American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-02-06


, boy would tear apart the leaves of
rosebud that opened too tardily for hi
, patience.
If one makes a resolve better left III
| made, does not the opportunity to carr.
it out hasten to offer itself =? Clarenc
Broughton's did, at any rate. Georg
Paulett, who was about to take his sis
ter back to England. left her for few
days with her school friend, Marguerite
just in time to take her role in the seen,
Clarence was preparing. Certainly, if ;
man desired to play at love, he mi gh
look long without finding better part
ner than Cora Paulett. Pretty, vivacious
coquette to the very marrow, sh'
feigned to perfection, without any
troublesome reserve of feeling Il
turn the jest into earnest I'm
expectedly. Besides, she had that expe
rience which is desirable to make the
pastime thoroughly entertaining; she
had played at it so often that she moi
only knew all her own cues, but could
prompt her companion into the bargain
All was fish that came to her net, but
still she had choice in her fish. Clar
ence was particularly to her taste, and
she had not been dozen minutes in his
company before her eyes told him SO as
plainly as ever eyes could speak. He
| was at no loss to understand as much
| not being by any means IA tyrO himself In
such matters; while Marguerite in heI
| innocence saw the whole, and understood
nothing except that her lover and heI
friend promised to get on well together
which was fortunate, inasmuch as ii
would prevent Cora from feeling dull
and dizziness was, in that young lady's
estimation, the one intolerable evil of this
| world.
IF j had thought twice about it," she
| said, the evening of her arrival, I"
| wouldn't have let George leave me here,
| under the circumstances. ] suppose you
| two will go incoming about by yourselves,
| like all true lovers-so cheerful for me
What nuisances true lovers are! They
| ought to be suppressed by law. lbelieve
l shall have to set up lover of my own
in selt-defense. Only where to find him
on such short notice."
If might venture to offer my serv-
| ices" said Clarence, looking into the
laughing blue eyes that challenged his so
saucily.
Rita, do you allow him to make
those pretty speeches? If l were in
your place l should keep a tighter rein
on my lord for fear-for fear"
But am not afraid" answered Mar
guerite, with a smile at Clarence, from
| which he turned away, vexeG instead of
gratified by her simple confidence.
That alters the case" said Cora, de-
murely Then if you are really not
afraid for your treasure will you lend it
to me for a little while now and them"
"When you like and as long as you
like" answered Marguerite, laughing.
Rather a dangerous permission"
said Broughton, considering the heart
OF man."
els deceitful and desperately wicked"
suggested Cora.
"Desperately susceptible, at least" he
rejoined.
''It comes to the same thing when the
man is an engaged man." said Cora, Civ
ing him provoking glance.
Sin that case l must confess myself a
deplorable sinner" said Broughton, with
another longer look into the wicked
blue eyes.
"Well, then, sinner, leave the saint to
.herself-she doesn't want us-and come
and look at the moon with me-" said
Cora, laughing, as she turned to the
door.
Like to like" said Broughton, follow
ing her, without SO much as parting
word or glance for Marguerite.
She, for her part, lifted her eyes and
looked after them with a sensation of
surprise-only surprise, but still not
wholly agreeable. For where one has
been used to be first object it is not
PHEASANT W see one ) Sell SCI dSIuc Will
SO little ceremony. And then, perhaps,
had either of them limited at such a pos
sibility, she might have preferred look
ing at the moonlight too to sitting alone
over her herbarium; but not only had
they not limited at it, they had ignored it
so decidedly that, absurd as it was, she
felt as if to join them now would be al
most an intrusion. So she sat on alone,
by the light of the oil-lamp turning over
the dry leaves rather lisllessly, while
those two outside among the fresh dews
and scents of the garden found the time
pass agreeably enough in looking at the
moonlight and saying, it may be, some of
those things which moonlight is very apt
to suggest.
Undoubtedly the tete-a-tete was pleas
ant one-enough SO to make it worth
while repeating it pretty often. Miss
Paulett had little reason to complain
that Marguerite went off incoming with
Clarence; if anybody went incoming
with him it was herself. A stranger, in
deed, might have fancied him the lover
she had set up in self-defense, though
of what it would be harder to
say. No need to be minute in describ-
ing the progress of SO familiar game;
most people have played it OF seen it
played at their own or somebody else's
expense; enough to say that it
went on very much to the salts
faction of two at least of the trio
as for the third, her feelings are not so
easily expressed Strange as it may APP |
pear, Marguerite did not comprehend the
play that was being played before her |
eyes. In such matters she was innocent |
and ignorant as Il child; there was moth |
ing in the dream-llfe she had lived hith- |
ERIC TO give her experience of the world |
and it's ways; her imagination had de- |
veloped before her heart, which was |
hardly yet aroused to know its own Ca
pacities of suffering or passion. She had |
not yet begun to learn the lesson Clar-
ence was at such pains to teach her; she
was not likely to be an apt scholar,
others, as she unconsciously |
did, by her own standard of faith; and
if she felt a strange uneasiness, like Il
vague presentiment of evil, during those
lays of Cora's reign, she could not in the
east have told why.
But those days were almost at an end
there was only one more now before
George Paulett would return for his sis
Ter. Marguerite had spent most of that
was suffering from one of her frequent
nervous headaches, and was as capri
cious and restless as usual under those
Toward evening Mrs.
Wyndham dropped asleep; perceiving
which, Marguerite stole out of the room
and out into the garden for breath of
fresh air. 1t was beginning to be dusk;
he stars were glimmering out, and the
air was full of flower scents; everything
was so deliciously sweet and still, after
ler weary afternoon, that il was no won
Ter if Marguerite fingered and fell into IL
-everie that was half dream, half wake.