The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1857-07-23

be a true born aristocrat, MIR. Manners replied
in the affirmative.
"Then must claim you as relative;,"
Mrs. Stanhope continued, with an air as
though she was comforting an immense fl.
vor; "for we are also members of that illus.
trious house," :.
Mr.. Manners merely bowed; the. favor
was received, as unrequested gifts often are,
as though the acceptance was somewhat OF
an aff1iction. But this Indifference only
heightened the admiration of Mrs. Stanhope
and her daughter. If he had courted them,
they might have treated him with their usual
haughtiness; but keeping them as ne did in
the position they first assumed, as applicants
for his notice, they showed him, underneath
their customary arrogance, constant defer.
ence and attention.
81 an happy to have. found relatives in
this part Of The world, where l thought had
none," said the gentleman as he arose from
the table, withS langud air, as though he
felt it incumbent on him to say something,
but thought it qgite bore.
"What cox5omb!" said one gentleman
to another. =.
"Ths part ofthe world--he must be Eng,
lshman-an English gentleman, of course;
perhaps a nobleman, who has dropped his ii.
tie while travelling in this Democratic coun.
try,'" said Mrs. Stanhope.
AS days passed by, Mr.. Manners relaxed
somewhat from his cold abstraction of man.
ner, and conde scended to converse. It was
evident that Clara Stanhope felt more pleas
ed by his attentions, few and slight as they
were, than she cared to confess. The cas-.
ual remarks he dropped, Influenced her
strangely. Her laugh that mad once been
the music of the house, ringing through the
drawing-room with its ontburst of exuber.
ent pride and j0yousness, grew still and hus-
band, replaced by a tranquil smile.
The change began on the very day that Mr..
Manners had made the remark, that "no wo,
man with loud laugh could ever claim to
be considered lady"
The gentleman evidently was not aware
that his remarks had any personal alluson,
Several other sayings Of his, had great af-
feet on the unresrained manners. of Clara
Stanhopp. She was fast becoming subdued
and quiet, and even gentle. But this trans
formation could not take place without be.
ing commented on, and the causeof it closely
scrutinzed. Thanks to her severe speeches
she had not "a friend in the house, but many
watchful and criicsng observers.
"Ibelieve that Miss Stanhope is in love
with that NT. Manners" said Mr.. Grey.
"Do you know who he is! asked one gen
tleman.
All answered in the negative, md thef
commenced general discussion ard con
jecturing, 1t was late in the evening; th'
ladies had all retired, the gentlemen still
fingered, wasting more than an hour in fruit
less surmisings. The only fact that wa
clearly established was that there was sons
mystery connected with Mr.. Manners.
When ladies' gossip, there is vague un
> certainty in their utterances. There are in
: uendoes, hints, wise looks, COMPRISING
: of the lips, and shakings of the head; but al
these amount to but little; the world need
something definite to rest on, and so ii shut
its eyes resolutely against the cloud ofsmoke
and ifthe fire is we'll hidden takes no heed Q
it. ...
But when the sterner portion of the rae
= put their wise heads together-and they ar
!, not SO slow to do it as they would like u
to believe-something comes of it.. Fror
that evenings discussion, there sprang up, i
the minds of two or three of the gentlemen
: all of them the victims of Miss Stanhope
beauty and her raillery, determination
penetrate the veil with which Mr.. Manner
> had enveloped himself.
An old lady from the country, who live
in the house, had expressed wish to kno,
"'what the gentleman did for a living; for h!
part, she never felt easy about folks till sl
knew what their business was" The Ion
y scorn with which Mrs Stanhope repelled IL
idea of its being necessary for gentIema
= ty do anything for living, quite subdue
the old lady.
ID 81 only meant" said she, "that have q
"a ways noticed that those that did not folio
,o any business, but lived. nobody knows hov
were disrespectable, generally speaking-",
10 'Mr. Manners is an ngiishman, said Mr.
!. Stanhope.
~ "Oh!" said the old lady; and Mrs. Star
.. hope looked at the matter as settled, thoug
q it would be ard for her to tell how s.
=. made it out.
n, The point on which the gentlemen we
If bent on discovering was the same as th
IF about which the old lady had expressed sui
8. curiosity. One of the investigators was
w lawyer, keen, shrewd man, one whom n
,e ture and practice had both combined to NAL
"detective of the FIRST order. In two =,
). three days, Mr. Hiliard, for that was i
ID name, said to Mr.. Gray
d 81 have discovered one thing. Mr.. Ma
10 ners has an occupation. His very air b
III trays that as you meethim in the street; al
at no gentleman Of leisure would come in al
10 60 out SO regularly as he does"
M awhile was reading the paper this mo
l r