THE NOVELIST. NEVA'S THREE LOVERS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 6739, 22 April 1893, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE NOVELIST. NEVA'S THREE LOVERS.

[BY MISS. HARRIET LEWIS.]

i IIAI'TICIi IX

A KNDT S.'MMAUH.Y .-10 VIOII Xi I

Rufus Black's heart grow heavier still, and his sense of dread deepened, as lie steamed down to Canterbury in the express train. He had a seat by a window in a scond-ciass compartment in which wero four other passengers, hut he was as much alone us if lie liail had the compartment to himself. His travelling companions chatted and laughed and jested among themselves, while he looked from his window upon hop gardens, green fields and clustering hamlets, with sad, unseeing eyes, and thought of his poverty, his fnendlessnessand the slow starvation that lay before him and his young wife. He looked enviously at the workers in a brick yard the train was passing at that moment. There were men there, coarse and ignorant, hut brawny of limb and broad of chest ; and there were children too, boys and girls of tender years, working steadily for scanty pay ; but they were all workers, and they looked stolidly contented with their lot. The train swept on through new scenes, and the course of the young man's musings was changed, but their bitterness remained in full strength. ' I wonder what my father can want of me ?' he said to himself, presently. « How can he put me in the way of a fortune ? Lie promised that I should study law, but he has forgotten the promise. With a profession to depend upon, I know I could win a competence. Perhaps it is to speak of this he has sent for me this morning. He surely cannot mean for me ' —and the young man's brow darkened —' to become a gambler, as lie has been . I shall refuse, if lie proposes it. For my innocent Lally's sake, I will keep myself pure of his vices.' This resolution was strong within him when he alighted from the train at Canterbury and took a hansom cab to Wyndham village. The drive of several miles was occupied with speculations as to what his father wanted of liim, and with thoughts of his young wife in her dingy lodgings at New iSrompton, and he did not even notice the houses, farms and villas they passed, nor any feature of the scenery until the horse slackened his speed to a, walk, and the driver opened his small trap in the roof, and said : ' The'house yonder on the ridge, sir, is Hawkhurst, the seat of the Wynde family. Sir Harold Wynde died in India a year ago, you know, sir, and the property belongs to his only child, a daughter. A mile or so beyond is Wyndham village.' Rufus Black turned his gaze upon ihe fair domain of the Wyndes. It fay on both sides of the highway, Stretching as far as his eye could reach. The grand old mansion of grey stone, with outlying houses of glass glittering in the summer sunshine like immense jewels, the great lawns, the gardens, the park, the cool woods—all these made up one of tho faire3t pictures the eyes of Rufus Black had ever rested upon. ' How glorious !' he said, involuntarily. ' And it all belongs to a lady ?' ' Yes, sir, a mere girl,' replied the cabwail. < She is at school in France. It's a great place—is Hawkhurst.' He dropped the trap and urged on his horse ; but Rufus continued to look upon the house and estate with great, envious eyes. Why should all this belong to one, and that one a mere girl, while he wanted for bread ? His soul was convulsed with bitterness and repining, and the shadow of his trouble rested upon his face. A few minutes of brisk driving brought them to Wyndham village, which consisted merely of one long, Straggling street, lined with houses and°gardcns. In the very centre of the street, upon four corners formed by ■the intersection of a country road, was fathered the business portion of the JhainLet. Upon one corner was the tillage smithy, from whose open door ■came the ringing sound of hammer upon anvil. A group of countrymen svere gathered about the door of the emithy, and a few carts stood beforo it on the paved street. Upon a second corner was a general shop and post office in one. Upon a third corner was a rival establishment of the same description, but without the advantage and prestige oE the post office, and on the fourth corner stood the Wyndham Inn, with its swinging sign, ample jcmrt-yard and hospitable look. Jt was an old stone building, with a Avid- i?ortico in front, on which were ■babies" set. chairs. Rufus Black was ■driven into the court, and sprang out of the cab at the same moment that portly, rubicund landlord came out to receive him. The young man enquired .or his father, and was informed that ihe was in his ro.mis at the inn. Rufus paid and dismissed the cabman, and followed the landlord into the inn. He was conducted up a /light of uncarpeted stairs, and the landlord pointed out to luiu the door of a front chamber j as the one at which he was to knock. Rufus quietly lifted the latch and ushered himself into the room, closing the door behind him. The room was a pleasant little country parlor, with three easement windows, a faded carpet on the iloor, cane-seated furniture and a jug of flowers on the mantel-shelf. The sunlight streamed iv, but its heat was tempered by the delicious breeze. The Hon. Craven Black was not in. the room, but there were vestiges of his occupancy on every side. Upon a small table stood his massive dressingcase with mirror and brushes mounted in exquisitely carved ivory, and with boxes and bottle-stoppers of finelychased and solid gold. All the appointments of the large case were luxurious in the extreme, and Rufus thought bitterly that the sum which that Sybaritic affair had cost would be a fortune to him in his own present destitution. A beautifully inlaid writing-case, a tobacco-iar of the finest Sevres porcelain » Turkish pipe mounted in gold and amber, a liquor-case and various other CO stly trifles were scattered lav.shly about. The Hon. Craven Black had never denied himself a luxury in Ins life, and these things he carried with him wherever he went, as necessary to his comfort and happiness. Rufus Black's lips curled as he looked on theso luxuries and mentally calculated their cost. Ho was in the midst of his calculation when the door of the adjoining bedroom was opened from within, and his father came out, habited in slippers and dressing-gown, and with an Indian embroidered cap of scarlet and gold poised lightly on his fair head. His light eyes opened a little Wider than usual as he beheld his son, _ and his usual cynical smile showed itself disagreeably around his white teeth. < So you've come at last, have you V he exclaimed. ' I expected you yes ierday.'

' I received your letter this morning, soon after breakfast, sir,' answered Rufus, ' and I came on at once in the express train. I have changed my lodgings from the one you knew, and the letter was sent on from my old to my new address.' Mr Black eyed his son critically, his cynical smile deepening. ' You have a general out-at-the-elbows look,' ho observed. 'You've gone down hill since I threw you over. You look hungry and desperate.' ' 1 am both,' was the reply, in a reckless tone. ' And 1 have reason to be. I am starving !' Mr i.lack Hung himself into the niilv easy-chair the room .ilmi'dod, and made a gesuire to his son to lie seated upon the couch. I.ufus obeyed. ' You are in the mood 1 hoped to find you,' declared the father, with a disagreeable laugh. ' Desperate— starving ! That is better than I expected. What have become of all your fine anticipations of wealth and fortune achieved with your brush ? You do not find it easy to paint famous pictures?' ' I mistook my desire for ability,' cried Rufus, his eyes darkening with the pain of his confession. -'1 have a liking for painting, and I fancied that liking was genius. I lind myself crippled by not knowing how to do anything well. My pictures bring me in fifteen shillings apiece, and cost me three days' work. I could earn more at brick-making—if I only knew how to make bricks. When you sent me to the university, father, y r ou said I should study a profession. I demand of you the fulfilment of that promise. I want some way to earn my living !' ' Better get a living without work,' said Mr Black, coolly. ' I don't like work, and I don't believe you do. You want to study law, but your talents are not transcendent, my son ; you will never sit upon the woolsack.' ' If I can earn two hundred pounds a year, I will ask nothing more,' said Rufus, bitterly. ' I have discovered for myself that my abilities are mediocre. I shall never be great as anything— unless as a failure. But if I can only glide along in tho great stream of mediocre people, and be nothing above or below them, I shall be content.' ' And you say this at twenty years old ?' cried his father, mockingly. ' You talk liko one of double your years. Where have your hopefulness, your bright dreams, your glowing anticipations gone ? You must have had a hard experience in the last three months, to be willing to settle down into a hard-working drudge.' ' My experience has been hard.' ' I believe you. You look beaten out, worn out, discouraged. Now 7 , Rufus, I have sent for you that I may make your fortune as well as mine. There is a grand prospect opening beforo you, and you can be one of the richest men in England if you choose 10 be sensible. But you must obey my orders.' ' I connot promise that before knowing what you demand,' said the son, his face clouding. ' I have no sympathy with your manner of life, father. If you had not the advantage of titled connections and did not bear tho title of ' honorable,' you would he called an adventurer. You know you would. I want nothing to do with your ways of life. I will not be a gambler—not for all the wealth in England.' ' Don't refuse till you aro asked,' said Mr Black, harshly. 'Don't imagine that I want to corrupt your fine principles by making a gambler of you. I am no gamester, even though I play at cards. I play only as gentlemen play. The game I have in hand for you is easily played, if you have but ordinary skill. I can make you master of one of the finest estates in England, if you but say the word.' ' Honorably ? Can you do it honorably ?' cried Rufus, eagerly. ' Certainly. I would not propose anything dishonorable to one of your nice sense of honor,' said Mr Black, with sarcastic emphasis. ' What is it you would have me do ?' ' You are young, enthusiastic, welllooking and well educated,' said Mr Black, without paying heed to his son's question. ' In short, you are fitted to the business I have in hand. I intended to give you a professional education, but if you obey me you won't want it, and if you do not obey me you may go to the dogs. I suppose your poverty has driven that little lowborn music teacher out of your head V ' What has she to do with this business ?' ' Nothing whatever. I want to make sure that you are well rid of her, but perhaps it would be as well to leave her name out of the question. You say you are starving. .Now, if you will solemnly promise to obey me, I will advance you fifty pounds to-day, with which you can (it up your wardrobe and gratify any luxurious desire you may have.' Rufus Black's eyes sparkled. ' Speak,' he said, impatiently. ' I am desperately poor. I would do almost anything for fifty pounds. What do you want done ?' Again Craven Black laughed softly, well pleased with his son's mood. ' Did you see Hawkhurst as you came ?' he asked, with seeming irrelevancy. ' It's one of the grandestplaces in Kent.' 1 1 saw it. The driver pointed it out to me.' ' How did it look to you ?' ' Like heaven.' ' How would you like to be master of that heaven ?' Rufus stared at his father with wide, incredulous eyes. ' Y r ou are dialling me,' said the young man, his countenance falling. '1 am in serious earnest. The owner of Hawkhurst is a young girl who is expected home from school today. She has lived the life of a nun in her French school, and does not know one young man from another. She will be beset with suitors iui ncdiately, and the one who comes lirst stands the best chance of winning her. I want you to make love to her and marry her,' ' Rufus Black's face paled. The suggestion nearly overcame him. The project looked stupendous and chimerical. ' I wondered that you should be down here at Y.'y.nlliam, father,' he said : ' and I suppose you are here because you have formed some design upon this young heiress. Do you know her ?' ' No : but I know her step-mother, who is her personal guardian,' explained j Craven Black. ' Do you remember the handsome widow, Mrs Hathaway, whom you saw once at tho theatre in my charge '.' She married Sir Harold Wynde. He died m India last year, leaving her well jointured. I came down to see her the other day, and it seems she remembers mo with her old affection. In short, Rufus, I am engaged to marry Lady Wynde, and the wedding is to take place in October. She is her step-daughter's guardian, as I said, and will have unbounded influence to back up your suit. The field is clear before you. Go in and win.' Kufus grew yet paler, and his voice was hoarse as he asked : ' And this is your scheme for making me rich V ' It is. The girl has a clear income of seventy thousand pounds a year. 1 As her husband you will be a man of consequence. She owns a house in ' town, a hunting box in the Scottish Highlands and other houses in I England. You will have horses and

hounds, a yacht, if you wish it, at your marine villa, and a bottomless purse. You can paint wretched pictures and hear the fashionable world praise them as divine. You can become.a member of Parliament. All careers are open to the fortunate suitor of Neva Wynde.' The picture was dazzling enough to the half-starved and. desperate boy. He liked all these things his father enumerated —the houses, the horses, the luxuries, tho money and the luxurious ease and the honors. He had found it hard to work, and harder to dispose of his work. All the bitterness and hardness of his lot arose before him in black contrast with the brightness and beauty that would mark the destiny of the favored lover of young Neva Wynde. lie arose and walked the floor with an impetuous tread, an expression of keen anguish and keener longing in his ej'es. His father watched him with a furtive gaze as a cat watches a mouse. It was necessary to his plans that' his son should marry Neva Wynde, and he was sanguine that he would be able to bring about the match. ' Well ?' he said, tiring of the quick, impetuous walk of his son. ' What do you say ?' ' It is impossible !' returned Rufus, abruptly. ' Utterly impossible !' ' And why, if I may be allowed to ask ?' enquired Mr Black, blandly, although a scowl began to gather on his fair forehead. ' Because—because—the young lady may have other designs for herself. I can't marry her for her money—l can't give up Lally !' ' The—the young person who taught music ? I understood you' to say that she was a corn-chandler's daughter. And you prefer a low-horn, low-bred creature to a wealthy young lady like Miss Wynde ? For a young man educated as you have been, youi> good taste is remarkable. You have a predilection for high-class society, I must say. What is the charm of the not-to-be-given-up ' Lally V Is she beautiful V i ' She is beautiful to me.' ' Which means that she is beautiful to no one else. The beauty which requires love's spectacles to distinguish is ugliness to every one hut the lover. Low-born and low-bred,' repeated Mr Black, dwelling upon the words as if they pleased him, ' with a pack of poor and ignorant relations tacked to her skirts, ugly by your own confession, what a brilliant match she would be for the son of the Honorable Craven Black !' ' She has no poor relations,' said Rufus, hotly. ' She has no relations except a great-aunt, whose name she does not know, and who very likely does not dream of her existence. It is true that Lally's father was a cornchandler, but he was an honest one, and, more than that, he was an intelligent, upright gentleman. You arch your brows, as if a man could not be a tradesman and a gentleman. If the word 'gentleman' has any meaning, ho was a gentleman.' ' I do not care to discuss the subtle meanings of words ; I am willing to accept them at the valuation society puts upon them. The pedigree of ' Lally' is of 110 interest to me. I merely want to know if you mean to marry Neva Wynde and be rich, or marry your ' Lally ' and starve. And if you are willing to starve yourself, aro you willing to have ' Lally ' starve also ? With your fine ideas of honor, I wonder you can wish to drag that girl into a marriage that will bo to her but a slow death.' A groan burst from the youth's lips. He wrung his hands weakly, while tho secret of his marriage trembled on his tongue. But he dared not tell it. Ho was afraid of his father with a deadly fear, and more than that, he had yet hope of receiving assistance from his parent. ' I cannot give her up, father,' he said, hoarsely. ' I beg you to help me in some way, and let me go. You are not rich, I know, but you have influence. You could get me a situation under government, in the Homo Office, Somerset House, or as secretary to some nobleman. If you will do this for me, I will bless you while I live. Oh, father, be merciful to me ! Give me a little help, and let me go on my ways.' ' In that way, I will not ! If you cling to that girl, you shall have not one penny from mo, not one word of recommendation. You can drift to the hospital or the alms-house, and I will not raise a finger to help you. I will not even give one farthing to save you from a pauper's burial. I swear it!' Craven Black uttered the oath in a tone of utter implacability, and Rufus knew that the heavens would sooner fall than his father would relent. A despair seized upon him, and again he wrung his hands, as he cried out, recklessly : ' I must cling to her, father ! Cast me off if you will, curse me as you choose—but Lally is my wife !' Craven Black was stupified for the momant. An apoplectic redness suffused his face and his eyes gleamed dangerously. ' Your wife ? Your wife ?' ho muttered, scarcely knowing that he spoke. ' Yes, she is my wife !' declared Rufus, his voice gathering firmness. I I married her threo months ago. We have been starving together in a garret at New Brompton. Oh, father—' ' Not one word ! Married to that girl ? I will not believe it ! Have you a marriage certificate ?' ' I have. Here it is ;' and Rufus drew from his pocket-book a slender, folded paper. ' Read it, and you will see that I tell the truth. Lally Bird is my wife !' Craven Black took the paper and perused it with strange deliberation, the apoplectic redness still suffusing his face. When he had finished, he deliberately tore the marriage certificate into shreds. Rufus uttered a cry, and sprang forward to seize the precious document ; but his father waved him back with a gesture of stern command. ' Poor fool !' said tho elder man. • The destruction of this paper would not affect the validity of your marriage, if it were valid. But it is not valid.' < Not valid !' ' No ; you a,nd the girl are both minors. A marriage of minors without consent of parents and guardians is not binding. The girl is not your wife.' 'But she is my wife. We were married in church—' ' That won't make the marriage binding. You are a minor, and so is she. She had no one to consult, but you married without my consent, and that fact will render the marriage null and void. More than this,' and Mr Black's eyes sparkled wickedly, ! you have committed perjury. You obtained your marriage license by declaring yourself of age, and you will not become of age under some mouths. Do you know what the punishment is for perjury ? It is imprisonment, disgrace, a striped suit and prison fare.' The young man looked appalled. ' Who would prosecute me ?' he asked. '/would. You have got yourself in a tight box, young man . Your marriage is null and void, and you have committed perjury. Now I will offer you your choice of two alternatives. You can make love to Miss Wynde and marry her, and be somebody. Or, if you refuse, I will prosecute you for perjury, will have you sent to prison, and will brand that girl with a name

that will fix her social station for life. Take your choice.' Craven Black meant every word he said, and Rufus knew that he meant it. The young fellow shuddered and trembled, and then broke into a wild appeal for mercy, but his father turned a deaf ear to his anguished cry. ' You have my decision,' he said, coldly. ' I shall not reconsider it. The girl is not your wife, and when she knows her position she will fly from you.' Rufus groaned in his anguish. He know well the pure soul of his young wife, and he felt that she would not remain in any position that was equivocal, even though to leave him might break her heart. The disgrace, the terror, the poverty of his lot, nearly crushed him to the earth. ' What is your answer to be ?' demanded Mr Black. The poor young fellow sat down and covered his face with his hands. He was terribly frightened, and the inherent weakness and cowardice of his character, otherwise full of noble traits, proved fatal to him now. He gasped out : 'I—l don't know. I must have time to think. It is all so strange— so terrible !' ' You can have all day in which to consider the matter. I have engaged a bedroom for you on the opposite side of the hall. I will show you to it, and you can think the matter over in solitude.' Mr Black arose and conducted his son across the hall to a bedroom overlooking the street and the four corners, and here, with a last repetition of the two alternatives offered him, he left him. Poor Rufus, weak and desparing, locked the door and dropped upon his knees, sobbing aloud in the extremity of his anguish. < What shall I do ? What can I do ?' he moaned. ' She is not my wife. My poor Lally ! And I am helpless in my father's hands. I shall have to yield —I feel it—l know it ! I wish I were dead ! Oh, my poor, wronged Lally !' CHAPTER X. SUVA AT 11 0 -M E AGAIN. The home-coming of the heiress of Hawkhurst was far different from that which her father had once lovingly planned for her when looking forward to her emancipation from school. There was no sign of festivity about tho estate, no gathering of tenants to a feast, no dancing on the lawn, no floral arches, no music, no gladness of welcome. The carriage containing Neva Wynde and Mrs Artrcss, and attended by liveried servants, turned quietly into the lodge gates, halted a moment while Neva spoke to the lodge-keepers, whom she well remembered, and then slowly ascended the long, shaded drive toward the house. Neva looked around her with kindling eyes. The fair green lawn, with its patches o' sunshine and shade, the close-lying park, with the shy deer browsing near the invisible wire fence that separated the park from the lawn, the odors of the flower gardens—all these were inexpressibly sweet to her after her years of absence from-sher home. ' Home again 1' she murmured, softly. ' Although those who made it the dearest spot in all the world to me are gone, yet still it is home. No place has charms for me like this.' The carriage swept up under the high-pointed arch of the lime-trees, and drew up in the porch, where the ladies alighted. Artre§s led the way into the house, and Neva followed, with a springing step and a widely beating heart. The great baronial hall was not brightened with flowers or green boughs. The oaken floor, black as ebony, was polished liko jet. The black, wainscoted walls, hung with ancient pictures, glittering shields, a few fowling-pieces, a stag's head with antlers, an ancient boar's head and other treasures, was wide, cool and hospitable. No servants were gathered here, although Neva looked for them and was disappointed in not seeing them. Most of the servants had been at Hawkhurst for many years, and Neva regarded them as old friends. It had been the wish of the butler and housekeeper to marshal their subordinates in the great hall to welcome their young mistress, but Lady Wynde, hearing of their design, had peremptorily forbidden it, with the remark that until she came of age Miss Wynde would not be mistress of Hawkhurst; and therefore no

alternative had remained for the butler and housekeeper but to smother their indignation and snbmit to Lady Wynde's decree. Mrs Artress flung open the door of the drawing-room with, an excessive politeness, and said : ' Be kind enough to enter, Miss Wynde, and make yourself comfortable while I inform Lady Wynde of your arrival.' ' I am hot a guest in my own home and I decline to be treated as one' said Neva quietly. ' I presume my rooms are ready, and I will go to them immediately.' 'lam not positive,' said Artress, hesit.it.ngly, 'as to the rooms Lady Wynde has ordered to be made ready' for your use. I will riDg and see.' ' Thank you, but I won't put you to the trouble. I shall resume possession of my old rooms, whatever rooms jamL have been made ready,'said Neva, haM haughtily. r.J Her cheeks burned with a sense ofl indignation and annoyance at thel strangeness of her reception. She bad! not wished for the rejoicings her father! had once planned for her, but she had! entered her own house precisely a«| some hireling might have done, with ncf one to receive or to greet her, no ono tel care if she had come. She turned awaw to ascend the stairs, but paused witll her foot on the lowest step as a dooJ at the farther end of the hall opened! and the housekeeper, rosy and rotundl with cap-ribbons flying, came rushmJ forward with outstretched arms. ,■ ' Oh, my dear Miss .Neva;' criecfl the good woman, who had known anil loved the baronet's daughter from heß birth. 'Welcome home, my swee« lamb ! How you have grown—so tafl so beautiful, so bright and sweet !' I ' You clear old Hopper !' exclainieH Neva, springing forward and embracinM the good woman with girlish fervoß ' I began to think I must have enterM a strange house. I am so glad to sfl you!' ■ Mrs Artress looked upon this liitH scene with an air of disgust, and wijß a little sniff hastened up the stairs I apartments of Lady Wynde. H ' Your rooms are ready, Miss NevM said Mrs Hopper—'your old roonH I made sure you wanted them because poor Sir Harold furnishH them new for you only four years aAVJ I will go with you upstairs.' hVj .Neva led the way, tripping lighH up the broad steps, and flitting aloH the wide upper hall. Her rooms comprised a suit opposjH those of Lady Wynde. Neva the door of her sitting-room and w«VJ in. The portly old butler was nrra__H ing wreaths of flowers about __H pictures and statuettes, but the yonng girl came in, and her with an admixture of warmth respectfulness that was pleasant witness. Then he took Ids cuttings and withdrew, the joy flooding his honest eyes. BVJ Tho girl's sitting-room had I_______| transformed by the loving of the butler into a very beauty. The carpet was of a azure hue, starred with blossoms, and the furniture upholstered in blue silk of the delicate tint. The pictures on____H walls were all choice and gilt, and, with their wreaths of blossoms, gave a fairy brightne____^__| the room. The silver-mounted AVI was crowded thickly with choice from the conservatory, whose white and blue were here and _________ relieved with scarlet blossoms ing coals. The wide, French opening upon a balcony, were ope^^l ' Ah, this.is home !' said ing down upon a silken looking out of one of the the lawn. 'I am glad to beAVfl again, Hopper, but it's a sad coming. Poor papa !' ' Poor Sir Harold!' housekeeper, wiping her eyes. could only have lived to see you up, Miss Neva. It was that he should have been taken was. I can't, somehow, get shock of his death/ ' I shall never get Neva, softly. ' I am making you cry for thing after your return!' .Mrs Hopper, in hope those tears are not bad you, Miss Neva. I have your rooms,' she added, 'as to be, and if they are not have only to say so. You are of Hawkhurst now. Hid you maid from Paris, Miss Neva ?'^_^H ' No, Mrs Artress said it \^^^| necessary, and my maid at scli^^H not wish to' leave France. Mrs^^^l (For co?iti*wation «_■<_ tint prtflVJ^_H

said that Lady Wynde had engaged a maid for me.' ' Hor ladyship intended to give you her own maid, but I made bold to engage your old attendant, Maggy West, and she is in your bedroom now. She is wild with joy at the prospect of serving you again.' ' I had dreaded having a strange attendant,' Neva said. ' You were very thoughtful, Hopper. I suppose I ought to dress at once. Since Lady Wynde did not meet me at the door, she evidently means to be ceremonious, and I must confirm her wishes. lam impatient to see my step-mother, Hopper. Is she as good as she is handsome ?' ' I am not fond of Lady Wynde, Miss Neva,' replied tho housekeeper, coloring. ' Her ways arc different from any I have been accustomed to, but you must judge her for yourself. .Sir Harold just worshipped tho ground she walked on.' Neva did not pursue her ipiestioning, comprehending that Lady Wynde was not adored by the housekeeper, whoever else might, admire her. The young girl was not one in gop.-dn wiili servants, or even witli .Mrs Hopper, who was a lady hy hirih and education, and she dropped the subject. So<'ii after Mrs Hopper withdrew, and Neva wont into her bedroom. She found here the maid who had attended her before she had left home, and who now was to resume service with her. The girl was about her own ago, bright-eyed and red-checked, hearty and wholesome, the daughter of one of the Hawkhurst tenants. Neva greeted her so kindly as to revive the girl's old affection fur her with added fervor, and, Neva's trunks having arrived, tho process of the toilet was at once entered upon. The housekeeper sent up a tempting lunch ; and after partaking of it, Neva went down-stairs to the great drawingroom, hut it was untenanted. She stood in the large circular window and looked out upon the cool depths of the park, and became absorbed in thought. More than half an hour thus passed, and Neva was beginning to wonder that no one came to her, when the rustling of silk outsids the door was hoard, and Lady Wynde swept into the room. Her Ladyship presented a decidedly striking appearance. She had laid aside the* last vestage of her mourning garments, and wore a maize-colored robe of heavy silk, with ornaments of rubies. Her beauty was admirable enhanced by her attire, and Neva thought she had never seen a woman more handsome or more imposing. Behind Lady Wynde came Artress, clad in soft gray garb, as usual, and making an excellent foil to her employer. ' Lady Wynde, this is Miss Wynde,' said the grey companion, in her soft, cloying voice.

Neva came forward, frank and sweet, offering her hand to her step-mother. Lady Wynde touched it with two fingers, and, stooping, kissed the girl's forehead. ' You are welcome home, Neva,' she said, graciously. 'I am glad to see you my dear. I began to think we should never meet. Why, how tall aro you—not at all the little girl I expected to see.' ' I am eighteen, you may remember, Lady Wynde,' returned Neva. ' One is not usually very small at that age.' Her Ladyship surveyed her stepdaughter with keen scrutiny. She had already heard Artiess's account of the voyage homo from Calais and of Neva's meeting with Lord Towyn, and she was anxious to form some idea of the girl's character. Sho saw in the first moment that here was not the inspired, ' bread-and-butter-school' she had expected. Tho frank, lovely face, so bright and piquant, was full of characteiyand the red-brown eyes bravely uplifted betrayed a soul awake and resolute. Neva's glances were as keen as her own, and Lady "Wynde had an uncomfortable impression that her step-daughter was reading her true character. ' Sit down, my dear,' she said, somewhat disappointed. ' Artress has been telling me about your voyage. Artress is my friend and companion, as I wrote you, and lias lived with mo so many years that I have learned to regard her as a sister. I hopo you will be friends with her. She is an excellent mentor to thoughtless youth.' Neva bowed, but the smile that played for an instant on her saucy lips was not encouraging to the would-be ' mentor.' ' I shall not try to trouble her,' she said, smiling, ' although I shall always be glad to receive advice from my father's wife. I trust that you and I shall always be friends, Lady Wynde, for poor papa's sake.' Lady Wynde sat down by her stepdaughter. Artress retreated to a recessed window and took up her usual embroidery. Neva exerted herself to converse with her step-mother, and was soon conscious of a feeling of disappointment in her. She felt that Lady Wynde was insincere, a hypocrite and a double dealer, and she experienced a sense of uneasiness in her presence. Could this be the wife her father had adored, she asked herself ; and then she accused herself of injustice and harsh judgment, believing that her father could not have been so mistaken in the character of his wife; and in atonement for her unfavorable opinion she was very gentle and full of deference. Lady Wynde congratulated herself upon having won her step-daughter's good opinion after all.

' I must acquire a thorough control and unbounded influence over her,' she thought. ' But how can Ido it ? If her father had only left hor stronger injunctions to sacrifice everything to my wishes. I think she would obey the injunctions a3 if a voice spoke to her from the grave. She will obey in all things reasonable—l can see that— but if she has formed a liking for Lord Towyn how am I to compel her to marry Rufus Black ?'

The question occupied her attention even while she talked with Neva. It made her thoughtful through the dinner hour, and silent afterward. Neva was tired, and went to her own rooms for the night soon after dinner, and Lady Wynde and Artress talked for a long time in low tones. ' I have it." said her ladyship, exultantly, at last. ' I have a brilliant idea, Artress, that will make this girl my, bondslave. But I shall need the cooperation of Craven. I must see him this very evening. It is strange he docs not come—' ' He is here, said the grey companion, as the house door clanged and heavily shut. ' I will go to my room.' She slipped like a shadow down the long triple drawing-room and out at one door, as the Hon. Craven Black was ushered in at the other. Lady Wynde rose to receive him, welcoming him with smiles, and presently she unfolded to him the scheme she had just conceived, and the two conspirators proceeded to discuss it and amplify it and prepare it for the ensnarcment of the baronet's drughter. [TO l',F. CON'I'INDKD.]

Cesare Orsini, whose appointment as Italian Envoy to Mexico is announced, is a brother to the leader in the attempted assassination of Napoleon 111 while the latter was driving to the opera—Felice Orsini, whoso name was given to the kind of bomb used on that occasion.

Mr Gladstone smokes occasionally, but very little. He will accept a cigar once in a great while from near friends while their guest, and take just a few whiffs of smoke. .Sometimes, it is even asserted, lie is seen with a cigarette between his fingers, but he was never seen smoking one.

The statement that the Czar of Russia is soon to assume the title of ' Emperor of Asia,' as a set-off to the title of Empress of India, assumed by Queen Victoria, is generally believed in European political circles.

Pigeons have been used as mail carriers for about 700 years.