The daily gazette., 1878-03-02

look and feel brave, when Claude. lifted :
me upon Ariers back for the first time. (
Really, the beautiful creature moved 4
with such ease and Ightness. and ap-
peared 80 gentle, that It seemed ridicii- ,
lous to have any fear in connection with /
him. l was afraid, however it was in ,
my nature to be SO and when Claude |
rode up beside me mounted on Fury, !
dancing upon his hind and fore feet al !,
ternateiy, sidling and swapping her teeth /
with impatience to be OFF, i could scarce |
control my nervousness. / wanted to |
| beg Claude to take his ride alone, and |
leave me at home. But l had not the
courage / was afraid of his frown.
| We rode down the avenue and along
the road, Ariel behaving admirably, de-
spite the example of the dancing witch
beside him, and began to fell Drawer.
AS we mounted slight ACTIVITY in
sight of Paisley House, looked back at
the grim old mansion. A figure stood
upon the flat summit of the topmost
roof-a tall, erect, motionless form there
was no mistaking. Major Greville was
Keeping up his espionage of us, even at
that distance. / was tempted to believe
! that he had objected to my riding with
Claude, because 1t would take me from
| under his watchful eye.
Claude began presently to laugh at me
for jogging along so soberly, and then he
touched up Ariel with his whip, merely
to make him show off his PAGES, he said
but / wished he wouldn't, and as the
animal grew restive, / felt myself lose
color and courage. Claude saw, but he
only laughed the more at my white
cheek, and called me little coward.
Giving Fury the rein, he would ride to a
distance, and come shouting and career
ing back upon us like four-footed tenn
pest, or go wheeling about us in light
ming circles, teasing Ariel and laughing
at me as begged HIM to desist.
He succeeded at last in fairly inftising
my steed with the spirit of mischief that
ruled his own, so that / lost the little
control j had hitherto maintained over
Ariers movements and when Fury sud-
denly shot in tangent across the fields,
he followed, in spite of all / could do,
seeming scarcely to touch the ground
, after the first to stop him / had enough
ado to keep my seat and my senses, for
/ was terribly frightened. In the dis
tance, when | could look, l caught occa-
, sional glimpses of Claude cleaving the
air like "a black fash
BY the side of fence man started
up, and seeing my white face, made a
t spring at my bridle-rein; but he might as
, well have tried to stop the wind. We
took the fences, the ditches-Ariel clear
ed them like bird and |, dropping my
reins and falling forward upon his neck,
, could do nothing but cling there with
both arms, in an agony of terror.
: l think l must have tainted and lost
my hold, for l had no knowledge of Slip
} ping from Arieps back, yet found myself.
: after brief oblivion, lying on the grass,
! with Claude bending anxiousley over
me. He questioned me eagerly as to
how it had happened; but / could tell
| him nothing. When / had recovered a
little, he made a movement to restore me
to Ariels back; but / shrank so that in
| stead he mounted Fury and took me up
| before him. Even this did not seem to
. me an enviable position; but as he had
| Ariel totlead, ehe was obliged TO move
home at more moderate pace than he
was accustomed to travel We went by
, the lanes, and as we rode up the avenue
: Major Greville was looking down at us
from his post of observation.
+ Claude was very tender of me all that
afternoon and evening. / lay upon a
, lounge in the library, for l felt weak
and i'll, and he read to me, with a caress-
, ing hand touching me now and then,
, and bright jest thrown in, that made
the hours winged. He was so bright and
: fresh, so boyishly gay and light-hearted,
, that il was impossible to resist the conta-
I gion of happiness that surrounded him
like an atmosphere. Major Greville
} twice made an excuse to enter the library
for a book but / noticed that while he
} pretended to search the shelves he shot
, sharp glances at Claude and me, and that
each time he went away without the vol
ume he had ostensibly come for.
, Claude was boisterously gay. l had
i never seen him in such spirits. How
was it, that,in the midst of this hilarity-
for laughed too-a fancy crossed my
mind that Major Greville's glance had
expressed the keenest anxiety, something
{ even like terror? / could not shake Oft
the impression, and grew grave in spite
! of me. But Claude ran on, laughing so
Loudly that tried to check him. He an
: swered me lmpatiently, and grew sud-
} denly sullen and silent. AT this instant,
} the door behind Claude, and facing which
, / lay, opened noiselessly and Major
, Greville's face appeared He beckoned
me imperatively to come to him. My
face flushing with irratation, l affected
/ not to understand him. he advanced
presently, in the vehemence OF his insist
ance, quite into the room, pointing to
, Claude and gesturing impaticntly. l
smiled family.
.'Do you want anything, Major Gre
vile ?".I said lightly.
} Claude turned at that and such a
white fury bazed over his face us he
r caught sight of his fathers excited coun-
tcnance.
Major Greville's face flashed whteness
} too, and he called out sharply. Claude
/ leaped upon him at that Durand, my
husbands valet ran into the room, aud L
! screamed with terror l had often seen
t my husband and my father-in-law in a
r passion, but it never had gone so far as
this. For the second time thatdayI faint
Z ed quite away.
When L came to myself / was alone.
> Dragging myself, as soon as Twas able,
. to the large hall, l stood holding by the
| wall, and wondering what had become
= of them all, when Major Greville, look
inc fiurried and male, came out of q room
r at the extreme end of the passage, and
!, approaching me, said authoritavely that
Y must retire to my chamber at once.
t "Where is Claude ?" asked.
t "Claude is well enough. Go to your
chamber"
o His manner, as I have said, was fiurri-
{ ed, his accents those of a man eprofound-
d ly agitated, and he avoided my eye.
h felt at sight of him an uneasiness L could
r not define, and which existed entirely
y apart from my concern at Claude's
7, strange behavior. l had seen Claude II
q passiOu of temppr before. but had Qeye1