Litchfield enquirer., 1881-11-24
MT. Fitzgerrld's Marriage.

down the breakfast-room at Abbotscraithie with his hands in his trousers pockets, jing- ling his money. Well, he wasperhaps hardly as yet reaccustomed to the sound. Hisyoung wife-they had only been married six months -sat at the table, behind the tea and coffee paraphernalia. watching hlm while she very assiduousy knitted coarse KRickerbocker stocking. | Something had evidently produced twist | in the skein of their hitherto unentangled bliss; for the breakfast was untasted, and was getting cold.
 ''It is the first request you have refused me; 1; but suppose you do not think me good enough for your swell acquaintances, sald the lady at last, swallowing little sob.
 "Really. Amelia, the way you put things is too ridiculous. Not good enough! Because l l object to Lady Constantia Verulam and her daughter being invited to Asbotscraithie. What can they have to do with you simp- | ly do not want tbem."
 ''Yet they were your most intimate friends | before your marriage" | "Perhaps 1 have quarreled with them"
 Nonsense 1 saw an envelope addressed to you Tn Miss Verulams writing, only week or two ago.
 It was merely line of congratulation. The Verulams were abroad when we mar ried."
 And Mr. Fitzgerald, deep flush mounting | all over his face, sat down opposite his wife and began to busy himself by uncovering the l dishes
 "Well," she persisted, ''let them come and congratulate you in person. It is very ill- natured of you not to have them here. You know I want to find 8 nice wife for Percy, and he is coming for the shooting on the | 10th" 'Confound Percy!" muttered MT. Fitzger- l aid behind hls mustache. 'Wefl, do as you | like, I'll make no further opposition" And f1attering himself with the idea that he had striven his utmost to do right. he now 1 resigned himself delightedly to wrong-doiDg. Amelia Fitzgerald is the daughter of north country manufacturer, who left her many ] thousands of pounds in hard cash, with part of which Abbotscraithie has lately been pur- chased. It is handsome stone house in the | centre of fair Lowland estate, bonnie with | moor and forest. Riches apart, she is lov- | able little woman enough yet Lucius does not love her, and for no more valid reason than that she is not somebody else. Then why have married herr The question is only too pregnant, the answer too obvious. When mutual friend, matchmaking woman, had | first preached the subject to him, he answered | at once:
 ''Can you ask me? If the young lady is | fool enough to marry me, here am. and let's waste no more words about it."
 Amelia Huggins was not long from the school-room, and, full of sweet school-roomish views of love. The younger son of an earl, | five feet eleven, handsome, and apparently charmed with her; what more could she | want?
 Now, Lucius was no abandoned wretch he was simply young man whose six or eight years of life had dispossessed him of about double the number of thousands which had ever belonged to him-Oh a very vulgar miracle as times go-and he had latterly- that is, for the past year or two-saddled himself with desperate passion for Bertha Verulam, and which, alas, she fully return ed
 | As neither of these ill-starred lovers hadany money, ,or even a reasonable expectation of be- ing lett some, Lucius felt no sort of scruple | in offering his heart to the willing Amelia. Calmly considered by an impartial observer, the transaction might look very like selling an estate with heavy undeclared mortgage upon it. To the Honorable. yet impeeunious, FitZ- gerald, however, it appeared but In the light of that time-honored course, ''The only thing to do, by Jovew
 An, and he would do his duty like man, he would. No more f1irtingnow. Of course if they met much, it would be awkward deuced dangerous (with another ''by Jeve!") l
 l You see, Lucius thought himself quite a | good man. don't want to say word against him, only if he is one, then there are plenty of good men about, that is all,. So much the better that there should be, Of course.
 His young wife, though hardly of what you would call strong character, inherited from the late Huggins a large share of that perti- nacity which he had turned to such good ac- count and she pcurs out the coffee this mOrn- ing with an ar of innocent triumph in her blue eyes at having carried her point.
 And so Mrs Fitzgerald insists. on Lady Verulam and her daughter being invited, ' unused her husband. ''The Veruhms of all people in the world! For Percy tool As if Birdie Verulam Gas she was called, her real name being Bertha would marry Percy!"
 Percy is Amelia's brother, older than she is by four or five years. Rich, of course. Hug gias senior left his thousands equally divided. But the son had not acquired any of that gen tleness and good breeding which seem to have come to the sister as if by magic In Lucius Fltzerald's mental phrase, ''He is an insuf- l ferable young cub, talking slang by the yard, 1 and only it to herd with bagmen and shop boys" -....-s..,..--a,.- = s. -.,...sa,,
 ''Yet he is his brother in-law, must be made the best of. and is even now coming on the 10th to meet Lady Constantia, the fastidious, and her deightfully fine daughter! If only they would send an excuse? But no. Cir cumstances would never go and risk their cherished old repu ation for sritefulness. How they must smile now-that is, if they ever do smile"
 So cogitated Lucius and his little burst of wicked exultat ion at losing the battle rapidly gave way to ever-increasing doubts and fears He was sufficiently grand seigneur to remain uncrushed by the Percy trouble. .Va pour 1a l,,,k@ as he reflected upon it. to hourly Contain less and less of what was sweet, and more and more of what was decidedly bitter. Granting that there is always something of rapture in meeting our souls ideal once again. SO long. that is, as she is not ontfe armof success full rival. what good could possibly come out of this untoward encounter And for mo- mentary thrill, joy that was first cousin to a sorrow, was it worth while to jeopardize even such very gray-colored domestic felicity as
 now belonged to him? Yes, the more he thought of it, the less he liked the prospect. Visions of strange, heart-rending scenes, tragic duets, and more tragic trios, began te Ait across his brain by night and day. After all, he had suffered marvelously little for the want of Miss Verulam's society since bis mar. riage. Indeed, this had often been subject of wonder to hlm. He was really comfort. able enough with Amelia, and as to romance, passion, ecstaSy-WaS the whole thing worth while ? Was he not getting. just shade too old, or, to put it plainly, too, fat and lazy, for these fatiguing toys?
 All this time Amelia was perfectly happy and serene; for when Lucius was W ith her he was more than ever Gssr petits sOirss; and then had she not gained her own way in the matter of inviting these Verulans {? s4 -.-a ea And they were coming. too ''Were going to pay otber visits in the neighborhood, and should be 80 delighted" Lady Coustantia's note had said. as
 For some days before they arrived, Mr. Fitzgerald had good deal of spare time on his hands, with which his wife did not inter- fere. She was so engrossed in her first hos pitahle preparations, and in adding touches of beauty to the somewhat hastily furnished rooms, that she had little leisure to bestow on her husband. The acqnittance would have been perhaps, something of mercy at any other time; but as hour after hour passed on, and