Sharp County record., 1881-03-31
VIOLET WOODS HUSBAND.
CHAPTER /.

ODAI En- /.
Somehow or other they had become
great friends. Not that they were men
cast in the same lines but circumstances
that huge faction in human actions
had induced them to be very frequently
together. They had been chums, in q
way, as far back as their undergraduate
days at Cambridge, where Andrew
Gretten had first got into the way of
pouring out his really fine tenor voice
to an audience of Elliott Beesly's re-
cumbent figure and meerschaum pipe.
Later on, as Beesly came up to town
to eat his dinners, the two friends took
q suite of rooms together in Gray S
Inn; chambers, Gretten remarked,
which would permit them comfortably
and with becoming patience to await
the hour when fame and clients should
present themselves.
1t was perhaps some two or three
years after the establishment in Gray S
Inn had been set up that the latter came
home one night from musical drum
in an unusual state of elatiOn.
" Shut up your law books, have done
with your prose-" cried Gretton, fling
ing down his hat. elliott, my boy,
rye seen my faten
What's that?" laconically asked
Beesly, without looking up from his
arm chair.
"My fate! Get out you fusty LAWYER;
an angelic being in swansdown, and
heaven knows what, with eyes that
bowl you over None of your mincing
misses, tottering and dropping their
eyes-nothing of that sort-superb lines
my dear old boy, and such smile"
Admired your singing, eh?" in
quired Mr.. Beesly, slowly, as he pufed
out rings of pale blue smoke, and
watched them rise and vanish into air.
Well, | fatter myself that Once
Again really went off to night. Inever
felt in better voice in my life and Miss
Wood is quite a connoisseur-knows
whats good, l can tellyou saw myself
how she appreciated the crescendo pass
age" cried Mr.. Gretten in elated tones.
"Quite afinities, ehn' continued
Beesly. "Quick work! But these
things are instantaneous like photo
graphs of dogs and babies-I suppose
"What a laconic beggar you are
should enjoy seeing you in love with
Miss Wood, head over heels, do you
hear" cried Gretton. "You wouldn't
have chance; she is surrounded with
men and | can tell you it would do you
a lot of good. I'll take you to cali on
Sunday-no refusal; look upon the thing
as fixed"
Mrs. Wood was a genial lady, who
liked at all times, as she expressed it.
"to see the young folks about She
kept open house and gave no small
number of dinners and dances, so that
Miss Violet's admirers found her by no
means inaccessible goddess. Accessible
she was at most times, approachabIe at
few, for Miss Wood was not entirely as
other young ladies'; capncious and fan
tastlc she was at moments, melancholy
and desponding at others, but at no
time to be subdued by ordinary means.
Gretton. and Beesly were well re-
ceeived from the first in this hospitable
house, so that the tenor's ardor in
creased rather than diminished and the
TWO men got into the habit of beino
there frequently.
Mr. Andrew Gretton was a man on
whom fortune had been pleased to be-
stow handsome person, a tenor voice
and sufficient means. But society, like
the wicked fairy in the tale, had added
another gift that well nigh nullifed the
other attractions; she had given Mr.
Gretton, namely, an exaggerated percep-
tlon OF his own superiority to the world
at large. Society had patted him on
the back, he had been likened unto
Mario, he had been gushed over bv
maiden ladies and had been taken into
mammals back drawing-room and con-
ndence In 5lleFt, S / isfr. Andrew Gretton
nad become trile spoiled.
=" How could a nice girl-a Girl like
MISS Wood - come to have sucb a
mother,' said Gretton one night as he
snd Beesly left the house in Bayswatar
x:1 znn lighted their cigars preparatory to
ling hanson. "
should rather put it that it was
eeungly clever on Mrs, Woods part
paVe produced a daughter like Miss
'ieV' answered Beesly. "1here is