Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-11-19
mr.. FITZGERALD's MARRIAGE,

accustomed to the sound His young wife
they had only been married six months-sat at
the table, behind the tea and coffee parapher
MALTA. watching him while she very assiduOusly
knitted a coarse Knickerbocker stocking.
Something had evidently produced twist in
the skein of their hitherto unentangled bliss;
for the breakfast was untasted, and was getting
cold
ut is the first request you have refused me;
but suppose you do not think me good enough
for your swell acquaintance" said the lady at
last. swallowing a little sob.
Really. Amelia. the way you put things is
too ridiculous. Not good enough Because
object to Lady Constantia verulam and her
daughter being invited to Abbotscraithie What
can they have to do with you? l simply do not
want them"
Yet they were your most intimate friends
before your marriage"
Perhaps have quarreed with them"
Nonsense. | saw an envelope addressed to
you III Hiss Nerulams writing. only week or
two AFRO"
" IL "as merely a line of con@ratulatiOn. The
EeFusams were abroad when We married"
AId MI FITZGERALD, deep flush mounting all
over his face sat down opposite his wife, and
be.san T" busy himself by uncOvering the dishes
Wen. she persisted. ''let them come and
congratulate YOU in person. 1t is very i'll
nafnSra If YOU not to have them here. You
know [ want 10 fad nice wife for Percy. and
be l. coming COR the shooting on the 10th.
"CoHtuund Percy" mutteTed Mr.. Fitzgerald
behind his niustache. well. do as you like,
Iii mak" no further opposition"
Ana iiatterins himself with the idea that he
had striyen h,s utmost to do right. he now re-
signed himself delfGhtedy to wrong doing.
Amelia Fitz@erald is the daughter of north
country manufacturer. who left her many
thousands OF pounds in hard cash. with part of
which AbbutScralthle has lately been purchased
1t is a handsome stone house in the center of a
TAR iLoWiand estate. bonnie with moor and
forest Riches apart, she is q lovable little
woman enough yet Lucius does not love her,
ana for no more valid reason than that she is
not somebody else. Then why have married
her: The question is only too pregnant the
answer too Obvious. When mutual friend. a
understanding woman. had first preached the
suncct To INN. he answered at once:
Can you ask me? Ii the young lady is fool
enough to marry me. here an and let's waste
40 more words about it
Amelia Hu@gins was not long from the school
room. ana Iuil of sweet SchoO-rOOmiSh views of
i0Ve The younger son Of an earl five feet eleven,
handsome. and apparently charmed with her:
what more could she want?
Now. LucuS was no abandoned wretch: he
was SIMPLY Young man whose six or eight
years of lie had dlspossessed him of about dou-
ole the number OF thousands which had ever be-
iohsed 10 him-Oh, very vulgar miracle as
times gO-and he had latterly-that is for the
past year or two-saddled himself with des-
peiate passion for Berthe Verulam, and which.
alas. she fully returned.
As neither of these iIl-starred lovers had any
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 trans
action m'-ht look very like selling an estate with
heavy undeclared mortgage upon it. To the
Honorable. yet inpecuniOus. Fitzgerald however,
1t appeared but i'm the light of that time-honOred
course. The only thing to do. by Jove!'
An. and he would do his duty like a man. he
would No more flirting now. OF course. if
they met much, it would be Acknowledgement
dangerous with another 'by JOve!'O Well,
they mustn't meet, that's all.
You see. Lucus thought himself quite a good
man. don't want to say word against him,
only II 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 Won
would call strong character inherited from the
late Huggins large share of that pertinacity
winch ne had turned to such good account: and
she pOurs out the coffee this morning with an
air of innocent triumph in her bIne ewes at hav
ing carried her point.
land so Mrs Fitzgerald insists on Lady Veru-
lam and her daughter being invited" unused her
husband. 1.-The Verulams of all people in the
world. For Percy, too! AS if Birdie Verulam
I'll. ha \
would marry Percy.''
Percy is Amelia's brother, older than she is
by four or i've years. Rich of course Hug
gins 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 10 the sister as if by magic. In Lucius
FltZgeralds mental phrase. He is an insutfer-
able young cub. talking slang by the ward. and
only tit to herd with bagmen and shopboys"
et he IS his brother-n-iaw. must be made
the best OF, and is even now coming On the 10th
TO meet Lady COnstantia. the fastdiOus and
her delightfully."- fine daughter! If only they
would send an excuse? But no. Circumstances
would never go and risk their cherished old
reputation for spitefulness. How they must
smile now-that is, if they ever do smile"
so c0gltated Lucius; and his little burst of
wicked exultation at losing the battle rapidly
gave way to ever-increasing doubts and fears.
lie was sufhclently grand Seigne,tr to remain
uncrushed by the Percy trouble 'va pour
lie beau-frere: but the other matter seemed.
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 ON the arm of
successful rival. what good could possibly
come out of this untOward encounter? And for
momentary thrill, a joy that was first cousin
10 sorrow, was it worth while to jeopardize
even such very gray-cOlOred domestic felicity as
NJ" ociOhSeu 10 nlin! Yes, the more he
Thought of it, the less he liked the prospect.
Visions OF strange heartrendng scenes. tragic
duets, and more tragic triOs, began to tit across
his brain by night and day. After all, he had
suffered marvelOusly little for the want of Miss
NeruiaIn s society since his marriage Indeed.
tins had often been subject of wonder to him.
He was really comfortable enough with Amelia.
and as to romance, passion. ecstasy-was the
whole thing worth while? Was he not getting
just shade too DID, or, to put it plainly, too fat
and lazy. for these fatiguing toys!
All this time Amelia was perfectly bappv and
serene; for when Lucius was with her he was
more than ever a,tr petits SONS; and then had
she not gained her own way in the matter ofin-
yiting these Veruiams?
And they We're coming, too. "Were going to
pay other visits in the neighbOrhoOd. and
should be so delighted" Lady Constantia's note
had said. A0'o
For some days before they arrived. Mr.. Fitz-
gerald had good deal of spare time on his
hands. with which his wife did not interfere.
She was so engrOssed in her first hospitable pre-
paratiOns, and i'm adding touches of beauty to
the somewhat hastily furnished rooms that she
had little leisure to bestOw on her husband.
The quittance would have been, perhaps, some
thing OF mercy at any other time; but as hour
after hour passed on. and the time approached
nearer for the arrival of the Verulams, Mr., Fitz-
mn nd r.