Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1873-05-06


der of his wife and the mother of
his children than William, Earl of
Dugdale. And as for the Countess,
| think she gets younger every
week, and she is not half so plain
as she was when she re-
lieved Mr.. Will of his debts, and
took it ia hand TO make a steady,
respectable and respected country
gentleman Of him.
But | am running ahead too fast.
When she came home to Johnes-
borough l did not much care for
her, and liked her ways still less ;
fussing here and fumbling there /;
worrying herself about the merest
trifles, and nothing to be put out Of
the regular course, even for mo-
ment.
If she had got hold Of any gem
tleman less easy-natured and sweet
tempered than Mr.. Will, she would
have driven him, or he would have
driven her, mad in three months.
Even Mrs. Barrett that in some
things Mrs. Pattingham was diff
cult to please.
tried to please her for Mr..
Wills sake, and was making way
in her good graces, when one day
there came q letter from some
place very far away, where old-Lady
Pattingham, the Dowager, general
ly spent three parts of the year
saying she was dangerously i'll, and
summoning Mr.. Will and my Lady
to her side.
Mr.. Will was her fovorite of the
whole family. She had done q
great deal for him, to my knowl-
edge-paid debts for him often, and
given him money, together with a
large amount of good advice, and
then, finding that nothing did him
any permanent good, she tired, like
the best Of his friends, and return
ed the letters he sent her unopen-
ed.
Still her heart was with him,
everybody knew; ; and her conduct
in the matter of the diamonds prov
ed that she was more than ready to
forgive, when once she saw n hope
of reformation.
/ do not think it occurred to Mr..
Will that she had any thought of
making him her heir, not so, how
ever, with my Lady. She was not
mercenary exactly, and yet she was
sufficiently worldly-wise to know it
would be folly to throw away the
chance Of legacy, and accordingly
she would hear of no delay on this
; occasion, but was even more anxi.
: Gus than Mr.. Will to start at once
Anyhow, to make a long story
short, they left Johnesborough the
same day the news arrived. In q
letter Mr.. Will wrote to me from
London he said neither his uncle
nor his Countess was in London,
that he would not wait for the
Earps company, but travel on with
out delay. The period of his re-
turn must be uncertain; but he
would send instructions home from
time to time.
Thus, once again we were all
quiet at Johnesborough and nigh
ty duh i found il after London.
True, one day we were all flung
into a state Of excitement by a visit
from the Earl. Putting up from
tho North, whore he had been stay
ing, he took Johnesboroug in his
way, and put the footman, who an
swcred the door, into state Of be-
wilderment by asking to see me.
''ls Thomas Walters here 2" in
quired his Lordship; "send him
to me directly )" and, without wait
! ing to be asked, he walked into the
library, the door Of which CHANGED
to be open.
/ found the Earl in one of his
tempcrs.
What was the meaning of Mr..
Will being sent for, and he not I!
Was not the dying lady his mother,
and who could be nearer to her than
he +! What had Mr.. Will said Did
| know who sent the letter! Had
| heard anything of its contents !
Though l was but a servant still, i
had known the Earl all my life,
and he spoke to me just as freely and
as angrily as Mr.. Earl might have
done, if anything had Glanced to
put him in a passion.
Careless about his papers as
about all his other concerns, my
master had tossed the doctors let
ter on the table, and left it there !;
and as l knew he had no secrets
from anybody, gave it to the Earl
to read. 1t was written in some
foreign language, and his Lordship
had trouble to make it out but nc
managed to do so at last, and then,
throwing it down, broke forth
again: What was the meaning of
their not sending to him!
"The letter may have gone astray,
my Lord" / ventured to suggest,
and my words fell like oil on troub-
led waters.
1t niight--it had; here was the
solution of the enigma. OF course
his mother would send for him.
Thus the Earl ran on, ending by
saying / was an honest fellow and
attached to the family.
The murcury of his temper fell