The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1880-10-28

should be governed by higher laws than maj
ever enacts'
j." You should know that rank pays heavy pen
alIles lor lUs privileges, and the heaviest penalty
Is tne one which comedies the choice of wives anC
husbands to the dictatiOn of our peers As
Te Frlnce seeks Princess, so must an Earl seek {
"Can L ever forget how nv chivalry fired al
this expression Sir Hugh was my kinsman, ye
now longed to stand before him as her champion
ana tell him that the wealth of her heart was
Tlcher than the rubies of the bridal gifts, anC
her brow throne before which coronets might
knee
81 heard but little more of the conversation.
thought heard a sob, and he seemed to be plead
II ing earnestly and tenderly for some token priv
hege; her last words were these:
" Promise me that, whatever betide, you will
como at my summons
i" i PROMISE said he
81 heard no more
Early the next morning we set off. Esther
Pleaued lhdlsposition as an for not appear
ing, ana through her mother sent her farewells
and kind wishes for our Journey
"Our journey home was anvfbing but nIeasant
Sir Hugh was moody beyond ali power TO he
reused. Had | known less of his secret, might
nave rallied him on the subject of his pretty treas
urei but ! knew too we'll where the forbiddar
GROUND lay TO dare place my foot upon anything
concerning her To me she seemed so holy, so faI
above the ordinary level of badinage that for beI
sake, even more than for his, refraned from all
reference TO the subject
"We had returned from our excursion only
about one month, when Sir Hugh made known
the iact, that, ere long, Lady Louisa Page would
be the mistress OF DarkwOod Place had never
seen the lady, but rumOrs of her beauty hipL
birth, and fashionable prestige had reached me
ana felt no little curiosity to the future bride
The day of her arrival was exceedingly sunny
and with the hustle Of arrival the reception OF
strangers, the gay supper the loud music, and
merry laughter, the old house seemed for a time
completely transformed, and | almost wondered
If all my former life had not been a concatenation
nf fir HHas. .
ing to actual life. Nothing here before had ever
worn such look Of reality The bride was a
stately beauty, her personal charms being such as
were grasped at glance, consisting of regular fea-
lures line eyes, and a noble carriage.
"Some OF the guests remained several weeks
for sir Hugh was a graceful and gracious host
but | could see how little his heart was in ali
these gay manifestations At length all the visi.
tors departed, and things resumed their usual rOu-
tine.
"Lady Louisa was woman fortunate in hei
composition, which rendered her nearly if not en-.
tirely Independent of the sentiment of daily life
II conventionalities We're observed, she never
troubled herself about the motives by which They
were actuated and if forms were maintained, sh,
was never affected by the expression. She valued
what the world valued, and, if not disappointed il
the facts that life yielded her she sought neithe
pleasure nor pain i'm fanced interpretations o
material things therefore, if her lord dispensed
the hospitalties of his mansion with fashionabl,
grace il mattered not 10 her if the smile he Nvor,
reached no farther than the lip. If he sustainee
his share in the conversation. she cared no
though his eye and his thoughts might be wander
ing far away from the scene
"It was not long before everything assumed tn,
moody look that again rested on Sir Hugh, for
verify believe the master spirit in household
does endow mute surroundings with its own col
ors. Lady Louisa was healthy and possessed
physical vivacity that was able 10 triumph un
consciously over il all. ! know that felt grateful
to her for giving wholesome air 10 the daily oc
currences of our establishment. / was glad thai
she had the faculty of always being able to tall
and laugh about commonplace things i'm common
place manner, and ] found that the fact of my
finding relief i'm this daily chat made me very
companiOuable 10 her, and sufliced for much neg
lgence on the part of Sir Hugh, who never made
or seemed to make, any effort to adapt himself to
her society.
Things wore on i'm this way until the approach
of Autumn season welcome To me and to him.
because IL furnished us with outdoor sports; a
season welcome To Lady Louisa, because il was
the precursor of London season, a period which
summed up for her all the vivid enjoyments of
existence.
"'This is actually the fifth of September l
said one morning at breakfast. The air is keen
enough to make hunting very enjoyable
'IOu could not have hit my mood more exact
ly,' said Sir Hugh; and let Us start before the
edge is taken off the air. love To feel my cheeks
tngle with the cold while | am pursuing my
game
"The day could not have been better suited to
the purpose The gray clouds admitted level
light, rendering distant objects more distinct than
even bright sunshine would have done. We had
a long tramp, and toward the close of the day re-
turned bearing ample evidence of our success, and
we found the fire ut home and the handsomely
served dinner very welcome creature comforts. 1t
was as we were slowly slipping our wine that we
heard the clatter of a horses hOofs in the yard,
and, after lapse of a few minutes, a servant en-
tered and handed Sir Hugh note. This was
nothing remarkable for social OCCASIONS well
as business requirements brought such miSSives
but the blaclness that fell upon his face as he
read this note was singular, and crumpling it in
his hand, ne ordered his horse To be made ready
without delay, saying that important business de
manded his immediate departure for the north.
We begged him not to leave until the morning, as
it was late and there was every indication of a
snOw-stOrm To all of our opportunities he paid
no heed, but as quickly portmanteau and steed
could be made ready he bade a hasty adieu and
left, saying that he might be absent three days
perhaps his absence might reach the length of two
weeks.