of circumstances, she used to have instantaneous photo-
graphs of Blair, and is doomed to Cobbe ; same fate as
mine."

" My heart is full of pity for you both, dear ; but try
and think of it as God's will, and it will come easier."

" I know all that ; but it's confoundedly hard that
those vultures should have it all their own way."

'Mair Sweet than I Can Tell!^

223

CHAPTER XXLX.

"MAIR SWEET THAN I CAN TELL."

N an evenincr at the close of February, wnerl
the mercury has risen so high that all nature
is in a melting mood; the snowy mantle of
winter disappearing fast on the warm bosom
of dear old mother earth, while Holmnest is
a very bower of love, a very haven of peace. Up-
stairs, downstairs, and in my lady's chamber, every-
thing is warm, home-like, sweet and fresh ; with
dreamy, turned down lights, showing the dainty sleep-
ing apartment of its mistress, with its blue and white
prevailing tints, its lace bed-spread and pillow shams ;
its pretty feminine adornments, with three or four
pictures, and a vase of fresh flowers giving life to its
repose. But we notice in the dim and shadowy light,
a something unusual, a something different, a new-
element in this, the bed-chamber of Elaine Gower ; a
something that makes the heart throb faster, and a
look of wonder, with a smile of content come to the
face, a something which gives a tone of strength, of
completeness to this bower of rest ; it is, that here and
there, one can dimly see a man's belongings, and one
remembers to have read, " it is not good for man to be
alone."

But ; and we start with fear, for the inaminate can-
not speak and tell us if Mr. Cobbe has had his way,
and those manly belongings are his ; if so, if so, alas !

But the kitchen says, no, as with a broad grin of
content it sits over the debris of a late dinner ; when,
at the tinkle, tinkle of the library bell, Thomas is
away like a flash ; we follow, peep in and see Mr.
Blair, reclining on a lounge, holding between his
fingers a cigarette; he forgets to smoke, a look of

L2i

^24

''Mair Sivcet than I Can Tc/ir

•'•1 <
,.-1

i'--"(

ineffable content and happiness on his manly face. He
has rolled the .sota over beside the Davenpoit, at which
sits his twin-.Npnit, the mistress of Holiiinest, who
is within easy reach of his hand, as she sits writinjjf.
She wears a <^own coiden r de rose, and is lookin«i; very
lovable, her face transti(,mred with quiet happiness.
As Thomas appears, slie says, in her sweet tones:

" No one is aware of our return, Thonias, so we
don't expect visitors ; but in any case, we are not at
home."

" Very well, ma'am."

" My bride of a week ; my ain wife, my other self,"
he says, his heart in his eyes, " bend down your sweet
face and kiss me." Holding her in a close embrace, he
says, " and so you are not sorry that a i^reat, rough
man like myself has crept into your bonnie Holmnest,
and stolen your heart ? "

" Nay, not stolen, dearest ; mine has been a willing
surrender ; and you must not call yourself names in
my hearing. Mine has been a very lonely life, especi-
ally of late years ; and you don't know how humble I
feel at this great happiness coming to me, or my rest-
ful content in leaning on this strong arm."

" There is one thing to be said for me, my own wife,
and that is, that no other woman has a real or fancied
riirht to lean on me. I have never been a flirting man,
for which I may thank my father and mother, who
aye were leal and true. What a picture they were in
fair Dunkeld, going down life's hill together ; he only
living after her to close her eyes. How I wish they
could have seen you, my other better self."

" Yes ; it would have given me great joy to have
met them ; your words of them remind me. Alec, of a
dear old couple who reside in our sweet Rosedale. A
day in their home is a living idyl ; to see his tender
care of her crossing the bridge into Bloor street, is a
life lesson ; I used to liken you and your w^ee lost wife

''Mair S-uurt than I Can Tdir

225

to them, dear. I must tell you of an incident that
attracted me to Mr Smyth more than years ot ac-
(luaintance. Prior to an illness of his wife, she had a
photo taken at Gagren and Eraser's. On her recovery
we were comparinj,' it with a previous one, when he
said, ' I like one I have better tlian either of them.'
His wife, lookinj,' amazed, said, ' What one, Will ? '
while I said, ' Show it to us.' He answered, " This
one,' encirclini; her in his arms."

" Only what he should have done, darling. Each
for the other, shall be our motto ; but must you write
Mrs. Dale to-nioht ? "

" Yes, dear ; just fancy how eager she must be to
hear, as they were called away so suddenly, and they
^are such faithful friends. Shall 1 hand you the even-
ing papers to look at while I write, dearest ? "

" No, thanks ; I shall look at my wife's face instead."

" HoLMNEST, Toronto,

" Feb. 28th, 1888.
" My Dear Ella,

" We only returned home to day ; but as we, with
Pearl, leave for Jacksonville on to-morrow, I must do
myself the pleasure of a one-sided written chat with
you to-night. My pre-arranged plan is to be carried
out ; but with what a light heart do I carry it out as
Elaine Blair— is it not a pretty name. But lest you
think me insane at my age, I shall not go into rap-
tures over my name, or my loving life companion, who
has given it me.

" I have so much to say, that I am in a quandary
what to begin with.

" The day after you left we went down quietly to
the early morning Lenten service, and at its close were
married by my good pastor, leaving the same day for
Niagara. You remember I used to say in jest, that to

226

*'Mair S-u'cef than I Can Tclir

make a marriage lefjal, we Torontonians iriust j^o
thither ! so Alec and 1 are fast bound ; tliank (iod for
His goodness. How little I dreamed of this two
weeks ago. Your good hushand has worked a miracle
in obtaining my release from Philip ; I cannot but
think I have been bou<iht out of that re'dmeiit; what
different colors I am under now ; poor Philip. His
letter to me, in freeing me, is so truly characteristic of
the man, that I shall amuse you with a line or two :

'" in releasing you from your oath to be

my wife, I repeat that you will long for me once and
forever ! I a:n sorry for you, Elaine, for I am the
only man to make you happy. If you marry that
cowardly fellow who lias run me out, take my advice,
and have the knot tied loosely in the States, for I pro-5
phesy you will want a divorce before a year has
elapsed ; and then, as I bear you no malice, you have
only got into bad hand^ ; send for me, even then, and
I shall give up every other woman admirer for

you ' Is it not typical of Philip? Poor

fellow ; he little dreams of my restful content at the
steadfast, manly heart I have won. He came in the
afternoon of the day you left; though, you are aware,
your husband had handed me his letter releasing me
the evening previous ; but he came to try and per-
suade me to destroy it, waxing eloquent over iiny folly,
and his regret for me and himself. Pretty Mrs. St.
Clair calling while he was here, tKoy left together. I
again thought how well matched they would have
been ; she amused me — but I fau st tell you.

" You remember, we read in a city newspaper that
a man suggested as a rabbit exterminator, fashion
should decree that the ears of the aforesaid animal
.should be used in some manner of feminine adorn-
ment ; but Mrs. St. Clair solved the problem of exter-
mination ; and if she and other leaders of fashion
push it, the rabbit is a doomed creature.

'Miiir Sweet than I Can Telir

227

" While the attention of Philip was momentarily
given to Mrs. Treniaine and Miss Hall, she purred.

'"Oh, Mrs. Gower, 1 do want a rabbit's paw more
than anything else in the world.'

" ' A rabbit's paw ! wliat for ? '

" ' To put my rouge on with, it's just the cutest thing
out, for that. Do you paint, Mrs. Gower?'

" I fancy I see your lip curl, and Alec asks me what
I am smiling at. I tell him above, on the rabbit; and
that mj^ smile is the reflection of the laugh in your
Iri.sh eyes. He says I don't punctuate often enough to
let him liiss me. Give me credit for a little sanity yet,
Ella, for I know how foolish this sounds ; but our
great happiness is so dazzling after our dark days of
despair, that I dare say we are a little daft

" And now, for a startling bit of news that I have
been trying to keep for the last — but it won't wait —
a telegram arrived here j-est'erday for Charlie Cole,
from Grand Central Hotel, New York City, from Mr.
Stone, running thus :

" ' C. Babbington-Cole, Esq.,

"'Your wife, Mrs. Cole, died suddenly of malignant
sore throat, on the twenty-fifth, and was buried same
evening.

"'Timothy Stone.'

" The first thing on our arrival this a.m.. Alec wired
the information to the Tremont Hotel, Jacksonville, to
Charlie. And so death has stepped iri, freeing him
from an unhappy union. Pearl is not as yet aware
of this ; but we shall tell her on her cominfr over from
the O'Sullivan's to-morrow. When we reach Jackson-
ville, she can procure the usual Vjlack robes.

" It appears that Mr. Stone has actually rented an
office here, in which he will carry on the real estate

228

'' Mair Sweet than I Can Teil."

business. We are informed that he and his late niece
lived liere some time ago, for a few years. A gentle-
man from the Grand Central, tells Mr. Smyth that
Mr. Stone boasts of his large and influential connection
here. And so. though some of our smart Central Bank
men have skipped the line, we gain one that caps them
all, in Timothy Stone.

" And now to a brighter theme, oar firm of Dale,
Buckingham & Blair, with my ain dearie as manager
of our Toronto branch. Graham »fe Graham tell Alec
the agreement is drawn. Will do business on the
square in mineral lands, and should get a bonus from
the city, for no one heretofore has known where to
place or purchase properties of this kind. And so we
had better set our chant to music, and sing to ' dream-
faces ' —

Oxideaof Iron 66-28

Silica. ..• 21-20

Alumina 3-70

Lime 5-04

Magnesia 2-19"

" Were you not glad to hear that Silas Jones is to be
in charge of the office while we are away, and head
clerk afterwards ? I tell you, Ella, dear, when I think
of winging our flight south together, thence to the
Old World, in which fair Dunkeld stands out the
brightest spot, i am half wild with joy. Barlow Cim-
berland, I am sure, thought me more than a little oflf
when we were in fcuying our tickets.

"I verily believe I am growing egotistical ;in all this
letter, who has been foremost — self ?

" Madame de Sevigne was right : ' One loves to talk
of one's self so much, that one never tires of tete-a-tete
with a lover for years. This is the reason a devotee
likes to be with her confessor ; it is for the pleasure of
talking of one's self — even though talking evil.'

" But should we meet at New York on our way

'' Mair Sweet tJian I Can Telir

2-29

south, I shall talk of nothing but your own dear
selves, and Pearl will brin^ you news of Garfield ;
whom, I feel sure, she has seen every day during your
absence.

" ThomRs and Bef]jonia (in days of yore, Bridget) will
have everything snug for you any day you come. All
our world seems so in couples linked, that though he
is but sixteen, and she forty, I shall not be surprised
to find them buckled, too.

" Times are changed, dear. I never even think of
chains, bolts, or shutters. No more nervous evenings ;
no more starts at the bell ; no more heart-aches ; but
arms leal and true to shield me, a heart fond and lov-
ing, all my own. Ella, Ella, with my faulty nature, I
ask myself, am I deserving of this great happiness?

" My dear husband is bending over me ; but lest you
deem him a flatterer, I must not tell you his words he
bids me tell you ; but no, he must say it himself. But
he has taken away the inkbottle, lest I burn the mid-
night oil. One says of Aspasia, writing in ancient
days of her Pericles, that ' happy is the man who
comes last.and alone, into the warm and secret foldings
of a letter.' And so the name of my dear husband,
Alec Blair, comes here, Ella, dear, and I say good-night
to you as he holds me in his "rms, his eyes, with love's
steadfast gaze, resting on my face.

"From your happy friend,

" Elaine,

" Who ip aflfectlonately and

" abundaiitly yours.

" To Mrs. Dale, c/o Henry Dale, Esq.,
" Hoffman House, New York City."