Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1876-11-25

| While thy father, ont on the sea,
Tolls all night for thee aud me.
| DUKE RUTHERFORD.
It was a fair sunny day in August
They were out on the cliffs, fathom
above the sea, at play. She = darl
eyed, wondrously beautiful girl Of thir
teen; he tall, stalwart boy, year he
senior. There was a wide difference il
their stations in life. You had only t.
note the richness OF her silk attire, tn.
threadbare scantiness OF his, to feel as
sured OF that. No rich mans son woult
have been dressed quite so shabbily a.
Duke Rutherford; and yet, in spite .
the wornout clothes. the boy, in beaut,
of form and feature, might have been I
ft son for nobleman.
The children were gathering mossel
from the rocks and chatting gayly to
gether, forgetful Of rank or station
They had met often thus for the last. si1
years.
Dukes father was the agent of thu
estate OF Lucy Delamere's highbret
mother. Their cottage was but little
distance from tho Hall, and the children
in search of amusement, wandered out
often to the cliffs and whiledaway sunny
afternoons in juvenile sports. Duke
gathered for his fair playfellow the
brightest tinted shells, and, in return
she brought him musty old books OF
romance and chivalry from the great Ii
brary at the Hall, which he read and re
read, until his soul was filed with
dreams and aspirations, vague and
sweet, and unreal as the visions of an
opium eater.
The Rutherfords had not always been
dependents. Generations back there
were noblemen in the family, but politi-
cal differences had taken title and
wealth from the name. Early in life,
Hugh Rutherford, Dukes father, had
become agent to Mr.. Delamere; a post
he had retained when Mr.. Delamere
died, leaving q widow and one only
child, girl, a. sole heiress to his vast
wealth and estates. Hugh Rutherford
had married young wife, beautiful and
refined; but after few years their ain
gularly happy life was broken. Mrs.
Rutherford died, and her husband had
only his six months old boy to toll for
No restraint was put upon the inter
course between Duke Rutherford and
Lucy Delamere by the proud lady moth
er Of the young heiress. II she thought
OF the matter at all, she trusted to the
inborn pride Of her daughter, and to the
cold contempt she had tried 80 faith
fully to imbue her with-contempt of
all that was low born or ill-bred. Mrs.
Delamere would never have Thought Of
looking for princely heart beneath the
rough jacket OF one she considered too
far beneath her to merit even the tribute
of passing thought.
The sea breezes gave beautiful
bloom to the cheek OF Lucy, and the
sports she shared with Duke rounded
her limbs and gave grace and vigor to
her step. Mrs. Delamere read her fa-
vorite novele, entertained her chosen
company and reigned queen at the
hall, and Lucy enjoyed the wild free
dom Of the clihs.
The young girl was almost reckless in
her daring at times. This afternoon
she was in her most dangerous mood. A
cluster of flowers, growing in cleft Of
tho rock below the surface OF the cliffs,
attracted her attention. She sprung
toward them. Duke waved her back.
cit is perilous, Lucy" he said. hur-
riedly. "Look at the black rocks be-
meath. A single misstep and"-
I Ov m 4 cJ, I'm ~hol ln
family. "If you are pale am not;
and I am going to carry these bright
things homo to mamma"
Before he could prevent her she had
swung herself over the precipice, and,
resting one foot on q narrow shelf OF
rock, her left hand clinging to q frail
shrub that had taken root in the sparse
earth at the top, with the other she
grasped the coveted blossoms.
Duke, white and rigid, stood above
her looking down. She shook the
flowers above her head. "Seei Idare
do what boy trembles at seeing done!"
She stopped hastily in the gay, taunt-
ing speech she was making. The treach-
erous rock under her feet crumtled and
fell; there was only that little swaying
shrub to hold her back from eternity.
Duke threw himself upon his face,
reached over, caught her uplifted hands
in his and drew her up slowly, laboriously
for she was nearly his own weight,
and he realized too well how much hung
On the result to be hasty or reckless OF
his strength. He rose to his feet, lift
ing her up with him. For q moment,
breathless and overcome by the thought
Of what she had escaped, she leaned
against him then turning away she
seated herself on rock.
"Oh, Duke" she cried, pale with the
terror OF her late danger, "you have
saved my lifel What will mamma sayi
What can give you as keepsake, to
show how grateful I am :" and she be-
gun to detach the heavy gold chain she
wore at her girdle.
The boys face flushed proudly as he
put it from him.
"Give me the bunch OF heliotrope in
your hair" he said. 81 want nothing
else."
She pulled it out and laid it in his
hand.
"You will throw it away tomorrow
when it is withered, she laughed.
"No; I shall never throw it away"
The day was setting in steel blue
clouds great banks Of them obscured
the setting sun. From the troubled sea
vast masses Of drenching fog swept up
the rocky coast and settled heavily down
on the land.
That night Mr.. Rutherford called
Duke into his bedchamber, where he
kept his private desk and his meager
store of books. He took from an ebony
casket ring set with large diamonds.
There, my son." he said, "this is
the only thing I have on earth to show
that noble blood flows in our veins.
That ring belonged to my great grand
father, the Duke of Someton. It cost
81, 900. It will bring readily more than
half that sum. give it to you. Will You
keep IL to show The world that your an.
pestors were nobles-or - He paused
md looked into the face Of the boy.
"OY what, iatheri" Dukes face was