The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1869-01-06


standing between Miss Devonport and Mr..
Henley, and when Miss Devonport's car
riage was announced-Miss Devonport,
senior, the young lady's aunt-it seemed
quite natural to Henley to offer his arm to
escort her thither, and for Miss Devonport
to accept it.
"Miss Devonport," said Henley, just be-
fore he handed her in, "I wonder shall we
meet again?"
"Why, not, Mr. Henly?"
But the aunt at that moment came up,
and am disposed to think that gentle
pressure of hands-u -unintentionally, of
course-served MS a species of reply.
Oliver Henley was not given to dreaming
and he slept The sleep of tho weary and the
just. Strangely enough, however, the first
thought which suggested itself to his mind
on waking was Miss Devonport, and the
aforesaid pressure of hands. He thought
too, of her and of it more than once over q
late, long, dawdling breakfast. A long and
remarkably objectless reverie was broken
by the arrival of friend, who had been
staying with connections in the neighbor-
hood of marlborough, and who was now
waiting few hours for train to town.
"By the-by," said Beauchamp, Henley's
friend, "we had such q capital time of it at
the Oaks, and I have met there the very
incest people, without exception, with
whom it has been my luck to be thrown in
contact. There was girl staying there
who-but talk of angels. There she is
positively comipg!'
Henry looked, and saw no less a person
than Miss Devonport.
Miss Devonport it was, and as she passed
the pair on the pavement on the side near
est to Henry, they both of them took off
their hats. Miss Devonport, with smiling
and gracious face, returned the bow-not,
however, so far rs Henley was concerned,
but merely the salutation of his friend. Miss
Devonport, in fact, SO obviously looked past
him, that he began to think her feelings
during the night must have undergone some
transformation
II see you know Miss Devonport." said
Beauchamp, after the lady in question had
passed.
'I-I met her last night"
"She is an exceedingly nice girl, CONT
nued his friend, land / must say l think
Hughes-you know Hughes; he was with us
at Oxford, and has since como into immense
mine property-a far luckier fellow than he
deserves to be. But perhaps you were not
told by whoever introduced you that she
was engaged"
No, Henley said, with a blank stare of as
tonishment, he had not been told But was
Beauchamp quite sure?
"Oh, yes, my dear fellow. l know all
about it. only saw Hughes last week. He
was one of the party ut the Oaks, and he
asked me to come to the wedding"
| Of course this information could really be
nothing to Henley. The only remarkable
thing was that, as he heard it, his face grew
several degrees pnler than it's usual color and
his hand trembled perceptibly OH his friends
| arm.
When Beaucbamp left him, his thoughts
turned to Miss Devonport and tho events of
the previous evening. There had been no.
thing very remarkable about them; but he
could not help expressing to himself an
opinion that Miss Devonport's manner had
scarcely suggested to him the idea of lady
engaged to be married. With these thoughts
in his mind, he determined to go and have
a last look at the horses in their stalls, to
see that all requisite cafe was being taken
OF them, to enable them to win both for
themselves and their owner, honor and
glory on to-morrow's run.
AS he was going out of the hotel door,
there confronted him face to face once again
Miss Devonport, and her manner was the
manner of the evening before and not
of the morning. There was, Henley fam
ced, a kind of blush upon her face as she
met her partner of last night; but lie was
quite sure there was upon it very sweet
smile; and as he looked at her, he felt more
disposed to envy than to congratulate the
lucky Hughes. 1t was plain enough now
when Miss Devonport met him in the morn
ing she must have failed to recognize him.
Henley felt half disposed to speak then and
there to Hughes fancee, and to make some
inquiries after the fortunate lover. But his
acquaintance, he thought, would not justify
the liberty; and he had come to kind of
unacknowledged decision with himself that
in the future it would be wiser for him not
to seek to renew his acquaintance with Miss
DcvonpoTt.
The meeting happened to be close to Rat
tleborough, and on such occasions there
were always numbers of persons who came to
| see the throw off As Henley rode up he re.