River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-03-16
CHAPTER IL.

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CHAPTER IL.
"My dear Leslie, this is a surprise
and pleasure! How are you? When
did you get back?" and George Leslie
found his hand grasped by a portly,
comfortable-looking gentleman in gold
trimmed glasses and wideawake hat.
IL beg your pardon, l DON'T
can't quite recall you, though seem
to remember your voice." George STAN.
mered.
The porty gentleman laughed. "Well.
you're more changed than l am,
dare say, and yet knew you in mo-
ment. Is it possible that you've for
gotten"
"Beauclere Why of course; how
stupid of me p' and Georges brown face
grew a very curious brick color as he
wrung his old friends hand. "I've been
away five years, and it tells on all of
u.s."
81 wish it told such f1attering tale on
me as it does on you" Mark said with
smile. "Ceme and dine with me, old
| fellow-no excuse-it won't put us out
in the least. Mrs. Beauclere is at
Brighton with Miss Armstrong, so I'm
en- gdrcon. We live up at Putney-
| Jump in" as ''bus" came up "and
| tell me all about your adventures, and
when you returned"
81 only landed three days ago, and /
haven't had any adventures, except of
the most commonplace, practical kind.
| The business / went out to manage
turned out very WELL | made some
money, and I've come to England to
settle down-that's all. How is Mrs.
BeauclereY
"Quite WE'LL thanks. Have you put
on the halter yet, George? ?"
"No. The Celestial Empire is GER
tainly not the place of all others to
tempt man to matrimony."
Lucky fellow? / wish / had gone
there with you,'
George was silent-it seemed like
treason to echo the wish. l. was just
like that monster Mark, ever to express
it. OF course he made poor Lucy mis-
cradle, that was only to be expected.
supremacy dull and commonplace
George couldn't imagine. When he
entered the drawing-room he couldn't
help noticing little evidences of Lucy
about; her Old-fashioned workable
black cat which he seemed dimly to
remember-books and a drawing or
two. His heart beat little quickly:
and on the whole he was glad that he
had not to meet her on that first even
ing. "Does Miss Armstrong always
live with your" he asked, presently.
Eyes, of course, where else could
she live? Indeed, don't know in the
least how the house would get on with
out her. You see my wife and 60 in
for politics and literature, and that sort
of thing; and if we hadn't some one to
keep us in order and see to our
creature comforts, I'm afraid we'd
starve. If ever you do marry, George,
don't select clever woman with a
taste for logic and metaphysics"
Mark whispered, looking round eau
tinusly. ct simply awful"
81 never fancied Mrs. Beauclere
would develop a taste for those sub
jects," George replied; and then he
smiled q little sadly as he thought of
Lucy as a blue. stocking, and Aunt Hes
ter, who mad always been his special
horror, whisking about the house, up
setting the domestic comfort of every
one, and waving her hands in COM
mand or disapproval, increasingly
81 never could stand it, know" he
said to himself. as Mark went on giving
him some details of the establishment,
with sort of rueful good humor. "a
clever wife and an energetic aunt-in-law
would be too much for me"
And it had evidently proved too much
for poor Mark Beauclere. He was no
longer slender, sentimental, and sesthet-
ic; indeed, his chief idea i'll life SEEM
ed to be thorough enjoyment of such
pleasures as remained to him. He en-
| loved his dinner, for instance, thorough
| ly, and grew quite confidential over his
coffee after.
ct was very sudden your going away,
George" he remarked, after long chat
over the old times at Westwater, and
the pleasant evenings they used to have
at "The Nest" "Doyou know l thought
once that you had rather fancy for
Lucy"
George grew brick-red again, and
bent his eyes resolutely on the table.
at would have been a capital thing
for you; and l believe she liked you,
for she seemd altogether out of sorts
when she got your letter. In fact,
George you might have done much
worse than have married Lucy Arm
strong"
Still silence and steady contemplation
of his glass, on the part of George.
"And for that matter you might do
worse than marry her still.
George looked up with sudden angry
flash, then he grew quite white. Mark
was not chatting in the least, he felt
that: still he could not take it all in at
once.
al believe it's entirely on your ac-
count she remained single" Mark con-
tinued, with good-natured garrulity ''in
spite of all her aunts efforts to get her
well married"
"Did you say Mrs. Beauclere was stay
ing a. Brighton p George presently ask
ed, in very meek voice; because |
thought of running down there for a
few days. Will you come, Mark p
mo, thank you," with droll shrug.
"My wife and Lucy are staying at the
Royal; give them my love, and tell
them they need not hurry back, as
I'm all right"
Lucy, dearest, can YOU forgive me
1t was all dreaded mistake from first
to last! / thought it was you Mark
) wanted to marry; and when he told
| me that evening that he had proposed
and been accepted, was frantic. Aunt
Hester never once entered my head.
Lucys reply was a little uninteili-
gible. but after time they managed te