Litchfield enquirer., 1878-05-02
From All The Year Round, A FLIRT'S FAILURE.
A STORY IN TWO CHAPTERS.
CHAPTER

l chances, II you Ike, lie went on VlGnoub WalG-
 ing for my answer had them and missed
 them, and made an awful muddleof her own
 life, and of tine lives of good may fellows,
 who were foolish enough to be fou of her. !"
 s'Were you one of the fellows, J,ck, dear?"
 Iasked demurely, for Jack and l we're recent
 ly engaged and after the manner If recently engaged people, we were both in tn habit of
 avowing that our hearts had never sloken on behalf of anyone else, previous to the >discov- cry that we were born for one anotherA He laughed, in some confusion, tMuglis, > and didn't speak for a few mnraeaass. I nen ne
 sassested that, .'as Kate Coningsby will have
 turned by this time, let us meet her, and you
 can have good look at her, Helen''
 Tell me about Kate Coningsby, Jack"
 said coaxingly is she married or single hap
 py or unhappy? Fve never heard you speat
 of her before'
 '.I'll tell you all know,' he said rathersad-
 ly and then we paused, for the subject of cur
 conversation was cantering up close to us
 At the same instant she caught sight, and lein
 ing her horse in close to the railings, she held
 her hand out to him cordially, with the words Mir Parlby! Pm delighted to see you again
 after these long years" --rea.-
 ''The years have been very kind to you, he
 said admiringly, and I didn't wonder at his saying it. for she was smiling and hushed ncw
 and even l, who had not cause the smile and
 flush, saw that her face was a charming one
 Perhaps the years have been kinder than I deserve, she said but tell me about yourself. Are you"
 ''Not married yet but going to be in week or two," Jack interrupted hurriedly and then he introduced me, and she bent kind, sweet, earnest gaze upon me, and told me T was | going to marry one of the best men in the world" ..
 She did not remain with us for more than a minute after this and during that minute, | a greater number of expressions chased each over her face than 1 ever saw on wo- mans face before. Gayety and sadness delight | at something ridiculous, depression about something of which had no knowledge, inter l est Tn Jack and me, indifference about every thing, impatienee at being detained by us | these and dozen other feelings were legibly | written in her sparkling eyes, and on her ner vously flexible mouth, before she went away from us.
 What winning woman P 1 exclaimed rapturously, for 1 was proud of not seeming to be jealous
 "Winning! Aye, that she is as great at winning as she is at losing" Jack said medi- tatively." If you like, I'll tell you her story one day-all l know of it myself, and all I heard from other people she has been a fa- nous f1irt, and an almost equally famous fail ure"
 ''Flirts deserve to fail," said "A woman who f1irts must be heartless and interruptions. nd-and-everything that's bad"
 Kate Coningsby isn't heartless nor anything that IS bad. Jack said warmly And deemed It wise not to question him him then further, just then, about thispretty, interesting woman, Tn whose face so many stories of bygone storms were written.
 But one day shortly after this he referred to her himself, and told me her story, which I shall repeat, nothing extenuating and setting down naught in malice, in his own words, as nearly as 1 can recollect them. :.
 "About fifteen or sixteen years ago. Kate Coningsby was as light-hearted, loving happy and frank a creature as could be found within the borders of the county in which she had been brought up Her father was an inspect ing Commander in the coastguard service; and her home was a remote country village on the seaboard The only neighbors the Coningsbys had, who could be considered at all belonging to their own grade, was the family of the one farmer in the parish. Their visiting was, as you may suppose, strictly limited by cir cumstances, and Kate grew up without any girl companions of her own class, and with an intense love for every kind of country sport or pastime. Her two brothers were her Oilly ana cOIllTducS. WlGl Gll6m SQc would go out rating and rabbiting or pulling about the narrow muddy creek in their little fiat-bottomed duck While the boys were at home, Kate asked for nothing better than their companionship and confidence. And they gave both to her largely, for she was plucky as the pluckiest boy, and absolutely innocent of every kind of feminine meanness and ca- price. But when it came about that the boys went out into the world, and she had no long CT their holidays to look forward to, then the drearness and loneliness of the solitary life told on the girls excitable nature and caused her to pant for change, change of any sort, as a relief to the monotony of her life. She was just about sixteen when she got the change she sighed for. She was asked to be, a guest in the house of brother officer of her fathers who was stationed in a small seaport town about seven miles from her village home. And there she went, and there she began to try her wings In other words, young soldier officer, who happened to be staying with another fam fly in the neighborhood, got hold of her one night at ball and gave her few lessons in the fine art of Irritation. She proved herself an apt pupil, and used her just-developed talents to such good purpose that when he found other fellows beginning to admire her, he for got that he only intended amusing himself with this bird . of freedom. Accordingly, at the end of fortnight, he proposed to her, and she went home engaged.
 ''He was good-looking, well-set-up fellow I've heard, and he was asman of good family, and had a pretty name,' as argued in extenu- ation of herown folly in fancying herself in love with him. But he was roue, and heart less rascal all round. In the country an en- gagement compromises girl considerably and in Kates case she compromised herself even unnecessarily. Her father objected to and
  the spoiled child defied him, and fancied her self heroine of romance for a few weeks During these weeks she met her lover rashiy whenever he asked her to do it, and paraded her love for him, and the dog he had given. her all overthe place. At the end of those weeks, to the delight of; her parents and the girls own intense modification he tilted her for stranger and i'll her eagerness to show people that she was not wearing the willow, she went in for what looked like desperate. loye-making with the younger brother of an Earl, who came as farming pupil for year with Mr. War den, one of the Coningsbys two neighbors
 ''He was young, passionate, honorable fel- low, and he offered himself and his prospects openly enough on the shrine of the young god dess who had caught his boyish fancy. But the burned child dreaded the fire The fellow who had tilted her had done even greater in jury than this-he had taught her to distrust all men. She liked this young Gerald Hazel ton, was pleased and proud at being the object of his ardent pursuit, and showed all the pride and pleasure she felt without any at- tempt at concealment But she had no faith in his protestati0ns, no belief in his love, any more than her own having any lasting power, and no scruples about making herself agreed ble to every other man who came across her path.
 ''It seems that Hazelton grew enraged at last, and used strong language in remonstrating with her-language such as only jealous un- diciphned boy could permit himself to use. He allowed her to see bis weakness in fact; and she, being armed with indifference fan cied herself the stronger of the two, and told him, with something like childish insolence, that 'as it was never well the gray mare should be the better horse,' they had better make an end of their compact. He took her at her word-a little to the young eoquette's surprise. And so a second time before she was seventeen Kate Coningsby was the heroine of broken engagement. She got good deal of blame from some people, and a, good deal. of k Al ' EN