The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-11-16

licious little boudoir hung with blue
and silver, that gave OFF, from the
drawing room, as she phrased it; but
especially and most frequently might
young Mr.. Briggs and old Mr. Smith
have have been seen there 10y those
Of the curious who had cared to pcnc-
tratc the secrets Of the Hall. But 30
one knew of their long, earnest,
gracious colioquies in the little bou-
DOR of blue and silver: no one knew
that even Mr.. Hopgood spent many a
half morning closetcd there, with the
Countess in the freshest and most
becoming Of morning toilettes, and
with the dainticst and most delicate
of ''sGght Refreshments" on the table
beside them; 40 one knew that
Mr.. Jones, more than once, told the
partner OF his bosom whole chapter
OF tibs to conceal the fact that he had
passed hours ut the Hall under i
spell Of blue and silver, and old
Rhenish vine in cut crystal goblets,
and floating muslin, and chestnut
colorcd curls, which forever culmi-
mated i'll u tangible result it was
better not to detail at lcngth-no one
knew all this, or what those tete-a-
tsteS meant, or whether it was ambition
OF intrigue, love, money, or politics
that animated the Countess Melusine.
and made her life the busy web of
secrets it WAS. The most carefully
guarded secret of all was tie ultimate
purpose Of this blue-and-s bou-
doir of the drawing room.
Moro noticeable than her secret in
tlmacies with the moncycd men of
the dlstrlct-bccausc moro open--was
her daring patronage Of young An
thony Carthew. She invited him to
her revels, where the Hopgoods, in
their silks and tlounces and severe
local arlstocracy, and the Joneses, in
their tlighty haughtincss, were assem-
bled as by right; and she bore down
the opposition which would have
swampcd less popular innovator.
And her pro(ege did not disgrace her.
with the tact of an inboru gentle
man, he carried himself with quiet
ness and dignity, not making himself
conspicuous IN any way, and even
seizing something Of the tone about
HIM. Aud though it was all new to
him, no one who saw him in those
brilliant rooms, modest, frank and
beautiful Us became his youth. would
have supposed that he was making
his novltiate, and that all, even to
the proper mode OF address. was new
to him. In one thing he was mark
eGly distinct from the rest-hc never
played. The Countess forbade him
the card-room, and he was too happy
to obey any OF her desires to infrincc.
lie WAS the only one in the place who
knew OF those secret colloquies in the
boudoir, and ne used at times TO be
vaguely fearful, mutely uneasy, rs a
faithful hound might have been; ical-
ous OF his mistress, but Jealous for
love not self-secking. But the
Confines never neglected him. On
the contrary, she pettcd him openly
in her 3'e-a2i0l2s, as she called them,
made much Of him, and kept him
always about her, praising his man
ners, his face, his talents, to every
one around, and raising him, by the
might OF her popularity, to such an
unheard-of equality as to win recog-
milton even from the Hopgoods
themselves. Six months before, he
would as soon have expected bow
or IL ''hand-shake' from the head of
the empire himself. But the day
time gave Anthony his dearest plea
sures, more so than even those bril-
liant vivid evenings. He was rarely
twentyfour hours away from the
Hall, excepting when tho boudoir
was tenanted by a rival Whole days
would pass like minutes, while he
wandered in the garden by the side
OF the Countess, whose varied know
ledge and sparkling vii cnthralled
him quite rs much as her beauty or
her gracious kindness.
In the meantime, What did Nelly
Blair, and what the austcre Rachel?
They bcheld themselves aIoof from
thc popular current, and predicted
all sorts OF shameful couchings to the
popular blindness. Nelly ut last be
gan to see that Anthony's life was
ccntcrcd III the Hall, and that he had
become indifferent to her, even to
neglect. Rachel had long seen MS
much; ard she fumed and ragged, and
even wept for spite, as unheeded as
Ii she had been but the boistcrous
wind or the angry rain lashing the
distant fells
Nelly took it much more Unict1y