Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1872-03-07

icon me too long in the agoflies OF sus
,,onre dearestl' but he felt certain
sense of relief in the fact that, not Doing
formally accented, he could not DC ca
nected to imprint kiss on his iair ono
check. There was not much OF iosJ
bud blush. and good deal OF pouo,e In
,jz there, and it looked dusty, 10 say 'no
least. so of nro.
Miss Richlcy had strict sense VI pr
nrietv. or rather desire TO aVolo I.s Sc
Inc known to the world at large nov iat
matters had gone in any iit''e anal att
this kind, therefore Phil was no. oaa, nd
upon for any display OF devo'ion, ann
when he put his heiress IN inc ca ~ 10
which was to convey her pacN w ,ho
mansion in MARQUIS Square, where the
fan,;lv resided during the season, inc
farewell ON either side was so studiousiy
nnnrtcous and commonplace that inc
acutest of chapcrons could not h"'o "o
tectcd anything particular. r-..o,
phil chartered a hanson, lghteu
c;oar and drove back to London, pondcr-
mo on his present position, and wonaer.
;m9 laz;lv how it would all turn out; put
&c no dismissed the vehicle at the cruz
/ donr a woman offered him roses for sale.
Tic etonncd and shade came over ms
] handsome insucinnt face as he gave ner
sixpencc and took pale tea-rose from
/ her stock.
az wish I was rich man oryour sake;
darling" was the thought that iiasheo
across his mind; but the Rose'pud 10
whom that thought was dedicated was Ia,
away across the seas, and Phil dlsinlsscd
the passing cloud, and went UP the steps
humming a gay air.
Next morning, however, his courage
slightly failed him, when he went to his
necessary interview with the senior part
ner. If he did not succeed, he would
probably have the pleasure OF making the
acquaintance of the Commissioners in
Bankruptcy; and il he did But the life
that such success cntailed offered pros
pect not too agreeable to the well -born,
thorough. bred Philip Kerr.
Apparently the visions of the night had
not presented the Scotch baronct. red
hair, splay feet, and all in too delightful
a view to Miss Theodosia Richley " be-
sides" as she mentally observed, after
all, dearest Philip was an Honorable.
So, dressed in most elaborate morning
costume. all white furbelows and blue
ribbon, she welcomed the handsome rifle
man with one of her most fascinating
smiles
Mr.. Richlev, though only a shopkeep
or. was ut heart "A true gentleman his
daughters welfare and happiness were
his first consideration.
tg.et her future husband" he often said,
| 'sbe gentleman, and, above all, a good
man, and III find the money for house
j and home such as she has always been ac-
/ customed to-"
Under these circumstances Pills hon.
I est acknowledgment that he had nothing
to offer in the way of settlement was no
bar to his prospects. His handsome face,
his kindly, genial manner, won Mr. Rich
/ ley's heart, and the acute old ira esman
read his character truly. II he had no
very strong points about him, mt least
he had no very weak ones. His virtues
and vices were all of the negative order,
except that he possessed splendid tenn
per.
The paternal consent and blessing were
soon given; and then appeared on the
scene Mrs. Richley, who, duly prompted
by her daughter, added her blessing and
congratulations, till Phil felt he could do
no less than kiss his bride-elect in most
calm and decorous way, in full view las
was proper of her loving parents
| Moreover, he was invited to take mp his
abode there for the remaining fortnight OF
leave; and in "A good or evil hour, "a ii
may seem To each individual reader, he
accepted. The luxurious establishment
in Marquis Square suited not only PhiI's
notions of comfort better than his third /
floor bedroom and his club dinner, out /
also the state Of his pockets Rooms and ,
dinner were gratis in Marquis Square;
that was great point. All went well for
a few days, till the arrival Of some coun-
try cousins, who, being newly married,
expected 10 see every couple Of lovers as
demoDstratiye az they were themselves.
Phil did not do enough kissing to please
them; he did not squeeze his fair ones
hand in corners; and he made himself
generally agreeable without seeking per-
petual tete a-tetes with his fancee.
"My dear Theodosia," observed Mrs.
Russell, one evening, on their return
from the opera, whittier Phil had escorted
them, 81 suppose 1t Is not the fashion;
but really, now, if my William in our
counting days had not put his arm ROUND
my waist as we drove in carriage, ana
in the dark, too should have been seri-
ously uneasy
Another time it was, dearest, how
very odd that Captain Kerr never seems
TO care to be alone with you! My Will
liam could not bear third person In the
rOOmW
Theedosia might have disregarded this,
but her own sense told her that Phil was |
not a devoted lover; and though the con-
of the Kerr family had been
most enthusiastic, though they mentally
adopted Theodosia and her thirty thou
sand as a daughter and sister dear TO their
hearts, yet there were sundry
outlying members who preserved the
right to opinions Of their own, and
would have preferred Pills bride being
considerably younger and very much
prettier, even If her pockets were not SO
well lined.
Now this heresy against the right
divine Of gold Theodosia secretly resent
ed, and again had visions of the baronet,
and thought that Lady M'Gregor'
sounded quite as well as, or better than,
the "Hon. Mrs. Kerr" In short, hav-
ing landed her fish, Theodosia was getting
weary of it.
The pleasure to her was in the catching,
not the keeping, and Phil was far too Sc
cure and careless to please her.
Courteous and gentlemanly he could not
fail to be, but he was no actor He could
not assume virtue he had not and he
could not Inoly and kn on,,Jl |