The Lady of Nebille Court

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 340, 24 October 1879, Page 7

The Lady of Nebille Court

A TALE OF THE TIMES.

BY THE AUTHOR OF MARION HOWARD, ETC., ETC.

wff so soon U n ,, S • ? aieW ' DOW one with her in fai^> and who all? A meher . COnVersioll was no lon S er a Wafths all with its own peculiar radiance 1 TheTe wasf foi M au £h!d had iS Ei°SSS2Tnlf M^ CC TWT W about her troubles^Ballvcioi every one ffin ♦ * d plamly shown her that - like al ™st aS? mis ake R a S? & T^f* excitement , Maude bad made ffli?Sn l- - owed her that she had beeu g^ty of in. friSS' S P^itive ingratitude, towards a true and disinterested man as tank and open m character as she represented Dr O'lllcari by whom th"adt h"ad h * ""^ ° S ,M 8, M 8 friendshi «> with ° «">o:c fl,l™ return home, to explain all this to her uncle and herself Although, added Mrs. Carew, " I can well imaeine that in n temporary fit rf annoyance at your sudden and unreSable^l °e» to him he did not care to make this explanation to you at the time " She concluded by advising Maude to treat her mother's o?d friend with the simplicity that had characterised their intercourse in ?ts commencement. Not for one instant did Mrs. Carew susnect the Z ethe^ chlld ?° guarded from her; buHven S he rin^rVw\ dVICe S egaVeher With re^ ard t0 th^ doctor was so ample, that she could not possibly have spoken otherwise than she , m , H , ow reat a weight Mrs. Carew's gentle and judicious words lifted from poor Maude's perplexed heart might have been jud -Id by hadS e to t a h? yedO f n ? erlipS aS She W °° dered what tC doctor caa said to the news of her conversion. In what words would ho congratulate her ? How, when, and where should she meet him first and say those few kind words to him that were to prove thathow ever appearances might have been against her on that drZfl s eventoT she was not at heart ungrateful. As the locomotive sped on Us way WDW D n g n Tf freightb fl Chind bri g h t-eyed littl/meSeng^ hope, on painted wings, fluttered gaily around her, whispenmr in S™ c than any she had ever heard before X every breath of that panting engine said, " a step nearer home "

CHAPTER XXVII. IHEWS are few scenes more amusing to an English traveller especially to one fond of studying the Irish peasontiy in all the iichness and racmess of their national charactenstics, than the platform Sa n Irish railway station at the close of the English harvest No sJoner have the last echoes of the harvest home died away in the fields and meadows of old England than band after band of home-returniSe aons oi Erin trudge off to the seaport towns, to crowd th? stecra^ of every vessel that plies betwee/the sister' isles. The deiS with which they lush, helter-skelter, through the gangway upon theVhore of their native land, is only kno*n to then enthusiast c heaTts for patriotism by no means objects to a ragged jacket, and many a man with a shorter name than Kosciusko has loved his county as frn™ D T)SIL th f e g^ ater Pait ° f the year the Passengers w ho book from Dublin for the more westerly districts are comparatively few and far between But as on these occasions there is not a vfjlS hidden among the most distant hills and valleys of (Jonnaufjh that has not furnished its tithe of adventurers, so there ia not Sfof the said villages to which some are not travelling back a little richer and a great deal browner than they startled, Ind Connaught railway ticket are at a premium. As Maude and her uncle sat m.,)-W "at J window of a first-class carriage, a laughing, joking, pushing osHine crowd rushed by to the further end of the train, and amoK them the young heiress to her great delight recognised many a bronzed S familiar face. To her still greater satisfaction one or two recognised her; and several times during the journey a bioad good-humourtd countenance, grinning from ear to ear, looked in at the carnal win dow to inquire if "anything could be done for the young leddy or Misther Neville " It was a very pleasant thought to Maude that so many of her people were to. be sharers in her joy at returning home, and made the latter part of her journey brighter even than the first. Long before the train reached the station it was greeted by a hearty cheer from the piSfoVm where a motley crowd had gathered, and though unheard by the passers in the train it was answered by one almost as vociferous from the heads that were thrust out of the windows to catch the SS glimpse , of friends and relations. The doors were flung open and long before the bam stopped, at the imminent risk of legs and necks half-a-dozen rash young fellows clambered down, and before they knew where they were found themselves locked in the arms of wiveT

mothers children, sweethearts, and sisters. Nor were the embraces tv wl h? „? Tl7T 17 al ! tbe mectin e s were as unh °Ped for as they were delightful. Every day after the close of the English harvest an expectant crowd besieges the doors and raslings of the various £2T S i °k %■ ¥* rallWayS tO iDSpect the •*****> in ™ * way t?£l p7p 7 -f e J^PP^^ent of yesterday from coming again to-day. Besides, though tbe greater part are undoubtedly doomed to personal disappointment, there is almost always sure to be a general joy among thtrn after all, for in village life the happiness of one is the happiness of many, and even the hearts that are aching most over their own hope deferred have often the warmest congratulations to offer and the kindest questions to ask, and many return home, with a light m their eyes that the happiness of others has kindled, to wait tor to-morrow s train.

What a light-hearted group they were ? And what a kindly welcome they had for Maude, as she passed among them, telling them how happy she was to find herself and them safe once more in dear old Ireland after their travels ! She had plenty of time for her congratulations ; for until the stationmaster had exhausted his stock of expostulation and threats about certain tickets that had been lost and others that had never been taken (all of course in vain, for there were the passengers, and there the tickets were not,) nothing could be done m the matter of luggage. But in Connaught engine-drivers and stokers are models of patience and consideration, and railway porters never break their own necks or jamb other people's fingers in their hurry. A Connaught engine is the best- mannered locomotive in the world, for he will always wait till you are ready. Perhaps the tact that he is the so c traveller on the line, and is therefore free from the wholesome dread of collisions experienced by his brethren, may have something to do with the matter. On this particular afternoon he waited for the termination of the dispute concerning the tickets, then for the extraction of the Neville luggage from the various receptacles, and then, with a good-humoured snort of adieu, passed on his way, bearing onward still expectant hearts bound for more distant StcLLlOnS, So truly did Maude sympathise with the happiness of the simple hearts around her, that it was not until she was seatrd in her uncle's carriage and had left them all behind that she became conscious that a shadow had fallen over the brightness of her own heart. Perhaps because the sun had now set behind the hills, and a chilly breeze had sprung up that sent the dead leaves whirling in eddying circles along the road and across the fields ; perhaps because the long track of bog no longer gilded by the sunshine, looked stern and dreary after the smiling scenery she had so lately quitted ; perhaps, too the fact that a face she had just a little expected to see at the station had not been there,— may have had something to do with the shadow. Ihe clergyman was soon deep in a book he had purchased that morning ; and as the carriage wound slowly up and down the mountain road Maude amused herself with looking through the window at the slightly-darkening landscape, and wondering how long it would be before Fanny came back. She looked tired and weary, as most people do at the close of a long journey. But for all this, as the carriage approached a small white house with a garden in front, very bright with dahlias and other autumn flowers, a look of expectation again brightened her face for a minute. The gate stood wide open : but except old Betty hanging out linen in the distance not a sign of life was visible. The carriage passed on, and Maude threw herself wearily back and looked through the window no more Very bright were the faces of the old servants who hurried out IlmL m rna p^°PPed at the door, while poor little Looloo went almost wild with delight. Then, as their drive had made them chilly, a hre was lighted in the library,, and the travellers sat down to the nZ*tt f imaginable. Mr. Neville's countenance was positively radiant with delight at finding himself once more at home n £f- bl /? ° Wl L caStle i as he P hrased that he only Wnrld 1S £ , ?T y back agaia t0 be the most contented man in the world. Had he been one whit less happy he might have rallied his companion who had chatted so gaily all day long, on having grown suddenly somewhat silent and abstracted. But so interested was he m reminiscences of their visit, and in talking over future ?wT T* Wlth i e & a / d t0 M rs. Carew's residence at Neville Court, that Maude was suffered to pursue her reflections, whatever they may ba Jf bee "' m P eace - At the conclusion of the meal he announced his intention of taking a stroll before it grew dark, to see how things had been petting on during their absence ; and he had j-ist risen from B, t ?? ai w \t T oftheroom was thrust suddenly open, and St I,Z •*£ h ! a P*> eai ' cd - In an instant all signs of listlessof h,™ Vamshed ' and a yei T bright smile of welcome shone in a pair of happy blue eyes instead, while, all unconsciously, a little white Sfi AY P 1° arraD ? e a sli g htl y- d isordered curl. As a calm, quiet, ?i h t !?i traversed the P assa f?e and paused for an instant at the S ™ ni **? i°- Z°\ a faint flush rose to her cheeks > th e reflection of one of the brightest beams of sudden and unexpected pleasure that had ever flooded Maude Neville's simple life. n-nrf 1 if ry g l .^* 08^ you, doctor," exclaimed the clergyman heartily; and as he spoke he advanced to meet the new-comer with extended Dono WaS moment after warmly grasped in that of Father

During the laugh that followed, Maude had time to recover from her astonishment, and then, after a few kind inquiries on both sides accompanied by a speaking smile of congratulation on the part of the priest they resumed their scats. Maude, who never sat idle, soon found some needlework, and with her head bowed over it very, very low she sat like a statue and listened to the priest's answer to her uncle 8 query, what Father Donovan was doing with Bat. Simple as 7™Jht questloq uestlo V h e reply was such that Mr. Neville could hardly tiust his ears. Dr. O'Meara had left Ballycross a few days since, and the period of his return was very uncertain. He had left several hP^nhr o^ ? Vl6V 16 pr L eß > the P^cipal to express hia regret at having as Mr nnf AT v™ n** 00 * 5 the return ° f friends he Val " ed as hi^lj tn Mls * Nc 7 llle ; but to tell them that he had *een anxious £kZ ]5r 8^ f 7 a ,T tain da y- H e had also requested him to fS -T a 1 WoUld acee P t Bat as a remembrance from an old tneud, and give him a corner in her stable at Neville Court.