LITERATURE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4161, 22 August 1881, Page 4

LITERATURE.

MAD LOVE.

A 3TOHY. BX JXTEIAN HAWTHOEITB. {.The World.)

Spencer Curtis, as I remember him, was a hollow-cheeked, bright-eyed, excitable young fellow, with soft brown hair, a lock of which was continually falling down over his broad forehead, Ha cjuld not talk long ou any subject without becoming excited ; and wheu ha was exoited ha coughed, and his eager face flushed; he wa3 supposed to have a tendency to consumption. In. character he was view . . enthusiastic, and unpractical ; but subject to fits of profound depression; and his enthusiasm was easily discouraged. There was a slender vein of genius in the man, and he occasionally said strangely brilliant things, without seeming to be aware of it. He was give.-i to philosophical speculation*, and had written a very eccentric book, treating (h omnibus rebus et quibusdam alih; vhich had beeu made fun of by moal of the --views, but which contained promise of powers that might have achieved somsthing really new tad Tali. But, somehow, we never regarded Out sas a man who was likely to live long Si?"' OTtaps this led us to humour \ti-m mo- ■■■ th-i.^e should otherwise have done. Sti'l. he vas a winning and lovable fellow ; mid gone women were very much attracted by him. He himsolf, however, was extrei.uly shy of female society ; and since he had only about three '. liousand pounds in the world, besides what he could make by Mb pen, nobody ever dreamed of such a thing as hearing tliat he waß going to be married.

Consequently, I was nothing less thuu amazed when He burst into my rooxnß o: o daj, and, seizing ma by both arms, looked for a m;>menfc ui inj face, and eaid,

'■Kixie Masters has promised to by iuv wife !"

" Sata Masters ? "WTiafc are jou thinking of ?" 1 1 xclHimed. " Not the heiress ?"

his face

Bpeceor's eyes darkened arid flushed : he let go my arms.

"Is that all you have to say ome?" lie asiad in an aggriered tone.

"But you took my breath -.way; besides—"

"Do you Buopo3e I care for her money ?"

"My dear fellow, of course not! lony feared the news wa3 too good to be true. I congratulate you with all iny heart !"

" Her money ia the only thing that troubles »e," continued Spencer, dropping moodily into a chair. " I wish she had no more than I have — or nothing at aIL Wow that I know she cares for me, X am able to make a living for both us, whatever you may think. And you are the oldest friend I have !"

" You hav«- nono that believes more in your ability and honour," I said, for I was sinoerely eorrj that I had hurt his feelings. "Came, shake hands, old boy, and let us hear all about it."

He finally consented to be appeased, and told ma his -tory, — not that there was really Terr much more to toll. He had been invited out to Colons] Masters' country seat, and of ccarea Kate had besn there. They had (as 1 already knew) met each other » many tbr.es before, ai.d she had once or ; vice spoken to ma of her admiration for 8p- • cer ; while h?, for his parr, had seemed mo> ' at ease in her company thun in that of i-ost women. But I should as soon have tho of his marrying her as of her tearryiug the Shah of Persia. However, they ware together at her uncle the Colonel's, and in the course of the weei they became engaged. Wonders will never case, especially where there is a woman in the case ; and probably this did not soem to Spencer so very wonderful, though of cour3j he regarded himself as the most blessed of mankin.i.

"It was in the little cbilet that it h.ippsned," he said, drawing hiß breath, after a sharp fit of coughing. (He had been tramping up and duvrn the room, shoving the chairs about, and talking rapidly.) " You know the chalet ? — it that clump of trees at the farther end of the lawn, about a quarter of a mile from the house. I had been rambling about the ground;), and came in there quite by chance, supposing it to be empty. But ehe •was there, Bitting at the western window, ■with a book in her lap. She looked round ; and when she saw it was I, an expression cama into her ejes that — it mado me feel the time hod come ! I had hardly realised how it was trith me before; but then, everything explained itaelf ! I began by remarking what a pretty little house it was, and how harpy 033 mi*ht be to live in it; and so one thing led to another. At last — O, she was so heavenly sweet ! She eaid the world might laugh at us, but that I was worth a thousand worlds to her. Wo walked home with her arm resting on mine ; and the rew moon was juit above the tops of the trets." "What did the Colonel say to it ?" I inquired. "O, he behaved jnsfc as might have been expected," anaweied Spencer, throwing back the hair from his forehead. "At first he to >k ma to task very severelj, and talked about my having abused his confidence, and all that. But I would not allow him to hold that tone with me', and after a while wo got to talking more reasonably. He laid he was Kate's guardian aa long as she was under a^e, and that he could not conscientiously let her marry me until she was beyond hia control. Of course that won't he till a. year from now. I Baid that I was prepared to wait, and that I desired all the property should be settled on her. Then he ws:\!ed me to promi£2 not to see or correspond with her while the period of probation lasted ; but neither Sate nor I would agree to that ; and at laai it was arranged that there were to ba no letters, but that we are to meet on?o a month. In the end he and I parted very politely. I fancy, though, that he calculates on Kate's changing her mind. If so, he is making a great mistake. I trust in her constancy aa I {rust in h-avea !" Now, although I would not for the world have had Spencer suspect it, I must admit that I was a good deal of the Colonel's wav of thinking as regarded Mis3 Masters. I knew something of her. She was a fine, handsome, -wholesome girl, with an aristocratic no3e, and a complexion like a irurm rose-leaf ; her white teeth sparkled when she laughed, and she had more hair growing on her head than ehe well know what to do with. "ser voice wv.s pleasart, though rather loud ; aue rode dashiugly to hounds, and wa3 a champion la^n-tetnis player. But she waa not, so far sla I was aware, a student of any kind of literature, and tho only p]»ii >-.*. hv that concerned her was how t o eet '. ! j most fun out of tho passing mom it. i could imagine her anjoying a bit of om ■■•. .•<?, and jjlayirg her part in it very wei! :hu : .ai sho should make ua imprudent u.. c'-. -:.,d stick to it did not seem so likely. Her father nnd mother, whose only child she was, had h<N*n dsad some* j eirs, and she inherited the whole of that large property, her uncle being her guardian during her minority. It was in her power to make the most brilliant mat h of the season ; aud I knew it for a fact that Captain th.» Honourable Arthur Tavi-rney Inid made lie? an offer not thre9 rnoniha before. She must have refused him, for ho went off to the Ashantee war in despair. But that was no reason why she should fall in love with a iran like poor Spencer Curfi?; and I huu serious doubts whether sh« intended anything more than a vacation pastime. '

My mu^ivingg were not relieved by tho discovery thst the engagement was, for the present, to be iapt a secret. Spencer had stipulated with the Colonel to be allowed to tell me, liftiiuse 1 had known him when ho 's-aa a boy, vras liis most intimate friend ; but the rv.-t of the world wa? *o remain uninformed until the day for I '•.<• wedding wua fixed. ilk3 Masters her* tit" did not seem to have objected to thia arrangement '• and &3 for Spencer, hs daclared that he preferred is. If all the world had been &■*' ins^nuou3 as Spencor, no hari:- won ii have boon done; but aa it was (f • m'r image was at least conceivable. li. .ew , t held my peace, and hoped for the best; when Spencer left mo he was in very good spirits. For a couplo cf months all went well ; but but wish tho advent of winter Sponcer's cough grew worse, and his physician told him that he hsd better go to Madeira if he ir.i-ant to live. After some hesitation hedeeLon to go. He traa to bo allowed to write to Kate ouco a month, and to receive letters from 'i?r, iim'o they woidd not meet until his retm,.. "It won't be for long, after 'all," he remarked to me, trying to put a brave face upon the matter ; " and this will be our last separation. If I have to eo to Madeira next year, she will go with me." Ho mado mo promise to keep him informed of Kate'a doings and condition while he was away ; and bo finally off ho wont, I bidding liim farewell on the deck of the steamer with a heavy heart. Poor Spencer ! It wad not long before I diacoTcrcd that the promise I had given him

would be no agreeable matter to keep. Miss Masters was admirably constant to him for a time, and spoke tome of her devotion to him in terms that I was glad to hear; and I began to repent of the suspicions I had entertained of her. 1 wrote to Spencer that all was going on well, and that I fell; disposed to fall in love with his Kate myself. But one day, while I was chatting with her at an after-dinner reception at Lady Loraley's, she gave a sudden start and an exolamation; and there, behind my shoulder, stood Capluin the Honorablo Arthur Taverney, polo and handsome, with his arm in a sling. He had just been invalided home from Africa, and was a great hero. He spoke to Miss Masters, who received him cordially ; and there was nothing for me but to make my bow and move off. They were together the rest of the evening ; but I was determined to have one more word with her. So just before I took my departure I made my way up to her. She was standing shoulder to shoulder with Captain Taverney, listening to the last bars of a song from Madame Semaroff. When it was over, she turned to exchange an admiring exclamation with the Captain, and I took the opportunity to say, " I am come to bid you good evening, Miss Mas-

lers."

"O, good evening," she answered, cot offering me her hand. 11 1 am sending a letter to-morrow to our friend in Madeira," I coatinued. " Have you any message ?" She replied coldly, " I think not, thank you ;" but in a moment she added, her checks reddening, " Tell him not to be away too long!" I decided not to send my letter to Spencer the next day, but to wait for further developments. Kate was evidently wavering; Bhe wished to be true, but distrusted herself; and with a woman like her, such distrust is the prelude to surrender. Captain Taverney was very fascinating, and he waß on the ground ; I know, a!so, that the Colonel would favour his suit. To tell the truth, I myself considered him a much better match than Spencer for the girl ; but things having gone so far as they had, that was neither here nor there. Meanwhile the aspect of affairs became less and les3 encouraging ; but there was still nothing tangible. These constant visits of Captain Taverney might bo merely friendly, and mean nothing : moreover, since Kate's engagement to Spencer was kept secret, the Captain was not to blamo. But Kate and the Colonel were to blame ; and after some deliberation, and with great reluctance, I resolved to epeak openly to the former. This was about six weeks subsequent to our interview at Lady Loraley's. I was at the opera, and seeing Miss Masters in her box, I preeented myeolf there at the end of the first aot.

" 1 knew I Bhould find you here to-night," I remarked, after she had asked me to sit down beside her.

" Why to-night, particularly ? " "Because it is 'La Favorit' — Spencer's favourite opera. By this time next year he will be sitting here beside you. You expect him back in May, don't you ? " "I suppose so," she said distraitly, leaning away from me and rippling her fan. "Itis a long time for him to have been exiled from you," continued I ; " butlhope," I went on, looking at her, " that ho will not have been away too long."

(Io be continued.)