Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-12-10

NAb pistol Alco otuhfl nhd hhuNed heft
NJ her laughing request and now, as
she gave il back.
"lt's quite time I had little prac.
tioe In this sort Of thing, " she said ''un-
less / wish 10 lose entirely the aim
brother Jack used 10 declare my chief
accomplishment In schoolgirl daysl"
"My armOry is quite at your service,
whenever you propose 10 recommence
practice, Miss Eleanor" said Uncle
Philip, with the smile which he always
had for her brave young beauty. al
used 70 be quite connolsseur in fire.
arms once, and took pride IN the little
armory inherited from my father, who
held such tastes before me. remem-
Der he used to have a loaded revolver
kept In every guest-chamber In the
house dare say you would find one OF
two in the old cabinets up yonder still.
l had them Overhauled and reloaded
not very long ago; and have an inn
preston that some of them were left
where we found them. We will look
over them together some day, Miss
Eleanor"
"Thank you; It would give me hearty
pleasure" she said. Z" / delight in a
well-made little revolver, almost ss much
as my brothers do. have seen the
time more than once when l have felt
the safer for their company"
"It does seem to me-" cried Alec
Stuart, suddenly addressing her with a
brusqueness that had rather grown on
him Of late. "It does seem 10 me, Miss
Eleanor, that you possess the most ex-
traordinary number of superiiuous ac-
/ aos,1 v,1tr hr1aute ~ apu vye,thor 1o,l,v ~
my acquaintance How you ever find
time to add to your gentlemanly tastes
any feminine pleasures, must confess
puzzles mel''
She turned toward him 1--WE were
walking back to the house, now, and he
was by her side), with very kind
amusement in hergray eyes. Il. {
"And 1t seems to me, ~ she said,
''that you, in common with most of your
sex, are very unreasonable on this sort
of subjectl And so my pistol shooting
is TO follow my riding and swimming,
under the ban of unqualified condema-
toni Unconventional, such tastes may
be in women, grant you; but unwom-
anly am sure they are not. Gentle
women will not need teaching as to
how and where to indulge them; but
properly exercised, such sport brings a
strength of muscle and power of nerve
which women, as well as men, need
sorely enough in the hard places of their
livesi And think that women who
use every means in their power to make
healthy their bodies for healthy minds
to dwell in should be helped, and not
laughed at. l beg your pardon" she
ended, abruptly, as the silence about
her warned her how earnestly she had
been speaking. "Indeed, didn't mean
to make a speech. But / don't like to
be laughed at as eccentric, when 1 am
only using the right, natural means
which 1 believe exist to boys, men and
4 women alike, to strength and usefulness,
and in the truest sense, self-poSsessioni =
We had arrived at the hall door as
Eleanor finished speaking; and as il
opened, the warm freight flashed out
ruddily across the twilight snow
Stuart stood aside for Eleanor to pass in
and taking off hbj cap, stood uncovered
81 owe you an apology for my rudeness
Miss Eleanor" he said, " and dom
know how best to make it. Only per
haps you can fancy That mar
who would gladly be of service
to wo--to womankind-and feel
how little he could ever serve then
in the high things of mind and spirit
may feel resentful, a little, when we SCI
them so 'arm'd and well prepared
against physical evils; also, that he cal
not hope to serve them even therel"
Was it the freight gave Eleanor
face that rosy glow, as she passed hin
with no answer bat q bend Of her fai
headP
HOh yes, his apology was all yer,
pretty" said, resentfully, to Aun
Hester, as we went up stairs together
"But don't see why Mr.. Alec Stuar
need, in the least concern himself witt
Eleanor FoTrester's tastes and inclina
tions, in the first place!''
4" Unless, indeed" Aunt Hester an
swered, smiling down into my vexe,
face, 'unless, indeed, Mr.. Alec Stnar
has come to look upon Eleanor's taste
and inclinatiOns as upon those Of tn
woman he would make his, wife. Iihav
thought he might be so looking at then
: this many month, my dearl"
CHAPTER II.
think it happened on Tuesday aft
, ernoon-that little episode under the fiji
trees. The following Saturday tn
fiercest storm of that winter swept owe
, Ayr. Even the solid, sturdy old Hey
! wood House shook under the raging q
sault of the north wind that, charge
with sharp rain and sleet, flung itsel
! against the wall, and roared at the win
! dows. remember that early in tn
! afternoon a few of us, impatient at tn
! drowsiness with which the heat of in
Z doors weighed down their eyelidE
merrily dared each other to a walk--o
i wade, rather-round the barn throug
! the snow; but so deep was the snow
and so strong was the wind, and s
Sharp the sleet, which cut ones fac
4 like millions of tiny spears, that / wa
i glad to turn back before l had left tn
. ,'S,.l door thirty feet behind, and when
n had staggered up the steps, found my
4 self so faint with buffeting and loss
1 breath, that Uncle Philip took me u
. like baby in his strong arms and ca
! ried me to the settle by the blazing fir
{ We tried no more "excursioning
: that day. ..r. ....l
A In the evening, after candles wei
n brought, we sat around the great fir
4 place; singing little at first with 4
9 accompaniment but the raging win
! outside; and by-and-by drifte
into storytelling; such stories |
seem afoat in the very air
!, such wild black nights as that-of al
q venture by mountain and sea-of visi
4 ants whose feet I" leave no traces on Il
4 sea sand or the winters snow" an
!, | whose presence only the Watch-dOl