Litchfield enquirer., 1876-07-20
WHOLE NO. 2616.

 ous little brougham toward Sir Alfreds heavily magnificent mansion in one of the handsomest of the Hyde Park terraces.
 ''You1l stay and sleep in our house to night, won't you, dear Dolph?" my sister said, hesitatingly. as we neared her house and I, knowing what was in her heart, pitied her more than did myself as l answered,
 ''No dear. think not"
 She uttered no protest against my re- fusal, but her little hand crept upon mine and clasped it tenderly,
 "Youll stay to dinner, at any rate, and consult Alfred about things, won't you? she whispered.
 ''I am afraid his advice will be value less" said bitterly. He will tell me to put money in my purse, but he won't be able to tell me how to make the money"
 "Papa ought to have put by for you, poor boy. You have been brought mp to need as much as William, and now you're left with five hundred pounds !" she burst out, passionately.
 "Don't you cut me If l am compelled to take cross-sweeper's broom, I said, trying to laugh. "Never mind, cheer up, Addy-and good.by."
  get hard and proud and bad to me be- cause you have not been justly treated" she cried; and I suffered myself to be dragged into Sir Alfred Edmonstone's house and planted at his dinner table when that mighty man did not expect me. He chanced to have an ultra-critical case on hand, too, and so to be in an ultra critical mood. felt my visit to be pecu- liarly ill-timed when he commenced find ing fault with his wife's dress.
 'tI wish to heaven, AddY, you wouldn't clothe yourself 1n dead black" he grum- bled; and then he quoted the example of woman of fashion to whom he was no- toriously devoted, and who, though her father was just dead, did not clothe her self in dead black. I saw my sisters cheek flush to the brightest scarlet as he mentioned this woman's name, and that scarlet flush was in my memory when he presently turned to me and said:
 ''I was speaking to friend of mine about you to. day, Adolphus. He is one of the directors of great insurance com pany, and he is going to try to get you in as a clerk. r.u ittl..
 ''You are very kind," I said, stiffly, "but I have no vocation that way; he will have his trouble for nothing" I know now what boyish impertinence it was of me to reply in such a way; but then only re- membered that while my father lived And my allowance was good, Sir Alfred Ed monstone had graciously extended all a curled darlings privileges to me.
 "Ohl very well," he said. drily. "Mny I ask what you have vocation forP"
 "For managing my own affairs" And when I said that, I read, "I have done with you" written legibly in the way in which Sir Alfred closed his lips and look ed at his wife. ... ...l 4.
 By-and-by he went away to his study, leaving me alone with my sister, and then she bewailed my imprudence. ' ia.i
 "Oh, Dolph, Dolph, he could be snch a friend to you! And without him l can do nothing, nothing, my poor brother!" "'Never mind, darling,'"' said heroical- .ly; ''I shall get on just as well without the friendship of man who has withdrawn it on such slight provocation, I have. no doubt. As said just now, have vo- cation for managing myself. and If the worst comes to the worst, you won't cut me, will you?" .n.
 She shook her head, implored me to ''make it up with AHred," to ''think of the insurance office clerkship," and above all, to "do nothing rash. You're offended with William because of Fanny" she went on; ''don't break my heart by taking offense with me because of Alfred. Don't keep aloot from me, Dolph. Don't, don't"
 ''Supposing, after tonight, your hus- band never invites mel"
 "Treat him as brother and come with out an invitation," she said, promptly, and, to please her, affected to promise. But when took my departure presently without seeing any more of my host. I had conviction that my intercourse with my sister for the future would be limited. even if it was not made to cease Altogeth- CT. And as I walked along under the December sky, looking for a respectable lodging for the night, I realized to the fullest extent that was cast on my own resources.
 l will pass over the next three months. and resume the story of my blunders in March.-During these three months I had known many fluctuations of hope and despair. At first had attempted to live by my pen, but editors would not look at what I wrote. Then made play for a clerkship in the war office, and that failed. Finally, after sundry other false moves, I through chance acquaintance, who found out that I had been at Oxford with favorite nephew of his, a situation of some trust in the post-ofice, with sal arY of three hundred year.
 did not obtain this situation day too soon. My five hundred pounds had dwin- dled down to miserable fifty, and my heart had hardened against all my rich and respectable relatives to the substance of flint. l had only seen Addy once since that evening when l rejected her husbands offer of patronage, and that was when she made her way to the lodg- ings I had taken in gloomy Cover street. No persuasion of hers could induce me to cross Sir Alfred s threshold again until could meet him on the fair footing of being myself an independent man.
 '"'Dear Dolph, he would be glad to sec you.'" Addy would say. .r...l |.
 'Then let him call on me here, would reply, moodily.
 '"That's nonsense. Busy family men don't call on young men relations"
 'sHe would if I had Brooklyn Place."
 Nonsense. He doesn't call on William when he comes to town. Dear Dolph, don't stand on your dignity 80 absnrdly. Gome and see me-" ..s,.. .t ,,... But though loved her, and though I knew her heart ached for me, x determined not to go near her husbands house until I had proved to him that my belief in my own powers had been well formed.
 By the time had got my appointment | had drifEed from the majority of my for mer friends considerable distance. Peo- pie who had been wont to ask me to their houses and fete me in former days lost sight of me very naturally. was no longer one of the favored few at Sir Alfred very select dinners. I -ho longer had handsome hack standing at livery at Reynolds or Anderson's. was understood to be working in obscurity for my living, and while was content to re- main. in that obseurity, surely 1t was par lonable in my yifriends of former days to be contented too. Suffice it to say, that. which was commenced in pride gathered strength in obstinacy. As soon as fully realized that they had drifted away, d. kha;~