River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1874-01-13
BETTER THAN HE SEEMED.

A quaint old town was Hereford. Its
buildings were Anticipated and its in
( habitants chung so tenaciously TO the
traditions of their forefathers that no
more obstinate or exclusive set Of land
owners could be found in the shire.
Scarcely more than two Thousand
souls comprised the population, but
what they lacked IN numbers was bal.
anced by the extreme responsibility OF
those who lived aud carried themselves
as little lords among the tenantry.
Hereford had its clearinghouse. To
be sure, it was diminutive appendage
OF the big concern in Liverpool, but
Mr.. Sandhurst Upton, Nj. =. resident
partner, presided over its dignity and
lived IN the old brick MANSION at the
top of the hill, screened from vulgar
gaze by the heavy yew trees that
formed a Gordon about his retreat.
Hereford also had its established
church and its good vicar, DIR. Stole,
who, though an a1stera man on the
church homilies, could, nevertheless,
at times be as decorously Jolly as the
worst of his parishioners, and was a
rough rider when the hounds were in
full cry.
The family of Mr. Sandhurst Upton
consisted of his wife and two daugh-
tiers. The former was a tall, stern
looking lady, with enough dignity TO
have satisfied the most exclusive arts
tocrat ; while the daughters, Augusta
aad Cecily, to the disgust of their
I nareutc poncA r,naoanuptoI,Ix, HI -,
/ blbed notions altogether too plebian
for their nation and birth 1t was Mrs.
Upton who had insisted on their being
educated abroad, and il had ever since
been to her source of lamentation,
and her more astute husband, who had
i opposed the scheme, but nevertheless
! yielded to mis- wife's wishes, never fail
ed to remind her that the consequence
was the result of her own folly.
Mrs. Upton knew this full we'll,
therefore she never sought to gainsay
its truth, only she extenuated her mis-
take as best she could, reminding her
+ lord that she was educated at the same
institution whittier she had sent her
/ daughters, and had come out sans
/ reprOche.
Preoept and expostulation seemed
lost upon these wilful girls, and they
only laughed at the lectures they re-
ceived, frequently replying by some
clubhouse phrase they obtained, heaven
knows whore. Two London seasons
had failed to eradict the blemish of
their characters, and now Mr.. Upton
and wife had resigned themselves to the
unhappy conviction that they must
patiently endure that which they could
not cure.
The sisters were out one day on
horseback, and, as was their custom,
they We're unattended by an escort.
Augusta, vino was dashing horsewo-
man, was riding near the edge of
wood that was bounded by thick
thorn hedge. On the opposite side
was a young man who had fallen
asleep reading a book, which was
lying on the greensward. At banter
from Cecily, Augusta put her horse at
tue hedge and leaped him clean over
1t. A cry of pain Immediately fol-
lowed, and the young sleeper sprang
to his feet, then staggered and fell,
with his forehead cut open by the hoof
of Augusta Tipton's horse.
The daughter of Sandhurst Upton
possessed courageous mind. She
neither screamed nor wept at the con
sequence of her unfortunate prank.
lie your horse aud climb over here
this instant, she called to her sister /.
. believe I've killed poor fellow.
How perplexing this is, TO be sure. "
| She had sprung from her saddle, and
. knelt beside the bleeding man, while
/ he was all unconscious OF the fair fin
gers which were twisting a cambria
handkerchief about his temples.
Cecily, in conformity 10 her sister
summons, had scrambled through the
} hedge, aud was doing what she could
g TO bring the stranger 10 consciousness.
He rs handsome--dont you think
I So dussy Z" she asked, gazing on his
a pale face.
e Her sister made no reply, but clutch
. ed at her riHdigretfe and applied il 10
, his uostrils.
I 1t happened that Cecily nj that mo-.
ment spled "A letter lying on the
! ground near the book. In an instant
+ she had caught II up, and with womanly
! curiosity was examining the snperscrip.
9 ton. u was post marked Brussels.
i and was directed TO Mons. Louis Bor
e uier, london.
= Ccclly pressed her hand upon her
q brow, M II IN thought, and then
e handed the letter TO Augusta. The
latter looked sharply at the superscrip
ton, and then remarked "Ob
1 that's Il. How strange
o " Where did You hear that name 4
Z asked Cellly !" am sure We hay,
!, come across Il somewhere.
Il IN the newspaper, replied Ec,
/. sister Don't ven remember. fev
3 days since, the announcement Of Count
+ Benier's son being implicated i'm thai
= French plot, aud the flight Of youu,
Il Benlcr to Belgium {
True enough. responded her sis.
ter Wouldn't IL be romanticit on
!. stranger and young Bernier we're ident
zeal