, 1873-01-12
BEHOLD, IT WAS A DREAM.


/ Af REoDA ERoCduToN.
CHAPTER T.
! Yesterday morning l received the following
WESTON HOUSE, CAu1f1E1D, -su1nE.
"My Dear Dinah-You must come / scor,
all your excuses, and see through their himsi
ness. have no doubt that you arc much bette
amused in Dublin, froliching round ballroom
with succession Of horsc-soldjers. and watch
in the ph@nix, park; but no mattcr-you mus
to y" hold aoa oat nS Ne sad an s1:lusiS Gss
y bucolie, eo"-milking. ,pig-fatteuing; roast
mnttonea:ng L and eo-bcaattenoelochgo
come: want you to see how happy two dull
| elderly people may be, with no special bright
ness in their lot to make thom 90. NY oil
man-he is surprisingly ngly At the first glance
but grows upon one afterward- -eeada you hi:
respects. and bids me cay that he will moe
sou at any station, on any day, ut any hour d
the dag or night. II you succeed in evading
our persistence This time, you will bo cleverol
woman than take you for. Ever yonrs, atiec'
! tionatc!7, JANE WATSON.
ZIP. s.-Wo will tn7ito our littlo ecarlst.
beaded cnrate to dinner 10 meet ron 80 as
t, soften your fall from the eociety Of the
! Plungore."
| This is my answer:
"My dear Jano-Kill the int calf in all haste,
J and put the bake-meats into tho oven, for will
cone.. Do not. however, imagine that am
| moved thereunto by the prospect Of tho bright
headed curate. believe me, my dear, an as
yet at . distanceot ten long, good years from an
| addiction to the minor clergy. If survive the
crossing Of that seethng, heaying, fumbling
| abomiuation, St. Georges Channel, you may OK
| pect me on Tuesday next. have bcen groping
felt and have arrived at length at this twilight
result, thnt may arrive at your station at 6:55
| p. N. But the ways OF Bradshaw are not our
/ ways, and may either rush violently past or
see some rustic vehicle, guided by lstartingly
ugly gentleman, awaiting me, I shall know from
your wifey description that it ia your old man.
T4ll Tuesday, then, af1ectiona:ely yours,
DlsAn BELLA1ns.-
'"Aug, IT." :
am az good as my word on Tuesday I set
Off. For four mortal hours ana d half am dis
astrous1y, hidcoualy, diabolicalIy eick For four
hours and q half curse the day on which Was
born; the day on which Jano Watson vas born,
tie day on which her old m1n was born, and
laat1y-but oil not leastly-tho day and the dock
on which aud in which the Leinster's plunging,
courtesyins, throbbing body WAS born. On ar
Hving at Holylcad, feeling conriaced from
my last hour, Iindistinctly request to be allowed
to stay Oh board and die, then and there; but,
as the stewarlcss and my maid take different
view of my situation, and insist upon forcing my
cloak and bonnet upon my dying body and limp
hoad, at length succeed in staggering on deck
shaken up for two or three hours in the Irish
mall: mud, utter crnwling along slow by-liue
for two Or three hours more, am at length. at
6:55, landed, battered, tired, dnst-blackened,
and qualmial, at the little roadsids station Of
Carlfeld. My maid and arc tho only
passengers who dcscend. Tho train snorts
its slow way Onward, and / am left
gazing ut tho calm, crimson death Of the Au-
gust sun. and smelling tho swcet-peas in the sta
t,on-nastcr's garden-bordor. I look round in
neryas for thu contemplation OF her old mans
unloyely features, But the only vehicle which I
SEQ is tiny, two-wheeiad pony-carrlaSe, drawn
by small and tub-shaped bar pong, end driven
by lady in hat, whose face III turned expect.
antly toward me. I go up and recognize my
friend, whom I have not seen for two yearS-not
since before Ehe fell in with her old man aud
espou6ed him.
II thought it eatest, after all. to come my
eolf," she says, with bright laugh. "My old
thought you would never recognize him from my
description. Get in, dear, and let us trot home
as quickly as We can."~
I comply, and fcr tho next half hour sit
or my hot and j.dcd face) stealing amazed
glances at my conpanions CHEEKY features.
Cheery! That is tha very last word that, e1-
cep:ing in an i1oE;cal sense, my one would haye
applied to my friend Jane tNo years ngo. Two
lor Of : large .anily. hustled into obscurfty,
jostled, stesye1, hy half dozen younger,
fresher sister7; an elderly girl addicted to
lacllrymoso verse about the gone and
the dssd sad the forever-lost Apps,;
resuseitated, tue torever-loas been found
again. Tho peaky, eour virgin is transplanted
into gracious 1natron, with kindly, coInely
face, plsasure-naking and ploasure-feeling. Q
Tosos, can make old cleeEs young again in the
cunning xay that youndo7 Il you would but
bide steadily with us We might live forever,
always young and always handsome.
My musings On Jauo's metamorphoss, COM
binei viii, tired hcadnche, made mo somewhat |
Of conversation betEccn the two dearest allies !
on first meeting after abseuces-a sort OF heBi- |
tatlng shivor before plunging into the eea Of
talk that both know to lie in readiness for them.
more for the sake Of MT utterly holding my |
tongue than from any profound interest IN tho |
subject as we jog briHkly along between tho yell
low corn~tields, whers tue dry bound sheayos are
standing in golden rows in the red aunset-light. |
begun to cut ao1ne Of it. However,, hank |
Ifcayenl the weather lanks as settled as posBi-
BILE; there is not q st1eak Of watory lilac in the
Ny headache ia almost gono, and nm begin
ulhR u lAluk h4nul4 u NlnueII-h dupJeCt iIDtn
which all day, until now, m; mind has hastily
,urred With scnsation Of lndeo..s inw.yl re-
solt,-by the ti1ns that tho fat pQpy pulls up be-
'ore the old-rvorld dark porch Of modest little
1ouse, which has basilfutly hidden its original
acc under veil Of crowded clematis-tousfs aud
'talwar- iyy Set as in pcture-fr frame by the
arge, Moopod iyy-]eayes, / see q tall and rnoder-
Itely hard-featurcd gentleman, Of middle age,
perhaps. Of the two, rather ilcliuing toward
lde-iy, amiling at us a little shyly.
This is my old man." cries Jane, stepping
,ayly out, and giving Kim friendly, introduc-
DRY pat on the shoulder. Old man, thia ia
)inah."
Having thus been made known to each other,
Sc shake hands, but neither OF us can arrive at
nything pretty to say. Then follow Jane into
ler little house, the little house for which sho
as SO happily exchanged her tenth part Of the
argo and noisy paternal mansion. It is an old
ou6e, and every thing about il Las the moderate
habbiness Of old age and long and careful year.
4ittto thick-walcd rooms, dark and cool, with
lovers aud hower-scents lying in: wait for you
veryHhere-a silent, fragrant. chiIdless house. I
% NC, who have had oily locomotives snortipg
nd racing through u7 head all day, it's dumb
weetness seems like heaven.
sand, now that VIC have secured yQu, we do
ot mean to let You GO in 4 hurry" Hays Janc. |