The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-07-04
CHAPTER II.

! Mr.. Scrope went abroad, and after q time ne
returned horne to begin lis career.
Alice Jervis pursued her homely and monoto.
nous life. She grew quicter and araver, anG
worked more diligently. She believed that she
had decided rightly as regarded Mr. Scrope's
happiness, and the sacrifice she had made fol-
/ his sake made her feel that she had right tc
! be interested in him, and she lived in tho ex:
cltcment of seeing his name in the papers and
in gaining every particular Of him within hel
grasp. She smiled when she read his name
among the presentations at court or noted his
presence at the court balls At such times she
looked down at the shabby dress and poor ap.
pointments surrounding her, and wondered
what sort of all appearance she should have
made in other circumstances.
At length she saw another announcement.
She turned pale, and put down the paper.
And yet she had expected this announce
ment had looked for it day after day. Never
theless she felt strange pang, which as long ns
lie was unmarried she had escaped.
. Down by the river, where the water-iaSs
Loisted their yellow standards among the reeds
! and where the forget-me-nOts blossomcd along
the banks, she sauntered, listening to the mur'
muring waters, whose burden was: "Past, past,
rast" Even Rover appeared to understand it,
! for he looked up mournfully into her face and
! whined.
Then great gray bars of cloud spread across
the setting sun, and blotted out the sunlight
but still Alice paced up and down under the
pollard-willows, until the evening was far
advanced. Night was setting in around her
the light and life were over. She had scarcely
realized until the present moment how
persistently Mr.. Scrope had been in her every
thought.
The morning after reading the news in the
papers, another very startling piece of informa-
tiOn came to her.
She was an heircss.
Bv one Of those strange chances in life that
are so common nowadays, hermother brother,
beginning life as an artisan, had amassed a
rrincely fortune. And he had left it between
Alice Jervis and her brother
And Alice Jeryis sat down and wept bitterly.
TO her it had come as mockery. Her lot in
life was cast, what did she want with money
now?
In due time she read Of the marriage itself
size cut it out of the paper and placed 1t In her
pockctbook. 1t was all over.
Three years slipped away. Three travellers
entered hotel in a little foreign town. One,
beautiful woman, q little past her first youth,
whom one knew in n moment, in spite OF the
improvement that had taken place but her
brother was scarcely to be recognized. tutor
and three years of foreign life had caused a
marvellous transformation. The third, an
elderly lady. was not much altered, excepting
that her dress was handsome as heart could
desire.
They took their places at the table dhote,
and exactly opposite to thom sat lady and
gentleman. The latter looked wearied, and his
short black mustache twitched with the curv-
ings of the relentless mouth beneath it. The
lady was fair, fashionable, and viracious.
Alice Jervis started. She would have moved,
but William Jcrvis, al ignorant Of past events,
had exclaimed S
g Mr.. Scrope!'
Mr.. Scropc looked across, wonderng<a at the
friendly recognition from an apparent stranger
Then his eye fell upon Alice and he started !;
but quickly recovering himself, he bowed, say
ing:
Pardon me, if 1 did not at first remember
vou."
Mrs. scrope had turned in delight toward
William Jervis.
"The first English voice, excepting my hus-
bands, that have heard for three weeks. lido
not understand Italian, and have consequently
had no one to talk to but Mr. Scrope. Can you
imagine ANYTHING more drcadfulT
Then turning 10 her husband she said:
"You must introduce me to Your English
friends"
Mrs. Scrope-Mfs. and Miss Jervis," said
Mr. Scrope. his lock rivcted on Alice.
The face that had never left his memory in
spite Of his marriage, had grown to higher
beauty than even he had imagined to be posi-
bic. And though he knew it not, it had come
about through her striving after All ideal that
she deemed worthy of him.
Stilling the pulses that tthrobbed 80 painfully,
Alice conversed with him as with an old ac-
Quaintance, and yet the remembrance of their
parting on that moonlight night was wildly
present to both of them.
Mrs. Scrope talked inccspantlv, the more
especially as William Jervis WAS q lively
talker, with frank. half-jcstinS, half-defercn-
tial manner that had something very winning
in it.
Alice Jerv;s watched Mrs. Scrope narrowly,
and wondered why Mr.. Scropc had married
her? And instinctivcly the answer came: Be-
cause he did not care very much about her, but
found that the alliance would add uster to his
career. There was something paradoxical in
tie idea. but it passed with her. She had
argued that, if Mr. Scrope had really cared for
herself, TO care much for Mrs. Scrope was i'm
possible.
So they met, and so they parted, in the little
out-of-t -the-way Italian town: and Alice had seen
Mr.. Scrope once more Was she glad or
sorry?
The Scropes returned to England the Jcr-
vises remained abroad. And they heard moth
ing more of one another.