The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-02-27 00:00:00

CHAPTER VIII.

Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again
And all went merry as a marriage bell. —BYRON.
ALL the accompaniments which lend enchantment to
the ball-room greeted the ryes and ears of Maurice
,as he made his bow to Mrs. Templemore, and was
,tindly welcomed by that lady to herfae. The scene
WaB new to him, for he had mixed little in society,
Tad certainly not at all in the gay world, since the
neath of his father. Keenly feeling the painful position
in 'which he was placed, he had devcted himself
entirely to the study of his profession; now, however,
the case was different—a short time would see him
l'einstated in his ancestral possessions. With some
(hfficulty he made his way to the upper end of the
I.oom, where Helen was standing.
"Ah 1" she exclaimed, advancing from the group
1i.37 'which she was surrounded, and extending her
lalacl to Maurice, "what a truant knight you have
,t3rl, never to approach our bower, even to give notice
"i Your victory I"
Pardon me," said Mdurice ; "I did call, but my
*"-Ws had preceded me."
You fought gallantly, and won gloriously."
ci , Then," said Maurice, smiling, "let me hope I may
allia ray reward in being permitted to retain this fair
alld for the next two dances, if not engaged."
lam engaged," said Helen, "but to those who
11,1 u waive their privileges, seeing my trusty champion
1 named his reward."
b We cannot refuse," said the Earl of Beverley; and
°win
g profoundly, though not looking over well
his lordship withdrew; the rest of the
entle
.flaen, laughing at the adroit way in which
~12t1ce had secured his prize, followed his example.
th."len, left alone with Maurice, said, with a voice
7,t was low and tremulous—
"are been yen, anxious to see and thank you

-,
.ai\

for your exertions On our behalf. I knew our cause
to be a just one, or, believe me, we would not have
contested it. Yet we owe you a debt of gratitude for
the intarest you evinced in the case, and the eloquence
with which you defended it, that no pecuniary
recompense can repay."
Maurice pressed the small hand he still held, and
assured her that he was already more than recom-
pensed.
In the interval between the dances they strolled into
an ante-room, and, attracted by the sound of music,
joined a group stationed round a piano, which was
evidently touched by a masterly hand. As they
approached, an eccentric-looking individual 'seated at
the instrument shook back his jetty ringlets, and
commenced the air of "See the Conquering Hero
Comes.' And after a short prelude, his deep, manly
voice chained his listeners as he sang the following
stanzas :

SONG.
"Trip lightly down the stair, my love,
Trip lightly down the stair,
And meet me in the bosky dell—
There's ne'er a body there.
I'll say thy eye is like the dove,
Thy bosom pure as snow;
I'll press those rosy lips o' thine—
An' wherefore should I no'?
"They needna' lightlie me, my love,
They needna' lightlie me;
I'll win my way to wealth and fame,
If blest wi' love and thee.
If thou'lt consent, whate'er betide,
To share my weal or woe,
I'll claim thee boldly for my bride—
And wherefore should I no'?

When the song was ended, Maurice, drawing Helen
gently into a recess of the window, ventured to repeat
the last verse of the song; and her flushed cheek
and downcast eye emboldened him to press his suit
more plainly.
"Hush F' she said. "My mother has, I know, other
views, and I must not grieve her at present."
"And you, Helen-"
"Will never give my hand unless my heart goes
with it, Maurice."
"And both are at present disengaged ?"
"The first, certainly. But do let us go back to the
hall-room; we shall be missed."
"But the second, Helen ?"
" Dinna despair."
As they entered the ball-room they encountered Mrs.
Templemore.
"I understood," she said, with a somewhat dis-
pleased air, "that you were engaged to the Earl of
Beverley for these dances, Helen.'
"But, mamma, the gallant earl relinquished his
claim when Mr. Glanville declared he would ask no
further reward for his services than my hand for two
dances, and I was delighted to clear off a heavy debt
so easily. But yonder comes his lordship; I shall
fulfil my engagement now." And, taking the earl's
proffered hand, Helen left her mother and Maurice
together.
Mrs. Templemore laboured hard for the next half-
hour to convince Maurice that her daughter had
secured an excellent match; to which assertion her
auditor merely replied that the Earl of Beverley must
be possessed of immense landed property, for a client
of his had advanced upon it, some years ago, the
large sum of £200,000; and, finding his lordship very
remiss in paying the interest, had lately been pressing
him hard for the principal. Mrs. Templemore looked
surprised and somewhat shocked at the intelligence,
and leaving her to digest the information at her
leisure, Maurice politely took his leave.
"The heartless roué !" muttered Glanville, in
soliloquy; "he wants Helen's money to clear his en-
cumbrances ; but, at least, I have warned her mother."
Let us look in upon the fair Helen as, seated in her
boudoir, she reviews the events of the evening.
"Has my love been won too 'lightly?" Such is
her inward thought. "No; since the hours of merry
childhood, when we gathered nuts in the green woods
of Ravenside, or fished for minnows in the silvery
stream that winds through the soft glades of my own
Ullerdale, I have loved Maurice Glanville ; and though
I cannot restore his paternal inheritance, which I
believe to be most unjustly withheld, at least he shall
share mine."