CHAPTER XIV.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11571, 12 July 1899, Page 6 (Supplement)

CHAPTER XIV.

THE TKMPLES FLOURISH LIKE A GREEN BAY TREE IN SARATAGO UNTIL AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER CAUSES MR TfcMPLE TO COT THEIR VISIT 6 SORT. The Athols left the hotel that afternoon.

Philip Wentworth disappeared from the town the following morning and no incidents of importance befell our hero during the remainder of the season, throughout which he continued to do h .nest and faithful work for his employer and thus commended himself to every guest of the house.

Indeed, he proved himself so efficient, so courteous aDd obliging under all circumstances that Mr Hamilton who had conceived a feeling of friendship far him, made arrangements for him to return to him the following year and under" much more favourable conditions thin those of the past. Meantime the Temples were launched well upon the topmost wave of popularity in Saratago. They had taken one of the most luxurious suits in the Grand Union Hotel, whera Miss Minnie had her white-capped nurse and white-aproned nur3e, Mrs Temple her maid, and Mr Temple her valet. No equipage was more stylish or elegant, no horse more spirited or batter bred, no coachman or footman in finer liveries than those of this wealthy genttenian who registered as a citizen of Boston, but who, it was rumored, had made the bulk of his fortune in the mines of Colorado and California and had twice been Mayor of San Francisco and might have been Governor oE the ' State if he had chosen. What more did one need to become popular ? 5:1 is handsome and cultivated wife was no less conspicuous, for no one was more charming ia manner ; no one wore richer or more tasteful costuiscs than she Her husband was very fond and proud of her indeed, he had a right to bs, and ' th<*y were frequently referred to as, ' an ideal couple.' He loved to see her arrayed in silks, satins, laces, or rare gems; he devoted upon having Minnie clad in finest and daintiest of costumes and was never in a happier frame of mind than when seated in his carriage with these bis two idol?, he could roll about the country and note the admiring glances bestowed on them. He realized that it was a weak point; that it bordered upon vulgarity to be so prond of bis wealth and to love display to such an extent ; but he had not been a millionaire so long, and he had not yet outgrown the sense oF exultation that had attended the lucky find that had so suddenly lifted him out of the depths of poverty to the very pinnacle of luxury and success. One score of years ago this noted gentleman, now figuring as William Temple, Enquire, banker and broker had been a penniless adventurer although be j fondly believed that this portion of his history was buried in utter oblivion for all time.

One chill dreary night, cod, hungry, and with scarce clothing to cover him, he had wandered into a small mining town of the Far West.

The proprietors of a rude hostelry uad given him a scant supper and allowed him to have a night's rest ia tho adjoining stable. The next morning he had let himself to a carpenter and for several weeks he followed this trade earning a couple of dollars a day. Then ene Sunday he, in company with another carpenter, made a trip to a mining camp, higher up auiong the mountains.

The following morning they*gave notice to their employer, and, a week later with picks, shovels, and a few supplies, they both started out on a prospecting {our.

One month from that time the hungry destitute man who, a few short weeks previous had been wandering aimlessly about ekiag out an insufficient existence struck < pay gravel' and his fortune was made.

Two years afterward he made another plucky find in a California mine and "gold poured in upon him in a perfect flood.

Four yaars later upon an imposing building in a busy street of San Francisco, might have been seen in heavy gilded letters the legead : « William Temple, Banker,' while behind the glass doors of his private office the man sat for a few hours of every day to keep an eye upon the corps of efficient workers who managed his princely business. There was little resemblance in the stately, distinguished, richly dressed gentleman to the hungry povertystricken carpenter and miner of a few years previous.

During the early years of his life he had acquired a good educatisn and thus when fortune tamed her tide upon him it was no difficult matter, with careful reading, attention to the rules of etiquette and the accessories of broad cloth and fine linen to make a good appearance for himself aud gain a foothold in society.

Not long after establishing himself in San Francisco and attaining & position among the elite, he met the beautiful and accomplished widow, Mtb Temple from New York and who with her son a lad of about ten years was visiting her friends.

They were mutually atti acted toward each other from the first, and after a brief courtship of three mouths, they were married and set up a magnificient establishment upon Nob Hill and became prominent among the leaders of society.

• The following year Mr Temple having become interested in politics and ambitious to attain to even greater heights was elected Mayor of the city, and he served in that capacity for two years.

Then Mrs Temple becoming anxion3 to have her boy fitted for Harvard, the placewhere his own father had been educated, and also beginning to yearn for the East which had always been her home, entreated her husband to retire from business, rest upon the laurels he had won, cross the continent and locate in some convient suburb of Boston wherfe Philip could have the advantages which she craved for him.

At first he appeared very reluctant to do this for he had been mtervitwed and asked if he would accept a nomination for Governor of the State ; but he had become very fond of his stepson, for whom he also desired the best privileges the country afforded, and finally yielded the point and a few mouths later found the family locatad upon a beautiful estate in Brooklyu Massachusetts.

\_To he continued, ]