Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-05-08

$50 you have been making love to the
heiress, y said she.
Rash, under your very eyes, wasn't it?'
he replied but what is there between
her and Graham?"
"Do you mean to tell me that you don't
knows"
"How should [? l was not aware of
Miss Lund's existence till this evening""
"Well, they were engaged for ever so
long; he was at her house every day; most
improper, with only that poor old Miss
| Corney to act as chaperone; when sudden
ly she broke off the match. The airs these
| parvenus give themselves!''
| WAS there no cause, them"
ooh, | suppose it was some jealous
! whim, and there may have been some oc-
casion for it, You men are all alike"
This was quite enough for Bertram to
| start upon, and he made no more inqui-
ries. But he enlisted himself in the troop
of the heiress' admirers, which was pretty
| numerous, "took the Lund shilling" as
he himself expressed it, and being an
adept in the art of making himself agree
| able, was soon promoted to the rank of a
leading partner and first shawl carrier,
uice Williams and Venables, told off re-
| spectively to Miss Corney and the lap-dog.
| This distinction did not put him up I'M
duly, for the discriminating young man
| perceived that the preference was afforded
him, because he seldom approached the
| topics of love or matrimony, and when he
| did it was always in tone of badinage.
| Yet there were times when she assumed
a coquettish air. which seemed to invite
him to more serious filtration, but this was
when Graham was present, and appeared
to be observing her.
| ttNp1U Sai1 Rartrar, tD h hora
| are two courses for the male spoon to pur-
| sue; either to clean out the place alto
gether, or follow the female spoons lead"
Graham adopted the latter course, and
| harncssed himself to the car of a hand
some young widow, who dressed gorgeous
! ly, rode tearlessly, talked slangily, danced
untiringly, and sat do,on to play
The manners of the little English com
munity assembled at Spa were very much
relaxed from the standard set up by each
| individual member at home. Persons,
| even of different sexes, spoke to one an
other without a formal introduction
| young ladies danced sometimes twice
consecutively with the same part
ner. The majority only went once
to church on Sunday, and devoted
the rest of the day to long walks in the
woods, the perusal of secular journals and
listening to the band, which played other
music than Handel's. Many who frowncd
at siXpenny whist at homo as gambling
| staked their forms and tive-franc pieces
at roulette and rouge-et-H0ir. But there
was one tacit law which the female por-
ton of the British visitors adhered to re-
| igiously, and which forbade them to take
seats at either Of the play-tab They
might stand behind, and make their little
stakes over peoples shoulders with an air
| of assumed Indifference as to whether they
!, lost or won, II they pleased. That was
| considered to be mere lOOking-on. But to
sit down like a regular Gambler, with a
big G, was held to be fearful breach of
| propriety.
And this crime Mrs Geylass, the young
| widow, committed. She constantly took
a seat, which was obsequiously vacated
for her at the uns0cial board, removed her
gloves, took a card and pin, piled her
stock Of napoeons into little heaps in
front of her, and went in for the thing in
the most business-lke way, her admirers
clustering round and backing her luck, on
the principle, [ suppose, that imitation is
the sincerest f1attery. The admirers al
luded to were all men; their mothers,
wives and sisters abhorred her to a
woman. They would have cut her, only
her own father q Baronet, and she was
rich. Blood and money cover more sins
than charity, so they bowed and smiled
and answered when she spoke to them.
But that was not very often, for the widow
preferred masculine conversation.
This was the ladyto whom Graham now
devoted himself; he procured nosegays
for her; he contended for the honor of her
hand in the ballroom, and her foot when
she mounted on horseback, and his atten-
tons were always most earnest when Milly
Lund was rtsent. Bertram smiled appro-
val. ''Graham is no fool, thought he; she
has selected the next most attractive girl
just as the Lundy has selected the next lin
her blinded Judgment most attractive
man." This soliloquizer had no false
modesty, you see.
Having thus ascertained that these two
young people were desperately in love
, with one another, Bertram no longer gave
himself the trouble Of paying 50 assiduous
a court to Miss Lund, and cultivated the
acquaintance of Graham, who was too
much man of the world TO show re-
serve which might betray jealousy, if he
felt any, which is doubtful. The two men
had not CHANGED to meet often, but they
| had been thrown together some two wears
! before in the settlement of a domestic mat
ter in which Graham had behaved in a
manner calculated to excite Bertram'S cs-
TEEN, and he was inclined TO like the man
who knew better Of him than most other
people did. For our loves and friendships
depend quite as much upon men and wo,
mems opinion Of ourselves as upon their
own intrinsic merits.
They breaktasted at the same little
table; they strolled afterwards in the hotel
garden, smoking; they also consumed
their last cigars at night in company and
waxed confidential. At least, the one who
had something to contide did it, and Der
tram learned that Graham was on the
point of going out to Africa to shoot big
game.
The other visitors at Spa made totally
different arrangement for the young man,
and decreed that he was about to marry
the lively widow forthwith. Mrs. Cracket
announced the forthcoming event to Mill
cent Lund as an ascertained fact, and the
young lady, believing it, went mad. | do
not mean that she required a strait-waist-
coat, or put wild flowers in her hair, or
sang scraps OF song, or danced with her
shadow. She did not even show any emo
ton before Mrs. Cracket and the gossips,
but smiled, and remarked that she sup
posed it was a good match; for she was
not of an hysterical nature. But her mind
was for the time unhinged, for all that,
| and she was unite caDah1e of doinr some