The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1875-07-07

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at SYPHILIS wardrobe; and after an inquiry
respecting the state of his daughter, he
went away, satisfied that all was we'll; nor
| did she See llim again until she went to ask
him for some address to. attach to the
packages.
Mr.. Dcrwent was in his dressing-room
when Millicent went in search OF him. He
was looking worried and irritated by the
multiplicity~of little odds and ends still re-
naming to be attended to.
!. Milllcent glanced ut the disorIcred room
+ where cases OF r.tzors, colllr-boxc5, packets
of paper, and piles of linen and handker-
! chiefs lay heaped together. When the
/ harassed owner made the confusion worse
by upsettlng one OF these heaps in clearing
space for the tags and the Inkstand, her
deft hands went to work; and when he
| saw how quickly and neatly she arranged
thevarlous art. Giles Ill rc ldiness for his port
manteaux, he smilinsly thanked her for
her timely assistance.
While Mr. Derwent wrote some farewell
letters, Millicent continued to hueS herself
about his table: and he looked up ut last
to repeat his thanks, and dismiss her. At
this moment, Il crash was heard, and with
look OF dlsmay, she pointed to q desk,
which movement OF her arm had thrown
heavily to the floor. One of the hinges
was broken in the fall and on learnlnr
this, he looked excessively annoyed !; but
Mlllicents pentcnt Il AIN 50 very sorry,
sir partially disaIm-d his wrath ut her
carclessncsS.
at is extremely unfort tunate," he OBJ
served ''for l cannot trtvcL with it in
this insecure condition, and there is not
time to send it TO the ul;Lk.r"
"There is L liiAn Ill the will Igc who is
clever at requiring things OF this descrip-
tlon, she told iiIiiI, eagerly, Is II anxious
to make wlnt amends she could ipr the
mischief she had wrought. HE has re.
paired q work-box OF Miss Lindsly's very
nicely. Shall curry your desk to him r
At first MIR. Dcrwent. answered the pro-
position with L very decided mo- then
hc wavcred and repeated that it would be
impossible to take 1t with him in such
condition; and, tintlly, he agreed that she
should convey the broken desk to the man
she mentioned, strictly cnjoining him to
make the necessary repl lirs, and bring it to
the Lodge that same nIy hit.
Pulling open II drawer, he hastily thrust
into it the sundry articles The different
compartments h;ld held. When he had
locked them up, Milliccnt noticed that he
transferred the key to u small bunch he
had on Il ring, anh this be Slipped into, his
w.listcolt-pockct.
Apparently. this was IN excess of call
tien; tor she had been closely Watching the
transfer ct the articles the desk had Con-
taincd; and saw 1t they consisted only of
two or three packets Of letters, some faded
photographs. i few old.iushioned seals,
and little carved ivory box, yellow with
age, and of no particular value. But Mil
licent carried the desk away, promising to
bear in mind the owners injunction about
It's b,ing speedily r:tIrned IA message
which, however, she chose to forget when
delivering it to the trldcslnan she had
named to Mr.. D.rw> nt.
In the evening, thu young lldies hastily
summoned TO act is bride 'snlids at the ap-
preaching ceremony, arrived at Derwcnt
Lodge. Violet shrank from seeing anyvis-
itols; but as Sybil WIS not able - receive
them, she was compelled to play the host
ess in her place. 1t WAS torture to. be
obliged to listen, smilinsly, to the congrat-
ulations ]avshed upon her-to answer all
the frivolous questions they teased her with
and evade, as best she could, their Curl
osity at the briefness Of the notice she had
given them If Mr.. Derwent had not come
to her aid repeatedly, she would have found
it impossible to sustain her part; and the
paleness that frequently overspread her
countenance, so alarmed him, that he was
as much relieved as herself when their fair
friends retired for the night.
As soon rs they were left alone, he led
his silent aad sorrowful bethrothed to her
room, without an effort to dctain her, say
ing, "You are too tired for any further
conversation tonight, my dear one. Go to
rest, and let me see this sweet face little
brighter in the morning"
She did not answer him urEsi1 they stood
together on the threshold Of her dressing
room, where Millicent was waiting for her.
Then, recoilng from his parting caress, she
said, IN broken accents, "Must this really
bea Is there no other course?'r
A deep flush rose to his knitted brow,
and he compressed his lips. But it was
with more than his usual gertlencsss that
he replied, cam I, then, positively h;tctEl
to you, my beloved ?"
"No, no! You know very we'll that you
are not. But l have not deceived you.
You know that the love 1 bare you is not
what it should be. Oh, Mr.. Derwent, pity
ME; and say if there is not some other
course we can adopt than entering upon
a union which can bring no real hlppi-
ness to either Of us !"
None" he answered emphatically.
ttBut remember that it is in your power to
retract, even now. l pltce lay future
entirely in your hands, Violet. Whatever
you may think properto do, however much
l have to suffer, shall make no COM
pfint.H
lie made a movement as If about to 1oarc
her: but she hlit her hand upon his arm.
"Do YOU think I could be so ungcnerous,
so hcartless, rs to- forget the consequences
of my refusal to fulfill my promise? For
give my unkind questions, After to-
morrow, you shall not find me SO scltishly
inconsidcrate Of your feelings
He murmcrel blessing upon her heed,
kissed the little hand she had laid in his,
and was about to leave her when Millcent
interposed.
May he so bold, sir, as to ask you to-
prevail on Miss Lindsly to swallow little
Of the wine that have been mulling for
hers She has scarcely taken anything
to-day"
81 do not want it," said Violet, pettishly.
u wish you would not watch me so. If |
nm neither hungry nor thirsty, how Gun
help it,"
but this accounts for the paleness that
has made ME so uneasy to night" Mr.. Dcs-
went remarked. "Your maid is right, my
dearest Violet, in drawing my attention to
your dangerous abstinence. You must
take more care Of yourself, or we shall have
you i'll. Where is the cordial yen spoke Of
lny good girl'"
Milfcent came forward with q couple Of
glasses Of the steaming wine, and Mr.. Der
went, seizing one, gaily pledged his be-
trothed; nor would he leave her, until she
had swallowed a few drops from the other.
Violet was too restless in her unhappf-
ness, to seek her couch, as he had advised;
but she dismissed her attendent, whose
assiduties-though she believed them to be