Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-08-30

descended to tell us this was very an
cient chapel, which some ancestor of
the family had pulled down and dis
mantled, chad luck to him p
The fine entrance hall can recall it
now-warmed by an ample stove and
well lighted up, with few dressed skins
lying about, and a huge ebon cabinet
over against the door, made a CHEEKY
contrast to the outside car and surround
ings we had just left. Round the walls
were grouped splendid pair of stag's
horns, fox's head and brush, a stuffed
seal, and other trophies of sporting life;
and a black buffalo's massive frOntlet
surrounding a sheaf Of assegais, sug
gested at once what we afterward learned
to be the case, that our host had been
In south Africa 81 wonder what sort
of people they are, major?" were As
words to me, soto UOce, as he gave his
sleeves a final jerk and glanced down
critically at his boots, while we followed
the butler to the drawing-room. A mo-
ment more and we were face to face with
our new acquaintance.
do not recollect anything very note
worthy about our host. He was tall
and rather handsome man, but of some
what faded aspect-quiet and genial in
his manner. 81 am an old soldier my
SELF, was his greeting to us, "and [
never like anyone in the service to pass
our place on duty without our finding
him out. But our hostess! AS shook
hands with her she at once engrossed
my attention. / am at q loss now, as [
was then, to define the nature Or cause
of the peculiar interest she seemed at
once to excite IN me. Certainly, she
was remarkably handsome women, but
my observations of her at the moment
of introduction was quickly diverted by
the strange demeanor of A. I had
turned round and was in the act of pre-
senting him when he suddenly started,
stopped, and, without attempting a sal
utation or advance of any kind, stared
at her. For the instant the situation
was embarrassing. Was the man going
to faint, or was he off his head, or what?
There he stood, stock still, facing Mrs.
M, till in a severe tone | said:
CA, this is our hostess" Mrs.
NJ, allow me to introduce Mr..
A." This appeared to rouse him a
little, for he made sort of backward
movement which might do duty for a
bow, though a very poor apology for it,
and said: "I-I-I beg your pardon"
retiring Immediately into the back
ground. If this was bashfulness it was
curious form of it, [ thought, and GER
tainly new in my knowledge of A.
This little incident over, had leisure to
look round the room. There appeared
to be about dozen people In all. Mr..
M introduced me to a relation of
his, baronet, whose name | forget; to
a parson, who assured me in Hibernian
accents that troops had been down here
"repeatudly; and to a niece. whom [
was to take in to dinner. | caught
mOmentary glimpse of A, and saw
to my surprise that he was furtively,
but intently watching the lady of the
house from an obscure corner. I was
quietly slipping up to him to ask what it
all meant when dinner was announced.
At the dinner table I found myself on
the left of our hostess, the baronet OPP
p0site me. A. was placed some dis
lance down on the other side, so that
could keep an eye on hun, which soon
began to think / must do. I had now
an opportunity of noting more particu-
larly Mrs. Ms personal appearance.
Her age l should judge to have been
somewhere about eight and twenty or
thirty, considerably under her husbands.
Her figure was faultless; neck and arms
of that nameless tint one has so often
seen imperfectly described in novels as
"creamy white;" corona of hair of
that deep auburn red which so sets off a
fair woman; and face of singular
beauty, of which you forgot everything
l11Itt hn no -oI int
them. Such eyes they were! Their
particular size, shape, this or that color,
would never occur to one; it was their
strange, almost weird, effect when turned
on you that one felt. 1t was as though
they OWNED what you were thinking of
and could answer your thoughts. Yet
it was not satisfactory or restful face.
[ can recall certain half disagreeable
sensations | experienced as her eyes oc-
casionally rested on mine while we
talked, and once or twice a fash as of
something almost malevolent seemed to
pass out of them.
One incident [ recolIect. We were
discussing pictures, and Mrs. M,
pointing to some fine family portraits
hung around the dining-room, said,
"My husband and are distant cousins,
Major P, so that you see we are
mutually represented here; and yonder
is lady OF bygone days, supposed to
have been very wicked, and to be like
me" [ looked up, and sure enough
there gazed down on me from the can
vass woman's face strikingly like the
speaker $50 like, that except for the
costume, the portrait might have been
taken for her own. It was finer speci-
men than usual of Ghe formal, yet fasci-
mating style il which our great-great-
grandmothers had been depicted for us
"a stately attitude, regular but i'm
mobile features, and exuberant charms
sumptuously if somewhat scantily
draped. The lady's figure, as it CHANGED,
was turned toward our end of the table;
she held u fan in her hand; the lips had
disdalnful, almost derisive, smile; and
the eyes, which in such pictures usually
appear to be contemplating the specta-
tor and TO follow him about, seemed di-
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