The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-01-14

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a%scertaned hat our cousin was to pay us a
visit on her way home.
/ thought IL unnecessary to ask him up
stairs when he heard that Mrs. jackson had
had left us that morning; but he came up
and made himself very agreeable, and so
excited my interest by the promised sight
Of a rare etching, that l confess / asked him
to dine with III the next Sunday, and bring
his treasure with him.
Afterward, l imagine, he must have call
ed almost daily in my absence; but of this
| heard nothing in detail. Once or twice
Molly said, 80 father, Mr.. Wickham call
ed, and asked to see you but 1 took no
heed. 1 quite accepted the the fact that !
was the object of his visits. and although,
when Molly repeated it this evening, 1 re-
collected that she had spoken of meeting
Mr.. Wickhom on the bench, still it would
never huve occurred to me that's plain mid
dle.aged man, who seemed TO me older than
myself, could have any attractions lkelyto
win my beautiful child.
The shock this evening, when she came
to me and said that she had promised Mr..
Wickham TO ask my permission to become
his wife, had been oyorpowering. The
whole affair seemed to me so sly.
GLOW dare he think of n girl like my
NIolly2" ! had said to myself; and [ said
it agoin as l stood still in the middle of the
room, trying to connect my thoughts to-
gether.
l had stood still beside a large easel. I
have not said before that I am an artist.
because il matters little TO the story / have
10 tell; but the room was full Of e%asels, fol-
los, and half. finished pictures and sketch
es. On the easel beside which l now stood
was a sketch-book, kept open by q mahl
] aN..H NT.1Igv 1nI hoo, .N.NaNHt.v fa.v, q.
cast Of n pair of hands, hardly to be seen
now in the dim light on the opposite wall;
but I was not looking at her bold yet care.
ful drawing. This easel was near enough
10 my lamp for me to SCI q sentence writ
ten over and over again on tho other side
Of the page-Richard Robert Wickhnm -
and then. rs If the initials pleased her, II.
r. W. in varied monograms.
l started Cs II some one had come sud
denly ON me, aud then instinctively / look
ed mp at the ceiling; a chaos Of places and
persons was surging mp into my brain 80
coufusedly. that l could not attain to any
distinctness Of vision.
l went back to my table, sat down in my
chair, aud again I covered my face with
my hands. This time I was trying to face
my thoughts, not to shrink them.
r. r. W. 1 had seen these initials. Yes,
often and often-but where? l tried 10
sec the letters in my mind, and then, hold
ing them fixed there, to force memory 10
picture whore she had seen them. BY de-
grees, slowly, painfully, my vision grew
clearer. l saw the II. r. W. distinctly; no
longer on the blank OF Molly's sketch.
book, but in the corner oflarge folio sheets
Of paper; and then, ns suddenly as the
furling of q Gail-the %unyailinE of the moon
by o wiud-driven cloud came out into dis.
]tinctiou the mystery that had been labor
ing in my brain.
Iuuclaspcd my hands, aud looked up At
the ceiling. Yes: l understood it all, now.
Years ago, as a lad, l had been pupil to an
architect, and drawing after drawing Of or.
namonts Of various kinds had come under
my notice, always with this Il. r. W. in the
corner.
But what had this to do with Mr.. Wick.
ham? There might be dozens of men with
the same initials. Had 1 ever seen the
artist whose designs had so chung to my re-
collection?
This time l was not so long in cropping
among the dark corners of the past; for il
is a curious fact that when once the mind
is thus forced out Of the present life, ii vii
travel along unaided.
l saw a cosy dining room, with a blazing
fire, and the glow Of crimson cuItain OF
the face OF my host, portly Mr.. Atwood tn,
architect, who sat opposite to mo on tn,
other side Of the hearthrug; and it seemed
10 me | could see n trim.lookiug parlo.
maid usherlng in a middle sized slim you'll
with light hair and whiskers his name
could nOtrcmember, but he was the design
err Of the ceilings aud in the employ O
Messrs, Popton the builders, | remember
that he sat With his face In shadow, onl,
every now aud them hickerin the FIRE nv,
given me "A clearer glimpse Of him. III
3 stayed nbouta quarter otan hour, and seem
: ed glad TO get away. Could this have beeI
Mr.. Wickham, this thin, pale, timid yout
the Hell-dressed and well-to.do man VIII
L dined with us that Sunday And yet one
:, in the afternoon there had come over hir
? q timid, ill-assured manner, which, now
7 remember II, hkened him strangely to Nj
Attwood's viz tor. Aud-yes, this SCENE
n to make conjecture certain. The tint
mGn Q, Wickham when asked him If b
had ever takon up art practically, as h
Z seemed to be so fond OF collecting il. II
g had avoided answering my question.
g If old Atwood was alive, l could max
u inquiry OF him" 1 said; and then / fe
provoked that he and and both tho brotl
y ers Popton had died years ago. I had 4
clue to the r. r. W.. OF my younger day.