The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1878-05-23
nR DELMAYNE's WARD.

0Ut BIG 10 ~ yOuuS'
''She will be nineteen in May, and l
: married at that age. 1t 10 agreat pity that
you were obliged to receive her into yoilr
household, Richard. Guardianship over
girl like Dororthea, was great respon-
sibility for abachelor to assume"
;;s.>..ss IT suppose So" was the reply; but l
could not refuse the dying request Of an
old friend"
-:E"At first entertained hopes that she
y would improve by remaining with u.s."
T., said Mrs. Delmayne plaintively; "but, az
remarked before she is wilder than ever.
~ am kept in perpetual state of nervous
excitement, for never know what mad
=. cap prank she will play next. I thought
it disgraceful enough when she donncd a
suit OF Dicks and went skating on the
pond the evening they had that skating
party, but this last prank is still worse, it
possible.
j'' Mrs. Deimayne folded her plump,
white hands and settled herself comfort
ably in a luxurious easy chair, and pre-
pared to enjoy her favorite pastime, which
consisted of retailing Dorothea's inside
meanors.
"You know Squire Vonsonby has been
looking for a wife for year or two-now
he is quite wealthy, is respectfully con-
nectcd, and would be very suitable
Il match for Dora" w.
esquire Vonsonby!' gasped Richard,
in amazement, she is old enough to be
ID her grandfather, and has married
daughter who is considerably older than
Dot"
"Well,'' replied his sister.in law,
Dora needs u husband who is steady
and sober minded sheis so Tightly her
self. Besides, Mr.. Vonsonby looks full
ten years younger than his real age. In
my opinion it wonld have been a very
suitable match. But it is all over nov"
she added, with a sigh, she will never
enter this house again.
In answer to Richards look of inquiry,
Mrs. Delmayne contidued:
II invited Mr.. Vonsonby to tea last
evening" had my household duties to
attend to after tea was over, so left
Dorothea to entertain our guest. She
must have neglected him shamefully, for
the poor man fell asleep, and the little
h',zzy seized the opportunity to play one
OF her ridiculous pranks; she actually
had the audacisy," and Mrs. Delmayne
=, covered her voice to an impressive whisp-
er," actually had the audacity to remove
his wig aud substitute an old red one,
II that she found among some rubbish in
the garnet
"Ha, ha, ,ha!' laughed Richard II
can imagine how ridiculous he looked
struttiug along in his pompous man
ner"
81 am certainly astonished at you,
Richard" said Mrs. Delmaync, severely.
:" sincerely hope you do not uphold
the girl in her disgraceful actions?'
I" shall Of course reprove her." he
replied. dot will improve as she grows
older, l have no doubt-she is merry
and thoughtless now, but think she
will develop into splendid woman"
Mrs. Delmayne cast an uneasy look
at her brother-in-law's face as she left
the room. She had reason for wish
I ling Dot safely disposed of she wins fear
tul that Richard might fall in love with
his fascinating ward, and that would
never do, for if he were to marry, it
would dash Mrs. Delmaync's hopes to the
ground. She had secretly determined
that her son Dick-his uncle's Aamesake
should he his heir. Beside. her bro
ther-in-law's elegant residence made a
very comfortable home for herself and faith
erless boy, and madame had no intention
OF losing it, hence she made the most of
Dots meschievous cscapades.
Just as mNdamc's silkcn skirts rustled
up stairs the hall door flew open and
light footsteps danced along the passage.
The appellatin exactly suited the
young girl who entered a dainty form,
dark, piquant face, lit up with a pair OF
black eyes which sparklcd with mischief
"Well, Guaruy," she said, with saucy
smile, which revealed dimplc in each
soft pink cheek. "What-is it a lecturer?
"Yes, Dot replied Mr. Delmayne,
gravely, II really must lecture you. Your
conduct to Mr.. Vonsonby was extremely
unladylike."
II don't care, Guardy." cried Dot, def
antly, II can't bear old Vonsonby, and l
am confident that Mrs. Delmayne invited
him here to make love to me, so resolved
to Illustrate her kind intentions. She left
me to entertain him all the evening, and
was just dying to finish Jane Eyre Well,
gave him the last number of Seri6ner's
and the 4Aonthlv Reuiew, and hoped he
would entertain himself; but no-he
, wanted me to play q game of cribbage.
hate cribbage, so I told him never
played the game without stalking a small
sum of money just to make it intercsting.''
"Oh, Dotr'.
"He looked Mortified at the idea of
gambling, and asked for some music. so
l sat down to the piano and made as
much noise as possible. He said that
sort OF music was very edifying, but it
=. made his head ache, and inquired if I
could favor him with Annie Laurie I
"a complied by playing Yankee Doodle ,
with variations for knew he could not
distinguish the difference. Just as was
playing the last bar l was startled by a
:. prolonged snore-he had actually gone
to sleep with -his4h head hanging over the
chair, his wig awry, and his mouth wide
open! Now, Guardy, you must admit
that was too much for flesh and blood to
endure, and don't profess to be a
saint
Mot by any MEANS" assented he:
guardian.
"Well," continued Do:, a happy
thought struck me. ran softly up stairs
and got an old red wig that Dick used
to wear when he belonged to the ANA
teur Dramatic Club. Then I carefully
removed Mr.. Vonsonby's nicely dressed
black wig, and substituted the red one.
: | had to stuff my handkerchief into nv
mouth to keep from laughing you can't
imagine how comical he looked!
-: tWen, awaited for him to finish his
nap until my patience was exhausted,
and then went to the piano and gave an
awful thump with both hands. He gave
sudden start and Strengthened up. ]
gtnyely Incurred how he liked the piece.
''Charming! charming!' he replied,
with enthusiasm. II always admired An.
!, ME Laurie"
Just at that moment he happened to
glance at the clock and finding 1t later
than he expected he jumped up in great
haste