MY NEW NIECE.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10265, 7 February 1899, Page 2

MY NEW NIECE.

Qckkb Story from Truth.

I am a bachelor, with an acute appreciation of the condition. No wife comes between mc and the peace and quiet which I love; I sit at the feet of no children in order to learn the way wherein I should walk. Perhaps I am selfish ; most men are when they get the chance. Whatever I am. I like it. A sound philosophy, seeing that one is always in companionship with one*s-self.

A few years ago an unexpected event occurred, which threatened at the time to revolutionise my whole system of life. The disturbance took the * form of a niece. Athena-like, she sprang full-grown into mv life. She was the only child of my brother John and his wife Fanny, both long ago dead und buried in India. The jrirl's existence h;id almost passed from my mind—for she had been adopted by her mother's relatives—when eireui—stances over which I had no control obliged mc to offer her a home under mv bachelor roof.

On recognising in her the inevitable, I Hatter myself that, as a philosopher, I rose to the occasion. Not only was she offered a warm welcome, I, even, with the help of retrospect, worked myself up into a bit of sentimentality over Fanny's child, another Fanny. She had her mother's I name. Had hef soft eyes and appealing glance, her gentle, winsome, womanly ways? Poor Fanny! How sweet she had been, and. if However, it never had been mc, but always John. And no one had ever known or even suspected, least of all Fanny herself, or John. Under the spell of the old, far-off memory. I vowed to myself that the girl would find in mc a protector, one on whom to lean her feminine weakness. The age of chivalry still lived; all the manhood within mc rose at the thought of gentle, helpless little Fanny thus cast upon my care. On the expected day of her arrival, I sent the carriage to the station and awaited her on the doorsteps. It was better to let a shy young creature arrive in that way ; more composing. The carriage did not bring her, however ; it returned piled with luggage but without Fanny. "Miss Newcome is coming on her bike, sir. fane is fixing it up at the*station, and w r ill be here presently," the coachman explained. "I have only brought the young lady's luggage." The man's half-repressed smile made mc glance at the impedimenta in process of removal from the carriage. My eye at once noted, amongst the usual feminine boxes of abnormal size, an unmistakeablo gun-case, a fishing-rod, a medley of golf and hockey sticks; in fact, the paraphernalia of most manly sports. The thought of a certain "Frank," from whom I had received various telegrams relating to Fanny's arrival, suddenly came to mc. I turned with a quick feeling of surprise, not unmixed with annoyance, to ask an explanation of the coachman. Afc the moment the sharp tinkle of bicycle bell sounded close to my ear; there was a light, swift spring to the ground and up the doorsteps. A treble voice, with a note of enquiry in it exclaimed "Uncle James!" The arms in connection with it were, at the same time, thrown gushingly around mc. I am. not very ready; perhaps even, for that matter, rather slow. I managed, with difficulty, to get out a strangled I "Welcome, dear child. Dear Fanny?" It was enough, however. Whilst I stood there, metaphorically overwhelmed by the wave of modernity which had so unexpectedly swept up to my very door, the'girl took everything into her own hands. At one and the same moment she gave orders to the servants and explanations to mc. The luggage, gun-case, golf and hockey imple- | ments, &c, were* all hers. So was "Frank." It was lier name. Not the silly, insipid "Fanny" which she had long ago disowned. lb was not required of me—and I felt no inclination —to interrupt. A furtive study of "Frank" engaged my attention as she j bustled about. Short though it was, she j certainly had on a skirt, for she gave the impression of a youth trammelled by such a garment. Her hair, thought tightly drawn j back under a sailor hat destitute of feminine ! adornment, suggested the possibility of golden curls like her mother's, whilst the eyes were poor Fanny's over again. Only with a difference! And what a difference, wli-t a transformation it _iade. The free self-confidence of the new order looking through them! instead of the old womanly j timidity and dependence. ! Before many days were gone, I had fully realised that there would be no demand on j the protective spirit which had stirred within my breast. On the contrary; the fault was mine if I did not understand that my manly weakness now had «. prop. To her credit, i however, it must be said that she was tolerant of my old-fashioned ways, and the patronage extended to mc was, on the whole, i kindly. From the very first moment she made her- I self .compleetely a£ home under my roof, though this by no means signifies that she was much at home, for, except at meal times and in the night, I don't believe she had a quiet moment. If she wasnt out with her gun or rod, she was engaged in "putting," or in some one or other of the mysteries of her various athletic pursuits. And, then, the bicycle! The J wings of Pegasus can hardly have, annihilated I space more supernaturally than did the wheels of that girl annihilate it. Her idea j of distance quite took away my breath. "I never knew we were so near Le_ford," she remarked one evening. "We are a good twenty miles distant," I said. "It is all that I dare say, and a stiffish bit of collar work afc the end. I ran over this afternoon toy look at the links. They axe splendid. I had tea there and a nice run back. Why don't you get a bike, uncle?" "Perhaps because I think the bike might get me.' "We could see to that," she said, graciously. "There is very good, easy going in this I country. Look at the level stretch to Tadmore, not a dangerous pitch the whole way." "Well, I do not wish to damage its reputation." "I tell you what, uncle," she went on after a thoughtful pause, "you are inclined to stagnate—every one is, more or less, at-your time of life—you should struggle against the feeling, make an effort. You want to be roused." The murmured interpolation "I don't" failed to stop her; she proceeded to 'the relentless conclusion, "You must get a bicycle. And at once, while the weather is fine. In fact the sooner the better." The decision of her tone sent a cold chill through mc. Could an average "old" man withstand a "new" woman? Could I? My prophetic soul was confronted by the sudden vision of a maimed and sprained creature, strained in every limb, stagnating no longer, but gyrating to destruction. In the extremity of tbe danger, however, I did not lose my head. I remained silent. ' Although I had not strengthened the enemy's hands by opposition, I was fully alive to the urgency "of the case. I had not been a practising bachelor of so many years standing for nothing. If I was stagnating, I meant to go on doing so. It may be that I was pottering jthrough ife. Well, I liked pottering, and potter I would to the end of the chapter. It it must be either she or I —the feeling had somehow or other been growing in my breast that the house hardly afforded room for both—it would possibly not be she. Yet not for one moment did I contemplate casting the daughter of John and Fanny adrift, for I am a man of sentiment, with the full equipment of family "feelings. I had an idea, however, a happy inspiration. I despatched a note to Algy Hamilton, inviting him to stay. .He came. Before many days had passed I enjoyed the pleasant experience of being able to congratulate myself on my own sagacity. The young people took to each other with a zest that exceeded mv rosiest expectations. Whether or not Algy was "new" I could not say. He was young smart, and a briefless barrister. Had he worked as his profession as he worked at golf, cycling, &c, he would certainly have deserved, if not commanded success. From morning till night he and Frances—my compromise between Fanny and Frank—toiled at amusing themselves. They never had a moment's respite from one thing or another all day. In the evening they played billiards and smoked together. All this apparently with intense aatisfaction to themselves, and decidedly to mc. The bicycle threat cleared from the horizon, I wsas left to stagnate in undisturbed peace., The return to my nor_al state, after the abnormal weeks since the instalment of Frances under my roof, was delicious. A perfect enthusiasm to retain it took possession of mc. I eagerly watched and waited.

The only drawback to my watching was that it had so little scope* I rarely saw them except at mea 1 times, when I was privileged to listen to a conversation usually technical and above my level. Occasionally, vhowever, they considerately descended to it, and talked kindly—if ignorantly— of books and tilings of culture. One day Algy did not appear at luncheon. "He's lunching at Hazelwood," Frances explained. Then she went on: "I have quite taken to Algy, uncle." "So I perceive,'" I said, carefully repressing the sudden joy that awoke within mc. "He is a dear boy." "A boy? Humph! He is a sufficiently precocious one." "He does know his way around, I grant you. He is very good company; we suit each other down to the ground." "You do seem to enjoy each other's society, if that is what you mean." "There is only one drawback," she smiled, shaking back the golden curls, which on the less severe occasions of life-—at meal times and in the evenings—were allowed to show. "Algy is so ridiculously in love." "How do you know'/" I inquired, again taking myself in hand with stern repression. "He told mc so to-day. But I knew it before; suspected it after a day or t wo. Hallo!" she broke off. "There he is, back already. What's up now, I wonder! I must be off to see ; he's not coming in here. - ' She sprang from her chair and disappeared, whistling, from the room. So it had come ! And that was the "new" way. Not a blush, not a falter in mc voice, not even a quiver of the eyelids, nor a droop of their lashes. No matter. It had come —whether new style or old—that was the chief thing. I hugged myself in the smug consciousness of my own subtlety. How warmly I would bestow my blessing on the young'people!. They had not kept mc waiting long. All that day and the next, indeed, for several days, I sat, constantly expectant, in my study, of an interview with Algy. Nothing of the kind occurred. Perhaps it was not part of the' modern programme. Still an uncomfortable feeling" began to creep over me* that I ought to come in somewhere—l, who was so willing to help. Had I happened to be in a position like hers, I felt no doubt whatsoever that Frances would have done a great deal for mc. And yet how could I blunder in with my old methods? As well might be a mediaeval knight engage in modern warfare. • Less than ever did I see the. young people during this time of expectancy. They seemed absorbed in each other, which was natural; but, which was less so, the closest observation, whenever I did see them, failed to detect anything in the least loverlike in their devotion. They were apparently good comrades —nothing more. Well, that was in the programme, too, I supposed. At the end of an anxious week I was at last relieved by Frances —not Algy, which hardly surprised me—entering my study like a whirlwind. "Success and the man I sing!" she burst out, triumphantly. "Algy has done it; everything is arranged. He is engaged!" "Thank heaven!" liven the shock ol this robust method of announcing the engagement did not submerge the gratitude that I was then free to express. The girl stared. "I never knew that you took such an interest in Algy." "Always, always," I said, hastily. "And now that he is to be iriy nephew -" "Good gracious, uncle!" she broke in; "is that know about it? The idea is too silly for words! You don't mean to say that you think it is mc?" I could feel my face falling as the icy chill of disappointment struck suddenly home. "Who else?" I feebly inquired. "Mrs Aldridge, of course." "The lady of Hazelwood?" Frances nodded. "Why, the woman could comfortably be his mother," I exclaimed. "She acknowledges to being more than ten years older than Algy. But that is all right. I don't believe he would have looked at her had she been a year younger. You see, Algy is in a very good set. These boys are so accustomed to dancing attendance on married women and professional beauties, they get to like 'experience.' It's not like long ago, when it used to be girls. Algy is awfully in love. It was great fun helping him."

"She is very rich. That helps too." "I dare say., Algy will give her lots of opport—nitv for helping. He's sublime about money. Dear Algyl I am .so glad he is settled. We ha_ a glorious time working up the business together. Only it's such a pity he goes away this evening. Don't mind if we are late for dinner, we just want to do a farewell record. Au revoir, uncle."

She tripped off, waving her hand in airy adieu.

It was a come down. Never have I had a more humiliating quarter of an hour than that which followed the girl's departure. Facing the situation, I realised that my knowledge of humanity—on which I Jiad always prided myself—was out of date. Failure had been the natural result of basing calculations on obsolete data. My knowledge must be Drought up to date; such was the resolve which concluded my cogitations. I did not want another fiasco, and I did want —well, to stagnate in peace. On the day after Algy's departure, I went up to town. An entire week was devoted to .making a> conscientious round of the theatres. The stage professes to hold the mirror up to Nature and to reflect, for the amusement and instruction of Society, the ways of Society. Could I have a better teacher? I opened my mind, I marked, learned, and inwardly digested. Then I began to understand; the secret of my failure was revealed to mc. Love still held tbe stage; so far I had been right. After that I had been all wrong. The Borneo and* Juliet idea was evidently archaic. Youth was not attracted Dy youth, but quite othei"wise. I saw the wild hoyden of seventeen captivated by the elderly General; sweet and twenty succumbing to the blase man of the world; the dry old Professor, though absolutely unconscious of his personal charms, yet dealing destruction to the young maiden heart. A modern Shakes* peare would have made old Montague and not his son the hero* of the play. Then I remembered Algy and his elderly love and the views which Frances had expressed on the subject. How obtuse I had been! How antiquated and ignorant, with regard to modern developments! Before leaving town I looked up my old

friend Palgrave, He had loomed on the horizon of'my memory after hours of deep consideration. We had lost- sight of each other for many years, which was no wonder, seeing that his life was spent mainly in the germ world. By good luck I found him,and at a time when—"it appeared— there was but little doing amongst bacteria. He accepted my invitation to the country. Palgrave arrived a few days after my return. My spirits rose on meeting him at the station. Tho bicycle had again been on the tapis, and I had been somewhat down, not to say uneasy, all the morning. I felt that Palgrave would be a success. I was only just in time to abstract him from the train— lie had forgotten the name of the station. His hat and half his luggage had been lost on the way; from the one portmanteau the remnant of his impedimenta, portions of various garments projected. He was the very type of an erudite Professor. My new-ly-educated eye took in the attractions of his near-sighted eyes, his long hair, stooping shoulders, and clothes of learned rather than fashionable cut. Everything seemed most hopeful.' The pity was that ho took snuff; but ib could not be helped. And, indeed, one got to hope that he would take more instead of less, so liberal was he in scattering it over his clothes and things in general. Again I watched and waited. It seemed as if the process of waiting would be a long one. It was one thing to separate the Professor from his beloved bacteria, but quite another to get them out of his thoughts. I don't believe that he even knew there was a girl in the house for several days. The way in which his abstracted gaze wandered past her at meal time was most disheartening. He had been with mc nearly a week when I said to Frances—partly, it must be owned, with curiosity as well as apology "I am afraid you must find the Professor ..very dull. But he is an old friend of mine, so I hope you will not mind." The girl looked up sharply. "Dull? Oh, no. no! Not dull!" "Perhaps you would have mc say deadly dull?"

"Uncle James!" She stared at mc. "I thought, he was a dear friend of yours." "It is not to be expected that you and I should have the same taste in friends." "I don't think the Professor dull," she said, after a short silence. "He is very quaint. I often fear that he will fall into the lake. I watch him from my window." "les, I noticed that you had not been out as much as usual lately. You have not been feeling ill, I hope." "On, no! Not a bit. lam quite well." Vv as it the haste with which she spoke that made her flush? Whatever the cause, what a change a bright bit of colour can work in a girl s face! It set mc thinking all that day. Several days later the sound of voices in the library arrested my attention ono afternoon. I had given up the room to Palgrave for his visit. Ihe door was open, I stopped, and— screened from observation myself—looked m. I looked and listened. I do not excuse tiie act; but if a man cannot do what he likes in his own house, where else can he do it? Frances was standing at the foot of the library ladder with a large volume in her arms. The Professor's exclamation of surprise showed that he had only just come into the room. He was gazing at Frances with eyes that gleamed behind his spectacles I do not believe that the man had ever before looked at her. And she? Was that' the irrepressible, self-confident girl? She waa absolutely faltering out excuses and apologies for intrusion. "I was so interested in what you said at dinner last night, I—l— wanted to—?ee —for myself—something about—bacteria " She glanced deprecatingly at the big book which she held. "I—thought—you had— gone out. "I am glad that I returned," the Professor said, gravely. He wtis still looking afc Frarfces, and t wondered if he noted tho golden effect of a stray sunbeam that had just caught her curls. • , "I feel such an intruder; but I did so want to know—about— bacteria." "Dear mc! How curious, how very interesting!" But whether it was the bacteria or the girl I could not tell. The direction of his eyes, however, had not changed. "What authority are you consulting? Do you adopt the, Virchbw theories?" Frances made a little movement of the book and looked up. Good gracious ! The very expression of her mother's eyes! But Palgrave's were now fixed on the volume, bent down, peering close at it. '"Waldkopf!" he exclaimed. "A compilation of absurdity .inexactness, and false reasoning. My ninth chapter in 'The'lnfusoria- Suggestions of the Miocene Age' disposes of him absolutely." He,grasped the book. I fancy he was unconscious that his hand had closed over the girl's. He w-as all bacterian now, back in the bacteria world, • where there were no girls, nor golden curls, nor appealing eyes. And where there were no other professors with other views to be refuted. My interest was keenly aroused-r-not that I followed his continued denunciation of the unfortunate Waldkopf. I was wondering whether he would turn over the leaves of the book with his own or Frances's hand. In my eagerness to see, I pressed forward and knocked against the door. The noise fortunately covered the immediate retreat I was obliged to beat. After that I waited, but I did not watch *ga'i?>_ e ? C6 Pt' tue marvel of the growing change in Frances. Perhaps it was the curls—no longer severely repressed—which gave more softness to her face. But what had softened her voice and manner? I could more easily have fancied the gentler tones coaxing mc to stagnate, rather than sternly repressing any weak bent in that direction.

I don't know how it happened and I never shall. 'The only thing which mattered was, that it did happen. One morning, when the Professor's visit was drawing to a close, Frances came back from tne direction of the lake—l think that they had found it a regular bacteria preserve—engaged to him. The engagement was announced to mc at once. There were, tears in the girl's eyes and blushes mantled her cheeks. The likeness to poor Fanny so startled mc that* my congratulations were halting and confused. The Professor, standing by, tapped the snuff

box in his hariti and beamed benevolently through his spectacles.

I have never professed to understand women, whether old or new. I personally claim no credit for success in coping with a difficulty of life. Enough for mc to enjoy in humble gratitude and wonder, and to leave the understanding-?' to who will. I have resumed my old life. It may not be stagnation, but it is peace. My house is ths only one in the county which has no bicycle stable.