Litchfield enquirer., 1877-01-25

oealed, which, springing up as the years
 pass on, may grow to be a. stately tree I giving shelter and protection to those who need it; but then. again, the seed, having Ideyeloped, ,sitsnaAy prove to be the poison
 ous nightshade breathing death on those
 around; but surely for this neither the
 sunbeam nor the dewdrop can be blamed.
 They did the good deed-they gave the
 life for good or for evil; and if the seed be poisonous, the fault does not lie with ] them. I7 tr r5 l Which all is preface to saying that
 John Clermont watching Nenuphar grow
 mp, sometimes wondered whether all the
 world, ,,or at least the world that came Jin-
 der her influence. would not have been
 happier and better if the waters of Wyke-
 ham Mere had closed oyer.her head when
 she lay sleeping babe, upon it's bosom. l She was growing up to girlhood fast
 now; but in all the years that had come
 and gone. no one had ever arisen to lay
 claim to her, no one had appeared who
 away from tie home that had been given
 to her; and Mir. ClermoRt wondered often.
 as he watched her lazy, languid moves
 rnents. who and what her mother had l,Deen;-a lady. he generally decided, as l nurse Bell had done before him.--or' else,
 he would add, smiling to himself, a water
 lily 1 As long as the children were in the l nursery Nenuphar remained the favorite ]: for what nurse can withstand Q child who erarel5 if ever cries-a child who will lie in
 its bed and gaze calmly and contentedly | at the ceiling for as long as the maid re- l quires for conversing with the young man from the baker's? A child of that des- scription is well worth its weight in gold.
 So what wonder that Nenuphar was often
 held mp as q model to naughty, passionate little Heather, who could not bear to be kept waiting 6 minute for anything, and would scream and cry, and stamp her tiny feet. if not attended to on the moment? F Then her father would come mp, at; tracted his study by the shrieks Of his mothetless lassie, and Betty would be reproved, and the child coaxed back l into goodness. And Mir. Clermont would go away, thinking he had done all that was required of him. and wondering if the children were so troublesome now, what they would be when they grew older
 "After all it is only Heather, he would think as he shut the study y-door again; ''no one could wish. for better child than Nenuphar. It will be an interesting study to V atch as they grow up and their characters develop, the effect they will have the one upon the other. It will give quite an interest to my life, that has be- come of late so sadly devoid of interest. So he thought, almost forgetting that 7hu. man souls have to be guided into right paths, trained and pruned by gardeners hand, not left to run wild for the sake of astonishing that gardener by the flowers and fruits they will produce when left 6IO0S.I N E~ M i s 5t AS the children grew older, Nenuphar still continued the favorlte with everyone, as she had been when baby with her nurse. And yet she did not do very much to earn that position, and was perhaps not SO really worthy of it as naughty, wil. ful, little Heather, who was all tears and despair one moment, and was lifted up into the most wild joy the next. F.
 But Heather was troublesome; always more or less in mischief. and did not care for learning-and beyond a sweet voice. was possessed of no accomplishments like y to do credit to her instructors; SO It was not altogether wonderful that her good qualities were rather inclined to be overlooked. Whereas with Nenuphar it was different: not that she was clever- and her accomplishments fell short even of Heathers. for she could not sing; but then she had learned one great art of pop ularity-she agreed so quietly with every thing proposed; afterwards, perhaps, she as quietly slipped out of it-for she was essentially lazy, and disliked work quite as much as much as Heather did, though for different reasons. But she certainly managed better. ee<a nj No one ever heard her voice raised in dispute, or saw her smooth forehead dis. figured with frowns; she had learned while yet very young that it was SO much easier, so much less trouble, to say ''yes" than to say "no.
 f'No" involved exp .anations and argu- ments. and noise and confusion,-all ths things, in fact. she most disliked: where as ives" stopped people talking for the time being; and afterwards-well, after wards-the best thing was to wait and see what would happen. FsN la -aa
 o Wait; yes,( that was always the great thing with her. She was never in hur- ry about anything; any otEer hour was just as good as the present: hence her popularity with those about her; for the impatience of child is often trying to the wider understanding and deeper knowl- \ edge of those about it.
 II believe, "ysaid Heather, as she stood watching from the window one day a steady downpour that had set in just as the two girls were dressed and ready for long-promised expedition, n,-.I believe, Nenuphar. we shall not be able to go, af- ter all. Oh, what shall we do?'
 Wait" replied Nenuphar, calmly, looking up from the armchair in which she was awaiting the result of the storm. '.It does not really matter; for if it rains very hard to day. it is almost sure to be fine tomorrow" 41@ a
 Very philosophical. of course, but scarce ly natural in girl of thirteen; and Heath CT, who had her feelings less under con- troll turned away with fearful eyes to the nursery, there to be told not to be so silly, but to look at Miss Nenuphar. and see how much more sensible she was.
 l. As the years passed by, and girlhood gave place to early womanhood, the in- esfff esf s.iness5 hAay SeRsrssheseft eek het fgs less noticeable than when she was child. She and Heather were always great } friends. as indeed was only natural; for they were sisters in all but name, being bound together by the ties of one mutual home and one fathers care-for John Clermont made no difference whatever in his treatment of the two girls.
 Mir Clermont was very fond of society, utiA AO sCAy OA0OA AaO 4AACu0S C50yIuk HI the house-men friends, that is to say. As to ladies, he had reverted to his old feelings towards the sex.-feelings that had held good up to the time of his mar riage, which event had not occurred until he was nearly fifty, before which time he had never been known to speak willingly to a woman.-and to that most linchival- ric state he had returned after his wife's death: so, having procured an elderly lady to act as chaperon to the girls, he felt he had quite done his duty as far as woman kind was concerned. and might now go his own way and amuse himself. But there was always plenty of men. and with them, as with every one else. Nenuphar was the favorite, and Heather merely avery ordinary girl. not remark able in any way-rather bad tempered too l-but still forming an admirable contrast
 to the wonderful beauty of Nennphar. All the admiration. all the love, fell to | har share and if tha rn ocf