Daily Kennebec journal., 1876-05-11

the elder lady. Lou WOuiu uovc inbCio.
that be meant to leave to me all the tall
with our pretty Miss Amy; those young
men are so transparently cunning: :,
Well, we got down at length to the small
country station, and here there was hum
BILE carriage in waiting to drive us to the
riverside. We passed along through the
sweet-smelling fields. We drove through
the quaint little town. which was all shin
ing now in the warm light of the evening
sun. We passed the church and got dowr
to the bridge. ard there before US. on tht
other side OF the stream. stood the old
fashioned inn OF red brick amidst its trim
plots of flowers and shrubs.
Ibid YOU ever see anything more beall-
tiful ?" Queen Tta says: and, indeed, it
would be difficult to compose a prettier
picture than we beheld at this moment
the solitary, quaint, red, old building BY
the side OF the river, the smooth water re-
fecting the dropping trees. the white line
of the weir. and behind all these some
rich meadows leading over to low ram
part OF hills, the thick woods on which
were burning red in the sunset.
1t was. in truth peaceful spot, and we
drove over the bridge, and round and
down to the inn, with something of no.
ton that here, for space, we should shut
out all the cares and stormy passions Of
the world, and dream ourselves back into
a,condition a OF primeval peace and inno-
cence. We got down from the carriage.
The solitary waiter was at the door to re-
ceive US. We hoped that we should be
the only occupants Of the famous old hos
tlery.
Just at this moment the face of the
Young gentleman who had come with US
was observed to change color, and most
unchristian CLEAN of anger shot from his
eyes. Who was this blithe and buxom
person who, dressed in fishing-costume
Of gray. came gayly along the passage.
and seemed overwhelmed with amaze
,nent and joy at seeing us?
,..Whatr' said he, "can it be possible
Bless nv soul. now! What a fortunate
thing! But who would have dreamed of
meeting you here, of all places in this SIM
iul but delightful world ?"
Who, indeed It has been the lot OF the
present writer to have been present at
dramatic performances In the capitals of
various coun ntries. but she has never wit
messed q more beautiful piece of acting
than that which was performed by stout
and middle-aged gentleman on the thresh-
old OF an inn 10 Berkshire. We were very
nearly imposed on. For the moment it
almost seemed real. But then our com.
mon sense came to the rescue; and we
knew that this sly old dog had quietly
slipped down here and taken up his quar-
ters in anticipation Of our coming, while
the most we could hope for was that the
green and fertile plains of Berkshire might
not be stained with blood before the week
was out.
CHAPTER H.-THREATs.
They behaved themselves pretty we'll at
dinner. We dlned together in the coffee
room, a queer. low-roofed old place, with
an abundance of windows looking out on
the river, and with colored pictures oi
the Thames hung round the walls. The
only other occupant of the room was an
austere and elderly maiden lady. dining
al BY herself, of whom Mr.. Humphreys
Father cruelty remarked that, considering
the number of leap-years she must have
seen., it was curious she had not taken
the advantage Of any one of them. On
this Mr.. Maurice rather Indignantly
retorted that there were certain spectacle .
which deserved sympathy rather than rid
icule and we sll agree with that senti.
ment. The incident passed by. No bones
were broken.
After dinner we went outside; there
was still some warm color in the sky. and
the smooth river caught faint glow as
it stole away under the dark green trees.
The woods were quiet now; In the twi-
light there was no sound but the soft rush.
ing of the water over the weir; one be-
gan to wish that these young people might
sing in the gathering darkness. down here
by the side Of the rushes. They were
thinking of other things.
''Of course. Miss Newton" says the
taller and younger Of the two gentlemen,
- III will 60 for an excursion on the riv-
er " morrow Tho fact is, man know
has put q little toy steamer at my dispos-
Alt is down at Cookham just now-I
could hare it up here for you at any hour
yon choose"
IA steamer?" says our young American
friend "what sham it would be to bring
steamer in This quiet place "
The barometer of the young mans face
falls ten degrees; that OF his rival jumps
up hundred.
'And that isn't the worst of it," says
Mr.. Humphreys, eagerly. "Oh. no, not
at all. The joys of trip in small river
steamer are most multifarious. First you
run aground. Then your waves upset =
skiff, aud the two men in il make use OF the
most awful language. Then you take off
somebody's outrigger. Aud 80 on. and SO
on. until you wish you had never been
born and. indeed, when you 60 ashore.
your own mother wouldn't believe you
ever had been. for your identity is COM
pletely lost and smoihered up in the coal.
dust that has been showered on you. No,
no. Miss Newton, don't you be al mean
don't you 60 in a river steamer. Now.
II you really want to enjoy the river, I'll
show you how. We shall get big fat
punt and moor it out below the weir, and
we shall have luncheon on board, and
plenty Of books. and box OF wafer COL
ore. Ii you like to sit and read. we'll. II
you like to spin for trout. you can have
my line. II you want to sketch, you have
all the scenery about you. Now that is
how you ought to spend a nice. idling,
enjoyable day on the Thames"
Mr.. Humphreys was quite pleased with
this burst Of oratory. do you like the
pictures@' he might have asked. in the
words of the romantic Gland Melnotte