The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1876-12-23
A SPRIG OF HOLLY.
\ STORY OF CHRISTMAS TIMES.


don't think a .ioller party can ever have
assembled itself together than the one that
was staying at the FRS last Christmas. The
cause of the extraordinary joy and good feel
ing was to be found, perhaps, in none of us
brace of cousins among the guests to mar
the harmony, either by their love or hate
Added to this our hostess had no sons to
protect against inSidious advances, and no
daughters to get off, She could venture to
be open hearted and molly reliant on the
friends she had gathered together without
doing violence to the maternal instinct.
The party included every element of sue
cess. We had handsome men and intellec-
tual men. men Of money and men of mark
and we had rirts, fascinating women, and
one heiIeSS.
The Apollo of the party was Lionel Poole,
a treasury clerk. His good looks were a
perpetual source of discomfor to somebody
or other, for they were rather of the plain
tive order. His eyes had habit of saying
more than they meant-unconsciously, let
us hope, for the sake of his soul, for more
than half of his young lady acquaintance
had been hidden adieu by him at night in
"A manner that left no doubt whatever on
their mi lds that they were to be the recipi-
ents of an offer from him in the morning.
He was SO pre- eminently handsome man
that | fear in describing him | may rather
slur the indsputable claims he had to be
considered something else. Lionel Poole
was clever man also, with a utility talent
that turned everything to his own advan-
tage.
TO tell the truth, ! was more than slightly
astoniShed when came down into the draw
ing room the day of my arrival to find him
installed at the FRS.
He was palpably pampered guest, too
for he had the key of Mrs Fitzgerald's pr-
vate photograph album in his hand; and
after that lady our hostcss) made her APP
pearance, he went and sat by her side, and
made comments that were inaudible to the
rest of us, but that, to judge from the ex-
preston of his face, were not tlattering to
the portrayed ones.
Now Mrs. Fitzgerald had, the previous
season, come out of the retirement of her
widowhood for the first time, for the pur-
pose of chaperoning her young cousin Alice
Riley and myself through the shoals and
luicksandS of London society: and at the
end OF the season-only such a short time
since--poor Alice went into a low state of
mind, and on to the Continent, in conse
quence, it was whispered, of the sudden
cessation Of the attack Mr.. Lionel Poole
had made upon a heart that the world had
not hardened yet.
was sorry to see him at the FRS, there
fore-sorry, that is, just for few minutes,
in fact uut! lie left Mrs. Ftzgerald's side
and came to mine, where he remained. Ill
natured people had said that the beautiful
Mrs. Fitzgerald had not resented his sud
den detection from the side of her blonde
charge, as it would have been becoming for
a chaperon and causin to do. And they
added that the light which came into her
eyes when his peliidy was discussed was
not kindled by wrath
She was the most beautiful brunette |
ever saw, this young widowed hostess of
ours. \ graceful, charming woman, too,
with a way that was winning alike to women
and men. Why she had never married
again-she had been five years a widow
| we none of US knew for certain; but report
| had told me that her last husband, in a
rabd tit Of jealousy, had bound her by a
| solemn oath to be faithful for ever to his
| unpleasant memory.
Only one OF the other men have time or
/ space to describe. He was Captain Vii.
| lars, r. A., and neither mad methodist,
nor married, as officers of that gallant corps
are popularly supposed to be. He was not
! such a handsome man as Lionel Poole, moi
! could he converse in so subtly pleasing a
! way: but he was man on whom a woman
would rely instinctively, for one glance at
| his broad open brow, and frank, fearless,
honest eyes showed clearly, even to the
worst read in such matters, that he was the
! soul of honor
The other ladies' too, are deserving OF
something better than the scant courtesy
of Il curt mention; So as Il curt mention is
all could make of them here, will refrain
from one at all, and simply say that was
! the heress.
During the earlier part Of my soiourn al
the Firs | did not observe Captain Villar,
Fitzgerald very much. had known the
soldier in London before, and then lit wa,
before had been left the fortune which
altered my point of view of life entirely,
| he had seemed to like me well. But now
he stood gravely aloof from me, and
scarcely noticed the fact, for | was absorbed
i'll the contemplation of Lionel Poole.
We had variety of ways of passing the
time. No one thing at the Firs palled upor
us by reason of our doing it often through
lack of something else to do. When it wa.
fine, and the ground not slippery, ther,
were riding horses and carriages; when i
was bitter and brightly frosty, there wa,
the artificial lake to skate on; and whcr
we couldn't 90 out at all, there was til,
biliaI d and music room; and in the even
ings we always had charades aud tableaur
In all of these Lionel Poole and Mrs
Fitzgerald excelled She had a marvelou
power Of depicting intense passion love