Look, thou substantial spirit of content!

Across this little vale, thy continent,

To where, beyond the mouldering mill,

Yon old deserted Georgian hill

Bares to the sun his piteous aged crest

And seamy breast,

By restless-hearted children left to lie

Untended there beneath the heedless sky,

As barbarous folk expose their old to die.

Upon that generous swelling side,

Now scarified

By keen neglect, and all unfurrowed save

By gullies red as lash-marks on a slave,

Dwelt one I knew of old, who played at toil,

And dreamed himself a tiller of the soil.

Scorning the slow reward of patient grain,

He sowed his soul with hopes of swifter gain,

Then sat him down and waited for the rain.

He sailed in borrowed ships of usury--

foolish Jason on a treacherous sea,

Seeking the Fleece and finding misery.

Lulled by smooth-rippling loans, in idle trance

He lay, content that unthrift Circumstance

Should plough for him the stony field of Chance.

Yea, gathering crops whose worth no man might tell,

He staked his life on a game of Buy-and-Sell,

And turned each field into a gambler's hell.

Aye, as each year began,

My farmer to the neighboring city ran,

Passed with a mournful anxious face

Into the banker's inner place;

Parleyed, excused, pleaded for longer grace,

Railed at the drought, the worm, the rust, the grass,

Protested ne'er again 'twould come to pass

Such troops of ills his labors should harass;

Politely swallowed searching questions rude,

And kissed the dust to melt his Dives's mood.

At last, small loans by pledges great renewed,

He issues smiling from the fatal door,

And buys with lavish hand his yearly store

Till his small borrowings will yield no more.

Aye, as each year declined,

With bitter heart and ever-brooding mind

He mourned his fate unkind.

In dust, in rain, with might and main,

He nursed his cotton, cursed his grain,

Fretted for news that made him fret again,

Snatched at each telegram of Future Sale,

And thrilled with Bulls' or Bears' alternate wail--

In hope or fear alike for ever pale.

And thus from year to year, through hope and fear,

With many a curse and many a secret tear,

Striving in vain his cloud of debt to clear,

At last

He woke to find his foolish dreaming past,

Beheld his best-of-life the easy prey

Of quacks and scamps, and all the vile array

That line the way,

From thieving statesman down to petty knave;

Yea, saw himself, for all his bragging brave,

A gamester's catspaw and a banker's slave.

Then, worn and gray, and sick with deep unrest,

He fled away into the oblivious West,

Unmourned, unblest.

Old hill! old hill! thou gashed and hairy Lear

Whom the divine Cordelia of the year,

E'en pitying Spring, will vainly strive to cheer--

King, but too poor for any man to own,

Discrowned, undaughtered and alone,

Yet shall the great God turn thy fate,

And bring thee back into thy monarch's state

And majesty immaculate;

So, through hot waverings of the August morn,

A vision of great treasuries of corn

Thou bearest in thy vasty sides forlorn,

For largesse to some future bolder heart

That manfully shall take thy part,

And tend thee,

And defend thee,

With antique sinew and with modern art.

SIDNEY LANIER.

GENTLEMAN DICK.

They had, all of them, nicknames themselves, for in a Colorado

mining-community it was not difficult to acquire a title, and they

called him Gentleman Dick. It was rather an odd name, to be sure, but it

was very expressive, and conveyed much of the prevailing opinion and

estimate of its owner. They laughed when he expressed a desire to join

the party in Denver, and Old Platte looked at his long, delicate hands,

so like a woman's, with a smile of rough, good-humored pity, mingled,

perhaps, with a shade of contempt for the habits and occupation that had

engendered such apparent effeminacy. But he pleaded so earnestly and

talked with such quiet energy and confidence of what he could and would

do, and moreover had about him so much of that spirit of subdued

_bonhomie_ that always captivates the roughest of the rough, that

they relented, took his money and put it in the "pot," and informed him

that he was one of them. Their decision was not altogether unconnected

with the fact that he had given evidence of considerable surgical skill

in his treatment of Mr. Woods, more familiarly known as "Short-card

William," who had been shot a week or so previously over a game of poker

by an independent bull-whacker whom he had attempted to defraud. The

sense of the community had sustained the act; and while the exhibition

of his skill in dealing was universally condemned as having been

indiscreet under the circumstances, still he was accounted a live man

among them, and the discovery of a surgeon to dress his wound was hailed

with a somewhat general feeling of relief. Had it not been for the fact

that the sobriquet of Gentleman Dick was already conferred and accepted

universally as his name, he certainly would not have escaped that of

"Doctor," and as it was, Mr. Woods, who was profuse as well as profane

in his gratitude, insisted upon so calling him. A doctor, or anything

bearing even a resemblance to a member of that sadly-represented

profession, was regarded with a certain degree of reverence among a

community whose peculiar habits often gave rise to pressing and

immediate need of surgical attendance. Consequently, Gentleman Dick

rapidly attained an elevated position in their regard, and became a

great favorite with Old Platte's party, although they still looked

doubtfully at his slender figure and felt "kind o' bothered" by the air

of gentility and good-breeding which hung around him in spite of the

rough miner's garments that he had chosen to assume. By the time they

left Denver for the Blue he was deemed as indispensable to the company

as Old Platte himself.

* * * * *

The forest of dark pines and firs that covered both sides of the valley

of the Blue grew down to the bars of the river, which along its banks

was thickly grown with wild gooseberry and raspberry bushes, and piled

up here and there with great tangled heaps of driftwood which the spring

floods brought down and left in masses of inextricable confusion along

its sides. Back a little distance from one of these sandy flats, and

nestled right in the shadow of the forest's edge, they built a long

rough cabin early in June. In summer-time the spot was a wild and

picturesque one. Green and luxuriant vegetation made a soft and

brilliant carpet at the feet of the stately old pines; huge boulder-like

rocks, their edges softened and rounded in the grasp of one of Agassiz'

pre-Adamite glaciers that had ground its icy way down from the melting

snow-caps above--rocks covered with bright lichens and tufts of moss---

lay piled on one another at the foot of the steep mountain-side; while

gnarled cedars twisted around about them, their rough red roots twining

here and there in search of sustenance. Below the cabin a little way lay

the bar--Chihuahua Bar they had christened it, out of deference to

"Jones of Chihuahua," whose prospecting-pan had developed the fact that

gold in promising quantities lay beneath it--and a little farther on the

Blue sang merrily in its gravelly bed. Down the river, about two miles,

was Blue Bar, where about two hundred miners had formed a settlement,

and where a red-headed Scotchman, who combined the duties of a

self-constituted postmaster with the dispensation of a villainous

article of whisky, kept a lively grocery and provision store.

During the early part of the season they had prospected up along the

river, finding gold all the way, but not in quantities sufficiently

large to warrant working. At the place, however, which they subsequently

named Chihuahua (pronounced in the vernacular Chee-waw-waw) the

perspicacious Jones had given it as his opinion, formed after mature

deliberation and a sapient examination of some two or three shovelsful

of dirt, that there was a satisfactory "color in that ar bank." Some

hard work of about a week demonstrated that there were excellent

diggings there, and then work was commenced upon it in good earnest. The

cabin was built, Gentleman Dick's choice of location being unanimously

approved; two or three trips were made across the "Range" to the nearest

settlement for materials and provisions; and then the real labor began.

As they cut through the heavy bank of mould and gravel, gradually eating

a long trench to the bed-rock, prospects grew better and better. At

last, one day a narrow ledge of brittle, shaly rock came in view,

covered with a coating of thick, heavy yellow mud, of which Old Platte

gathered a panful and betook himself down to the river-side. A war-whoop

from the direction in which he had disappeared came ringing through the

gooseberry bushes to their ears, and with a responsive yell and a

simultaneous dropping of shovels and picks they all dashed off to his

side. He was discovered in a condition of great excitement, dancing

wildly round the pan, in the bottom of which about half a teaspoonful

of coarse yellow nuggets were shining among the black sand. It was a

grand prospect, and with the exception of Gentleman Dick, whose

exultation was of a very mild and reserved order, the proprietors of the

Chihuahua Claim behaved in a very undignified and unseemly way; Thompson

and Jones organizing an impromptu sparring-match, and Old Platte

standing indecorously on his head in a neighboring clump of bushes.

Sundry war-whoops and divers indications of activity showed that work of

a very lively and energetic character was being prosecuted that

afternoon on the bar; and when the sun sunk to rest behind the purple

mountains, and the blue mists of evening rose in the valley, they had

their sluice-boxes and "riffles" in order, and were ready to commence

washing at sunrise.

It did not take very long to clean the ledge, and early in the afternoon

the water was shut off. When it was found that the "riffles" yielded

thirteen ounces of gold that would coin eighteen dollars and a half to

the ounce, a firm conviction seemed to settle upon the camp that this

was an occasion which it would be improper to pass over without a

thorough and practical acknowledgment of its importance in the shape of

a regular celebration. The gold was weighed and divided, all sitting in

a circle in the middle of the cabin floor, while Old Platte officiated

at the scales with all the gravity and dignity which the responsible

position called for.

Mr. McNab's grocery and post-office at Blue Bar was the scene of much

excitement and noisy revelry that evening and all the next day while the

gold lasted. Miners who had heard of the Chihuahua "streak" flocked up

to Blue Bar to get the particulars, and naturally joined in the general

feeling of exultation and hilarity that seemed to pervade that

community. Old Platte got terribly drunk, and Thompson and Jones

developed the strangest eccentricities of gait, manner and speech, and

finally subsided into a deep slumber in the dust and sand of the main

thoroughfare of the Bar. Gentleman Dick's absence from the festivities

was not noticed that evening, but the next day Thompson, who seemed to

feel aggrieved on the subject, announced his intention of going up to

Chihuahua to fetch him down. He left Mr. McNab's on his charitable

mission armed with a bottle of rum, and proceeded up the creek in a

condition of moderate intoxication. That he was somewhat sobered on his

arrival at the cabin was perhaps due to the fact that the cork was fixed

very firmly in the neck of his bottle: at any rate, he did not ask his

friend to drink when he found him.

Gentleman Dick had just directed and sealed a letter, and was about to

start for the settlement of Gold Dirt, when Thompson loomed up

unsteadily in the doorway, surveyed him inquiringly for a moment and

asked undecidedly and apologetically, "Wass' up? W'ere you goin'?"

Gentleman Dick, apparently overlooking his somewhat dubious condition,

told him he had been writing a letter to some one who lived in the

States: he was going to Gold Dirt to mail it, and a ring of Blue Creek

gold was to accompany it to its destination. Thompson said no more, but

stood there in the doorway with McNab's rum under his arm. He did not

stir, nor did he seem to notice the "good-bye" that came down the

winding trail through the pines, but remained there stolid and

immovable, gazing vacantly at the writing-paper on the rough table.

Suddenly he straightened himself up to his full height, and taking the

bottle from under his arm, held it out at arm's length and apostrophized

it in terms which Mr. McNab would have regarded as a personal insult,

and which the community on the Blue might possibly have resented with a

challenge to mortal combat. His next step, had they witnessed it, would

certainly have led to the conclusion that he was a dangerous lunatic,

and one, at that, whose peculiar madness was of a kind specially

objectionable to the residents of Blue Bar. He placed the object toward

which his feelings had undergone so sudden a revulsion carefully on the

ground, and seizing in his hands a huge boulder, he proceeded to let it

drop accurately upon it. He oscillated critically over the fragments, as

if to assure himself that the result had been satisfactorily attained,

and then strode rapidly and unsteadily into the forest. How such unsound

principles of economy came to be adopted by him never very clearly

appeared; and the problem of his absence from camp for two whole days,

and his subsequent reform upon the subject of whisky, were matters very

freely discussed at McNab's hut, without any definite or reliable result

being arrived at.

* * * * *

Summer had melted imperceptibly into autumn; and the bright tints that

glittered on the mountain-slopes and through the sturdy undergrowth of

the forest told that it in its turn was soon to give way to winter.

Chihuahua Bar was piled with great heaps of boulders and gravel,

furrowed here and there with deep ditches and trenches, and otherwise

gave ample evidence of the hard work that had been done. But, as Old

Platte, remarked, "The luck was down on them," and the partners had very

little to show for their long months of toil. Gentleman Dick had worked

as hard and earnestly as the others, and had never been known to utter a

word of complaint through the many hardships and mishaps they endured.

But a great change had come over him. No one who saw him when he joined

the party in Denver would have ventured to call him strong or robust,

but, delicate as he was then, he was now a mere shadow by comparison.

The change had been more marked and rapid during the last few weeks. He

had seemed to fade gradually away, growing daily weaker and weaker,

until at last a knowledge of his increasing debility forced itself upon

the not very observant faculties of his companions--coming rather as a

sense of indefinable uneasiness on his behalf than any actual

apprehension of his real condition. His great expressive eyes shone out

with an unnatural brilliancy from his pale, sunken cheeks, and a deeper

shade of melancholy seemed settling on his naturally thoughtful face.

Thompson probably noticed it more than anybody else, but said nothing,

while Old Platte and Jones exchanged ideas on the subject with a sort of

puzzled anxiety, mingled, it might be, with some genuine alarm. They

noticed that the work began to fatigue him more and more, and that he

often had to pause in the middle of it weary and exhausted.

At last, one day, about the first of November, he remained in his bunk

in the cabin, unable to come down to the claim. In their rough, uncouth

way they pitied him, and would have given anything they could command to

be able to relieve him. But they seemed instinctively to feel that his

case was something out of their reach, and with the exception of a weak

suggestion from Jones, that he should try some of "them ar antibilious

pills as he had in his box," no course of medical treatment was

contemplated. Besides, was he not himself a doctor? and if he could do

nothing, what should they be able to effect? The argument was

sufficiently conclusive; at least, Jones accepted it as such, and

retired in some confusion, comforting himself by the perusal of the

label on his box of pills, which really seemed to justify the suggestion

he had made. Twice after this, on days when the warm sunshine tempted

him out of doors, he came down to the claim and sat by the wheel and

watched them working; but he never did any more work. He did not tell

them he could not do it, or complain that he was too weak: it was

tacitly understood that his share of the season's labor was over.

About the middle of November the winter stepped in in its sudden way and

commenced to take possession of the valley of the Blue, and by the first

of December the ice was so thick that the partners reluctantly stopped

work. "Jones of Chihuahua" had expressed his determination of going

south to Santa Fé, to stay until spring among the "Greasers," but Old

Platte and Thompson would stay on the Blue for the winter, and to that

end had laid in such provisions as were deemed necessary. The settlement

below on the Bar had been abandoned early in November; and it was

doubtful if a white man besides themselves could be found by its waters

any nearer than the end of the Great Cañon of the Rio Colorado. But they

cared very little for that, and looked forward to their voluntary

hibernation without any feeling of apprehension on the score of

loneliness. Both were hardy mountaineers. Thompson had been the first

man that ever performed the feat of crossing the range at Grey's Peak in

the middle of winter, with the aid of a pair of snow-shoes; and he and

Old Platte knew that if their provisions gave out they could readily

reach some of the Clear Creek diggings in the same way. So Jones

strapped his belt of gold-dust around his waist and prepared to depart.

He shook hands with the partners, and when Gentleman Dick, with a forced

cheeriness of manner and with wishes for a pleasant winter in New

Mexico, remarked, "Next spring the boys will give you a third of my

share, Jones," he stoutly and earnestly repudiated the implied idea, but

with a confusion and uncertainty of manner that indicated a serious

doubt in the soundness of his own assertions.

Gentleman Dick released the big hand as he lay in his blankets, and said

for the last time, "Good-bye, Jones."

"Good-bye, old man."

Jones strode away abruptly on his journey, and if the moisture about his

eyes was in excess of what was required in their normal condition, it

was probably due to the bracing and biting frostiness of the morning

air.

And so they resigned themselves to their winter's prison on the

Blue--Old Platte stolidly and contentedly, Thompson uneasily and

restlessly, and Gentleman Dick peacefully and calmly, knowing full well

that spring would never bloom again for him. Thus the December days flew

by, growing colder and colder, and the snow-line crept gradually down

the slopes of the range until it reached the edge of the timber, where

it seemed to pause for a few days in its advance. It had already snowed

several times in the valley, and the afternoon sun had always melted it

away; but they knew by experience that it would soon come down in good

earnest and cover everything up for the winter in a mantle of snow some

six or seven feet deep. And as the days sped on Gentleman Dick grew

paler and paler, and his bright eyes shone with a brighter lustre, while

he seemed to be gradually slipping away, losing little by little his

hold upon life. He was a mystery to his companions, for he had no

disease that could be detected, and why he should sink thus without any

apparent cause was more than they could understand.

* * * * *

The wind came roaring down the cañon in wild, fierce gusts; the dead,

frost-hardened, brittle branches of the sturdy old pines rattled and

cracked and broke as it swept by laden with glittering crystals, stolen

from the range above, where it circled madly around the snowy peaks, and

whirled away great winding-sheets of snow--fine, sleety snow, that

filled the atmosphere with sharp prickly needles, that made their way

inside Old Platte's rough woolen shirt as he chopped away at the

woodpile, and made him shiver as they melted down his back. Everything

was frozen hard and fast; the Blue was silent in its bed; stones and

sticks adhered to the ground as if part and parcel of it, and each piece

of wood in the pile that Old Platte was working at stood stiffly and

firmly in its place. The wind, just before a snow-storm, always comes

down the cañons in fierce premonitory gusts, and as it was desirable to

get in a good stock of wood before the snow-drifts gathered around the

cabin, Old Platte had been hacking manfully for some hours. The sun sunk

low in the hollow of the hills to the westward while he was still

working, and lit up with a cold yellow glare the snowy wastes and icy

peaks of the mighty mountains that stood guard over the Blue. The

whistling of the wind among the pines died gradually away, and the

silence that seemed to fall with the deepening shadows was only broken

by the ringing strokes of the axe and the crack of the splitting wood.

When he ceased the valley had faded into darkness, and the range with

its sharp outlines was only faintly discernible against the sombre gray

pall that had overspread the sky.

He made a broad stack of logs by the fireplace and a larger one outside

the door, and then stood by the threshold to take a look at the weather.

A great soft feather of snow came sailing slowly down and nestled in his

shaggy beard, and another fluttered on to the back of his hand. He

looked up through the darkness and saw that it was already beginning to

fall thickly, and then, with a self-satisfied glance of approval at his

provident woodpile, went into the cabin and fastened the door.

Thompson had shot a fine argal or Rocky Mountain sheep that morning, and

the broiled steaks were giving forth a most acceptable odor. He had

tried to get Gentleman Dick to taste of a choice piece, but he shook his

head wearily, as he had every time for some two weeks or more when

proffered food. He could eat nothing, and lay there propped up on rough

pillows, seeming scarcely conscious of their presence; his dreamy eyes,

with lids half drooping, looking fixedly into the blazing fire. Even the

coffee, civilized as it was by the addition of some patent condensed

milk, and upon the manufacture of which Thompson had prided himself not

a little, stood untouched by his bedside. Old Platte lit his pipe and

dragged his three-legged stool into a corner of the wide chimney, and

Thompson, after moving the things away to a corner, sat down opposite,

mending his snow-shoes with a bundle of buckskin thongs. They did not

talk much in that family of evenings: men of this class are not

conversational in their habits, and a stranger who should look in would

be apt to think them an unsocial set. Old Platte puffed steadily at his

pipe, blinking and winking at the fire, which he poked occasionally with

a stick or fed with a log of wood from the pile by his side. Thompson

worked quietly with knife and awl at his dilapidated shoes, and the

pale, patient face beyond still gazed dreamily into the fire. There were

old scenes, doubtless, in among those burning logs--old familiar faces,

dear memories of the past and weird fantastic visions pictured in the

glowing coals. At last the eyes left the fire for a moment, resting on

the two that sat by it, and he said, "Boys, it's Christmas Eve."

Thompson started, for he had not heard him speak with so much energy for

weeks.

"Christmas Eve!" he repeated absently. "Christmas Eve, and to-morrow

will be Christmas Day. Last Christmas was not like this: all was bright

and fair, and she--"

The rest of the sentence was lost as he muttered it uneasily to himself

and resumed his watching of the fire. Christmas Eve! So it was, but they

had not thought of it. Christmas Eve! The name seemed out of place among

those rocky fastnesses. What could the pines and the solitude, the snow

and the ice, have in common with Christmas? Christmas Eve down in that

desolate valley, in the quiet depths of the forest, away, miles away,

from human habitation of any kind? Christmas Eve! It seemed absurd, but

Christmas Eve it was nevertheless, there as everywhere else.

Old Platte took his blackened old pipe from between his lips and

mechanically repeated the words. "Christmas Eve!" he half growled, as if

some perplexing ideas had been called into existence by the suggestion,

and his pipe went out as he listlessly shoved some stray coals back into

the fire with his foot. But his meditations, to judge from his

countenance, were neither interesting nor profitable. Probably his

Christmases had never been passed in a way that was calculated to make

them pleasingly conspicuous in the background of his life. Most of his

early recollections were associated with a villainous roadside groggery

in Pike county, Missouri, of which his father was the proprietor. Any

questions relating to this parent and home he had been known to

invariably evade, and whenever conversation tended in that direction he

strenuously discouraged it. Why he did so never very clearly appeared.

Some people who pretended to know used to say that the old gentleman had

been doing a lively trade in horseflesh without going through the

customary formalities of finance, and that some people with whom his

dealings had been unsatisfactory, in consequence of this unbusinesslike

habit of his, had called at his house one evening and invited him to

walk out with them. The invitation was one he would have liked to

decline, but extra inducements in the shape of the cold muzzle of a

revolver pressed against his forehead and a low but determined "Dry up

and come along!" caused him to put on his hat and step out. He was found

next morning hanging from a branch of a neighboring tree with a brief

but expressive obituary written in pencil on a scrap of paper and pinned

on his coat: "Horse-thief! Jerry Moon and Scotty, take notice." Inasmuch

as one of the latter individuals was the chief authority for the story,

and had expedited his departure from Pike county in consequence of the

intimation contained in the lines on the same bit of paper, it may be

safely inferred that there was some foundation for the numerous stories

of a similar nature that were in circulation. So Christmas spent as his

had been had no particular interest for Old Platte, and was pretty much

the same as any other kind of day upon which there would be an equally

good excuse for stopping work and getting venomously drunk. At any rate,

the memories that clung around that Pike county whisky-shop were none of

the pleasantest or most gratifying; and with a grunt of general

dissatisfaction he rekindled his pipe, put a couple of sticks on the

fire and allowed his mind to slide off into a more congenial train of

reflection.

To Thompson, Gentleman Dick's words had come as a sort of revelation. He

knew well enough that Christmas came in December, and also upon what day

of that month it fell, but of late the days had gone by so monotonously,

and had so little to distinguish them one from another, that he had

kept no account of them, and had no idea that it was so near. Some

indefinable influence that he could not account for had of late sent his

mind groping into old and better channels, and consequently when he was

reminded of the presence of Christmas he felt disposed to accord it a

measure of consideration rather different from that with which several

of its predecessors had met. Like Old Platte, he had regarded it as a

good day to go on a "bust" and initiate a "drunk" of more or less

duration, but just now he seemed as if inclined to take a different view

of it. His eyes could take a clearer and healthier view of the past than

he had for a long time had, and its old memories and scenes flocked up

before him now, bright through the dim mist that time had cast over

them, and fresher and sweeter than ever by contrast with the gloomy

present. The snow-shoes slid from his lap and one by one the thongs of

buckskins dropped upon the floor, as he leaned back in the corner of the

broad chimney, his face resting upon his sinewy hand and his eyes

looking through the fire into the world of the past.

Old Platte lay curled up in his bearskins and blankets fast asleep, but

the other still sat by the fire in the same position--still dreamily

thinking. How long he had sat there he did not know. The fire had sunk

into a glowing heap of coals, fast changing into soft white ashes, on

which now and then a melting snow-flake that had stolen down through the

chimney would fall and disappear with a short angry sizz, and the

shadows in the cabin were deep and dark. Suddenly it seemed to him in

his dreaming that a voice called him by name, and he awoke from his

reverie with a chill and a shudder and a sense of indefinable dread

creeping over him--a dread of what, he could not tell. A handful of

chips blazed up brightly and lit up the cabin with their flickering

light as he turned nervously toward the patient, quiet face behind him.

The eyes, shaded by the long black eyelashes, were still on the fire,

and while he was confident that he had not been called, he was dimly

conscious of a great change that had taken place. As he still looked

anxiously at the faded features, the eyes left their long watching of

the embers and were raised to meet his. He felt he was wanted, and was

by his side in a moment: "How d'yer feel, old man?"

Gentleman Dick smiled as he laid his wasted fingers across the sturdy

brown hand that leaned on the edge of his bunk, and turning with

difficulty on his pillow, he said in a voice scarce above a whisper,

"Thompson, old fellow, you and Platte have been kind, very kind, to me.

I won't trouble you much more now. I'm going to say--good-bye to you;

and--Thompson--I want you to do one little thing for me--when spring

comes." He reached into a chink among the logs by his side and drew

forth an envelope containing a few letters, a photograph of a woman's

face, fair and tender, and a gold ring.

Thompson took it with a hand that shook as his rarely did.

"Send it soon--it's addressed and all--send it to her. Maybe she will be

glad to know I am--gone--at last--out of her path--out of the way--and

the world. She sent it back to me--would not have it--or me. Now--" Then

his mind seemed to wander, and he rambled incoherently, repeating over

and over again a name that sounded like that on the envelope. "You will

do it, won't you, Thompson?" said he, rallying suddenly.

Thompson's voice was husky and thick as he answered impressively, "Damn

me ef I don't!" adding mentally, as he glanced at the package, "Damn her

skin, whoever she is! She's at the bottom of all this here business, you

bet."

Gentleman Dick's lips moved as if he were speaking, and as Thompson

leaned over him he could hear, in a broken whisper, "Gold--in old

boot--under bed--Old Platte half."

He heard no more. The pressure of the wasted fingers relaxed, the weary

head sunk slowly back on the pillow, and the tired eyelids drooped over

the glazing eyes.

"Dick!" said Thompson--"Dick, old man!"

Too late. Away through the softly-falling snow, from the Blue with its

stillness and solitude, from its heartaches and sorrows and troubles,

the weary spirit had fled, and Gentleman Dick was at rest.

* * * * *

Spring had come again; the snow had melted from the valleys; the grass

and the ferns and the green grass and bright lichens once more peeped

out among the gray boulders and about the feet of the stately pines; and

the Blue, freed from its wintry prison, sang merrily over the gravelly

reaches. And as the miners flocked down that spring from over the range,

they saw near by the Chihuahua Claim and the deserted cabin, in a square

formed by four gigantic pines, a neatly-built cairn of boulders. One big

gray boulder rested securely on top of all, and on it was hacked, in

rough and simple letters, GENTLEMAN DICK.

W. MACKAY LAFFAN.

A SINGULAR FAMILY.

Almost as far back as I can remember three brothers, Italians named

Noele, were intimates and occasionally inmates of our home. The youngest

brother, Eugenio, had been imprisoned during the political disturbances

of his country, but had escaped and made his way to England. Here, at a

lecture given by Mazzini in London under the auspices of the liberal

Italians and those who espoused their cause, Eugenio, who to handsome

features and aristocratic appearance added a modulated voice and

persuasive manner, rose during the course of the evening, and in words

that held the audience spellbound narrated his own sufferings and those

of some of his friends under the yoke of Austria. As he concluded with

the utterance of the sentiment, "Libertà! Equalità! Fraternità!" a storm

of applause burst from the assembly, and many were the high personages

who at the close of the meeting requested an introduction to the

fascinating young orator. My father was present on this occasion, and

here his acquaintance with Eugenio Noele commenced. The young man having

discovered to him that his pecuniary resources were at the lowest ebb,

my father took him home with him, and my mother afterward united with

him in requesting Eugenio to consider their house as his own. My father

also introduced him to his mercantile connections and initiated him into

mercantile affairs, when by his astuteness and perseverance he was

enabled to lay the foundations of an excellent position. Indeed, but few

years had elapsed (during which time he had frequently resided with us)

ere he had acquired considerable wealth and we a clearer insight into

his true disposition.

His principles were such as the promptings of self-love, a violent

temper, pride and ambition could without difficulty overcome. As he rose

higher in the social scale the reflection that he had owed the impetus

to others was a constant source of annoyance to him. Our house was now

but rarely visited by him, unless when some legal difficulties had

arisen on which he wished to consult my father or some important papers

required translating. Then the air of pride would yield to one of

deferential affection, and in silvery tones he would discourse on such

topics as he imagined were the most pleasing to us. My father would be

termed "Signor Padre" and my mother "Signora Madre."

At about this time he sent to Italy for his brother Rugiero to assist

him in his affairs. Rugiero became as intimate at our house as Eugenio

had been. There were singularly contradictory elements in this brother's

character. At one time the history of a destitute family would move him

to tears, and his purse would be freely emptied for their benefit: at

another time he would spend half an hour in searching for a lost

farthing, and if not successful his countenance would betray lines of

anxiety for hours afterward. If he made me the gift of a paper horn or

box of sweets, his heart for the rest of the day would seem to be

expanded with the most joyous emotions, and for weeks after I was liable

to be asked whether I remembered the day when I was so pleased with his

little gift; and then he would request permission to examine the

pictures painted thereon, and call my attention to their merits. He was

ordinarily slow to understand the point of a witticism, but when he had

by deep pondering discovered it, nothing could exceed his enjoyment:

bending his head and clasping the bridge of his handsomely shaped nose,

he would laugh till the tears were ready to start. On the other hand, he

was extremely sensitive, jealous and suspicious. No one knew how soon

the pleasant smile and kindly word would give place to angry passions as

ungovernable as they were disagreeable to witness. A smile passing from

one person to another without his being acquainted with the cause, was

sufficient provocation for him to rise, make his respects in a frigidly

polite tone and take his leave, to return a few moments after with

heightened complexion and excited voice, and declare that he could not

suffer an affront with equanimity--that he would rid those present of

his "abhorred" society, and would never enter those doors again whilst

he drew the breath of life. We paid little attention to these egregious

eccentricities, merely remarking with a smile of amusement, "Poor

Rugiero! how ridiculous! He must be out of his senses;" and about a

fortnight later he would make his appearance, penitent, apologetic and

studious to remove the ill impression that his strange conduct must have

caused.

A third brother, Giuseppe, was added to the group, of whom vacillation

was the distinguishing characteristic. Giuseppe, in the innumerable

discussions that arose between Rugiero and Eugenio, would acquiesce with

first one and then the other in whatever exaggerated sentiments their

enraged frame of mind might prompt them to utter, with the view of

keeping on good terms with both; but the only result was that when the

flag of truce had been raised, grievances passed over and differences

adjusted, he would have the mortification of finding the whole of the

blame laid on his shoulders, and himself stigmatized as "a

feather-head," "a meddler" and "a spy."

As the years rolled on I grew into womanhood, and became the unwitting

source of constant ill-feeling between the brothers. Eugenio was

handsome, but I distrusted him; Rugiero was nearly as handsome, but I

regarded him as I would have regarded an uncle; Giuseppe was also

handsome, but unstable and entirely wanting in force. Time passed, and

the brothers had separated. Eugenio had married a woman in every way his

inferior. Rugiero had been drawn into a like union that surprised all

those who knew his refined tastes and sensitiveness to the social

amenities. Though a man of honor, his circumstances had become

embarrassed. In his emergencies he had recourse to his old friends,

whose aid was not withheld, but, a crisis arriving, he was declared

bankrupt. Eugenio, instead of assisting his brother, upbraided with

being a disgrace to his own respectability, publicly disowned him, and,

with the view of forcing him to abandon the country, spread injurious

reports concerning him amongst many of the merchants who would otherwise

have been willing to extend a helping hand.

Soon after this Eugenio made a journey to Italy on business. Here he

visited his native place with an equipage designed to astonish the

simple peasants and suggest to them the immensity of his wealth. Never

had the village on the outskirts of which dwelt his widowed sister seen

such magnificence or experienced such munificence. His name was on all

tongues; ovations were made to him; he was almost a king in their eyes.

His sister, Lucretia Mortera, had borne to her husband a large family,

of whom but three survived--a youth named after his uncle Eugenio, and

then being educated for the priesthood; Celestino, a boy of eleven

years; and Virginia, a girl of eight. The little home in which they

resided in quiet retirement had been given to the widow for as long as

she chose to occupy it by a friend of her late husband, as a token of

respect to his memory. Eugenio Noele, ashamed to see a sister of his

living in a way so unsuited to her birth and former expectations,

requested her to dispose of whatever property she might be possessed of,

and prepare to accompany him with her family to London, where he would

provide for them, and his nephew Eugenio, leaving his studies, could

take a place in his counting-house. This request--or rather command--was

embraced with gratitude, though it cost a pang to think of leaving the

home that had sheltered them under many vicissitudes. Besides which, it

was a matter of doubt to Signora Mortera and her eldest son whether any

worldly promotion could justify his deserting the priestly vocation to

which he had felt himself called.

One evening my mother and I were surprised by a call from Rugiero. His

face was pale and his eyes were wild. He sank into an easy-chair, and

after a long silence broke into the most terrible invectives against his

brother Eugenio, who had dragged the widow and orphans from a peaceful

home to cast them adrift.

"What widow? what orphans?"

"Simply, Madama Melville, my poor sister Lucretia, whom he induced to

accompany him to London, with her family, on the pretence of providing

for them all, is now with those children at my house, without means,

without even a change of clothing. Yes, my sister Lucretia, who was a

mother to him when his own mother died; and yet he prospers!"

"But, Rugiero, what was the cause of his treating them thus?"

"When they had arrived at my brother's house the wife, who had not

expected them, took an aversion to them, and no sooner did she learn

that they were strict Roman Catholics than she believed them to be

capable of every crime. Celestino, who is in a decline, was treated with

the greatest neglect. Every occasion of showing disrespect toward her

sister-in-law before her children or the servants was eagerly sought by

my brother's wife, whilst in the presence of her husband she was all

amiability. The sickness of one of her own children was made the

occasion of accusing Lucretia of an attempt to poison it, and the wily

woman so worked on my brother's parental feelings that he had not

returned home an hour ere he commanded his 'infamous sister'--'quel

assassinatrice!'--to leave his house with her children on the instant!

The door was closed upon them, and the outer apparel that had served

them for their journey was thrown to them from the window by the

servants. Amazed and full of grief, they directed their steps toward the

house of the good priest whose chapel they had once or twice attended.

Here they procured my address, and soon after came to my house, where

they now are in the extremest affliction. You, madama, may well imagine

that I can scarcely maintain my own family at this juncture, and that I

am therefore unable to do for my sister and her children what my heart

dictates. After a sleepless night I came to the conclusion that you,

Madama Melville, whose goodness of heart has so often been put sorely to

the test, would be able to suggest some plan by which to mitigate the

sufferings of my unfortunate sister or bring Eugenio to reason."

"My dear Rugiero, I feel certain that my husband would think as I

do--that for the present they had better stay here with us. We can turn

one floor into sleeping apartments for them, and have one sitting-room

in which your sister can receive callers or remain when she wishes to be

alone. You know that I have so often heard you speak of your sister

Lucretia that I can take the privilege of giving her an invitation to

come and make us a long visit; and so you must tell her."

"God bless you, dear madama, as you deserve to be blessed! This is

indeed a weight off my heart and mind."

The result of this conversation was that on the next morning Rugiero

returned, bringing with him his sister and her children. Signora

Lucretia responded to the welcome of my parents with expressions of

fervent gratitude, calling them the saviors of her family. She was a

short, slender woman, in whose dark eyes, long, finely-cut features, and

pale, thin face one could discern the spirit of asceticism and the

traces of past afflictions. Of the children she had buried, all had

reached their tenth year in apparent health and remarkable for their

physical and moral beauty, but from that age they had rapidly trodden

the pathway to the tomb. None of her children had resembled their father

but Eugenio, who was a well-made youth of wiry constitution, and gave

every promise of attaining the ordinary age allotted to man. Celestino

was destined soon to rejoin the children gone before. How can I describe

the thrill I felt when I saw that child's face as he entered the room?

Never had I seen in picture or in dream a countenance so lovely. But

what can I say of those soul-speaking eyes, the large, dark-brown iris

surrounded by the brilliant azure-white and shaded by long dark lashes?

Finely chiseled features were added to a rounded face of a clear pale

olive, except where a flush like the pink lining of a shell played upon

it. Virginia greatly resembled her brother Celestino, but was in full

health, and in spirits that would have been lively but for the constant

and harassing admonitions of her mother, who in every free and graceful

movement saw a tendency to levity that must be repressed. The poor child

was doomed to a perpetual entanglement of the lower limbs, owing to her

garments being made as long as those of a grown person. If, forgetting

decorum, she chanced to skip or jump, Signora Lucretia would exclaim,

"Va scompostaccia! sta più composta" ("Go to, most discomposed one! be

more composed"), and seating her by her side would supply her with

needlework or knitting until my mother would intercede, assuring Signora

Lucretia that the child could never attain healthy womanhood unless

allowed the full play of her muscles and the expansion of her lungs by

singing and laughter.

"Ah, madama, you know not how I fear lest the natural gayety of her

disposition should cause the loss of her soul."

"Oh, my dear lady, such ideas are born of the troubles through which you

have passed, and not of your native good sense. God has implanted this

gayety in your child's heart to enable her to enter with zest into those

amusements so necessary to her development."

One day my mother (by permission) had a tuck taken up in Virginia's

dress, and, directing me to take her for a walk, she privately

commissioned me to purchase for her such attire as was suitable to a

child of her years. I began with her head, and secured the jauntiest

little hat with feathers that I could find, not without a misgiving that

it would ultimately be consigned to the flames. Amongst other articles

that I procured was a wax doll, at the sight of which Virginia screamed

with delight. It was her first doll. Even Signora Lucretia's face was

lit by a smile of undisguised admiration at the improvement in the

child's toilette, but it soon gave place to a sigh at her own "vanity of

spirit," and she held the little hat as Eve might have held the apple

offered to her by the serpent.

Signora Lucretia and her children spent some hours every morning before

breakfast in reciting litanies and other prayers, and on retiring to

rest the same forms were repeated. During the day, whenever the clock

struck the hour, the whole family, leaving whatever might be the

occupation of the moment, knelt on their chairs and made a short prayer

or meditation on the flight of time.

At the time of their arrival my cousin Oswald was staying with us, and

on the first evening he retired early to give them an opportunity of

conversing more freely on the melancholy topics that filled their minds.

After bidding good-night to my mother and kissing her, he paid me the

same tokens of regard. This incident had not escaped the notice of the

young Eugenio, for when directed by his mother to retire to rest also,

he advanced toward me, shook hands, and (although, seeing his intention,

I drew back) succeeded in imprinting a kiss on my cheek. Signora

Lucretia turned as pale as death. My mother, to avoid a scene, turned

with a playful laugh to Eugenio, who by this time was scarlet with

shame, and said, "My dear boy, in this country such salutations are only

permitted from near relations or very intimate friends, but I am not

surprised that Mr. Oswald's thoughtlessness before you should have

misled you into doing the same. So I am sure that your good mother will

not be displeased with you."

"Oh, madama," exclaimed Signora Lucretia, bursting into tears as soon as

the door had closed upon him, "to think that my son should have been

tempted by the Evil One so far as to forget what is due to the holy

vocation for which he is to fit himself! In Italy never had he even been

in the same room with any woman but myself and the priest's old

housekeeper. This is the first time that his lips have been so

desecrated." (Here my mother and I interchanged smiles.) "Unhappy mother

that I am! by what sufferings can I atone for his sin? What shall I

impose upon him to mortify the spirit that has arisen within him?"

The next morning Eugenio came down looking pale and sad, and I felt sure

that he had been reprimanded in no measured terms. I gave him a pitying

glance, which fell like dew on the thirsting earth.

At every breakfast the children were taught to say good-morning to each

person separately. The elder son would commence, "Good-morning and good

appetite, Mr. Melville! good-morning and good appetite, Madama Melville!

good-morning and good appetite, Signora Felicia!" and so on. Then

Celestino would go through the same ceremony, and finally Virginia, and

a grace was uttered, during which the breakfast was liable to become

cool, and Rugiero's temper (if he were present) not so. "Andiamo! I am

sure that Signor Melville and madama do not insist upon so many

compliments; and you, Eugenio, should have more gallantry than to keep

the Signora Felicia waiting whilst her toast becomes cold." That he

should connect the word _gallantry_ with Eugenio was an imprudence,

to say the least. But the offence was more serious when once at dinner

he favored us with some reminiscences of his own gallantries: "I

remember that when I was in the army the wife of our colonel had a

sister, a splendid-looking creature, with eyes like stars, who (to tell

the truth) was head over ears in--But my sister Lucretia, who is

frowning at me, is right. One would say that she must have had an

enlarged experience in such matters, seeing how sensitive she is to the

danger of discussing them." (Here Signora Lucretia, with blushing

cheeks, glanced from Rugiero to her son, who with downcast eyes appeared

to be absorbed with the roast chicken on his plate.) "Without entering

into details that would appear ill-timed to my dear sister" (here his

eyes twinkled with roguishness and his lips parted in laughter),

"suffice it merely to say that I acted as any other man under the

circumstances would have acted, and kissed her not once or twice, but--"

"Go to thy room, Eugenio, most audacious!" panted Signora Lucretia, for

he had raised his head, and, meeting his uncle's laughing gaze, had

faintly smiled--"Go to thy room" (and here she struck him on the face),

"and recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin three times, and pray for

thy uncle, that he may be converted."

Eugenio with flaming cheeks and ears rose submissively from the table,

and without a word or look ascended to his room to do her bidding.

"What!" exclaimed Rugiero, rising from his seat, "would you dare to

insult me by desiring my own nephew to pray for me? It seems to me that

I dream! Per Bacco!"

Here my father observed that he must own he saw nothing very outrageous

in what Rugiero had narrated, yet, as Signora Mortera had her own

peculiar views on the matter, he considered that her brother was bound

to respect them. Rugiero then admitted that he had been too hasty, and a

reconciliation was effected, but he never met his nephew's eye

thereafter without the same roguish smile, at which the poor youth would

blush painfully and lower his gaze.

During this scene at the dinner-table Celestino breathed quickly, but

never moved his eyes from the table-cloth, while Virginia looked at each

one of the speakers in open-mouthed astonishment and curiosity.

One day I accompanied Signora Lucretia and her children to a Roman

Catholic chapel in the neighborhood. I could not be unconscious of the

odd and incongruous appearance of the two sons--Eugenio in a suit like

that of a stage grandfather, snuff-colored, and with collar that raised

the lobes of his ears; and dear little Celestino with a similarly cut

coat in bottle green, with large gilt buttons, making him look like a

man in miniature. Such had been the style pronounced by the village

tailor to be in the height of Parisian fashion, but being a novelty to

the London "gamins," it attracted more notice from them than we could

have wished. After Signora Mortera and her children had attended the

confessional she seemed to be much easier in her mind, and was so

amiable as to tell my mother on our return home that it was edifying to

behold the signorina walking like a Roman matron, in contrast to those

who were giggling and turning their heads first one way and then the

other, like so many pulcinelle. Notwithstanding this compliment,

however, I perceived that she was uneasy concerning Eugenio and myself.

It was evidently a satisfaction to her that I should load Celestino with

caresses and endearing epithets, but that Eugenio should sit near me,

speak to me, or even be in the same room with me (whether alone or in

company), was the signal for demonstrations of the extremest vigilance.

On one evening my cousin had brought home some gifts, consisting of a

silver pencil-case with gold pen for Eugenio, a traveling writing-case

with his name on it for Celestino, and a small traveling work-bag

similarly marked for Virginia. These were highly appreciated. Celestino

seemed unwilling to have his desk out of his sight for a single moment,

and when his bed-time came wanted to take it up with him. His mother,

unwilling to leave Eugenio in my society without her watchful presence,

directed him to carry his brother up.

"Signora madre," said Celestino, "I am not tired to-night."

"Well, then, Eugenio can carry up thy writing-case for thee."

"Signora madre, it is not heavy, and I would like to carry it myself."

So Signora Lucretia went up with him herself, and, leaving my mother to

entertain Eugenio, I went immediately into another room. I felt too

deeply for the misfortunes of the unsophisticated Eugenio ever to have

willingly trifled with the nascent susceptibilities of his heart.

One little incident, however, occurred to interrupt the orthodox reserve

of our demeanor. An old friend of ours, Captain Stuart, had sent

Virginia a bank-note with which to procure some keepsake. One evening

the old gentleman called, and was shown into the drawing-room, where my

mother received him. The rest of us were in the dining-room below. On my

mentioning Captain Stuart's name to Signora Lucretia, she exclaimed,

"Let us go, my children, and thank this good man for his kind present to

our Virginia."

It was dark, but the hall-lamp had not been lit, so I took a wax taper

from the writing-table and, lighting it, proceeded to escort them up the

staircase. Some spirit of mischief prompted me by a sudden movement to

let the light be blown out. In an instant the hand of Eugenio met mine,

and thus hand in hand, swinging to and fro, we came to the drawing-room

door, and a flood of light bursting upon us discovered to Signora

Lucretia my face flushed with suppressed laughter, and Eugenio's eyes no

longer timid, but sparkling with joy. From this time he would spend

whole nights in writing verses, which he would show to his mother. She,

noting the classical allusions, and having a great respect for literary

talents, did not repress his efforts, but on the contrary appeared

desirous that he should show his verses to my mother and to me. Mingled

with expressions of grief and despair at the inconstancy of fortune and

the decrees of fate were allegorical fancies in which I could perceive

that I held a place, but I never allowed him to think that I noticed

this; and indeed after the escapade of the staircase I became more

distant than before.

However, one day when Celestino was feeling more weak and tired than

usual, and I was propping him up on the sofa, I observed with some

trepidation that Eugenio, who had been reading at the window, changed

his seat to one near the head of the sofa. His mother and mine were busy

sewing at a window in the next room, from whence they could see us

through the folding doors. His eyes were full of tears, and, suddenly

bending over his brother and rearranging a cushion, he seized my hand

and covered it with silent kisses. In a moment I had disengaged my hand,

full of fear for the result to Eugenio should Signora Lucretia's

attention be directed toward us. The same evening, on returning from a

visit, I learned that my mother and Signora Mortera had gone out under

the escort of Oswald to attend vespers at a church some distance off. We

young people passed the evening alone together. The crimson curtains

were closely drawn, and the cosy room was lighted by a blazing fire.

Reclining in an easy-chair, I held Celestino's fragile form in my arms,

the wonderful eyes gazing into mine as I watched with emotions too deep

for words their ever-varying expression. Eugenio sat on an ottoman at my

feet, alternately reading aloud from Dante and pausing to observe me,

while Virginia was on the hearth-rug, happy in adorning her doll with

pieces of silk, beads and flowers.

Suddenly Eugenio said, "Does the signora remember in the narrative of

Dives and Lazarus how Lazarus was thankful for the crumbs that fell from

the rich man's table?"

I understood him, and hiding my face in Celestino's tendril-like curls,

I replied, "Yes, but I wonder whether he would have been hungry enough

to eat crumbs that he knew to be poisoned?"

He made no reply.

"Eugenio," I continued, "what are your plans for the future? Is it your

own desire to become a priest?"

This last word made him tremble. "I _once_ desired it," he

answered, "thinking it the most honorable position to which I could

aspire, and also my natural vocation. But now--God knows whether it be a

sin or not--I would pass through any affliction He might send rather

than become one. But my mother's heart is fixed upon it more than ever,

and soon my family will be wholly dependent upon me. Ah! young as I am,

I have suffered and still suffer. Far happier is that child in your

arms, dying slowly though it may be, than the unfortunate Eugenio."

"Have a care," I said, "lest, entering the state of priesthood, you bear

with you a heart fixed on the things of this world. Do not yield to the

impulses of a strong imagination, but endeavor to forget whatever might

prove a hindrance to you hereafter."

"Ah, Felicia, my heart is too full ever to forget. Celestino, my

brother, _thou_ art indeed happy. Dost thou know it?"

"Yes, Eugenio, I feel even too happy."

"God bless thee, Celestino! I love thee more than ever;" and, stealing

his brother's hand from mine, he gently kissed it, whilst Celestino

smiled on us with a heavenly smile.

It was arranged that I should accompany my father to the counting-house

of Eugenio Noele and strive to obtain some redress for the widow and

orphans, for I had always been a favorite with him, and my mother

imagined that my influence would have more power than her own. But the

only result of this interview was that Eugenio promised, for my sake, to

furnish his sister and her family with sufficient funds to enable them

to return to their own country: he also told my father that he should

send one of his clerks to accompany them and see that they _did_ go

there.

On our way home we called on Dr. Newcastle, our old friend and

physician, and after describing the circumstances of the Mortera family,

asked him to call and see Celestino in the evening. The doctor was a

fine-looking man, with a profusion of silvery white hair and beard, a

deep thinker, blunt and sincere of speech, and full of dry wit that made

every one laugh but himself. His footman (a colored man) was once

overheard to say, "Berry strange man, my massa! berry sing'lar man! I

say to him, 'I can't walk fast in dese yere boots, sar--dey's too

short.' 'Oh,' he says, ''tis but the cutting off a piece of your toes,

Caesar, and de boots will fit well enuff.' Him berry sing'lar man. One

day I hear, through de open window of a lady's house, him say to her,

'For what did you send after me, madam?' and she say, 'I feel a leetle

'stericky again dis morning, doctor: what can you pescribe for me?'

'Pescribe!' says my massa with a sort of short laugh: 'why, dat you go

to de top of de house wid a brush and dustpan and sweep de stairs all de

way down, and make all de beds, and leave off drinking strong coffee;'

and a berry fashionable lady too, as dey tell me after. When de doctor

get into him carriage he talk to himself, and give him short laugh."

After an introduction to Signora Mortera, the doctor turned his

attention to Celestino, who lay on the sofa pale and agitated: "Bless my

heart! what a handsome lad! what splendid eyes! Ah! hm! hm! poor fellow!

hm!" and he cleared his throat. "Let me feel your pulse."

As Celestino turned and gazed on him with mute surprise the doctor

proceeded with his examination in complete silence, and then began

discoursing about the weather and politics.

"But, doctor," said my mother, "you have told us nothing about the boy?

What is your opinion? what shall we do for him? what do you prescribe?"

"Whirr! whirr! how many questions! I prescribe for him a course of early

rising, accompanied by long prayer and fasting. If he shows an

inclination for exercise, give him a rosary. Take away juvenile books,

and give him the _Lives of the Saints and Martyrs_. Let him

remember the days of fasting and abstinence. Why, bless me! the boy is

nothing but heart and brain. He must be kept cheerful and

well-nourished. Let him be in the open air when it is pleasant. I will

prescribe a little something for him, but his case is beyond all

medicine."

"Oh, doctor, do you really mean to say that he will die?"

"Die?" and the doctor laughed his little cynical laugh. "Why, we shall

all die some day, shall we not?"

"Now, doctor, do be serious. Is there no hope for him?"

"I don't see that there is;" and he continued to gaze at the boy's face

as if it had some fascination for him.

Eugenio Noele failed not a week later to send his clerk to make

arrangements for the departure of the Morteras. As the time drew nearer

Celestino failed rapidly. He would lie for hours without speaking except

with his eloquent eyes. Frequently he would kiss a little ring that I

had given him, and a few days before his departure I gave him a trinket

consisting of a turquoise heart, with a cross set with crystals over red

stones, emblematical of the blood and water that flowed from the side of

our Redeemer. This he received with great emotion, and as I tied it to

his neck with a ribbon he said, "I will wear it as long as I have life."

"Does Celestino fear to die?"

"No, signora, not whilst you are near me; and by dying I shall see my

brothers and sisters in heaven, and can come and watch over you all."

"Sweetest child! It will break my heart to lose thee."

"Ah, do not weep;" and the boy's lips paled and his eyelids closed. I

gave him water, and called to his mother to come and speak to him.

"Ah, this child of my bosom! my poor Celestino! must he leave me too?"

"Dear signora, he goes to a world free from such sorrows or cares as

yours have been. He is like an angel even now."

"Celestino, kiss thy poor afflicted mother." Without a word, but with

trembling lips, he stretched forth his arms to embrace her, and I stole

away, leaving to her sacred sorrow the poor woman who for the moment,

forgetting her self-imposed ascetic restraint, was yielding to every

impulse of demonstrative tenderness.

The night before their departure Eugenio wrote an ode addressed to me,

and placed it in my hands. I did not then read it through: I felt too

dispirited and preoccupied. The next morning his eyes met mine with a

questioning expression that I did not comprehend. When the hour for

parting had arrived tears and broken exclamations were mingled. Eugenio

lingered to kiss me, with a look first of inquiry, then of deep despair.

I found afterward that the poem he had presented to me contained a

protestation of humble and devoted love, which he entreated me not to

neglect with scorn, and thereby add to the cruelties of his situation.

What a sense of loneliness we experienced! I felt restless and unhappy:

I was pursued by the imploring face of Eugenio and haunted by the eyes

of Celestino. It was long ere our household recovered its old

equilibrium. Letters full of gratitude came from the Morteras. They were

re-established in their old home; Eugenio had resumed his studies;

Virginia was not so well; Celestino was dying. Soon after I received a

letter in Eugenio's handwriting informing me that the trinket he

enclosed would be to me an evidence that his beloved brother Celestino

was dead. He had died with a smile on his lips, and Eugenio with his own

hands had unfastened the jewel from his neck. In a letter written some

time after to my mother Eugenio implored her by all she loved to rescue

him from a position which he felt to be daily more unendurable, by

procuring for him some engagement, in however humble a capacity, that

would enable him to support himself and assist his family. A priest he

_could not, would not_ be. My parents had scarcely time to discuss

the matter ere another letter came from Eugenio, telling them that his

mother had discovered the subject of his correspondence, and that she

and their good old priest had succeeded in convincing him of his

wickedness in attempting to relinquish the holy vocation of priest--that

it had been a snare of the devil; and he implored Signor and Madama

Melville to forgive him for the scandal he had caused concerning his

holy religion by such unworthy backslidings, which he now deeply

repented.

One day Oswald came in exclaiming, "Aunt, who do you think has failed

and left the country?"

"Who?"

"Why, your friend, Eugenio Noele! As I passed the house I saw men

carrying away the pictures and things. I could not help stopping to

inquire into the matter. One of the workmen, who seemed to know a great

deal about it, said that a confidential clerk was at the bottom of it

all, and had run off before the great smash came."

The last news we heard of this singular family was that Rugiero, who had

gone to Italy with his family, was retrieving his position, that

Giuseppe was with him, and that Eugenio was a priest, and beloved by all

for his noble qualities and extended usefulness.

CLELIA LEGA WEEKS.

THE MATCHLESS ONE:

A TALE OF AMERICAN SOCIETY, IN FOUR CHAPTERS.

PROLOGUE.

Ah, the misfortune of being wealthy, the misery of being handsome, the

disadvantage of a divine moustache and a dimple in the chin, the

affliction of having wavy hair and dark eyes, the forlorn condition of a

man who is very clever, who never makes a bad joke, who is such "good

company," such a "jolly dog," such a "happy creature" and "fortunate

fellow"! Oh the calamity of possessing a romantic country-seat and fine

horses!--the ill-starred luck of a person who is always finding a moon

that shines beautifully, a sun that is never too hot, long walks that

cannot be too long, and drives that are "_so_ delightful"!

I am the unhappy victim of a fate which in spiteful mood gifted me

beyond my fellow-men. I might have had my share of enjoyment in the

world, as mediocre people have, but my perfections are in my way at

every turn, continually marring my prospects. A superficial observer

might think that these advantages would have the contrary effect--that I

should be more fortunate than others--but my story will prove my

assertion. Take, for example, my difficulties as a "marrying man." I

will relate my experience during the past three years, and you can judge

for yourself.

CHAPTER I.

My good mother (may Heaven reward her!) often advised me to marry

betimes. "Marry early in life, my dear Charles," she would say, "but

marry a woman _worthy_ of you."

In her solicitude my mother foresaw the difficulty of the task she had

set before me. She had known and admired me from childhood, and of

course appreciated my worth. I remember her sad but affectionate gaze as

she spoke, and I, unconscious of the future, smiled to reassure her.

With the simplicity inseparable from great natures, I did not value the

treasures I possessed. I was as the poet before he has touched his

lyre--as the sculptor ere he has found his marble. Since then the years

have brought knowledge. My eyes have been opened by the actions of those

around me--by the admiration I excite whenever I appear; by the respect

with which I am listened to when I speak; by the warmth with which I am

welcomed wherever I visit. I could produce many examples to illustrate

my gradual awakening, but they would be irrelevant to my subject.

I earnestly desired to fulfill my mother's wishes, and as soon as it

seemed proper after her decease I set out on my quest as on a

pilgrimage. The task which requires from most men some six weeks' or

three months' time, perhaps a few moments snatched from business or a

few evenings of ball-room devotion, has cost me three years' labor, and

it is not yet accomplished. But I suppose it is easier for other men to

find some one worthy of _them_.

I had read the poets: I had conceived an ideal of a faultless creature,

and with the enthusiasm of youth I sought for a woman to worship as a

star--one whom I should adore--one far above me, from whom it would be

honor to win a smile, and--and all that sort of thing. Alas! I found

they smiled before I could make my first bow at an introduction. At

first I blamed the poets--thought they had been mistaken--had not

studied human nature; but the truth gradually dawned upon me. _The

fault was mine_! The imagination of man had not been able to create a

hero of fiction like myself: in fact, had authorship attained such a

triumph, the most fastidious maiden would have been obliged to fall in

love at first sight, thereby spoiling many a fine three-volumed romance

and heroic cantos innumerable. How ruinous would the possession of

perfection such as mine have been to the chivalry of the Middle Ages!

I do not think any less of the ladies for the ease of my conquests: I

know how impossible it is for the poor dears to resist my charms; but oh

the happiness of mediocrity!

I was occupied for a whole season searching for the being whom I called

my star. My fancy was so pleased with the idea of basking in her

radiance, I had so fully persuaded myself to be guided by her light to

all things great and high, I had learned to think of her with so much

devotion, that I could not give up my hope of finding her somewhere. I

went to all the popular summer-resorts in turn, meeting only

disappointment. The star type of girls did not seem to be the mode that

season: I could see no trace of her I came to find. Though saddened, I

was too young to despair: in my usual clear and sensible manner I

thought the matter over. After all, I reflected, I suppose I can find a

woman worthy of me who is not a star. I doubt not the poets were sincere

in their civility to persons of the other sex. The exaggeration arose

from the absence of any really superior man with whom to compare them.

They _seemed_ stars in contrast with the existing male species:

_I_ had not yet appeared.

Another summer found me renewing my search with unabated vigor, but this

time on a different basis, having determined to lay romance aside--to

seek for nothing above me--to be content with an equal. If with her I

should not be ecstatically happy--if our _ménage_ would not quite

rival that of Adam and Eve in the garden of Paradise--yet a certain

amount of modern bliss might be extracted from the companionship of an

agreeable woman who could appreciate and sympathize with my tastes and

be my friend through life.

I employed my second summer in looking for a sympathetic woman, with the

intention of making her my wife. May I never see such a hard-working,

distracting season again! Not that such women were hard to find--they

were only too plenty: at one time I had six who were devoted to me. One

sympathized with my love of music; we sang duets together in the

evening; it was delightful, for I need hardly say that I sing as I do

everything else--remarkably well. Another sympathized with my sketching

propensities. We rambled in the woods together with boxes and colors. I

found it charming. "Nothing amateurish" about my style, Miss Pinklake

said. A third sympathized with my taste for horses: my restive Nero was

the "sweetest pet" she ever saw. (My groom says, "He's the divvil

hisself, Muster Charley.") With her I rode in the afternoon. She told

me--Miss Vernon, you know her? brunette, deuced pretty--she said one

day, when we were taking a canter together, "I can believe those

wonderful stories of the Centaurs when I see _you_ ride, Mr.

Highrank." She had a pleasant voice, and such a figure! I had almost

decided to propose to her one day, and was even thinking of the words I

should use, when the pale Miss Anabel Lee came walking along the road by

us, looking like a fairy, her hat hanging on her arm filled with wild

flowers, and her dress looped with ferns. As she passed she raised her

beautiful blue eyes to mine, and at the same time--it might have been

chance--she pressed a bunch of forget-me-nots to her lips. I remembered

I had an engagement to walk with Miss Lee on the beach that night: there

was a lovely moon--we talked poetry. It was Miss Annie Darling who said

I "waltzed divinely." Miss Annie laid her hand on one's sleeve when she

talked to one, mutilated her fan with various tappings on a fellow's

shoulder for being naughty, as she called it ("naughty" meant giving her

a kiss in a dark corner of the verandah), said saucy things to the

snobs, and used her eyes. She walked with the Grecian bend. When I had a

serious fit there was young Miss Carenaught, who was plain and read the

reviews, spoke sharply against fashion, and knew a man of my education

"must despise the butterfly existence of the surrounding throng."

Sometimes she would invite me to go with her to catch beetles and queer

insects--"not that she needed my help," she would say, "but my

intellectual society was indeed a treat in this crowded desert."

All this was very agreeable, but also very perplexing. At the end of the

season I found myself as far from making a choice as ever. If I indulged

one taste at the expense of the others, I should become a less perfect

man; nor could I decide in which of my pursuits I needed sympathy the

most--music, painting, dancing, riding, reading. Alas! could I find one

woman congenial in all my moods I would marry her immediately. Wearied

by the attentions of so many, I yet feared an imperfect life spent with

but one. I saw that I had made another mistake, and retired to my

country-seat, "The Beauties," to recruit.

I know there is a modern idea that women are the equals of men (the

poets, you remember, thought them superior), and many may consider it

odd that I did not find it so. I do not wish to offend. To those who

hold that opinion I modestly suggest my unfortunate superiority as the

probable cause of my failure. I do not blame the ladies, be it

understood.

Again I sat down to plan and reflect. I looked mournfully on the past

and less hopefully on the future. The obstacles were beginning to

dishearten me, but even after a second failure I dared not relinquish my

quest: my mother's wishes must be fulfilled. A woman worthy of me:

behold the difficulty! What course of action should I now pursue?

At last I had a flash of brain-light on the subject. I would look for

the purely good, rejecting the intellectual entirely. I would plunge

into the country and seek a bride fresh from the hands of Nature, a wild

flower without fashion, guile or brains--one who in leaving me free to

follow my own pursuits would yet adorn my life with charms of the

heart--a heart that had known no love but mine.

It was in the most beautiful month of autumn that I made this resolve,

which I lost no time in putting into execution. I wrote to my old

college friend, Dick Hearty, that I would spend a month with him: he had

often invited me to visit him in the country. I counted on doing enough

love-making in that time to win my wild rose, and at my return I would

bring home my bride. I reasoned that in those unsophisticated regions,

in the shadow of the virgin forest, the trammels of long courtship and

other fashionable follies are unknown: heart meets heart as the pure

woodland streams meet each other and become one.

Before I set out I gave a dinner-party at The Beauties to announce to my

gentleman friends the joyful event. At the dessert I rose and proposed

the health of my future bride.

"And may it be years before she arrives at The Beauties!" mumbled Percy

Flyaway when they had drunk the toast.

"I hope you will all welcome her at a grand reception here in--about a

month or six weeks." I remembered just in time that I had best not fix a

date, as something might intervene.

A storm of questions, exclamations and remarks ensued.

"Lovely?"

"As fair as poet's dreaming."

"Die Vernon?"

"Not for Joe!"

"The Soprano?"

A shake of my head.

"Anabel?"

"No."

"Who is she?"

"Let us drink her health again," said one, getting thirsty, and fearing

in the excitement the bottle would not be passed.

"Tell us all about her," cried another.

"Gentlemen," said I seriously when the noise had slightly abated, "you

know I am a deuced good fellow."

"Hear! hear!" they cried.

"That you are!" said Percy.

"Well, I am going to get a deuced good wife."

"Congratulate you, old fellow!"

"Do you think of going up in a balloon for a wedding-trip?"

They all came around me, clinked their glasses with mine, shook hands

with me, and drank my health, her health, the health of my

mother-in-law, and any other toast that would serve as an excuse for

emptying a glass.

"I say, will she cut rough on us chaps?" asked Percy in a plaintive

voice as the hubbub subsided.

"Gentlemen," cried I, waving my hand, "my wife that is to be is an

angel."

"Wish she would stay in heaven!" muttered Percy.

"What I mean by an angel is a perfect woman."

"Worse still," said the irrepressible Perce. (By the by, the wits had

nicknamed him "Perce sans purse," because he was poor, you know, but he

was a good fellow, quite.)

"Gentlemen, let me explain."

"Hear! hear!"

"I have been looking for a wife for the past year: I have thought much

on the subject, for I think it an important one."

"Solomon!" said Perce out of his wine-glass.

"Now, a good wife must be a refined, gentle, kind, loving, beautiful

woman, with no nonsense about her."

"Amen to the last clause!" cried Bear de Witt.

"You have found her?" asked Percy, absently watching the sparkling

bubbles rise one after the other in his glass.

"Ah--aw--I will bring her home," I answered, evading the question--"my

love, my bliss, my delight!"

"He is awful spoony on her," said Bear in a disgusted tone.

"He is tipsy," whispered Percy as I sat down with a tremor in my voice

and wiped my eyes with a napkin.

Then Perce began to lecture me in an injured tone: "I say, it is really

too bad of you. I should not have believed it if you had not told us

yourself. To go and get married like any fool of a fella' that hasn't

forty thou' a year, like any common man--it's too rough."

"I know it, Perce," I replied, "but we superior people must set an

example--the world expects it of us. The only question is, how to make a

proper choice."

I remember very little after, except that the lights shone dimmer

through the cigar-smoke, that there was much noise from popping corks,

and occasionally a breakage of glass, and I think I made another speech.

Next morning I awoke with a very robust and well-defined head-ache.

A few days later I started for the back-woods, with Wordsworth packed in

my trunk, he being the writer most congenial to my present state of

mind. Once seated in the cars, I looked with pleasure on each pastoral

scene as it came into view, and gazed at the milkmaids while thinking

romantically of my love. I took a nap, and awoke respectfully pressing

the handle of my portmanteau and murmuring a proposal to my wild flower.

It was late when I arrived at the little village near which my friend

resided, and I resolved to spend the night at the modest inn of the

place. The gay singing of birds, mingled with the ringing of Sunday

bells, caused my drowsy eyes to open on the morrow. A happy thought came

to me as I lay enjoying the delightful freshness of all around me: "I

will go to church: my little Innocence will be there. I know she is

pious. As unconscious as the birds, and with as sweet a voice, she will,

like them, be praising her Maker this bright morning."

I began to dress, looking each moment from the window with the hope that

she might pass by. The street was quiet--no one to be seen. Presently,

from a house near, tripped two pretty girls, and I eagerly came forward

to see them. "If it is not my rose herself," I thought, "it maybe some

relation--cousin, sister, friend: I am interested in the whole town

since _she_ lives here." The girls came nearer. They walked without

affectation: you could imagine that the spirit of Modesty herself had

taught them that quiet demeanor. Suddenly they looked up and saw me. Am

I Mephistopheles, to produce such a dire effect? They looked down, they

simpered, they laughed a laugh that was not natural: their voices grew

louder.

"_Did_ you see him?" said one.

"So perfectly lovely!" said the other.

"I wonder who he is?" remarked the first.

"My fate," I muttered as I turned away.

After breakfast I sallied forth, humming "Pure as the Snow." Taking a

reconnoissance of the town, I came to a pretty house with

woodbine-covered porch, and a slender figure at the window.

"I will not startle her with a rude glance," thought I, for I could see

without appearing to look. As my step resounded the figure turned.

"Oh, do come here, Jessie! Who _can_ he be?" said the slender

figure to some one inside.

I raised my eyes slowly, and my hat. "Could you tell me the way to Mr.

Hearty's?" I asked, not thinking of any other excuse for speaking to

her.

Blushing, she told me.

"And might I ask you," looking beseechingly at her as a person who might

be my future wife--"might I ask you to give me one of your roses?"

"Take as many as you like," she said courteously.

"I would rather you gave me one," with a smile.

She hesitated for an instant, then quickly plucked a bud from the side

of the open window, threw it to me and ran away.

"I shall find _my_ Rose later," sighed I.

I sauntered on to church, a pretty little building of mossy gray stone,

and seated myself on a shady bench under the elms to watch the people

assembling.

Ye gods! could it be? Here were last summer's styles, airs and grimaces,

served up as it were cold. I could pick out bad copies of each girl I

had flirted with the past season. You remember Florence Rich at The

Resort?--here was her portrait in caricature. Florence was the vainest

girl I ever knew, and showed it too. But she was vain of herself. This

country Florence was vain of a new silk that I would have taken the odds

she was wearing for the first time. She looked as if she were saying

with every rustle, "Admire me!" though of course she wasn't, you know.

She was constantly arranging her bracelet or smoothing her glove, and

looking on this side and that to see if any one was observing her. By

this means she gave her admirers the benefit of her full face, showing

both earrings; then of her profile, showing one earring and her curls;

and then of the back of her head, showing her fall bonnet. Her little

black veil ended just where her nose needed a shade. It is needless to

mention that she looked at me as she passed and gave me a smile _à la

profile_, which was ostensibly aimed at a pale young man near the

church-door.

On they came, looking like the remnants of my summer's feast--the supper

after my season's dinner--stale and repelling to my satiated palate. On

entering I saw the ghost of "the Soprano" at the head of the choir, with

less voice and more affectation. The same glances of envy that had been

shot from angry eyes at The Resort I now saw passing between angry eyes

here. The church was full of imitations of this kind, or were they only

inferior originals of the same type?

I learned afterward that the girls of the town were divided into two

classes--the followers of Miss Loude, who was fast and flashy, and the

imitators of Miss Weighty, who affected the quiet style, did not visit

indiscriminately, and was considered "stuck up" by the townspeople,

being the daughter of a retired grocer. During the service they all

looked at me. Some who were of the Loude school did it openly: those

after the Weighty pattern peeped clandestinely over their prayer-books,

through their fans, or between their fingers when praying. The more

clever would use strategy, shivering as if in a draught of air, and

looking around in my direction to see if a window were open, while the

mammas eyed me steadily through spectacles.

"I might have known it," I thought, exasperated: "'tis the same

everywhere, unless I should go to a country where the people are blind."

Dick Hearty, who was there with his sisters, came up after the service

and spoke to me. "Looking well, old fellow!" he said, as if I was not

sick of looking well. "Let me introduce you to my sisters."

His sisters were of the fast and flashy school. Both of them fell in

love with me before I left, though I tried hard to make myself

disagreeable, not thinking it right to disappoint them, being a friend

of the brother, and all that. But unless I wear a mask I cannot prevent

such accidents. I hope they will get over it in time. They were deuced

nice girls too, but more like peonies than wild roses.

Well, as I was saying, Dick introduced me, and insisted on taking me

home with him at once. I already began to fear for the success of my

object, but could not turn back at the very beginning of the promised

land; so I went with him.

It would be tiresome to tell of all the flirtations and adventures I had

while there, or of all the girls who devoted themselves to me. Like

skillful leaders, Miss Loude and Miss Weighty set the example to their

imitators--an example which none were slow to follow. Indeed, it seemed

as if the struggle consisted in seeing who should be first at my feet. I

averaged half a dozen conquests daily: Dick's house was overwhelmed with

lady visitors, and it was usually love at first sight with them all. A

second interview was sufficient to win the most intractable. Not that I

cared to win: I was fatigued with victory--my laurels oppressed me. I

began to wish, like that nobby old emperor, Au--I used to know his

name--that all womankind had but one heart, that I might finish it with

a look, and then turn my attention to more important matters.

Once I thought I had found her. At one of the picnics given in my honor

I saw a sober, pretty little thing, with rosy cheeks and chestnut hair,

who looked intensely rural. I fancied I should like to talk to her alone

for a while, and took her to a spring that was just in sight of the

dancing platform, thinking she would be too timid to go far away from

the others. I found her very sweet and bashful: I could desire nothing

more so. She blushed at each word she said, and made some very innocent

remarks, unfettered by the grammatic rules that restrain less ingenuous

people. Hoping to put her at her ease, I talked about the country, the

beautiful views, and all that.

"If you like lovely views," she said shyly, "I can show you one."

"I shall be most happy to see it," I replied.

To tell you of the walk that the treacherous innocent took me, of the

rocks we climbed and the marshy brooks we crossed, and the two hours she

kept me at the work! Her stock of conversation was exhausted in the

first ten minutes, and I was too angry to be civil. Two hours of such

silent torture man never underwent before, and yet when we returned

tired, with the perspiration rolling down our faces, I actually

overheard her tell one of her companions that it had been "a delightful

walk, I was _so_ agreeable." Just my luck! And that walk made her a

belle! After it all the country beaux flocked around to pay her

attention, and she looked upon them as Cinderella might have viewed her

other suitors after the prince had danced with her at the ball.

Disgusting!

Dick came to me after a while and said, "Charley, you are so stunning in

that velvet coat that all the girls are in love with you."

"I know it, Dick," I said in a complaining voice--"I know it. It always

happens just so. Think it's the coat? I would take it off in a minute if

I thought it was." Then I added with a burst of confidence, "Dick, 'tis

the same with everything I wear: the fascination is in myself. I would

do anything to lessen it, but I can't."

"You are a jolly joker," replied Dick with a tremendous slap on my back,

as if I had said something very funny. I am often witty when I don't

mean to be.

But why continue a history which was the same thing day after day? I

stayed in the country more than three weeks. Though doubting, I was

conscientious, and left nothing undone to gain my end. The task bored me

far more than my sympathizers did in the summer. Indeed, any of those

friends were bewitching in contrast to the girls I now met, and had one

of them dropped in on me during that tiresome period I think I should

have forgotten nice distinctions and made serious love to her, sure of

finding more pleasure in having a single taste in common than in having

none at all.

I believe country-people are even more egotistic than the dwellers in

cities. I sometimes found myself at the most isolated farm-houses

looking for my Rose. The men I met there invariably thought they knew

all about the weather and religion, politics and farming; the women were

convinced they had every kind of knowledge worth having, and that what

they did not know was "new-fangled" and not worth a pin; and their

daughters believed that they were beauties, or would be if they had fine

clothes to dress in. How people can be so mistaken as to their capacity

is a mystery to me.

During my stay I came to the conclusion that I would rather press a soft

hand than a hard one; that I would rather see a tasty toilette than

beauty unadorned; that shy manners are anything but graceful; that the

useful and the beautiful are not likely to be found in the same person;

and that girls, like _articles de luxe_, should be carefully kept.

I like to recall that well-bred, unconscious air of Miss Haughton; I

remember Miss Darling as a model of deportment: why, she could do the

naughtiest things in a less objectionable manner than that of these

girls when acting propriety.

I discovered some facts regarding wild roses. Their petals are few and

faded, and their thorns many and sharp. Their scanty green foliage will

always remind me of a calico gown. Take my word for it, and don't ever

go to the trouble of seeking one. Give me a full-blown damask rose. What

care I if it was nursed in a hot-house or if its beauty is due to the

gardener's care? I thank the gardener and take the rose. Or give me a

half-open sulphira, with suggestive odors and soft curving leaves,

passion-pale in tint, or a gorgeous amaryllis produced by artful

development, clothed like a queen in state, bearing erect her magic

beauty. No more wild roses for me!

CHAPTER II.

I had been at Breezy Brook, that beautiful summer resort which you all

know, about a month: it was now July, and nothing had happened worth

relating since my arrival. During the past winter I had not been

idle--attending parties, balls and operas without number, but without

success. This summer I made up my mind to be tranquil and to let events

take their course, for, as Fortune had given me every other good, she

would no doubt in time provide me with a good wife. I had therefore

every reason to be patient.