Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-01-24

I DRY, and there he remained, though his real
| name was William. She was indeed a very
| nice child: never troublesome, always able 70
! amuse herself, and very original.
| When the doctor had been settled three years
! in Hawkshaw, she put the final touch to her
conquest. He went to the bank one day upon
some business which necessitsted an interview
! with one of the partners in his private room;
and as he was coming ont again into the office
Please, will you give me siNrence for that
I and, drawing back and peeping, he saw her
Z face over the counter, which her chin Just sur
/ mounted The gray-headed clerk whom she
/ addressed took the paper she presented, in
I voice trembling with suppressed laughter:
"How will you have it, Miss Scaraby-in silver
- Copper" she said, decisively, and walked
I off with handful of halfpence.
When she was clear of the premises the doc
I tor came forward and received this document,
I written in text hand, on a leaf torn out of a
copy book, from the convulsed clerk
"pls ase pay ethel or bare sIckpense I'd. ethel"
II seems a pity that Ethel should have ever
grown out OF her quaint Childhood; but she did
it so imperceptibly that the transition was not
observed by either her father or the doctor.
Other changes took place; Antrobus ceased to
live alone. He owned two maiden aunts, who
had hid themselves away in an old corner of
Deyonshre, and subsisted pretty comfortably
on annuities. When one died, however, the
other found herself in somewhat Strengthened
circumstances, so this dutiful nephew had her
10 keep house for him, and Ethel called her
Granny" She was a good soul, but rather
odd and prudsh, and did not much approve of
the title at first. Indeed, she once remOn-
strated with the child; but the effect of this was
that the next time Ethel called her Granny in
public, she turned round and explained that
Miss AntrObus could not be her grandmother
really, because she had never been married.
and She only called her so out of affection. So
after that, the prudent spiDster accepted her
brevet in silence, and by the time the girl came
to live with her, would have felt hurt had she
called her anything else.
Came to live With her? Yes when Ethel was
fourteen her father caught pleurisy in the
ata -xrrhn b0 han
and died. He left his collections to his uni
yersty, his property TO his child, and appointed
his friend and executor, DIR. Antrobus, her
This was Ethel's first acquaintance with
death, for she was a mere infant when she lost
her mother, and the mystery, the helpless grief,
the hopeless horror of il shattered her child
hood. The wave of sorrow passed over her in
time, but never again did she recover the care
less, thoughtless, birdlike happiness of her for
mer life. She knew now the evil as well as the
good; her eyes were open to- the cruel reality
that every path in the world leads to one dreary
waste. For the rest, the burden of the child's
sorrow was lightened so far as was possible; she
was spared the sudden plunge from comfort to
poverty, from atfectionate sympathy to cold
otn from 2etng to tyEEanny which 50
tween the families had been so close that there
was little change on leaving one home for the
other and with both her guardian and his aunt
her wish was law, Indeed, Ethel Scarabv
ought to have grown up into an 1nsutferabe
young woman, instead of, as was the case, an
exceedingly natural, self-forgettng, charming
one; but there are some natures that you cannot
spoil, at least by kindness.
\ little more than year after Mr. Scaraby's
death DIR. Antrobus was induced to join an ex-
petition having for its object an investigation
of the flora, fauna, and geological phenomena
of the northern and eastern coasts of Africa.
extending from Algeria to Abyssnla, and com
pTising TripOh, Egypt and Nubia. SO he set
his house in order. Ethel was to continue liv-
ing with his aunt till the uncertain date of his
return, the difficulty about her education being
al hv he net of har hail,
very good girls school in the neighbOrhoOd, TO
which competent school masters came periOdi-
cally from London. He considered his ward TO
be far too precious trust, indeed, to be Iisked
in the chance company of school, while her
mind and heart Are forming; so he IN sde ar
engagements with the various professors-war-
ranted middle aged and married every man OF
them-tO give her lessons separately. 1t was
rather expensive, but that did not matter: for,
living in Granny's simple way, it was impossi-
bic TO spend her income on her.
Gibraltar was the place appointed as the
rendezvous OF the philosophers. When DIR.
AntrObus arrived there, he found that certain
arrangements connected with the expedition
would not be complete as soon as had been an
ticipated, and he had a fortnights spare time
on his hands, which he at once determined to
devote TO trip that had often tempted him-a
visit TO Sicily and Etna; so he took passage on
board vessel bound for Messina.
Take ten fine English sunsets, add an aurora
borealis, mix in a dozen rainbOws well beaten
up, and you may perhaps have the right colOrs
on your palette, to depict the scene which DIR.
aHtIODuS was enjoying as ne At IN a small boat
manned by two picturesque sailors, who Guilt
waited long black moustaches, and smoked Gig
arettes instead OF chewing guilds.
The sea was a broad sheet of eXquisitely
stained glass, without a wave or a flaw, and
having a single jewel, shaped like a two masted
felueca, set in it. The mountains, swelling
gracefully upwards till they eliminated in
Etna, looked too soft and ethereal to be true,
Enchanted boundaries OF paradise they seemed,
which would recede If mortal man approached
them. But the doctor who had walked all over
them, routing in tufa and scorie, knew better
he was also aware that all these fairy tnts
would become black with a rapidity unknown
to more northern ATTITUDES directly the sun was
turned down, and that therefore, as he was
more than mile from the shore, il would be
as well 10 90 about. Just as he was about to
give directions 10 that effect, however, he
thought he saw a handkerchief waved, as if
signaling him on board the felucca, which was
not above five hundred yards OFF. So he told
his men to row up to her, and found, on ap-
preaching, that his surmise was correct; a lady,
leaning over the bulwark, was reckoning her.
" Can be of any service to you?" he asked,
when his boat touched the side.
"Oh, you are an Englishman"' exclaimed
the lady, eXertng herself to make her feeble
voice audible. ''Is ii far to a town? Can YOU
get me a doctor? / am so i'll"
For answer, DIR. Antrobus pushed his boat
along to the gaDgway, and stepped on board;
couple of Maltese sailors, who were seated on
the deck forward playing at cards, neither as
slsting nor hindering him. They merely gave
him keen look and went on with their game.
The lady, though dressed like young wo-
man, was certainly past fifty, probably good
many years past; but some faces age sooner
than others, and she was suffering.
81 am medical man." said DR.. Antrobus,
"what is the natter"
"A burning pain that never leaves me; and
prevents my sleeping; sickness whenever take
food; at times a diZ illness as il 1 were dying"
I" How long have you had those symptoms
1" A month ago, at Naples, I first felt the
burning, after sickness; but it passed off again
at that time. Then it returned, and grew
worse and worse. And you are really a medi-
cal man?''
Certainly"
"PardOn the question: your coming is much a
direct answer to prayer! And you will save
me, will you not?''
She became hysterical; when she got little
better, DIR. Antrobus helped her down into the
cabin, where he expected to find some female
attendant; but no, except the two sailors who
we're playing at cards on deck and themselves
there d1d not seem to be a soul on board. Yet
the vessel, though of Genoese build and laten
| rig, was lifted up like an English yacht and as
/ she was OF about twenty tons burden, her crew
could hardly consist OF two men only
| After certain further inquiries and examina-
! ton: DIT, Antrobus asked IL she had merely TIA
4 ken passage in the vessel.
| "Oh no." said she; 1--WE have hired it, with
/ the crew, and have been cruising ahOut in in