The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1870-06-18

daughter? And then 1 wondered wheth-
er it might be possible that, for certain
sum per annum, Lady Nugent would let
me off. And here--the little rows of
twinkling gas jets in the bands Pavilion
having sprung up long ago, and the.
chandelier glitterins inside-there came
crash of brass instruments, followed by
the softest and sweetest of Gounod's
"Arias"
"Ah, well, did it matter much, after
all, how my life was settled? Was it
worth while struggling about it ? All
those dreams of mine were myths-some-
thing that comes in the springtide of
youth when the imagination overfows );
something dreamed of in all mems lives,
but never realized"
/ Cecile was fond of me; / had no dis
like to her. would be good to her of
course; we might get on as well as other
couples did. Down at Nugcnt there
would be for me the estate to see after
to say nothing of hunting, shooting and
fishing. Oh, no doubt we might do very
well without the enchanted light that
came only in visions. If [ could have
/ had the light, so much the better; but
perhaps no one ever did have it in real
ity.
As thought thus, something little
faint cry I thought it was-made me
turn sharply to my right. [ saw at first
only perambulator, with pale, childish
face looking anxiously over the side, and
then l was aware of dog, a little bigger
than respectable rat, Gmping about
amongst the legs that thronged the prom
enadc.
" The wheel has gone over it," said
the voice belonging to the childish face.
g o, please Robert"
/ don't know whether I was idiot
enough to take this plaintive "a Robert"
to myself, instead of applying it to the
lad who propelled the perambulator !;
any how [ divcd a. once after the little
animal, picked it up and restored it. l
was thanked; not by the childish face, but
by one bending over it; face older !;
with more color in the cheeks. with blue
. gray eyes, and masses of sunny hair
drawn away from it-not into the padded
abortion which is so general, but into a
coil of shining plaits, beautiful to look
upon
f | was thanked, l say, by face and
! voice such as l thought [ had never
I looked upon or heard before and as
raised my hat and drew back, my eyes
met Lady Nugent's in her downward walk
and my heart sank.
s''Tis jolly up here, isn't it? Enough
and sunshine"
/ l lay on top of the Castle Cliff with a
cigar in my mouth, and my friend Char
7 lie Ferrars was perched on the turf be-
side me, holding his chin in his hands,
and looking, to say the truth, rather dis
contented than otherwise. Why he did
so, [ did not know. Below us there was
the sea, sleeping In golden haze, out of
which the sails shone like little immova-
/ BILE white dots in the distant. There was
not cloud in the sky; and the sound of
/ the waves, if indeed it reached us at all
reached US, as Lady Nugent said, ''dim-
ly."
o, those waves the delight of the
sun glancing gold upon them the pleas
ure of the walk to the Northern Cliff,
down the wooden steps and among the
sand to the machines; the forlorn gran
deur of being as it were, put off to sea,
and left there; the. white rolls of foam
lashing themselves against the wheels of
your achinc till it trembles again, and
only the great waste of waters glittering
before our open door then the plunge
that puts life into you, and makes you
feel as if you had no body, TO speak Of
that is, until breakfast time
i But could not be poetical about all
this to Charlie Ferrars up on the Castle
Cliff, where we had met by the merest
chance, and where he appeared to
me to be doing anything but enjoying
himself; could not, for the life of me,
tell why.
s'They say man pitched himself over
here the other day. said Charlie, sud-
denly
''Did he ?" said l. ssPoor beggarl In
debt, perhaps ?"
/ Charlie took his chm out of his hands,
and replied, gloomily ssThere are other
things that may make man desperate.
But what do you know about debt,-a
lucky chap like YOU"
Something in his tone made me raise
myself ON one elbow to look at him, but
he had turned his face away. IF [ had
known then what was the matter with
him, think | should have put my arms
round his neck and hugged him but I
did not know, and so / blundered
| HChariie, old boy, there's something
wrong" said l. "I've more money than
| know what to do with; it would be a
charity"
He broke into constrained sort of a
laugh.
Thanks, Bob," said he (I grieve to
say that my old school chums will call me
Bob; e.but it is not that Sometimes |
wish it was. However never mind. It's
odd we didn't meet before, isn't it ?'
"Well, yes,' said /. ssBut you see,
the Nugents are here, and my aunt likes
attention, and I've been with them "a
good deal. We steamed over to Riley
the other day. BY the way, you know
them, don't you ?''
"a litt1e.' he replied. y
"a good thought, by Jove," said I.
ssI'll take you to call to-day
"My train starts at 1:30, /" wasthe grim
response. Thanks, all the same. /