A SINGER FROM THE SEA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 251, 23 October 1893, Page 6

A SINGER FROM THE SEA.

If AfflLIA £ HAkM.

. iubbot of 'The Bead* of Taßmar,' 'The Mifcl of the "Easter Bell, 1" 'The House- . , noldoi McNeil," Friend Olivia,' Etc., Etc!, Etc. .

CHAPTER 11.

OH, IHE *ITT 0* IT! *$ftb lote is f«li#. one love is trueAiJ. if a maiden oliiy knew!' , Hi ia dear honey that is licked off a thorn.' TriE tliiiofe Elizabeth Tfeaham had done her best to present had really happened, bufc «%#|ia]rio^MctitoblaDae. Circumstances Wite UhM^ddted hsid dUatriuifeed hdr plan s md niaf^ her physically unable to keep her twua'l guard over Jher companion. In fact, Elizafe^fcK'e own love aflairs, that eventful . Maturd^y, demanded all heir womanly diplomacyand decisidn. . . Miss Trdeham had the two lovers supjjiigea to be the lot of rnoßfc women—the inelt^ibie one, whom .Bheiconfcradictiously preferred, »i (id tho eligible one, who adored her in jjjpjla of all diafcouragement*, ' t Tho nrat was the ybune rector of St. Penfer—'&, t niah co vinpib Elizabeth had given «very heavenly perfection, bub who, in the ip»tt& of earthly goods, .had not been well considered by the Church h&- served. The living of St. Confer Was indeftd a very poor fie, but, then, the charch its&tf Was early ■4 ana this rectory move than two Dutia.red .yearß old. Elizabeth thought MvlMy inighb a! least be picturesque in itfch ,dori4ifcjoris, and at nineteen yearn of *t&rjP§ysfis M* » romantic colouring, if Robert Buri;eU, the other lover, had nothing romantic about him; not, even ppye.riy.' He was unpoebically rich j he trafficked in money. The. rector was a lllljfdiing man. Burrell waa thirty-eight ye'wfc&M. The roc tor wrote poetry, and uudoratood Browning, and recited from Arnold and Morris. Burroli'a tastes were t»ward social science and statistics. He was tfedugfitful, intelligent:, well-read and xeticeht; jsmall in figure, with a large bead SnaiSqrfin.e eyes. ... * m On the contrary, the rector was tall and fair,, and so exceedingly handsome that Vrotnen especially never perceived chat the portal to all hfs lenses was email and low, and that he was incapable of receiving a gr^tl idel. ■ ■ Oni that Saturday morning, Robert Burrell .resolved to test his fate, and he wrote to Jlise TreHham. It was a letter full of that passionate adoration he was too timid to personally offer; and his protestations were honourably certified by the offer of his hand and fortune. It was a noble letter —a\ .letter no woman could easily put aei<J.e» It meant to Elizabeth a sure love to guard and comfort her, and absolute release from the petty straits and anxieties of genteel poyery. lb vrould mate her the mistress of the pne»t domestic establishment, in the would give her opporfu'nllieij for helping Roland to the position in jiff jj. he ought to occupy, and this thought —tfiough an after one—bad a great influence on Elizabeth's mind. . After abrne consideration, she took the letter toher father. He w;aa in one of his most tiudruloua moods, ill-disposed to believei. in any good thing coming to him. tie read,-fch.e letter under such influence, I indjfotMdouW ncie bub be sensible of its Impbrtanjc^j; : ; ■ ■,■.'..,-' '; ' • ■- ' • It is a pieqe of. unexpected good fortune for you^Biizabeth, he said, with' a sigh. ♦Of course, it will leave me alone here, but I.d& riot mind thab now. All else has gone; •mxy. npt you? I thought, however, the rector, was choice. I hope you have jß^entjan^ment there.' '.Hti lias never asked me to be his wife, jbu£ his has constantly shown that he wished it., jMe la po6r,\ 11hmk he if) t that.' . , <,-. 'He ha^inade love to you? palled you in|, tajfest: gift oh earth ? Made you believe hejived only in your presence, and so So iridflo on ?' ... j . •Ye's, he has talked in that way for a long time.' * He never iatends fid ask you to marry him. He asked Doctor Eyre if you had any fortune. Oh, I know his kind and their ways!' 'I think-you are mistaken, father., It he knew Mr Burrell wished to marry me, he would 4inii» to—' •\ou think he would? I am sure he wwild tidfe. But here the gentleman comes. 1 will speak a few words to him, and then 66 will efjealc to you, and after that you (•111 ariswer Mr Burrell's letter. Stay a irioche'ht, Elizabeth. It is only fair to tell you that! I Have' no money but my annuity. When I diei you will be penniless.' So Elizabeth went out of the room, silent jnd with Her Head drooping a little. The word ' pifhhilesV was a shock to her. She iat dowtf fci a l&rg:e chair, with her back to the lifelifc, and shut her eyeß. She wished to fef tfie two nien clearly before her. It wcidld be 6a'»y to lore Robert Burrell, if itio did nol'loVe ihe other. Did she love IfieoifeeU SKe, examined her Heart pibilllli^i ami found always some little • if' crouciiinff in a corner. In aorao way or ibiiief ft yr& evJderii? that she did not believe ' thl other' would stand trial. MrTrwham.had the same opinion in a • more positive form, and he was quite willing to. |^ .itv = He met the r.actor with more effusion than was usual with him, and putting on hif hat said :,. _ a >_ ■■* Wal^ round the garden with me, sir. I have something to «ay to you ; and as lam a faClier, you must permit ma to speak very Biainij^. I believe you are in love with Slizebefh*.' . ( ■ , . , JtWN wa«l no answer from the younp liSn, and hiai facei was pale and angry. * Well, sir,? Am I riehb or wrong ?' *.Sjf; ( I reSpeci:—and like—Miss Tresham. jSveftdiie'Blast do s.o, 1 think.' • Have ydu asked her to mariry you ?' ' Ohi-sear, n 0 • Nothing of the kind, Sirii Nothing of the kind !' *f tMMHt pot. Well, you see, sir, 4W. Wminm abbot my house keeps honesb nen outside; arid I would be obliged to sir-^in fact, sir, 1 require you at once to mate Mi?a Tfesham understand that Joite pfbtwtaiibha ore lies-simple and , itraightforward lies, eir. s . I insist on your 'telling that your fdve«imakiog is your amusement and girl's hearts the pawns with which you play, .. Ypn will tell her that you are a scoundrel, sir. And whon voii Have explained yourself to Miss Tresh'am; you had bettor give the same inf6r.foftfo.ii to MJsa Trelawny and. to Miss Kose SW and to that poor little sewuig eiil ypupracvipeyour reci|cationß on. Say Ihttvetbegreatoat cpntempb for you ; and #!en ifov .niv. spoken to Mws Tresham, yoa^will leave iiiy house and come here no iribfe!", ■ 4 , j ■~. ;]'■■' - - . . '. •P will give me pleasure to obey you, "'^{fciMnise woHs, he turned from the contemptqoui dld.man, and, i;r a hurried, 1 Ixiffl Mood', Boiiglit Elizabeth in her usual sittinVromnU ,Sh,e, opened her eyes as he •harl|Ban4^eMfpw a rdhim v Ho waved 'Ml Uk iSp^tlvely, and said : , ♦No Elizabeth!,. No; I have no caress for yoo\to-drty. I do noo think jE shall ever t W iovlriiiiv to you agaim A"hy did yoa Sy^f ft? JnythTng? I thought our < IS brpwJiijW catechism about my heart Siglfctmy heart close lam net ( Smfecboreaand frightened Into marry, ins any woman. 1

' ySTil* yo» remember, whose presence you are in?* • If you wanted to be My wife—' • I do not #4nt to be your wife.' 'If you lotod me in the least—' 11 do not lote you in the least.' ' I shall otne here no more ! Oh, Elizabebh 1 Only iti think 1' 'I am glad you come here no more. 1 efee that you judge the honour and fullness of hiy heart by the infidelity and empbiness of your own. Go, sir, and remember you discard sob mi—/ discard you !' Thus speaking:, aha pttssed him haughtily, and be put oab his hand to detain her; but she gUbbefftd her dtapery close and so left him. Mr Tresham heard heir footsteps and lOfbly opened the door of his library. •Ccrae In here Elizabeth,'he said, with some tenderness. 'I have seen him.' 'And he broaght you tho news of his Own dishonour! Let him go. He is as weak ad a bent flax-stalk, and to be weak ia to be wicked. Bury your disappointment in your hearb; do nob even tell Denas. Girls talk to their mothers, and mothers talk to all and sundry. Turn your face to Burrell Gdurbi now ; ibis a fair fortune.' ' • And ib may be a good thing for poor Roland.'

'It may. A respectable position and a I certain income are often salvation for a man. Write bo Mr Burrell ab once, and send the letter by the gardener.' That Was an easy direction to give, but Elizabeth did not find it easy to carry but. She wrote half a dozen letters and none of them were satisfactory. So she finally asked her Jover to call and see her ab seven o'clock that evening. And it was very natural thab in the stress of such an important decision the visit of Denas and their intention of dressing the altar should be forgotten. Ib waa a kind of unpleasant surprise to her when Denas came and she remembered the obligation. Of course she could not now refuse to fulfil iti. The offering was surely to God and no relation between herself and the rector could interfere with it; bub ib was a great trial. She said she had a headache, and perhaps thab complaint, as well as any other, defined the hurt and shock she had received. Denas wondered at Elizabeth's want of interest. She did nob superintend as usual the cubbing of the flowers, so carefully nuraad and saved for this occasion ; and, though she went to the church with Denas, and really did her best to make a heart offering with her Easter wreaths, the effort was evident. Her work lacked the joyous enthusiasm which had always distinguished Elizabeth's church duties. The rector pointedly ignored her, and she felfc keenly the curious, and, in some cases, the not kindly, glances of the otber Easter hand-maidens. In such celebrations she had always been pub first; fhe waa now last—rather, she was nowhere. It would have been hard to bear had she not known what a triumph she held in abeyance. For Mr Burrell was the patron of St. Penfer's Church ; he had given its fine chime of bells, and renovated its ancient pews of black oak. The new organ had been hia last Christmas gift to the parish ; and oub of his purse mainly had come the new school buildings. The rector might ignore Miss Tresham, bub she smiled to herself when she reflected on the salaams he would yet make to Mrs Robert Burrell. Now, Denas was not more prudent than young girls usually are. She saw thab there was trouble, and she spoke of it. She paw Elizabeth was sligh,ted, and she resented it. Ib was but natural, under such circumstances,.that the church-duty was made as short as possible ; and ib was just as natural that Elizabeth should endeavour to restore her self respect by a confidential revelation of the great matrimonial offer she had received. And, perhaps, she did nothing unwomanly in leaving Denas freedom to suppose the rector's insolent indifference the-fruit of his jealousy and disappointment. In the midst of these pleasant confidences Roland unexpectedly entered. He had written positively that he was not coming and then here he was. • I thought I could not borrow money for bhe trip; bub I managed it," he said, with bhe bland satisfaction of a man who feels thab he has accomplished a praiseworthy action. For once, Elizabeth was not quite pleased ab hia visit. She would rather it had not occurred at such an important crisis of her life. She was somewhat afraid of Roland's enthusiasm and rapid friendships, and ib was nob unlikely thab his first conception of Mr Burrell's alliance would be ' a good person to borrow money from.' Also, she wished time to dress herself carefully, and solitude to get the inner woman under control After five o'clock Denas and Roland were both in her way. They were ab the piano, singing as complacently and deliberately as if the coming of her future husband was an event thab could slip intb and fit into any phase of ordinary life. It was a strange, wonderful thing to her, something so sacred and personal she could nob bear bo think of discussing it while Roland laughed and Denaa sang. Ib was not an every-day event, and she. would nob have ib made one. She knew her father would nob interfere, and she knew one way in which to rid herself of Denas and Roland. Naturally, she took it. A little after six, she said : 'I have a headache, Roland, and shall no' walk to-night. Will you take Denas safely down the cliff ?' ; . Roland was delighted, and Denas was no more afraid of the gay fellow than the moth is of the candle. She waa pleasantly excited by the idea of a walk all alone with Roland. She wondered whab he would say to her. If he would venture to give voice to the inarticulate love-making of the last two years—to all that he had looked when she sang to him; to all that he meant by the sofb, prolonged pressure of her hand ; and by that one aweet, Btolen ki9B which he had claimed for Christmas' sake. They walked a little aparb, and very silently,, until they came into the glades of the cliff-breast. Then suddenly, without word or warning, Eoland took Denas. in his arms and kissed her. ' Denas! Sweeb Denas!' he cried, and the wrong was so quickly, so impulsively committed, thab for a moment Denas was passive under it. Then, with flaming cheeks, Bhe freed herself from his embrace. 'Mr Tresham, you must go back, ehe said. • I can walk no further with you. Why were you so rude to me ?' •I am nob rude Donas—and I will not go back. After waiting two years for this opportunity, do you think 1 wiil give ib up?' And I will nob let you .call me *' Mr Tresham." To you, lam Roland. Say ib here in my arms, dear, lovely Denas I Do nob turn away from me ; you cannob go back without telling Elizabeth : and I swear you shall.not go forward until you forgive me. Come, Denas, sweet, forgive me !' He held her hands ; he kissed her hands ; and would nob realise the girl, who, as she listened to his rapid, eager pleading, became more and more disposod to tenderness. fie wae telling the story no one could better tell than Roland Tresham. His eyes, his Hpß, his smiles, his caressing attitudes — all went with his eager words, his enthusiastic admiration, his passionate assertion of his long-hidden affection. And everything was in his favour. Ihe lovely spring evening, the mystical twilight the mellow flutings of the blackbirds and the vesper thrushes—piping nothing now or strange, only the sweeb old tune of lovethe lift of the hills, the sofb tinkling of hidden brooks, the scenb of violets ab their foetand of the fresh leaves above them, all the magic of the young year and of young lovo-madetbe delicious fctory Roland had been longing to tell, and the mnocenb heart of Denaf fearing and longing to hear, very easy to interpret, very easy to understand [To be Continued).