The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1873-08-27
MISCELLANY.
ONCE A cowARD.

! 1t was one evening after we had come i'm
from shooting that she said it. remember
that. remember also how cheerily the IL
brary window of the old hall cleaned out to
welcome us, making a ruddy stain on the
wet gravel. Didn't it look cosy, too, after a
long firing day spent in tramping through
heavy turnip fields aud stiff wet stubble !
And yet there was a cosier thing than that
before us soon.
My Cousin Helen's face.
1t beamed out on us, lovely picture
framed in the dark, heavily carved doorway,
bright glowing background like the portrait
of some medieval saint glorious face al
ways, but when, as now, bringing the full
light of its moist blue eyes and flushed sweet
smiles to bear on its fellow creatures, utterly
irresistible.
One of our party, Ducie of Enderbeau, did
not attempt to resist it. So completely, in
deed, had that gentleman fallen under my
cousins yoke, that daily expected to hear
that out of sheer gratitude for his worship,
the young lady had promised to return him
that love, honor and obedience" which we
find mentioned i'm the Common Prayer Book
nor would the tidings have dispeased me. /
don't know how it would have been if Rad
wished to marry Helen myself; but when a
fellow has got dear little girl Of his own
waiting for him he can afford to be magnani-
nous about his cousins.
De plus, Ducie was one of my dearest
friends one of those men who managed to
carry every heart, male and female a sort of
Saxon Apollo.
He turned into the literary at once, saying
something to Helen as he passed her, which
made the flush deepen pinkily in her fair
cheeks and Tom Jackson and / followed.
Cts Devereux slipped up stairs to dress. He
was too great dandy to present himself to the
fair sex nnder the disadvantage of rumpled
locks and muddy leggings.
Looking at Ducie, fancied the said disad-
vantages made him rather more handsome
than usual. | wonder if he knew it. The
girls did, for they accepted most amiaby his
apologies for our intrusion in such guise Tom
jackson said "as such guys!'' and declared
that we might have full half hour to toast
in front of the fire before going up to dress
for dinner.
fancy it was Devereux's absence which
turned the conversation on him. Jackson
never could bear him, and said so adding,
like the broad outspoken Yorkshreman he
was, that the fellow had no more courage
than a rabbit" actually WINGED every time a
gun went off near him."
One of the girls rather objected to this but
Mary jackson took her brothers part, and
gave us an amusing instance of Devereux's
want of courage in some mountain adventure
they had enjoyed together. She made us all
laugh by the way she told it; and it was then
Helen exclaimed, with scornful curl of her
pretty lip
81 am sorry you told us. never liked
Captain Devereux, but detest coward"
Girls, when of impetuous dispositions,
sometimes use much stronger expressions
than they have any idea of. The bitter word
coward, flung like shot into the middle Of
our little group by girl, produced momen-
tary silence; and / began to feel annoyed
with my fair cousin for forgetting that De
vereux was our guest, aud to mediate giving
her private lecture.
To my unutterable surprise Ducie saved me
the trouble by taking the reins into his own
hands, and bringing up the spirited offender
with jerk. He had been leaning against
the mantlepiece, gazing down at her with a
sort of dreamy admiration in his dark eyes
but now he Strengthened himself as If the shot
had struck him, and spoke in a dry hard tone,