Sharp County record., 1880-02-05

/ rntually, ,as our friendship increased
ano pened, poured into her sympa-
the ear the small romance of my life,
ant Us found she did not laugh at me
or nix me ridiculous, frequently re-
cur to the subject, and uncOnsciously
it b. lame the center of my thoughts by
daEnd my dreams by night, -, :.
l. the next three months gllded
pc, lsfully away, and the time came
that we should return home to England,
the 2allisSers being our travelling COM
palions.
JIrck had rented a snug little place in
He.4fordshire, called 1.-The Grange"
and there was to stay with them for
a cirple of weeks before returning to
thdnrental roof. Itwas such pretty
plaItS a rather old-faShioned red brick
hol II, tucked in among the most lux
uri4 IS foliage you can imagine. The
garden was simpl delicious, redolent
with the perfume of roses and carna-
tions, and, indeed, flowers Of every de-
scription. 1t was separated only by a
lowIrailing from the grounds of our, or,
1 should say, rather, Jacks young
landlord, the Squire Of the place.
Welarrived tired, dusty, and rather
out o4.sorts, having had to wait two
hours, at a junction where there was
nothing to do but to read the adver-
tisements on the walls of the station,
and Ithink / could initiate exactly the
expression on the face of the lion caught
in thenet, and the old nabob swallow
inc pickles-having studied them both
for so long. Jack, according to his
usual fashion, smoked away like ten
chimneys; and Geraldine-well, she, |
think, only grumbled; and when we did
oct home at last, the country looked SO
deliciously green and fresh, and every
thing was so pretty at the Grange that
we soon recovered ourselves, and the
following day was spent in exploring
the new territory and giving our several
opinions about every thing.
At o'clock in the afternoon Jack
came in, brimful of news. First item,
there was splendid shooting to be had
in the neighborhood, and fishing, too,
was good; then, he had visited the
young Squire, who was " laundering
good fellow" as Jack expressed it, and
"game for any thing" He had only
lust returned from tour on the Cont
nent, and had not long come into his
property.
"Ah, Miss Dot said Jack, with a
very knowing look, which he always put
on when he means chaff, "nOw, there s
chance for you-ffteen thousand a
year and a title! You would make a
charming little lady of the manor, and
we would tow-tOw to you most delight
fully"
"Don't be silly, jack I said, in a
huffy tone, trying to look serious. 81
neper mean to marry (this vehement
ly,4s sssV4sT doteSt ynur AaonlsoG will
their moSlSybags!"
Jack shrugged up his shoulders rather
incredulously, and gave little laugh.
Now, I hate that laugh of Jacks.
"Well, my dear child" said he pa
rentally, "all l ask of you is to be civil
to him to night when he comes to din
ner, and put on your smartest gown"
81 shall do nothing of the sort" re-
piled [. Smartest gown, indeed. What
do l care about young 'Squires with
large rent-rolls?"
And / left the room with a strong de-
termination not to look my best that
evening. What did l care about fascin-
ating men, when certain pair of brown
eyes were forever haunting me.
"Ah, mel" thought L; chow have
changed. A few short months ago and
the idea of Irritation would have made
me perk up and jump for joy, and l
would have done all in my power to
make the country girls green with jeal-
ousy; but now l don't seem to care one
little bit to become acquainted with this
magnificent Squire
At first l thought I would make some
excuse and not appear at dinner; but
then Geraldine would think it unkind,
perhaps; and, after all, what did it mat
ter?
Six o'clock struck, and went to dress
for dinner. I hesitated q little as to
what garment should wear, and finally
selected pale-blue gauze trimmed with
blush-roses. Yes, that would do-any
thing would do. l did care, though, a
wee bit as to how l looked. l had been
thinking about Biarritz again, and my
eyes were very bright when l looked in
the glass.
"ShaIl | ever see him again?n I said
to myself; and as I said it something
seemed to whisper " Yes,n and Ifelt the
blood rush quickly to my cheeks.
1 was dressed before Geraldine, and
demurely took my work down to the
drawing-room and seated my little self
on the amber damask sofa As l did
so, glanced at my reflection in the op-
posite mirror, and l fattered myself
| looked rather well in my blue cloudy
looking dress against the soft amber