Louisiana capitolian., 1880-06-17

And he went. With one backward
glance from the Rne blue eyes, with
gay and graceful salutation aud . final
call Of thanks to the young lady, Cap.
tain Sommers turned bend of the rose
path and disappeared, followed by old
Stephen.
"A desperate venture" he muttered,
but my only chance!'
If, while unmooring the boat, he
deftly questioned tho old servitor Of
the Westerleys, old Stephen nevor told.
But when he saw the two boats float
ing off shore, he chuckled over the bit
of silver in his hand, and muttered,
Good luck to you, sir!
The fair Lady of Shalot went slowly
back to her bower. Perhaps the pretty
chamber did not then look quite beau
tful. Perhaps she, too, murmured, I
am half sick of shadows II would not
be at all strange.
This girl of2o lived strangely isolat-
cd life. She was the last Of her race,
living on the estate bequeathed to her in
infancy by her dying father. A half
sister of her mothers, an aged woman
called Aunt Resolve, was her only COM
panion. She had never entered society.
She knew little of the world outside the
beautiful gardens and shores of the Ju.
nipers.
But for Aunt Resolve, the girl seemed
to be wasting her sweetness on the de-
sert air. The DEVOTED old woman idol
lied her. From her babyhood, she had
dressed, washed, and tended her. Per-
haps it was q mistaken fondness that
relieved the heiress of all care of her
estate, for it required some manage
ment to make it yield an income for
the family, and Adelaide suffered from
ennui. Perhaps q little care would
have been good for her. But Aunt Re-
solve thought differently, and tho girl
knew nothing of the oyster beds and
the crops that were hers.
The girl stood in the rosepath again
the following evening, her garden hat
in her hand, her eyes unconsciously
fixed upon the yacht Mermaid in tho
offing. She was in an unusually
thoughtful mood. There had come to
her Tor the first time the thought whi-
ther her life was tending. To wear
away the seasons from youth to age in
uneventful monotony, her soul unsatis.
fed, did not suit her. But q spell, a
fate seemed upon her. Probably it
would never he otherwise; and sad
ness no words could express spread
through all her consciousness.
A step upon the gravel. She turned
and encountered the gleam of two blue
eyes. Captain Sommers bowed low.
Your pardon; more missing property,
Miss Westerley,' he stammered.
What is it now p asked Adelaide, in
amazed tones.
"A ring dropped yesterday. Alb, here
it is,' stopping to hide guilty blush,
and Immediately, with strange good
fortune, discovering q diamond ring at
the edge Of the grass plot.
He showed it to her-a diamond
quantity set; his property for fifteen
years, he said, the gift of his dead
mother.
The heiress of the jumpers was as
guile'ess as child. She never thought
of fear: and what was there to sug.
gest it in gentle words and courtly
tones' And, fortunately, Captain SON.
mers was an honest man, aud honestly
in love.
They chatted among the rose vines
for q long hour. The young man made
practical use of his time. With undue
stress he told her who ho was-the
younger Of two orphan brothers left
early to find their fortunes. The elder
had succeeded better than he; perhaps
less scrupulous. 1t was Godfrey's yacht
Gordon commanded. He had no money,
but he had not a vice, and the good
will of all men.
And when he had gone, she found
that he had loft with her letters highly
complimentary, recommending him to
stations of trust, so that she was able to
afford ast0nished and alarmed Aunt
Resolve all the assurance she needed.
| And now Adelaide was no longer
alone. She had lover.
+ Week after week the yacht Mermaid
remained in the ofing. Day by day the
young people foatsd on the smooth sum
mer tide, or strolled in the garden, or