The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-02-16

| have d glorious rrmpnage some Day anu
begin folding mp neat little packages;
stitching loose sheets together; reading
a bit here and there, and locking up
now aud then with suggestive sigh
It'll he would lay aside his work, and
declare that abe wss the plague OF his
life. % This wss the signal always fer tne
forced gravity TO disappear frem Ceelfs
face; for he" to jump ups radlant ana
tgleefnl, and just have pne turn round
1 the room-to shake off the sobwebs, as
she said. u = jE sa.,
"But you know you couldn't do with
out me, and do help very much. What
do you know about stitching papers to-
Erethsfi And sousa9 "a mq& pngratei
1fHl man to say am plague, only you
don't mean it. wonder what you'll do
when am married"
married.! echoed Sir Hugh. Go
and play with your last new toys, and
don't talk nonsense" =
But the word worried him, and made
him thoughtful. When he came to con
! sidsk. it, the hiHwssr1o 1pgeE exaetly
4 ohhd kfhbuRh ys1e was asmeffy - a
yoSaE HteE ,He did little sun on
his fingers in sheer absence OF mimi,
found out that in q few weeks she
would be eighteen.
1t was twelve years since he went,
that February day. to plead her cause
and his own with Evelyn Neville. He
used to 20 now sometimes to the win
dow and look out, and remember the
day when he had stood at that other
(. widow Watching hsTe branches tnd
Wondering about his future. He knew
it not. If only he could find out rhy 1t
was thus. What had changed her all at
once, on her wedding-day, from the very
moment, as itJseeIned to him, that she
became his wifef r
Sir Hugh pushed his hair away from
his forehead and sighed. He was get
ting gray by this time. but then he was
tpastfSfty, and: ETelyn his ixife, must
ibs &eAnd- thiftSlat least. 1tSoSepffed
I'D him that kel had noticed 20 isHera-
tion in her. She was as beautiful as
ever, with the beauty of a statue that
chills you when You touch it. He
thought he would look at her that
evening, and see if he could trace no
change, such as there was in himself.
He did look, when the room was
brilliant with soft light, and she sat
languidly turning over a book Of en-
cravings with; Cecil. They formed a
strange contrast; the cold, proud, in
different beauty of the one face and the
eager animation of the other. The
girls one hand rested on Lady Rain
hams shoulder, caressingly, for the tie
between these two was more like tho
passion of a FIRST friendship than the
affection of mother and daughter. Sud
denly Cecil pointed down the page and
said something in whisper, and Lady
Rainham turned and looked at her with
q smile.
As he saw the look, Just such q thrill
went through Sir Hugh's heard as he
had felt when she came to him twelve
years ago to give him his answer. No,
time had not done her so much wrong
as it had TO himself, and there was one
hope In which she! had never disap-
pointed him,-her care for his dangh-
ter.
"For her sake,' he said that night
when Cecilia was gone, 81 am always
grateful to you." '.-.
But he did not wait for any reply. He
never did. Perhaps he might not have
got one if he had; or perhaps he thought
the time had gone by for any change
to be possible. .s.y5 ,.-..-r
Eafy Rainham looked from the win
dow the next morning, and saw Cecil
under tall laurel, reading something.
And the sun had come out; there was a
twittering of birds in the shrubbery,
and the sky was all tlecked with tiny
| - a, Valantinato na,
and Lady Rainham knew that the girl
was reading over again the one which
Sir Hugh had handed her with such
troubled face at the breakfast table.
What did that unquiet expression mean;
and why did Cecil, when she saw il,
look from him to herself Lady Rain
ham, fold up her packet hurriedly and
put it awayi -
1t meant, on Sir Hughs part, that he
knew what it was, and he didn't like
it; that he conld not help thinking of
his life, doubly lonely, without the
child. But this never occurred to his
wife. Presently some one joined Cecil
in the laurel walk, and though of
course Lady Rainham could not hear
their words, she turned instinctively
away from the window.
Cecil was saying just then, ''No, it is
MT likely. Who would send me valen-
tinesi They re old.fashioned, vulgar,
out of date. Charlie, mind, won't
have any more"
"Why notr --
"Because-I m serious now-for some
reason or other they don't like my hav-
ing them,", said Cecil, motioning to-
ward the house. "And il g a shocking
thing to say but / IN sure there s some
thing not straight between papa and
Lady Rainham, some Misunderstanding,
Won know. / I'm sure that they are
dreadfully fond Of each other, really;
but it 8 all so strange do want to do
something that would bring it right,
and-I shall nothing to say to you till
it Is right" .4... ....-.
"Cecilw ..... ....-
~ mean it. am sort Of go-be-
tween; no, not that exactly; but they
both care for me so much. They don't
freeze up when I'm there. can't fan
ey them without me, It would he terri
J ble.o i / 60 - IVA
"But, Cecil, you promised"
mo didn't, And if had, / should
MT keep it, of course; that is, you wonld
MT want me to. 1t would kill papa to
lose me, and as to Lady Rainham, why
l never cared for any one so much in all
my life, Ididn't know it was in me till
she WOKE it up. You remember what I
used to say about her eyes. They are
Just like that; like beautiful deep
pool; all dark, you know, till it draws
you close, and makes you want to know
so much what is underneath"
Here Lady Rainham came to the win
dow again, but the two figures had pass
cd ont of the laurel WALL, and she saw
them no more.
In the afternoon Cecil went as usual
to her fathers study, but he was stoop-
ing over q book and did not notice her.
Hs was, in fact, thinking the thought