Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-08-07


was my cousin, and before she married
the wealthy son of wealthy stock hold !
or, we used to ''spoon" a good deal "Do
come," she entreated, in her letter of in
vitation; sfOr in order to make I'D for all
the past unklndness and neglect on nv
part'-these last two lines were express
sively underlined-sI mean to introduce
you to an old school-fellow of mine
such darling girl, and as good as she is
lovely; and shall expect you to marry
her, for feel that it is my mission to
provide you with wife 1t is quite
time, sir, that you were settled
l could not help heaving a sigh as |
thought of dear little Flo, and how happy
we could have been. I think she liked
me little bit until the other fellow made
his appearance. liked the phrase 'sthe
other fellow" 1t eased my mind to think
of him in that form; but decided to &C
cept the invitation for all that
The thought of tramping about the
Welsh Hills and inhaling the pure noun
tain air affected me far more than the
thought of meeting "the darling girl,''
and as | turned into Fleet street to post
my letter, already felt new man on
the strength of the prospect of getting
away from stutfy, dusty London, and
from work and worry.
| duly arrive at Bryn Hyfryd, the name
of the house temporarily occupied by the
Ashleys. My welcome was warm enough.
l had not seen Florence for four years,
and really, she had grown so plump and
matronly that hardly recognized in her
the slender young girl who used to hang
on my arm, or languidly asked me to
pick up her fan. '9The other fellow
was, l soon discovered, hearty, gener-
Gus man, and he appeared to be as de-
lighted to see me as if he had known me
all my life.
That night at dinner laughingly asked
Florence when the ''dear darling grip
referred to was to make her appearance.
With roguish shake of the head she in
formed me that Lucy would not arrive
for day or so, that she had lately lost
her father by death.
"Indeed, L am sorry for that" l an
swered, in conventionally sorrowful
tone, though am bound to confess did
not care jot about it. [ did not know
either Lucy or her father; and besides,
Lucy was name detested
Bryn Hyfryd was situated not far from
well-known show place. mountain
gorge spanned by bridge, which, by
reason of its daring construction, was
Familiarity known as Pont Dhiaoul-the
Devils Bridge. There were and are
really two bridges, one built on top of
the other; below, some hundred feet or
so, falls cascade, which can just be dis
cerned losing itself in the mass of tangled
| brushwoOd that lines the bottom and
sides of the gorge.
This spot was so close that the noise of
the falling water could be heard quite
distinctly from the house. Between
| luncheon and dinner time l had been
taken to see it. never shall forget the
curious sensation that cane over me as
leaned over the parapet and looked down
| into the seemingly unfathonable abyss
My head, unused to such sights, swami
| and my nerves, probably unstrung by nv
late application to work, positively gave
| way, and, for a moment or two, 1 felt
quite giddy. Florence noticed this, and
in some alarm pulled me back by the tails
of my coat, though do not think l was
in any danger of falling.
"What a place to fall down." | said,
when 1 had recovered my mental bal
ance.
eyes, indeed" said my host; and then,
to turn the conversation, he promised
that few a days hill climbing would soon
take all the nonsense out of me, and
not know what nerve was.
Tired with an all-night journey, 1 was
not sorry to retire early to bed that night
AS everyone was up by six, early to bed
was the rule of the house. So l hailed
with delight the appearance of the bed
room candlesticks.
1t is not so easy to change ones habits
all at once. In London | am late bird,
like most bachelors, and think the best
time for enjoyment is between eleven and
one. When got to my room l found
the excitement of saying goodnight, :"
and of making arrangements for the next
morning had effectually driven off my
drowsiness, and 1 did not care IN the
least to go to bed. 1t was but ten O'Clock,
l found, SO lit cigar, softly raised the
window, and threw myself into lounge
chair by it.
1t was beautiful night; the full har-
vest moon had risen, and flooded all with
her mellow light. Just the suspicion of
mist lent gauzy effect to the sur
roundings. The tops of the trees seemed
to catch hallow, and the few clouds in
the sky were simply fecks of white It's
sue The heavy scent of the jasmine
that crept round the window was waited
in, and mingled with the perfume of my
cigar. Not sound could be heard save
that made by the FLASHING of the cascade
under the DEVILS Bridge in the distance.
When l recognized it my thoughts
| turned to the afternoon visit, and could
not help wondering how 1t would look in
the moonlight. My next thought was,
why not 60 and see? Why not? My
window was only an easy height from the
ground, and by standing on a cucumber
frame, could easily get back again. Not
a soul was about. could get away I'M
observed; the night air would do me so
much good, too, and should just have
time to finish my cigar in the going there
and the coming back.
In moment had put on my hat and
was out on the green sward. How deli
cious the soft, cool air was! l leisurely
strolled into the lane that led to the
gorge, and turned in its direction. had
got about half way to it when a rustling
behind me attracted my attention. l
turned somewhat suddenly, and noticed
a black something disappear in the shad-
ow of the trees. Thinking that perhaps
it was one of the farm servants out late,
l took no notice and went on; but as
moved l was distinctly under the i'm
4 r