THE NOVELIST. A Colonist Maiden. A STORY OF LAKE WAKATIPU.

Otago Witness, Issue 1727, 27 December 1884, Page 16

THE NOVELIST. A Colonist Maiden. A STORY OF LAKE WAKATIPU.

Written for the Otago Witness, BY

"SAGJTTA," Author of "The Fate of a Pioneer," &c.

Ghaptbe XXXII. O Lizzy and her mother's time passed pleasantly amongst their relations and friends, between whom they were dividing their time, Christmas had come and gone, and the new year had been commenced, and the winter was nearing its end. Lizzy recefyed letters from Tom with every mail, to which she replied punctually. Tom's letters were full of protestations or the warmest devotions and joyful allusions to tbe future ; Lizzy's answer breathed a calm resignation and a reapect for Tom, which was cold at the boat, and which pained him deeply. She could not deny to herself that his letters pleased her, and she felt it impossible to return an equivalent for such devotion on his part. He wanted her heart, and it was not hers to give. She knew this, and the thought made her miserable.

Lord Stamborough, who occasionally showed those fits of depression, which made him so objectionable^to Lizzy, improved upon every oo«assion she met him. Old Tildy Jones had not pressed for the possession of Cliffhaugh Tower after her inspection of the place, and

when he had pressed her to take it, she declined the offer, saying that after all she would not like to live there. The old gamekeeper, who inhabitatod the rooms in repair, had shown her over the plac9, and she was Bure she didn't like it. Neither had she pestered him with f urf her exactions. It is true he visited her from time to time at' Coventry, and always left a handsome .douceur for her, which seemed to appoßee the old dame. Familiarity, too, had dulled the edge of fear with which she i had at first inspired his lordship ; and thus he was fast recovering his spirits. Lord Sfctvmborough had arranged to take Mrs and Miss Tregenniug into Warwickshire, where they intended to stay for several days at Cliffhaugh Castle, Both Lizzy and her mother had had their curiosity excited by the accounts they had heard of Cliffhaugh Tower This towor stood in the lonely part of the finest bit of native forest to be found anywhere. Ancient oaks and beeches grew where Nature had planted them, and were untrained by the hand of man, Thore was undergrowth of many descriptions, and there were moors, and rocks, and- waterfalls, and precipices ;_ in short, everything that made nature attractive j but above all there was the tower, when built nobody could tell. It was in existence in the ninth century, and was thus over one thousand years old. It was now a ruin, but still in part habitable. A gamekeeper had always lived there, and had many dire stories to tell of the ghosts which haunted the tower, and the elves and fairies which inhabited the forest.

Cliffhaugh Castle bad been built in true Tudor style in the reign of Henry VIII, and was distant nearly a mile from the tower. Lizzy had long been affected with antiquarian zeal, and longed to behold and inspect these tell-tale treasures of the past, but Lord Stamborough had always found some excuse to postpone the visit till some future date. ■ And now, again, after everything had been arranged for the long expected visit, he put new difficulties and objections in the way. Lizzy urged him to keep his promise, however. • Remember, my lord, we shall not be able to stay many .months longer in England, and mother has promised to take me to Paris, Munich, and Vienna for a short stay in each place on our return home, so that will curtail our time greatly.' This remark reminded him how little progress he had made in Miss Tregenning's good graces. His original intention was to have proposed, and thu [ascertained his fate, before the opening of the next London season, and that would be in a fortnight. He and Miss Tre germing had already become the talk of the clubs, and society was awaiting an interesting announcement in which a Colonial maiden would figure as the bride of a peer of the realm, With every day he became more anxious to give shape and substance to these rumours. In answer to Lizzy'o reminder he said : ' I have during your absence received a telegram from my solicitors concerning some business which will require my personal attention for several days. If we go now to 01 ffhaugh Castle I shall be compelled to leave you for several days aJone in an isolated spot, and almost withot company.'

• No,' said Lizzy, ' not without company ; for thore are ten centuries to draw upon, and then there is the gamekeeper at the tower — he can help to while away many a day.' ' I had intended to show you all there is to be seen, and tell you all the stories there are to bs told, and you are cruel to deprive me of that pleasure,' he said, in a mournful voice. 'But,' he added, 'I will wire to see if the business cannot bo delayed for a week.' < The reply came t&at au effort would be made to postpone the business, but that his lordship might at any time pc required to bo present at nome of the transactions'.

Mother and daughter combined their entreaties, and so it was agreed that they should at once go to Cliffhaugh Castle, which had been prepared for their reception more than a week previously.

Cliffhaugh Castle, standing upon an eminence, is visible from every point from which it may be approached long before it is reached, and as Lizzy was nearing it and saw its grey battlemented towers rise above the dark foliage, she pictured in her mind'B-eye .the scenes enacted many centuries ago, upon the site she was now traversing. The cavalcades of knights and ladies upon pleasure bent were defiling before her vision, in the gay holiday attire of a gorgeous past. These were succeeded by bands of armed and mailed men, mounted on steeds incased, like their riders, in clanking steel, returning from expeditions having deeds of violence for their object, or in quest of justice — as the word was understood when might was right. Then her thoughts returned to the present, and sought for the cultured gontleman — the descendant of those wild marauders' of the dark ages— whom she had known, and loved, and lost. Why was he not here?

But her reverie was cut short by their arrival at the lodge gate. They had for some time followed a high battlemented wall, and were now about to enter into the precincts of departed ages. The entrance was protected by high lowers, and massive gates, above which swung, with its pointed teeth downwards, the portcullis. Lizzy had seen several similar gates during her visit to England, but none could compare in its formidable array and imposing strength with that of Oliffhaugh Castle.

They entered. Passing through the gloom of the gateway they emerged into the sombre shadow of venerable trees, where the air seemed to be filled with the odours of decayed centuries, and where the modern intruder appears to be singularly out of place. The carriage rolled along under the far spreading branches of yews and chestnuts, which had seen many generations of proprietors passing out upon their last journey on carth — and some had passed away whom they had never known. The whole scene seemed to Lizzy like diving far into the past, and while in every direction the skill of man had raised monuments of his power and his will in grand schemes of solid masonry, yet everything spoke of his fleeting stay amidst all this grandeur. Battlemented walls and towsjs may imbue him with a feeling of security, but they hide from him his nothingness for a little while only, and as he crumbles into the dust he is made of, the piled up stones remain a mocking monument of their builders' evanescence.

With such thoughts in her mind, Lizzy and her companions arrived in view of the castle itself. The massive building • Btood upon a terraced height, B.road flights of steps of white marble flanked by richly carved balustrades, adorned with statuary f»nd erotic plants ; fountains playing in the midst of rare shrubs and evergreens ; here white . marble parapeted walls shining through t'J) green foliage, there a statute protruding from the leafy back ground, the grey and solid walls of the castle and its towere, from which floated dags and banners bearing the family arms and the insignia of ifco rank, were gracefully floating in the breeze ; the whole overtopped by wooded heights, formed a picture that once beheld was never to be forgptten. Lizzy stared in bewilderment and surprise at the fairy-like scene before her. Bright afternoon sunshine poured down from the clear

azure dome — swelling in bold arches over all, and added a charm to the picture which infused each shrub, each statue, and each fountain with an interest of its own. The drive wound by a gontle sweep round one end of the terraces, and as tbe carriage in its ascent rose to the level of each successive terrace, and afforded its occupants a view along its total' length, Lizzy and Mrs Tregenning could not repress their exclamations of delight, which rose to its climax as they drove along the topmost terraoe, from whence the whole splendour of the grounds lay spread out at their feet.

Lord Stamborough was pleased beyond all measure at the surprise which Mrs and Miss Tregenning evinced— and did not hesitate to express. If the first impression of Cliffhaugb Caatle was so favourable, what would be the effect of its interior ?he asked himself. Ever aiuce his return from New Zealand be bad been repairing, improving, and refurnishing the many rooms of the home of his family ; and his efforts met with their due reward. Both mother and daughter were lavish in their praises of the arrangements and the taste displayed without sacrificing anything to comfort.

So far, all was well ; yet with the gratification which their approval gave him came a nameless fear at having introduced his visitors to tbe castle, which shattered the pleasures he had anticipated from it.

He knew not why he should despond, yet his heart presaged some evil close at hand. 'Oh,' exclaimed Lizzy, the day after their arrival, ' I could live here for ever ; the place is bo beautiful and the grounds so large. I would never tire of walking over them.' ' Tbe place has undoubtedly many attractions, but it is very lonely on account of its extensiveness. Our nearest neighbours are tbe Huddleatanes, living nine miles off,' replied Lord Stamborough. 'Is this the home seat of your family, Lord Stamborough ?' asked Lizzy. ' It always used to be,' he replied, ''and I hope that it may soon be sq again. But hitherto I have never lived here for any length of time, only coming down for a short stay occasionally.'

It was again afternoon, and Lord Stamborough and Lizzy had been exploring a portion of the adjoining forest upon tbe heights above the Castle. Both were in exceptionally < good spirits; the excursion had been favoured, by the most lovely weather imaginable. Everything seemed propitious for Lord Stamborough's purpose, for it was evident that every possible display of wealth had been made to impress Lizzy with its lurements and advantages, and it had dawned upon her that he had brought her here to repeat his proposal, and amidst the scenes of almost regal splendour to overcome her prejudices. When they came to a halt upon their return journey he said, after seating himself at a short distance by her side :

'You have now seen English society in all its phases, Miss Tregenning, and I venture to suppose that you have greatly changed your opinion of it since I had the pleasure of making your acquaintance?' 'You surmise correctly, my lord,' replied Lizzy. 'My opinions, whioh I had formed from books chiefly and partly from hearsay evidence, have undergone a great change. I find that man is very much the same in all spheres into which society has divided itself.'

'And I trust you will admit thafe rank, position, and wealth have attractions and afford facilities for enjoying life which without these aids cannot be attained?' asked Lord Stamborough, 'I remember, my lord,' answered Lizzy, ' that you once tried to impress upon me that t.here was only one kind of intelligence which served the needs alike of rich and poor. I have found out the truth and application of your remark, and I have also discovered that thereis only one kind of happiness and contentment. The settler in New Zealand, living on the confines of civilisation, is as near the goal of human happiness as a peer of England at the apex of human aspirations and wishes.' ' ' That is an idyllic view of the question, and I hope is not in accordance with your pastes, Miss Tregenning.' , - , ' I share with common humanity a taste for happiness' and contentment. My reason points to a middle course, equally removed from the highest speres of society and x its lowest depths, j as the most congenial ground for their natural ] growth,' said Lizzy, ' But, Miss Tregenning, if you take a wider view of life than a personal one, and consider the means for doing good, the chances for improving man's physical and spiritual well-being, the vast scope afforded to your inclination towards the advancement of human knowledge and enterprise which wealth and rank afford, and it were given you to choose, would you still be of your opinion as you have expressed it ?'

' I am constrained to think,' replied Lizzy, 'that the sphere to which our inclinations point is the proper one to select for both our individual happiness and that of humanity at large, Many well-meant efforts have turned out disastrous failures, no matter from whence they emanated.'

Lord Stamborough saw that Lizzy wilfully misunderstood him, and under the circumstances he thought it best not to presß his point unduly, still he decided to let her know his meaning plainly, and with that object replied : ' It is an acknowledged fact that men and women of the highest intelligence, and endowed with the greatest capacity for doing good to their species, have mistrusted their abilities, and consequently mistaken their avocation in life. This fact is a singular illustration of the divine diotum, "It is not good that man should be alone." And lam sure you are undervaluing the endowments with which nature has blessed you, Miss Tregenning, and that you do yourself and your race a wrong by hesitating to accept an opportunity which a wise providence offers you to turn these endowments to account,'

Lizzy was far too honest to carry her simulation to a blameable extent, and she felt that already the deception practiced was imposing its own punishment upon her, and that she would be compelled to say something unpleasant to her host. She turned to him, and looking straight at him, said ; ' I fully understand you, my lord, but am afraid that your opinion^ of me is more flattering than correct. I shrink quite as much now as I did before I came to England from entering a phase of life to which I was not born, and though my first impressions have altered they have-not removed 1 one of my objections.' The manner in which Lizzy said these plain words rather pleased Lord Stamborough ;. they contained nothing expressing a personal dislike to him, and looking back upon his recent intercourse with Miss Tregenning, he could honestly tell himself that he had gained much of her regard for him. Resuming their walk home, he continued the conversation by paying : ' Your stay has not been long enough to have such a result, A few months more, when you will have had an opportunity of making the application of our present conversation, will no doubt alter your views.' Shortly after their return Lord Stamborough entered the drawing-room, with some letters and telegrams jp bis hand. Lizzy and

her mother, who were the only ocoupants of the room as his lordship entered, cried simultaneously : - * Letters from New Zealand ?' ' No,' replied he ; • the 'Frisco mail will not arrive here till to-morrow. These are business communications which summons me to London. My engagements may compel me to be absent for more than one day, and as I could not think of leaving you here alone without any company whatever, I have decided to ask you to accompany me to town.' ~\ 'We would only be an encumbrance upoa you there,' answered Mrs Tregenning; 'and delay and perhaps interfere with your businees, We shall get over two' or three days very well, for everything iB quite new yet to us in this delightful place.' 'There are the library and pictures, which we have only glanced at as yet, and in fine weather the grounds and forest would afford pastime for the whole summer,' added Lizzy. • Well, in that case, I can only ask that you' l \ will excuse me, and accept my assurance that I shalji not delay my return a moment longer .>' ' ; than I can help. With your permission, M*a\ ! ■ Tregenning, I would like to appoint Mies l^' Tregenning as mistress here during my absence, ' ■■• and instruct the servants to that effect. ' ~ ; Of course Mrs Tregenning readily gave her "■ - consent to this, little knowing tbe 'abrupt - ~ termination which this appointment was dea* ' tined to ta"ke. ' The one thing I would ask of you is,' said Lord Stamborough, 'not to visit Cliffhaugh Tower till I return.' 'Why,' Lizzy said, laughingly, 'it iB snrely not a King Bluebeard's chamber ?' • A visible tremor passed over Lord Stamborough's frame and faoe, leaving a gloom behind it which did not wear off for some time. He, however, said, in an officious manner : • I have reserved this surprise for you as the event of your visit, and would have taken you there to-day had all my arrangement, been completed.' ' 1 have not many of the qualities which are necessary to make a Fatima,' continued Lizzy, in her light strain, ' and another reason why I should not fall into the character is that I have no big brother to deliver me from the consequences of my disobedience,' • ' Lord Stamborough left early the following' morning for London, in a gloomy and uneasy mood, as if some dreadful event was casting its ' shadow before. {To le continued.)