The Osceola times., 1881-10-22
ONLY A PRIVATE SECRETARY.

will ms Ike most welcome acquisition TO
the limited society of this poor little
village" remarked Claudia Thorne, with
great animation, tnat was suddenly aug
mented by the appearance of an elegant
equipaae that she had just seen coming
down the pleasant, shadowy street.
There they are now, Aggle, dear she
continued excitedly; "and is not that
carriage altogether too stylish for this
dreadfully questionable and prosy
place? and that prancing, speckled, red
dish horse must be priceless flyer
think, she commented somewhat doubt
fully, for she was conscious of her utter
deficiency ia equine lore.
Meanwhile the spirited, dappled roam
AN animal neither extraordinary fine
nor fast-was trotiing past the garden
gate, the senescent blossoms of the lofty
locust trees falling in white showers over
| eildcd harness and glittering wheels.
The conference.-the one with that
Saxon and distinguished look and the
,awny, curling hair and beard-he who
| is driving, must be the millionaire who,
! am informed, is the son of a noblemaH,
| but is teo Americanized, or republican,
lied to assume his illustrious title. The
other, with the dark hair and stoutish
| figure. must be the private secretary or
| travelling companion. One can always
| discern the difference between the pa
/ trician and pleblan. can one not?'
Certainly have no such subtle gift
OF discrimination the sense you in.
fer. One whose soul is ignoble must he
plebian, ] think, however aristOCraiic
| the birth or tout ensemble of that one
may he" answered Agnes Rothsay, qui.
ely
She and Claudia Thorne were cousins
and ostensibly friends, and were living
together lire of genioei economy, hay
ing jointly inherited u small legacy de-
! yised by an eccentric relative recently
deceased whom neither had ever seen.
In the picturesque and tiny hamlet OF
Rosehithe--a haven of roses-they had
made Iheir summer home.
Agnes had been pleased and content.
ell with the small. tranquil place, with
lis wide, grassy umbrageous streets, and
sparse clusters of quaint houses buildcd
about the obluse, wooded angle of crags
that iutted iuto the tumbling waters inst
where wild narrow stream frothed
into the surf OF the sea.
Bu, Caudil had thought it all--thc
serene seclusion, the isolated, but inn
posing scenery, simple inhabitants with
their Lomcly way y-uninterestiug and
insulierably dull.
ruey were very unlike those two
| young ladies, who had yet all the bloom
aud rightness OF fresh, sweet woman
hood.
Miss RDthsay was tall and notably
graceful blonde, with that rarely and
! peculiar iair complexion that no care
! can wrinkle and no time can yellow
Her fine features were much too mobile
for the artistic Grecian type, and heI
large eyes-splendid and indrscibale-
we're too passiOnfu and tender to be
gray, aud too discerning and imperiou-
to bs the ideal and poetic hlne. llel
| magnificent masses OF hair had the sub-
tie aud beautiful shades OF arlber and
! Iuddy auburn. and her attitudes, heI
action, her manner of speaking, were
distinguished by a majesty. dignity
aud a gentle gfaciousness that Were as
natural "a irresistible. Among inferior,
she would have been misunderstood
and possibly hated, feared and traduced
Among her peers she was loved and re.
yered.
Claudia Thorne belonged to quite Q
di-similar sphere of mind, feeling. aud
violation. She had more cunning than
intellect; she was more emotional than
sympaihetic. she liked only the excite
meut that could be made egotisnoally
sensational. and She was iuordinatrl, !,
ambitious for very eminent social is
pnction. She hatsd the deceased leua'
tor " ho had bequesthed hcra humble
competence instead of an exhausties'
income. II would seem that she wa
pilimlly unsppreciative of small favors-
that she sadly lacked the sense of graf
imje. Nevertheless. she was a witch.
ing litlle ladykin, with ever restIy feet
and singularly pretty, eltish hands. She
was dark and petite, her hair was jetty
black eyes were brilliant with mesmciic
hues; she had red laughing lips, and a
dainty scarlet color always waving over
her babyishly rounded cheeks. She az
iected the naive with the most tlaiteriua
success.
Aud she seemed very childishly in
genuous, indeed, when she first smiled
beguilingly into the admiring eyes o
him whom she supposed TO be wealthy
aud titled
Apparently that flrst meeting was en-
tirelv accidental.
The gentleman had been piscatorially
busted in delicious cool niche among
the willows, whose foliage of topaz and
emerald left Pickering shadows along
the margin of still pond where "A strata
of wild rock had damned the stream
and where a myriad of silvery fins
glanced through The clear, brown water
lie had heard law and irregular soune
Of oars, aud had glanced with small in
lerest across the high green reeds and
low flower de.luce, TO see a eaudily-
gilded and very small skiti rocking dan
gerously among the water.lilies just he
fore him.
The single occupant Of the boat was q
prunette fay, wearing fancy
costume Of some dark, ruddy bronze stuff,
with golden-hearted lily-buds in her
aunty bronze velvet cap.
As the yourg gentleman regarded her
With hali-enchanted gaze, she extend
ell her dusky jeweled hands toward a
snowy blossom, dropping her oars With
a pretty, careless gesture. The next in
slant the oars were drifting slowly away
on the sluggish current; the next instant
there was splash and musical cry for
help.
The light craft was capsized, and
Claudia Thorne was struggling and gasp
ing among the lilies.
How the spectator of the catastrophe
rescusd hee he could ue~sr cutie clearly