Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1871-09-02
STRANGE MISS DAVENPORT

rough hunt ball, and RattleboroUgl
as befitted the occasion, was engas
ed in holding high festival. Th
large room of the EgertOn Arm
was full, and the company was a
select as the most fastidiOus cOul
wish. There were representative
of all the great families Of-the couI
ty and the cream of society OF tn
town of Marlborough itself, not t
mention a score or so of unattacheD
males who had established them
selves in the Egerton Arms, and i
various lodgings in the immediat
vicinity OF the far famed Rattlebo
rough hounds.
1t was to the very best of this so
ciety that Mr.. Oliver Henley be
longed-a gentleman young in years
and comfortably off in the point o
money-a barrister, member of tn,
inner Temple, burdened with nj
griefs, nor with the necessity or in
tentiOn of getting any. His fathe
was still living, but he had alread,
come into a very respectable littl,
property, and as was natural for
| gentleman in the flower of his exis
tence, as he was-tO-wit: seven anC
twenty years of age-was bent OF
employing himself accordingly
With this highly laudable object il
| view, he had just made his debut il
the Rattleborougd district; and by hi
good riding, genial manners, anC
generous habits, which a comforta
| BILE balance at ones bankers makes
easy enough, he had produced a de
cidedly favorable impression upOI
| those whose estimation was usually
considered worth having.
Henley had had a day with the
hounds, which he had enjoyed most
thoroughly: and he was just at pres.
ent engaged in talking over its c.
vents with newly made acquaint.
ance, and at the same time passing
kind of running commentary upon
the dancers as they whirled past
him.
"'Now, Mr.. Henley" said the Wig.
orous ball room whip, "will you
choose your partner? L can intro
duce you to any one you like"
"Who is that young lady there?-
She just sat down. The one with
the wonderful amount of back hair,
and
''NIiss Davenport" ;" was the prompt
reply; ga wonderful nice girl-dan-
ces capitally. Let me introduce
YOU"
And after Henley had gone thro'
the I.ancers with Miss Davenport,
he was of the opinion that this ac-
count was not exaggerated. Miss
Davenport, he discovered, was a
very nice girl-so nice a girl that he
made up his mind to get all the dan
ces with her that she would give
him.
If Oliver Henley had been asked
to give an account of himself he
would, in all probability, have des-
cribed himself as the most unimpres-
sible fellow in the world. He had
become bored with Irritation, and
his days of heavy loYe-making were
over. Experts, however, in the di-
agnosis of love making will tell you
that it is precisely persons of Hen
ley's self-reliant and defiant nature
who are most apt to fall victims TO
the tender passion; and if Oliver
Henley had not such a cOnsummate
belief in his own powers, it is prob
able that it would have occurred to
him more than once in the course of
his conversation with Miss Daven-
port that he was trenching upon
dangerous ground. When q gentle
man finds himself telling his part
ner the history of his life, inter-
spersed here and there with touches
half pathetic, half bitterly cynical,
it may be as well that he should take
heed unto his ways at once.
According to your own account,
Mr.. Henley, you must be terrible
rolling stOne,'. said sSMiss Daven-
port.
81 feel myself so, Miss Davenport,
a rolling stone that gathers no moss,
but longs to do So"
There was a certain amount of
vagueness in the latter part of this
remark; but somehow or other it
had seemed the natural thing to say,
and Henley made it in tone which
was expressive of a depth Of feeling
rather wonderful in so cautious and
unsentimental man. He was al
most astonished and half angry with
himself when the words had escap-
ed him. He looked cOnfounded-
why, he did not exactly know. I'm
fortunately, however, looks are a
good deal more eloquent than
speech; still more unfortunately, the
looks were not unnoticed by Miss
Davenport. Somehow or other the
remark, sufficiently meaningless as
it was, seemed to have established a
kind of understanding between Miss
Davenport and Mr.. Henley, and
when Miss Devenport's carriage
was announced-Miss Davenport,
senior, the Young lady's aunt-it
seemed quite natural to Henley TO
offer his arm to escort her thither,
and for Miss Davenport to accept it.
''Miss Davenport" said Henley,
just before he handed her in, Il
wonder shall we meet again?"
"Why not, Mr.. Henley?"
But the aunt at that moment came
up, and L am disposed to think that
a gentle pressure of fhands-uninten-
tionally, of cOurse-served as a spe-
cies of reply
Oliver Henley was not given to
dreaming, and he slept the sleep OF
the weary and the just. Strangely
however, the first thought which
suggested itself to his mind on wa
king, was Miss Davenport and the
aforesaid pressure of hands. He
thought too of her and of ii, more
than once at the late daw ding break
fast. a long and remarkably OBJ
jectless reverie was broken by the
arrival of some friends, who had
been staying with connections in
the neighborhood of Marlborough,
and urhn y-ara now WaiTiDo q Yau
hours for a train in town.
'By the by" said Beauchamp,
Henley's friend, we had such n cap
ital time of it at the Oaks, and have
met there with the very incest peo-
pie, without exception, with whom
il has been my luck to be thrown III
contact. There was a girl staying
there who-but talk OF angelsi-
There she is-positively coming,'
Henley looked, and saw no less q
person than Miss Davenport.
Miss Davenport it was, and as she
passed the pair on the pavement, Oh
the nearest side to Henley, both OF
them took off their hats. Miss Da.
venport, W with a smiling and graci.
Gus face, returned the bow-not
however, so far as Henley was con.
cerned, but merely the salutation OF
his friend. Miss Davenport, i'll fact
so obviously looking past him, thai
he began seriously to think her feel
ings during the night must have un,
dergone some transformation.
u see you know Miss Davenport, >