TBI BITUES.
Imetby filet one mora.
tr gol'U-n t t I I p. my own fair Una .
Thy iuuny nolle Mill gieot M 01 J or
On ery bind.
Ths lonif, grey, inwful mew
Ml welrtif drooi from whli moolla bloom;
Imlo U 't myrtle tod oreuge Ium
lbetrrichpwiume.
From lrrT )tmlne bowr
Bright buuimlugbird with radial plumigs
Tfcnd" g'MO Imtm, lb red pomegranate
floaer
Like Jewoli bwun.
with not of wild deliybt
Tb nv.lrg blid pur out fan Ihnlltni wd,
1 Uau tb wuipuurlll Ibio all U ulnhl
Hliwalli prolong.
Bat wllh whit tear-dlmmed eyes
1 m thy bird, tby fiiwem. o sweet "".f !
Keaibf l'd liht of tby blue lunbrlght iklei
8uiUinluo grey.
with howy bert I com.
'Ww.pliiK my bopei f irlorn mourning nf Wdi
oui worn ud id. bin toy southern h jme,
Youlb'ijoyiill (led.
Dear mother ! on thy breut.
Wntrtfd of toll wid otre, LlfVe Utnp bnrnt low.
L ami oniy more tbe It nder, poaoelul ret
Of long igo. Dlck'on.
A CLEFT MICK.
No. thuro was no doubt abont it; I
had drank a great deal more than wait
gxl for nie, as my aching bead and
parched mouth only top painfully
proved. It was not the lobster salad I
aeorued tlio deception; it waa the cbara
lane. I bad always maintuiued that
pir.nics wore a mistake, and now I waa
certain of it.
l)o not niisondorstaml me whon I aay
Eicnios are a mistake. Your roal, rural,
lf impromptu picnic with a few inti
mate friends in some pleasant spot, away
froni tlio huin-drum of every day life is
pleasant enough; but what I inveigh
gainst ia that Bet feast of Inxuriea, oon
, veyod iu a porfootly appointed luncheon
' bak.t to soma hackneyed foasting-pluoo
by "pampered menials," and in which
tho ouly variety from every-day luchoon
; ... l .!... It I Aiilun rt ii n nnnnm.
lortable position, instead of the ortho lox
oomfortablo one. And this had been the
aaa yesterday. Besides, the company
bod not beon to my tusto. Imagine a
ingle man, or, indued, any man, pio
nicking with three engaged oouplos.
Could (ho most oontentod of mortals
fcavo been happy under each eiroum
Uroes? True, there had been a fow odd mid
dloagod outsiders, but what of that?
Ah I whut indeed? And ni my memory
began to collect Its aoattcrod particles I
had more caue than ever to curse that
piooio
We hail been up the river, a patty of
twelve yes, that waa it and finding
that uo blaudislimonta on my part could
distract the course of true love of any
one of tlio thrco engaged misses from
their faithful swains, I had e'on boon
obliged to fall buck upon one of the
wM" members of the party. Urged on
my wild career by dosporution and fre
quent glasses of champagne, I had made
viniout love to a maiden lady of-well,
of u orttiin ao. Sue had been too
agreeable; thut was her only fault. What
might I not have committed myself to in
my ifforts to drown enuni! Who
know? Perhaps I had proposed to her.
Well, bIih had been very oharming, why
not? Groat hoavens! sho waa forty if
Mho wb a day, aud perhaps bahl-por-imp
sho was "made up." At least, I
ruML-mbor she appeared to possess a cer
tain amount of good looks, but how was
I to know that those dark lashos were
not tho result of antimony, those lan
Crushing glanoos, bulla donna; that
complexion, arscnio; thoso delicate
white hands, bismuth? and now, I re
membered that I had promised to call
upon ber. She lived at Kensington.
Happv thought; perhaps I had mislaid
her uddress. I jumped tiff my chair
with moro alaority than I had thought
pos'iblo, nd rummagod in my pockets
tor tlio card she had givon me. She
aid, with a bewitching smilo, that alio
waa unite 'sure I should forgot tho ad
dress unless I had that card.
No such luok, there it was, only too
palpable to the naked eye. I sat down
again to tho protouse of breakfast I had
boon muking during these reveries. An
unwelcome kuoex at tho door followod
by mowt nnwelooiue intruder, put an
abrupt cud to them.
"Hollo, Charlio, old man," exolaimed
my hated visitor, "how are you? Look
mmsU; boon up all night, or what?"
"Oh, go to tho deuoo," I answord
testily. ,
"Thuoks; you always were a hospital
kind of fellow, but I bad I ardly ex
rwoted so warm a rooeption as this. '
(I Hhonld not add that the spokesman
vaa my cousin, which tuay aocouut, per
haps, for the laok of ooreaiony between
no.)
"Woll, I toll yon what it is, Ralph, I
m awfully dow'n on my back, and dou't
want any of your chaff this morning."
"Oh, if it's a matter of a tiver or so,
whv did you uot say o before? You
know you may always count on me to
oliliw you at a pincii.
Homi. mvdiiar fellow, it ia not that
I mi a little off color, that's all. Don t
VOU Si'O "
"Whaw w, I thiuk I do seo nowl
A woman in tho ease, of oonrso. What
tut awful duffer I must have been not to
have seen it at 11 rat!
(How I hato the familiarity of rela
tionshiD which seems to arrogate to it
Jt tho right to pry into and expose all
one a personal affairs, liolieve me, rela
tions are u cret mistake. I felt at this
moment that I would gladly havo attend'
1 the execution of one and all of win3
There was the irovernor doar old man I
be alwavs took savage delightin toll-
mg me that I should live to' make fool
of myself one day, and there ia generally
abulf truth in wuat tho old roan ob
sMrves. but tbe susuicioa that disagrees
fcle home truths are true does not make
thrnn any the more paUUbla to lb re
cipient of them, uoea H7)
"Look here. Ilalph " I said. "I am
atoi in the hnmor for humbug this morn
tag, so let us drop the subject of
my appearance and its cause altogether
Uav you seen the coy?-'
"Yes, sw him just as he waa going
at for his mornina constitutional. lie
feokad 'fit' enough."
I winced at this overt dig at my ten
dor arot.
"Woll; suppose yon go downstairs and
caoke while I finish breakfast, and then
well tee how to past an hour or two
11 r tormentor was gone at last, thank
frlncw, but what was the torment of
ku presence to that of my own mind:
There was no getting out of it. I must
call upon my elderly cbaimer, and that
without delay. The longer matters were
put off the worse they would appear.
I went downstairs and fonnd ftalph
smokiag. Bah! I could not have smoked
this morning to have saved my life.
"I suppose you have nothing to do up
till luncheon time. Ralph? Will you
oome for a d rive? I Lave a morning oall
to pay."
"Thought so; but why wouldn't you
speak the truth at once? Who is she?"
"Time enough for you to know when
you've seen her," I answorod surlily.
"Will you come? ' I shall have to leave
you outside."
"All right, old man; anything to fur
ther the interests of a friond. I don't
mind playing Leporello to your Don
Juan for once."
We drove to Konsington. The bril
liant sun seemed to mock my gloomy
thoughts, and my spirits fell to zero aa
wo approached the house.
"Was Miss Damian at homo?"
"Yes, Miss Damian waa at home."
My last loophole of escape waa cloned.
I entered the house, and had not been
seated five minutes when the door
opoued, and a porfeot vision of loveliness
greeted my astonished gaze.
Picture to yourself the most beautiful
creature your eyos ever rostod upon, or
your imagination conjured up in the
form of woman, and apply the result to
tbe pretent case.
Her eyos, bor complexion, ber flgurel
But I will not attempt to describe them
for fear thoy should clash with your in
dividual ideal of beauty, and so dostroy
the illusion.
She could not have beon more tnan
nineteen or twonty. Was this my "eld
erly charmer" of yestorday? No there
must be somo mistake.
Tho vision came forward with a Ber
apbio smile of ill-disguised amusement
at my evident astonishment.
"Miss Damian?" I stammered.
"I am Miss Damian, Mibs fcthel Da
mi. m in mv ft ii n I'M bouse, aud mv aunt
desires me to express hor regret at being
unable to see you this morning. She
caught a alight cold on the river yestor
dav, but she hopes you will call again
very soon.
'1'l.ot viIkaI What can I liken it to in
ordor to convey an idea of its mellifluous
sound? All the old similes of nigbtin
gales and running water pale before such
porfootion.
I am .liilt.-T mun I am distressed be
yond measure or what an extremely
warm uay.
"You artnear to find it bo; I had
thought it rathor cool."
"What I moant to say was" i was pe-
inmlnn mnrn AnnfllKflil. and Btumbliuf?
deeper into difficulties at every step)
"what I meant to say was iuai l ouguiio
l, in,l.,lit.i,1 tn ulmnqt nnv ncaident
tuuvwvw. -- ,
which was tho moana of introducing me
to Miss Damian's nioce, although I had
no idea of cxproasing anything but ro-
grtit at iuiss Damian a uiness.
Oiil a'niniiHA. 'aeoiise:' so no more
oomplimonts to me at my aunt 'a expense
now cuil llie picuiu go uu; r'"
vented from going, unfortunately."
"It was UOllgnilUlI oaveu lurgivu
me for tho falsehood!) "Indeed, I am
in.1liijl to vour aunt for all tho pleas
ure I oxtraoted from it. Without hor it
would have been dull enough.
"Ah, my Aunt Barbara has been add
ing yot anothor viotiin to, her train of ad
mirers, I Beol''
" hut do you moanY wureiy
"Yes. it is mv naiuful duty to inform
vou that Aunt Barbara ia a coulirtuod
ilirt. Papa used to ssy that his sister
Barbara would ilirt with a pair of tongn
(.. inir f .invtliinis hnttor. and she has
iui . t.. i w . j o
cono on praotioiug her amiablo weak-
n .. . ! T 1 1 T I ...11
nt'SS tliroilgn 11I0. inueuu, x inv vuii
her that my timo is spant in loiiowing
hor around like a shoep dog to play pro
priety. Do not bo alarmed, sho means
nothing Herious. It is hor only foible.
VV.i i nin mn dh nttnched to one an
other, and she is always in all things my
very dear Aunt Barbara."
Tho charm of tho spoauer a tuannor en
tirely carriod off any sense of brnsquerio
that this uuconvontional declaration
tniht have other wiso impressed me witu.
'IM.a i.wi ..linn Iwiincr lirnkpn. I Silt on.
talking with my vision, quite oblivious
.... j . ...... l..ll.
to tho turoes Ot liupaiienoB mm imnu
J -1.1 t... f....Knfl. A.iti.ln tn IllA
hansom.
At last it was tune to go. "I may can
again, may I not?"
ii.iurt itn. nr Aiini iturunra win met
ereativ disiippoiutod at your lack ol
fealty to bur."
I loft tho liuuso over neaa ana esrB iu
l...... T l.n.l ln.in in lnvn mnnv timea bd-
fore; iu fai-t, I had always been falling
in love ever Binca j was unoou, nm iuu
:..... il.oca tn n.i doubt n.inut it.
V nu..,l I., nulr tvlmt limit f!llirlill."
- 1 I
cxoluimed K.ilpU, as 1 Douudoa mto me
hansom, lor Aocepiou is wruum iu
bug" capitals all ovor your iaoe.
if.iinii it in is an inon
"Ah! thov most of thorn are, T notice,
until they are married."
J deigned no reply totuis msuiiing re
mark, but drove tmcK iu sucnt ecstacy,
i..-l.i.r lt .lnl. to hi own meditations.
tui.o.'n - - ; "
ll.it mini atv.Kil IlilK ltd IUnilll llitl VI II IT
iju vivij .'ivi . rf -
bitter, and the reaotion of my miserable
. . . . I
position upon tlio last Olissnu umir was
harder to b.'ar than before. Why, it
waa rvor so much worsel Hero was I
pledged perhapa to tho aunt, while I ws
lesperateiy lu love wuu mo uieco. ro-
l... mnr.la tli.it hit vision bad
V HI I I'V I ...w " " " , '
nl(.n.1 r.nrarlina InT mint's foible, as
she termed it, but even this could not
offer any strong solace to me. uow
l.l ulio kiwiw tn lmt extent matters
bad eone? There was no help for it, I
must go to tiie governor nae me remrumi
n.iir1 i .1 nnnfoii mi ililnnima evon
at the rik of being called every epithet
riiinwiiv wi mo I'lmu ni r.j w.
. . .... . . I. 1
f.ii ' in iiih ptin.iNiTA TuxittuaiarT.
11 Mi'ttinir in tlta llhrtrv Tfnlt
Jia mam .111111. m " ' - ----
n (ntnlnr.lil nV Mnsation creeiiiDtf
over me, and an inexpressible desire to
got behind mysolt aa 1 openea too uoor
and walked, or rather edged, myself into
the room. All my courage waaooiiog
out at my finger tips like lion Aores .
ti, irMMMf ttiA matlnr was over the bet
ter for me, however, so I broke headlong
into my uumrostuu.
it flrat nt nnnrki the olJ man was
furiona. I always bad been fool, and
now I was going to commit tue greatest
folly of all, and tie niyeelf op to aome
woman old enough to be my mother, of
wkr.tn nnlisulv kn ftnvthinir and who.
" UWIU HWWU "J - - OI ' .
for all we could guess, might not be re
pcUble.M and so forth, in the usual
msnner of irate fatbera, when they have
. . . . . 1 ' : - . ..
got me wnip-oanuui moir cnuiwnn.
I bore it all meekly enough, and at
last calmed the explosion by throwing
my pelf upon bis raeroy and asking him
to help me out of tho fix. The ruse was
successful.
"We must boo my eldorly cbarmor to
gether: we had better call to morrow.
No? Well, the.i the next day, and he
would see what there was to bd done." '
And so ended the intorview between
tbe governor and myself. I felt relieved,
but I sould not feel at rest until this
dreaded call was over.
The governor was very good all that
day. He generally turn up trumps at a
crisis.
The next day after lunch be proposed
a sroll in the Row, as he said, to distract
my attention from this painful and ab
sorbing topio that engrossed it. .
We had beon walking up and down,
stopping now and then to groet some
passing friend, wbon I suddenly saw my
Vision before me. It could be no other;
there was not face among all the beau
ties present that could be compared
with, or be mistaken for, hers. She was
sitting tinder the shade of one of the
great elms, daintily dressed in some
diaphanous, croamy-white material, and
looking more bewitching than ever. And
that lady sitting beside her why that,
of oonrso. was she to whom I believed
myself engaged, my eldorly charmer.
In my self-accusing hour of remorse I
had done hor injustice. There was no
"make up" there. She was dressed in
good taste, as became bor age; any dis
interested person would have pronounced
ber a decidedly elegant womau, well
preserved for forty, if, indeod, sho were
as much, and with no jmall pretensions
to good looks.
1 started involuntarily and the gov
ernor observed it.
"Well, Charlie, what s amiss now?
"WIit " T answered, cro wine suddenly
BOirlot all over, "there she is!"
"Where?"
"floAi- fhoro nittlntr nnder that tree
and talking to that lovely girl in white."
"Now lor it, my boy; wirouuce me.
I walked forward and raisod my bat.
"Miss Damian "
"Oh, ho we have met sooner thau we
expected. Mr. Carew; accept my opolo-
gins for having a oold yesterday when
yon called, yet i can naraiy oiame tue
eold, for it was caught at the picnio and
is now gone, and ' bad it not
been for the picnio we
would not have met you and you
would not have called at all. I dare say
mv nninn did the honors for me better
than I should have done them myself."
All answer that I could make to this
was to look rapturously at Ethel, and
mumbled inarticulately to miss xjb-
mian.
There was certainly a touch of oo
mmtrv in Aunt. Barbara'a SDGCOb. but it
was tho permissable ooquotry, of a lady
who knew her position ana couiu mum
tain it.
I introduced the govornor by way of
my idiotio confusion, aud the conversa
tion booame genoral, or rather broke up
into twos, for I soleoted the vacant chair
next to Ethel, and left tho irovernor to
Miss Damian altogether.
You may not believe me, dm ic is per
fectly true that I forgot all about my
dniininm from the moment I plunged
into that heavenly tete-a totowith Ethel,
and wns oblivious ol all snrrouuuings.
At last my trance was brokou. iuiss
Damian loaned forward aud point
odlv addressed me.
"I am tolliug your father, Mr. Carew,
that he must clnnge places with you
and trive me a chance of renewing onr
pleasant acquaintance of the day before
yosterday.
The governor did not soem to have ex
erted himself muoh in my case; he was
beaming all ovor with an expression ol
i?r.iti(ieil vanitv. evidently not the result
of a battle fought in my favor.
I tore myself away from Ethel's side
and changed seats.
"Do you think I am going to lot my
preaux chevalier of the picuiu imagine he
is going to snoive mo in iuai easy iasu
ion 10-dny Had you a very bad head
ache yestorday morning, Mr. Carew? I
know you attacked that champagne a
great deal too sovereiy, nasty as 11 was,
but no matter; compliments aside, con
fiim tliut inni-ilinntttlv bored at tho feust.
and that you only fell back upoa mo as a
pis aller, pour passer le temps. r.u
gaged lovers are the most soltish crea
tlio world, certainly. No. VOU
wou't-will, thon, I shall keep you to
every word that you uttered to mo on
thut occasion. i,Uood ueavens, now h
tlinn T had urouostid to
" w o I ' a 4
her!) "Do you remembor all that passed
as vividly as do; II so, your ueau is a
stiouger one than most young men's of
yonr age.'
What in the world was sno driving at,
I woudorod had I proposed to her or
mitv Tf Mn tvliv ! iil r)ia adont this ma
ternal tone toward me (I was 25!) and if
aot, what did this occasional ooquotry of
manner portenuf
"llii von know. Mr. Carew. that al
though I have directed several remarks
to you, and asked you at least two very
tiliiin n nnstions within the last five min
utes, you have remainod absolutely
mute?"
What had been the uso of my intro
ilncinu the irovernor if this wastneauug
mira ii f dmbarmssment in which ho had
left me? lie had not even smoothed the
way for an explanation.
I collected my senses -there was no
iimiii. "Mina 1 human, l betran son-
.""... .. : r .
ously, "believe any in oi me mat you
please; perhaps tbe champagne was not
omul" fl h:ul not 8 toil ued to con-
aider the quality at the time); "but my
memory ia not so faulty as you imagine,
and at least accept my assurance that
anrtUiiiir I nttere.1 to vou the dav before
yesterday I am prepared to aland by
uow, and if the devotion of a life can '
She interrupted me with an incompre
hensible smile. "Ah, that is what yon
II nr lint how ran I rilo anv deoend-
"j . - - i r ,
ence on such expressions when you sens
the first opportunity to leave me for the
society ol my niece r a
"Miss Damian, believe mo"
Mr. Carew. I will believe noth
ins now. but see. your father is
going, and it is time for Ethel to be re
tnminir with ire. Good-bv for the rres
unl in.l if ion or ronr father eara for
for our society, come and lunch with us
one day next week.
II nr.. tti trnrnrnnr em nn in limn for
the invittlion, which he accepted with a
positive chuckle ot delight.
So I had committed myself and could
not now retract. Farewell, Ethel, my
vision of light, farewell to all my hopes
and drens for the future, henceforth
Father," I exolaimed, with a digni
fied sneer, as aoon as we were left alone,
"permit me to expresa my gratitude for
theable manner in whiohyou have bullied
me upon the most trying occasion of my
life." , ,
"Why, you young cub; you don t
know when you are well off. Miss Damian
is a perfectly charming woman. I had
no idea from your description that she
could be such a delightful creature.
'Made up,' indeed, you puppies of mod
erns soem to think that no woman who
has outgrown tbe follies of the school
room can retain a vestige of natural
beauty."
"Thank you," I replied, sullenly, "but
whatever Miss Damian'a preservative
qualities may be, I have no wish to
marry a woman old enoujru to bo my
mother."
"Yon hive only yourself to thank in
tbe matter, and must abide by the conse
quences. Don't blame me. As It hap
pens, you have done by accident
perhaps the wisest action in your life,
and selected a wife in every way fitted to
enhance yonr position and keep you out
of mischief."
1 cloarlv saw it was no uso to go on
arguing with the governor while be was
in this mood, so wuq a uaii-smoioareu
ejaculation, which was not a blessing, l
let the matter or op lor a time.
For Several days after this I wont
about with a Lang-dog expression which
seemod to cause no littlo amusement to
my. eousin Ralph, who was forever pop
ping in upon me and rallying me upon
mv uppearanoo in a mannor which he.no
doubt, thought very witty. I wonder I
did not kill Ralph when I look baok at
that time, lie richly deserved .
The irovernor and I bad accepted Miss
Damian's invitation to lunch for the fol
lowing- Wednesday. I waa rother at a
loss to understand his evident impatience
for the starting hoar to arrive as soon as
the day came round,
lie had disappeared unusually early
to make Ibis toilet, I thought, as I eat
.. .. 7 ii . i:i .,,.1,'n r..
SmOKlOg IU lUB uorury iuii luuuug ii
from comfortable at the prospect of this
lunoheon with my elderly botrothed.
While I was engaged iu mis manner,
the irovernor entered, dressed to a state
of discomfort that almost looked like
anticipating the wedding.
"Why. dad. 1 exoiaimou, - i nover
- . . i r , V
saw you look so young ueiorei xuu
seem to have cast off twenty years of
vour life with your old ooat, just like a
snake. Where did you get inai garuenia
from?"
'Nonsense, my boy. nonsense; there
is nothing unusual, I suppose, in making
one's self look respectable; but what are
von doinar here. Charlie, at this hour?
xou oucbt to ue reauy to start, auu ior
aroodnoss sake throw away that cigar
don t want to go to Alias jjamian s
recking of tobacco." (Tho governor
never used to object to tobacco at any
time of his life; he was an inveterate
smoker himself.)
It wants more than halt an nour to
the time. I replied, nonohalantiy; "no
hurry; wo shall be there quite soon
euongh.
"There, that s lust the way witu an
yon modern young mey; you ought to
be ashamed ol yourselves, wnen i was
vounor it was considered an atrocious
V . . i 1-1-
breacu 01 good manners to Keen a muv
waiting, but you youngsters are all so
stuck up in your own oonccit that I be
lieve it ia a part of religion to go lute
evervwhero for the satisfaction of cre
ating an excitemout, just like a parcel of
young misses, but 1 don t intena any
of these degeuerato habits to influence
me. Go and make yourself presentable
at once, and Tor hoaven s sake U30 some
eau de Cologne to banish that disgrace
ful odor of smoke sir Miss Damian's
ia not a pothouse."
I slunk upstairs without further parley
and made the necessary alterations in my
drcsa: then we drove off together to
Kensington.
Who shall say that acting is oniy no
nuirod by practice? I bolive Charles
Mathews himself could not nave scuooieu
his natural instincts to nffect a greater
air of polite emuressement than I man
agod to infuse into my greeting to Miss
Damian.
Aud Etbel Iwasobligod to command
my feelings still more severely with her,
oerhaos not anite so successfully, for I
felt the tell tale blush mount to my face,
and my baud trembled visibly as I
clasped her dainty fingers for the space
ol the orthodox few seoonus.
Luncheon was over. It had not gone
off so badly as I hud anticipated, all
things considered. The governor had
been more animated than I ever remem-
herad having seen him. and ho most con
siderably monopolized nearly a 1 Miss
Dam an a attontion dunug tue meai.
Now he bad. apparently with somo re
luctAnce. civen tip his seat next Miss
Damiau to me. We were sitting half
Hlniiiod bv a screen, aud Juthel was
making conversation in ber graceful man
n,r with the irovernor.
"Aud so I nm really to believe that
you hold to the declaration you mado to
" . . i ... u itr. n . -,..0'
me up me river msv ww, iur.
'Can you doubt me? Did I not repeat
it to vou in all earneatnesa in tue itow
only a fow days ago, Miss Damian?"
"You are a very cuivairous young
man, the apt pupil of a chivalrous father
I wonder if you mean all you say, ana
still more I wonder if yon distinctly re
member what you really did say at the
picnic I havo always bad my douuts on
that subioct.
"Mis JJarnian, do yon wisu me to re
peat it now?
"Certainly not, for I am sure you
ooold not if you tried; but to relieve you
of all further anxiety on the subject, I
will tell you, not all that you said, for
that would be to repeat too mucn good
humored nonsense, but the one itn
portant declaration which evidently
weiuhs so heavily upon your con
science."
"I am all attention."
"Well, you confided to me, of course
ia the strictest secrecy, that you never
ootid marry any woman if you though
she were capable ot consuming as much
lobster salad as any one of those three
voung ladies did. against whom you
seemed to bear such a fcrudge for re
fusing to flirt with yon in the Tery pres
ence of their "fiances." There, I thought
you would feel relieved, but it i a very
bad compliment to me to let it oe so ap
nimnL"
Good heavens! and was this all? Had I
hrnn makiuir mvself miserable and ob
jectionable to all my friends for tue past
week, and for nothing? Even my
habitual self control failed me now, and
the expression of delight on my cooct-
nance no doubt deservedly called forth
MUs Damian reproof.
I waa a free mau again, yet nonor lor-
ado mo to jump at the position too
"You cannot think," I said, "that this
littlo misunderstanding oan alter the re
lations between us?"
"Relations! what relations? I don t un
erstand you, Mr. Carew."
"Surely, you could not have mistaken
the nature of jay offer to you the other
day in the Row?'
r. . . .. .it mi at la
She burst into a little nt oi lauguier.
'Yon foolish boy. do you take me for an
ogress? Could you not see thut I was only
amusing myself ? I value the freedom of
my maidenhood a great deal too muon
to part with it so easily. An old maid I
am, and an old maid I mean to be to the
end of the chapter. Besides, de you
hink I have no eyes ? I am far too ex
perienced in reading 'the signs of love'
not to havo observed wbeie your heart
ia fix-'d, perhaps not without good
grounds." And the looked expressively
across tho room to wuere jjiuei was sit
ting. "Love at first sight is no such un
common occurrence after all, is it, Mr.
Carew?"
I raised her taper band and reverently
kissed it. "Miss Damian, you have
taught me a most gracious lesson, and I
hould be most ungrateiui not to prout
by it. Believe me this time when I as
sert that my allegiance to you is, in an
othor form, stronger than ever."
"That is well, and now go and talk to
Ethel, and leave ue to amuse your
father, that is more in the fitness of
things."
And I was in a delirium oi aongnc ior
the rest of the afternoon. What need to
say how often I called at the bouse in
Kensington after this? Indeed, I could
not, if I attempted, inoiign tuat i at
last "screwed my courage to the sticking
place" and obtainel the one word from
Etbel that was wanting to make my hap
piness complete.
Uur wedding took place in tue loiiow-
ing month, wuu tne usual orange
blossoms, white lace, fees and frippery.
Thut abominable Ralph was my grooms
man. The laugh was all on my side now,
and he has never to this day suspected
the real facts of the case, when be drove
with me to Kensington that morning
after the pionic, and waited oatside the
house in a hansom.
"Oh! Charlie." exclaimed my Ethel as
we started for Paris on onr wedding trip,
what a good thing it is yon married me,
for now I shall make such an excellent
chaperone for Aunt Barbara!"
When we returned to London, tbe old
governor was tbe first to greet us.
I could not make out what bud come
over bim, bo seemed embarrrssed, and
anxious to avoid meeting my eye, and
turned the conversation whenever it
touched upon Lome topics.
At last when we were aione ne came
up to me aud put his band shyly upon
my shoulder. "Charlie, my dear boy,
don't call your father an old fool, but
ou see the house was lonely after you
left it, and 1 had no companion to amuse
me in your absence, and so, and so in
fact, Charlie, Miss Damian is now Mrs.
Carew, and your stopmother."
"Bravo, governor!" I exclaimed, "and
a charming stepmother, too; accept my
best wishos.
So. vou see. Auut Barbara did not re
quire Ethel for a chaperoue after all!
Templo Uar.
F0BE10.1 NETTS. '
Fish dinnors are fashionable i0 En
land. 8
EluoatioD in England is estini.i
cost (11 per Load. .
few day i
mu .
xuo pun gave auuienco a
ago to WW ltuliau priests.
The French government bag plced
about 170 judges on the retirod list.
Tho United States exhibitors obtained
twenty-seven of tho 5223 awards at thg
Dutch exhibition.
One of the Marquis Tseng's disput.
to the Chinese government is said to
cost 825,000. a've
Insomepaits of Russia it ii believed
that if the bride tastes the cake on the
eve of the wedding ber husband will not
love ber.
Paris bonnets are now provided with a
mansard, in which is stored the knot or
coil into which tbe hair is twisted on tlit
top of the head.
Parie is to be delighted by bull fights
after the Spanish fashion. The director
of the hippodrome has imported a party
of bull fighters from Madrid.
The Empress of Russia has just or
dered a cloak of sablo fur trimmed with
gold and enriched with precious stones
the whole oost boing placed at $13,000.
The Mongols have at last iavdaed
Paris. A Chinese restaurant has been
established there, at whioh one may
feast on dessioatod eggs and bird's nest
soup. '
Millocker's operetta, "The Beggar
Student," is fast approaching its three
hundredth night iu Berlin. It has si
ready yielded the composer a profit ot
50,000 florins.
Queen Marguerite of Italy, was re
oently so courteous to a westerner who
was presented to her that the latter now
calls her a "democratio daisy." The
power of compliment could no further go.
Profegsor Huxley, on hearing recently
that there were many new houses in the
best part of London which bad no con
nection with the main sewer, remarked
that be hoped the London sanitary pro
tective association might soon obtain
power from parliament to hang a few
builders.
At Deptford, England, the other day.
when a coroner was about to swears
jury, be opened a book which was (ap
plied by the landlord of tbe tavern at
which the inquest was held, and discov
ered that, instead of tbe New Testament,
it was a copy of "lristiam Shandy." It
was some time before a copy of tbe right
book could be found.
A Religious Vandcrbilt.
A Moody and Sankey hymn, rousingly
and melodiously sung, stopped me along
side of tho Grand Central depot. There
waa a noisy baugmg of baggage on tue
sidewalk, where a wagon was being un
loaded of trunks with reckless celerity;
street cars were rattling past, travelers
ware making a train time hubbub; but
the devotional vocalism made itself heard
over all opposition. A brief investiga
tion enabled me to locate it under
ground. Descending by a stone stairway,
between ono that led to a oaruer suup
and other that was the entrance to a
restaurant, I was astonished to nnd my-
solf in a churoh right under the big rail
road station. It was of a size to aooom
modaft two or three hundred persons. A
platform held a lecturn and a cabinet
organ. The walls were neatly frescoed in
an ecclesiastical style, and an inscrip
tion said "Live in deeds, not years.
The floor was carpeted and the pews
were in walnut. Altogether it was a
handsomo plaoe of worship, and the con
gregation was correspondingly good
looking, though evidently containing a
wide range of financial conditions. It
. i -i i .
wns auouc eveniv amueu aa iu oeca
Young fellows and girls in clothes that
foil a little short of prima fashionable
ness, or if cut just right were mado of
cheap material, were in a ueciueuiy
siL'htlv predominance, in a Iront seat
ware a row of contrastingly dressed per
.. i
sons, tuougu tneir ricuness oi uppurei
waa all in auite good tasto. Iu tlicir
midst was a bearded, ordinary man of
nearly forty, to judge by appearances. I
recognized bim as Cornelius Vanderbilt,
tte eldest sou of William H. Van
derbilt. His preseuce was nothing un
usual. That cellar ehuich is his own.
Cornelius is a Presbyterian, with strong
indications of dovoutness. Religion is
not plentiful in the Vanderbilt family,
and he has nearly all there is of it. Ho
believes that it is wicked to ruu trains on
Sunday, but has made no progress in
bringing his latuer to mat way oi tuina-
inc. tr ailing in bis etiorts to uuristianize
travol on the Vanderbilt linea, he con
cluded that the next best thing to closing
the Grand Central depot on the Sabbath
was to open a church in it. imam a.
readilv gave bim a cellar, and this be
fitted no in the manner described. It
was a prayer meeting that I went to. A
girl of fourteen kept the singing well to
gether by ber clever use of the organ,
and I have seldom heard revival bymns
more inspiringly rendered. Much less
confident and telling were tbe words of a
young minister, who made tbe only con
siderable address. He told ns that he
was from Kentucky, and all that was
pertinent to tbe Vanderbilta in what he
aid waa that Christ did not come to the
rich and powerf al, but to the poor and
lowly. He thanked God for that
Whether it was tbe boldness of such an
utterance in a Vanderbilt'a church or
whether merely ordinary fervor dis
tracted bis mind from temporal sur
roundings, it is certain that he lost sight
of the platform's limits and inadvertent
ly stepped off the edge, nearly jerking
his head off bis shoulders by the sudden
change of aix inches in his level. New
York Letter to the Albany Journal.
Just for a Joke.
Philadelphia ladios are learning boss
ball. One of thorn has caught her hus
band out several times already.
Statistics show that triplets occur only
once in V.JUU birtiis. lue jttocnester
Post-Express imagines that a poor nua
with 6,'J'Jy children might feel very un
easy.
A Boston housemaid, who, about to
leave unexpectedly, was urged to givo a
reason for it, simply said: I can't stay,
the young ladies speak such bad grain-mar.
Teacher: Define the word excavate."
Scholar: "It means to hollow out.
Teacher: "Construct a sentence in which
the word is properly used. Scholar:
"The baby excavates when it gets hurt."
"Did you notice the aesthetic appear-
ance of Miss uiuaignsu. Auiyr asxeu
the high school girl. "I noticed a pim
ple on her nose," replied Amy, hut I
didn't know the dictionary word for it."
"What are you going to do when you
grow up it you don t Know uow 10
cipher?" asked a teacher of a slow boy.
"I'm going to be a school teachor and
make the boys do the ciphering," was
the reply.
"Mamma," said Harry, "whats the
difference between goose and geese
Why. don't you know?" said four year
old Annie; "one geese is gooso, audi
whole lot of gooses is geese.
"Why. Smith, what a dreadful state of
intoxication you are inl" "This a dreful
state of 'toxication? Just oughtor seen
me th'other night. This's only a ter
"tory."
CtU crfiiit "Ah. Mrs. B.. did J0U
keep a diary during your visit to the
country?" Mrs. B., indignantly ao.
sir, Ididn t. The family bougui uw
from the neighbors."
It was on the piazza of the Grand
Union, Saratoga: "How beautifully that
woman sings," said one ladv to another,
who was in gorgeous attire and blazing
with diemouds. "Is she a mezzo-soprano?
' "No. I guess not. I think she
is a Swede," leplied the other.
A minister hearing a boy saying,
"Bother those mosquitoes," reproved
him, saving that like all other creatures
they wV- doubtless made for some good
end. " diat iu iy be," saiJ the hoy, "but
I don'i like tiio end that I f l t aDT
rate."
"Dear me!" cried Mrs. Blossom, as
she laid dowu the paper, "it does seem
to too : if tliosi state militia fell )1 re
alway- iu troub'.o. He e's an account ol
a recent inspection where the company
turned out fifty-three men. Too bad,
ain't it."
"No," said Mrs. Shoddy, "I don't care
so much because I never had any chil
dren; I never liked children you kno.
But I should like to have one, so that 1
could have a nurse in a lsoe cap to take
care of it when I go to the sea shore.
It's bo stylish, yon kuow."
Ckdab Distbict, NaviDi. A new
mining district haa recently boon organ
ized in tbe Antelope range of mountains,
about eighteen miles from the Humboldt
House, and named Cedar District. Xears
ago rich float rock was fonnd io that sec
tion, but nothing was done towards fol
lowing it np or prospecting the range
This summer Jehial Smith found soma
galeoa ore partly oxidised near the blun.
which led bim to prospect for a mine.
He succeeded in finding a body of galena
ore twenty feet wide, and carrying Ircm
cinntnftiflO In silver to the ton.
has been at work for aome weeks pros
pecting his find, and be is of the opinion
ihat it is one of the largest bodies of ore
ever found in the state. The mine . is
about two mile, frm Bi Anient
Springs, in a range of mountains heTi
covered with cedar timber, and frc
which the district darW w "
Wwnemusc Silver State.