The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-07-21
.usor OF Blue RIBBON.

a
=. :. "a ;nhahit.nts. situated on the river huo'
,er 7. lies 10 a long valley. through !ne
,,lda,. of which the river h'"9, LOT 'ue
-rna.ar mar, of its course, between low
s,.acsy hanks The staff Of our brancn com
Ss,rsad myself and three Others. Inc &C.
corn,ant and m self lived together III sun
of rooms ADJOINING The bank pTem'se"'
I,.re very good friends. aud had eVetS'n'"g
IN the house IN common. though, we 'lau
,ho.en VIZ might have lived rs m'lch apa,
&c if we had occupied separate houses. ''1
Weir was indeed an easy companion ~ s
ON with. Il was 4 little ZINC "r'o'e
came 10 know him, for he VA, oi a 81.
ord d,ftiten, nature, who naade '''euoS
Slow,,. hut when you did get 10 De 'an''iiat
Di,h him you liked blm "in"u' eAie'l
trowinr " hy He was not brilliant, OF tsp'
cnlv r,f cd in any way, though Ire unuer-
stood his own bust e~S thorougo'V, anu pr
form.d It's duties skfuiy and well, In PR
sonai appearance he was not "hat, az hrs.
sight. YOU would cali attractive. he had
plain. strongly marked features. ana 40 un-
graceful. loose flure, which nnner DO c't-
s,,,u,s,snres cou,u be made 10 de credit 10 his
tailor. I don't think there was continuous
line ri beauty in bis whole Il cure from top
70 toe. HIS eyes were good, however; clear,
steady gray eyes. But "a nearly always
bannens " hen on come 10 be friends with q
man or woman you 1000 grew accustomed
tn Weir's oul " ard appearance, failed 10 SEE
its homeliuess, and hk"d the man ior him-
self. for his simple, genuine. ana sound-
hearted nature. At least this vas nv case.
W;lIouphuy is s0cisl little place. and
Wei, and m, self had considerable circ Gle OF
acu,lsiplances in it. The family whose house
we mos, frequently visited was ira; OF Mr..
R,sx,upd. j Jhn BiaxlsDd was retired gen.
slemsu OF property, hearty, kinuly, ho,p',
fsblr man. Hi. house was pleasantly situated
on the bank Of river, and dls ant anou,
three mi e. from the town. MT. biaH'a'v
was married man With two children: u sol
and daughter. The latter, at me ,lme "
which | write, WIS in her '"en''etn ..i,'
and one of the prettiest elilS ~ LUG cou..,'
SIDE Ella BuxI4nd was goa 3Ir'' 'oo'
warm hc,r,,d. frank, and nnrclona'e, VIII
inr IN plcs.c and be pleased on all occasions,
. Ii,,lc co1uc tlsh sometimes, anu iona OF
|un INT neither vain nor frivolous.
Weir and were at WYandra such was the
name of Mr., Baxiand's place -some'IIDfS a.
of,en AS twice week, and We were always
sire Of kindly. uDceremonlous "eicoul''
No one understood better how TO entertain
.h.;r friends rbap john Blixlind and mis- wife,
and this without seeming 10 make inucn el'
fort in so dong. ~
Az NAV be supposed, Ella BIsxand had
many admirers. bur for long time no one
of these seemed 10 find especial favor IN hpr
sight. Nothing could ever be detected ID
her manner wacrcby you could gather tDat
she regarded one with more frlenGHness tDan
another. When such signs dld appear, as
they did at la>l, it WAS in favor OF compar-
alive stranger in the district, one who bad
a
matter of no SIN Ill cnsSriu 10 some Of Elias
old admirers; bnt certainly the new conner
had many OF The personal qualities such
rs frequrnty recommend man ~
ladies' eyes. Leonard Hamerton had
established himself as a solicitor in Will
lcuyhbv. Previous 10 his coming to the dis.
trici he had re"u for a mum oer OF years in
Yrll-knoWu soIirl'oI's firm in Sydney, and
brouult with him letters CT Introduction to
mos. of the Uctltr.rla>s families in the town.
Mr.. Uumerton Wa> tall, wcl-maGe, ruther
slight m4n with fine brown hair and eyes,
and a FRESH color He had o ready. fluent
address, helped by a mclndious voice and
his mariners We're ca. s.a.sured, anu perfectly
well bred he possessed accomplishments,
TOO. winch, If not OF Il deep. were ot au emf
neully u.ctu and effective KIND, such a>
win favor in average society. He could
sing aud perform on the piano with
taste aud skill, knew whist and most
other games at cards thoroughly,
PLAYED cruqnei with dcX erous grace, and
banded nll'ard cue IN manner that
rather u>torished some Of our Dung fellows
who thought they knew something 10 that
way. Humcrrsu vas Il prudent man. He
knew tX,crly the limits OF his own strength,
and never a,ttmp!td anything beyond his
10
cpssful in tempting him into any of the
sports in when they believed themselves TO
be stronger. He had decided objections to
being seen a Il disadvantages.
Son AFTER his arrival in Wilioughby.. Ha-
merton b. came frequent visitor ut Wyan.
Ora, and il was no, long before bis ntme was
mentioned as that Of MISS BlaXland's favor
ite Suitor AT first regarded this u an idle
rumOr. Other Young men had at different
times earned this distinction, and eacn bad
in turn quietly lost it. But by-and.by both
Dick Wen and myself thought we saw signs
that the popular rumor was at last about 10
he ver,ti"d. Ella BIaXhnd seemed to be re
gardng Leonard llnmcrton with a favor
greater than that which She extended to
Others. This Was rot very mark, d; but to
us, who were so fr, quently about the house,
1t became sufficiently so 10 be hardly mis-
sons of personal kind. Tor | had never
looked upon Ella BliXland 10 any other
light than hat OF freud. and my warmer
affections were directed elsewhere, bur SIM
ply because | didu't much care tor Hamer-
ton. had rea- on to believe, though he said
httlr ahnutat, fnat the sentiments with which
j regarded him were shared In Il great mea-
sure by Dick Weir.
1t was atolt two months after Hamcrton
had come to Wiloughhy that Il little fSte was
held at WyaDdia in honor OF Elias twentieth
birthday. Ii was intentionally a quiet little
festival, and those WHO mrt to celebrate it
Were none bur the more intimate friends of
the family. But we were very merry and
pleasant party. We Met early III the after
noon Of lovely da, in the end of April,
which, il uay be necessary to remind Eng
lish readers, IS The Australian autumn. Ire.
member the day by reason Of 4 slight circuln-
stance OF which I alone was wHDe>S-a cir
cumstance which was a revelation 10 me at
the time. and which after events reci'ed TO
my memory with added significance. During
the afternoon, tue larger portion OF our party
were engaged in croQLet, while some wan-
dered about The garden talking and idling
away lhr bright hours. Ella BiaXiaDd Was
looking especially bright and ct arming; gay,
animal ed, and 0appN AS tttitted The occasion.
Sue was dressed simply. in some soft, light,
airy material, with bits Of delicate blue rib |
b"n here and there about her person. and a
loop of the same interwOsen amid her hair. |
There were other girls present with undo
nabe claims ~ beauty; but Ella moved |
among them like little princess, though |
with no air OF conscious superiority. Leo
nard Hamerton "as at his best to-day. exert
Ing his utmost powers OF pleasing. Spark
ling, witty, and carelessly gay, be infused