The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-05-24

tiers was summarily and sternly put
down.
" Major Compton" | continued,
"made his first appearance among us as
a single man"
"Tnen he was married?" in "A voice
of utter dismay from Minna, while even
grave Laura calculated. 80, Aunt Bes-
sic, how very hat?"
was silent for moment, feeling
sorry in my heart for the poor chill.
dren's disappointment, and then said
soothingly:
" II you VIII wait little, and listen
patiently, my dears. you will perceive
that the indlviiu in my story in whom
expect you will take the most inter
est is not the handsome Major who, for
"A short while, turned all our heads,
more especially that of Gertrude Ruck-
mann. When this girl, whom ! was silly
enough to call, for a short time, my
dearest friend, was first introduced to
Burford Compton-he had Irish blood
in his veins, which may partly account
for the peculiarities OF his conduct
she had not been many days In Ham
burg. Her youth and girlhood had
been passed in England, and the Ger
man relatives with whom she had come
TO spend the winter months being quite
unworldly people, there was little
chance of their young guest becoming
early initiated into the gossip and on
dts of Hamburg society.
"The ball at which Gertrude Ruck-
mann made her debut was as brilliant
an affair rs money and liberality com
bined could make it. The festive en-.
tertainment was given by the gay
Young mercantile bachelors of the city,
foreign as we'll as German, and the cost
of ii was said to be prodigious BY some
it was estimated at 100000 marks, but
that must, l think, have been an exag-
geration. | shall never totally forget
our first dinner at table dhote, for that
dinner was at the Hotel Petersburg,
where a number of young men who
were seated opposite to our party gave
free vent to their high animal spirits,
while they discussed now in English,
and now In German, the arrangements
for the already famous tete, which was
in q few more days 10 come Off,
Among those who were most remarka-
BILE for their reckless talk and eXtrava-
CANT propositions stood first and fore.
most young oiicer-for such he, even
to our uninitiated minds, appeared to
be-whom we were destined to know
later as Major Burford Compton. !
can see him now, in his fair Saxon
beauty blue-eyed, brown-haired, taw-
ny.bearded That handsome beard of
his was, recollect, a subject for good
humored chatting among his friends
for, as it would appear, foreign officers
are obliged to be closely shaven, and
Compton, who had been six months on
leave in England, could hardly venture
to report himself at headquarters with
that decidedly ornamental appendage
to his face. The dinner, as is always
the case III Germany, was very long
affair; and as it progressed, our neigh
bors grew more and more uproarious,
sending the champagne-corks right up,
when the startling pop came, to the
vaulted skylight above our heads, and
at last when the numerous courses had
been discussed, and only the dessert
remained upon the table, coolly taking
out their cigars, preparatory to then
and there enjoying the smoke in
which their souls delighted. You may
suppose that after such a demonstra.
ton on their parts, oar stay among
those noisy, light-hearted, and, fear, a
little excited young men was bat short.
Your dear father was evidently trifle
put out for, a. he said, he was an old.
fashioned person, and could not bring
himself 10 approve OF tobacco smoke
being pulled from strange mems lips
into the faces of his womankind.
" And what "A conceted-looking fell
low the fair good-loolling one Is I" said
your poor dear mother, when we began
TO talk them over.
In this opinion ! was inclined to
agree but your father, although
strongly objecting to anything APP
preaching to puppyism, dittered-a lit
tie to my surprise-hom Us both.
" | don't know when | have ever seen
% pleasant face, was his remark. as
he warmed his hands over the big
white earthenwarc stove that stood in
the corr er of our sitting-room. $50
thoroughly English A countcnance
which makes one feel it would be i'm.
possible TO mistrust the man. | must
inquire who he is-no common charac-
ter, I'll be bound.
1t was thus that my brother spoke of
the handsome soldier, who, little more
than week later, | watched evidently
making himself so agreeable to Ger
trude buchanan on the night of the
famous bachelor tall. She had danced
with him twice, and | was admiring-l
hope without shade of envy-the
beautiful color which exercise and
pleasant excitement had called to her
cheek, when your dear mother who
had been for some time in close converse
with a Hamburg lady who was connect
ed with her by marriage, approached
the place where | was standing, and
said in a low voice,
&" have been hearing the strangest
story about Major Compton. He seems
to be very unfortunately situated. He
is married man-which I,.for one,
never should have guessed-but his
wife and he-owing, as most people
say, to her bad conductive apart. She
is in England at present, and | should
think II would be just as well to give
Gertrude buchanan hint of her exist.
ence. Only look how she is going on
with him ~