Only a Girl's Heart

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume VI, Issue 1687, 18 July 1906, Page 4

Only a Girl's Heart

BY MRS SOUTH AORTII

Authoress oi' £" Nearest ami Dearest," " The Midden Hand!' " The Ariel's Lore!' ' The Bride's Mary," {{ The\Chrhhnm Gnesl," etc., ete.

CHAPTER IV.-Ooulinued " For never then, nor thence, till row, Has falsehood or disgrace Been soon to soil FitzGerald's plunio. Or mantle in his face," "He will come up to time, be sure of It." This conversation had taken place between the guardian and his ward during the abort visit sho had that morning mado { tobiminhis ohambor. But now when the bride olco'sat at the window of her ohambor, attended by .her admiring briJoi maids, she did not feel by any means so sure of her bridegroom's punctuality. She reoallei tho months sho bad waitod for him, while he was out dofonding the frontier settlers against the Indians of the Plains,-when he might have rosigned aud have returned to her, but would not. . She bitterly reflated that alio had never been the first o jeot of his life, as ho ha I been of hers. Sho know that thee wore Beveral principles he rated far abov > hu love for.her-tlwo was honour, di.ty, to which bit love for hoi had always to give way 1 while with her, neither honour, doty," nor any other creative" ever had or everoould, stand botwoen h:r lovo and him,

calling any lady' Gerry,"' she coldly rc» marked, 11 Gerry is the ahort lot' Goroldinc, is it not? Bosidos, don't every ono oall mo "Pat?" laughed Pa'ricia, "1 do not, most oeriainly," saidihe young lady. " Well, but Miss Geraldine Filzgorald, "' Eternity's too short To uttor all your nnmo.'" 11 Do not bo proiano, Patrioia." " Well, I won't then Whero is tho gallautCaptain Gerry?" "Ifyourolor to Colonel Fitzgerald, ho is still in Washington, detained by his affairs." " Whon do you expect him'?'' " This ovejiug or to-morrow morning,' '"Oh! ahggard in loye and a Qaixoto in war," Is to wod the fair. Helen ol young Loohmver,"

s-.ng Patricia, with misohievous do!ight ; 11 1 do not see the point of your quotation Patricia, but yon wcro right in changing ono word; Gerald Fitzgerald tuiy be a ' Qaixoto,' but ho is uot a' oraven' in war, by any moans" "Who bsinivatcd nslie wa«? Not 11 But that is not tho point, Whore'B my Silly?" 11 Your-what ?" " He's not a ' what' ho'fl a ' who '—my Sa'ly-Sally Row." "I presume you mean Mr S\llust Rowley?" '•Tho eaiuo," said Patricii\,'with tlireatrical solemnity. " Whero is that fauburnyouth P It i i not possiblo that ho is detained in Washington by his nlTuirs, (or he has no affairs, not ovon tin * flair of honor, lie ought to bo horo toiday. Ho is to be li st groomsman, and I am to b) fitst brides-maid, ho will Lavo to lead mo out. Now, I novor acted ic tho comedy o! a marriage coromouy in nil my life, and I roally Bhould bko to go through one private rohearsol of my part beforo appearing in public Whore, oh where is my Sally ?" " Mr Sallust Rowley it most probably in attendance npon 'Jolonel Fitzgerald, They will most likely travel down horo togetbor,"

She said to horsolf (hat eomo ml ox fancied "point of honour" kpt hi-r, , absent or silent now, and miglr keep him from bee oven on thoir appointed wedding day, and sj expose her proud sp'rit :o the bitter humiliation of seeming to be a diaoarded bride at tho vory altar I While she sat there silent, wounded Borrowfnl and indignant, her young bridemaids and one or two household servants, who were engaged in folding and ftrrauging the dresses, shattered about hor over the magnificenoo of her trousseau 11 What dat you oblllun talking 'bout trowsers? 'Trowsersl'l ain't seed no trowsers yet, ' Sides wbicb, what do a young lady want with trowsers 'mongst bet weddin'clothos ?'' said Aunt Hot, the fat old ooloured housekeeper who had come up from the kiichen to soo (be finery, and now stood, in all the gio'y of a newplald gingham dress, whito apron, white head haudkerohkf, "What about dem dere trowsers, I keep axing of yor, ' obillun ? I don't soo no trowso: 8. And what de monkey do a decant young woman want widtrowsors?' . 11 Trousseau, madame, trousseau. ' Mademoiselle could not bo married vidout de trousseau," politely explained Made* molselle Dosiroe, tho French dresser whom Miss Fitzgerald had brought back with her Paris, "Ahldat's it, is it? fbanky, Miss Daisy Bay. " Traeh-oh '—l'll 'member. No young lady can be married without her 'trash-oh,' Well, begging of m; yotvog Misseo's pardon, dere'a trash miff in it, I do 'specs," grunted Aunt Het, with a sniff. - "Ithink.not so,madamo. This bridal toilet, vi'l robe and veil and wreath and tan and handkerohiel and gloves on suite, The tout onsemble is perfeot,'' " Tooting cymbals ?' laint lalk'ng 'bout • no tooting oymbals, ohile I We is got a band of our own cullad fiddlers. Wo duri't wank no tooling cymbals, Miss Daisy Bay," exclaimed Het. - Mademoiselle Desiree liftod : hor shouldors and eye-brows with a oomio look of despair and turned away to fold a rich Cashmere shawl and restore ic to its box. Nearest tbe stately Oeraldino loitorod het cousin, Pallida Filzijerald, a black hair, gray eyed, pug nosod, yet voy prot-y I . rosy, and beautiful imp of about fifteen years of age. Sbo was careloajly attirod Id ab|ue gingham droce, with littlo white ruflhs around her neck and wrists, and her blaok hair curliug wildly around hor piquant littlo face. » bhe bad come to tho Summit only lint morning to meet tho other bridesmaids, and expeotiog also to meet the bridegroom and groomsmen, and in fact, all tbe immediate bridal patty. She bad felt mnoh anxiety to know tho reason for the delay; bu' her interest! >n ..£?■; the splendid display ol wedding finery ""■'"' had held that anxiety in abeyance until • now. Now she oould control her curiosity no longer, , She dropped herself down on the carpet besido the queenly Geroldine, and sitting ■■ there looked up into her boautiful face and exclaimed: .$. " Cousin Gerry I' The stately head lifted itself slowly from its loaning posture, tho large, haughty eyes turned on the spoaker. " I must request yon, Patricia, not to address me in that manner, To think of

"Thanks, dour Geraldino. And now, wbilo I am inquiring aftorruisslugpooplo —this is a honso of tfio rnost inexplicable diearpoaranoos, liko tho Ohio's Castle in ttu nursery talnn—where is the terrific Miss Mai ? 1 trust it is not a sin lo hopo that tbo Ogro may liavo ea'.cu bet ?" solemnly inquired Patricio.' " Miss Maxima Rowley has bcon snnimoned toTieo Top Hall to n'.tond hor undo, tbo agod Goneral Slaughter, who has been takon suddenly ill," " la his illness and dnugorous ?" inquired Patricia. " Neither, I hope,".answorad Goraldine, Patrioia raised her t-yea to tho coiling and sighod profoundly. "Miss Maxima, who knows Oonoral Blaugliter'a habits, said when nho loft yesterday, said sbo (bought it was only ono o( his bilious atlaoks, that would bo over in n few hours, and onablo her to return to-morrow mornirg at latest." '• Patricia," said Miss Fitzgerald gravely, "I really must talk to you voiy indoed. You havo contracled a habit of calling people by uick names much too familiarly, and o! uiixiDg up maseulino and feminine minos in tho most absurd and contusing manner. You—" " Stop Oousin Gerry I I didn't mix 'em I To begin with wo Fitzgeralds and Boivloya and tho rest of us are so uiixod up that Old Nick himself could not tell who is kin tn whom I As for tho rest, I only abbrovUla their ridiculously long names. Life is too short lo waste in pronouncing them in full," said Patricia. " Ono of his brandy attaoks, sho means, I know. And it will kill him some deso yor days,'mind I" put in old Het, "No it won't Aunt Hot, Geuernl Slaughter is over ninety years of nr/c, and has fallen into a oonfirmod and incurable habi', of living, Ho'll never die, Hoigbhoi Oh my Sally I Whoro aro you and why don't you como to your devoted Pat?" At this moment the first dionor boll

rung, and tho bevvy of britloscn aids fluttered invny to their several rooms to lunko somo change in the carriage dresses in which thoy had coiiie to the house that i morning. • " Vai toilotto vil Mndeinoiaello wear ?" I iuquirod tho French maid. ' (ieraldiaß oronsed hereolf with an effort I from her painful abstraction, and answer- j cd at a venture. j " Peach Organdy with white laco, poarl jewelry -or anything," Tho Frenoh maid conrtosiod, dresied] her mistrcßS to plcaso horself, vory tastily, | in a tea rose silk, wiih while laco and opal jewelry, and bo Bonthordo*nto join her gnosis, After dinoor the youthful party assembled in the drawing-ioom, where the overling was passed in anxious wponsc. All wore soorotly lookiug forward to tho hour when tho bridegroom and best man would arrivo, if, indeed thoy shrulJ come that night; but no ono spoko 0 ( it,

All know that the Washington stage coach would reaoh WildviUe at sevon o'olook; that if Oolonol Fitzgerald and Mr Rowley should come by that conveyance, thoy would procure boKos at the Wildeville Hotel, and rido over to Summit and so reaoh home by nino, Ah tho hour approaohed, the auxioty of tho whole patty aroso to en almost breathless suspense, yet nc on one spoko of it—un ono dared to do>o—not ovon saucy Pat —whilo tho young lady most vitally ooiv cernod kept a dignified silence on that subjreS. They talked of fashion, dress the weather, the neighbours, in short of anything but that whioh occupied thoir auxious thoughts, (To bo continued)