The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1883-07-07


very pleasant to be able to do SOL lam such
Il wretched invalid that l dare not venture
out during the winter in this climate"
HereWitrd linds himself listening to her
voice with a strange feeling of pleasure, inso-
much that he forsets his grievance. There
Is IL certain peculiarly in its accent, in its in
tonation, which he has never observed in any
oti.er voice. But then he has never heard q
Countess speak before, very probably.
Il AN sorry my son is out this moment
He rode over to Ne:tlewool after luncheon.
have heard very pleasant things about you
from yoar friend iii. Richard !loumt. You
are a gold nsetLillist, belieye:'
HercwarI bows again.
You think you can get my son through
the Necessary subjects for this terrible ex-
;.ininatIon:"
If he wishes to get through them"
The countess takes Il good look at her sons
tutor from behind her tire-screen. This is
not the tone she is accustomed to hear from
her dependents. The Countess is thin and
sailow, with sharp features and heavy bands
OF black hair. Iereward has seen all this, and
his curiosity gratitied, stares moodily into the
fire, while the Countess takes her opportunity
to crafty hers, if she can be said to feel any
curiosity with regard to this boorish Young
man.
Il hope Lord Heriot may apply himself, I"
she remarks lanSuidly. II am particularly
anxious that he should get this commission.
I wish both my sons to be in the more i'm
mediate service of their sovereign. My young
est son will be one of the royal pages in an
other year or two. But 1 will not detain
you. Will you be good enough to ring?
nto A,1.z
sure"
Hereward withdraws from her presence
under Purcell's ample wing.
The quarters assigned to him are pleasant
ones They are probably the least desira-
BILE among the guest chambers but to him.
contlasted with his attics in College, the
little turret room is jolly enough, particularly
as a cracking wood fire snaps and sparkles in
the crate. The turreti is hexagonal, and there
are three windows in the room, small as it Is,
leaving very little space for anything else.
BUT the view compensates for everything-or,
at least, so Hereward thinks. He stands in
the most western of his windows for more
than an hour, looking at the dense wall of
woodlands opposite, wherein artfully y-arran-
Ged openings give picturesque glimpses of
distant reach of river and range of snowy
hills beyond, rising against saffron sunset
sky.
Here the darkness finds him, and also ser
want with lights. The sound of q gong in
some far-off region announces dinner half
an hour later, and Hcreward, guided either
by instinct or his nose,' manages to find the
dining-room out or himself.
He dimes this evening with Doctor Jones
and Fraulein Schautfenhoff in the room
known at Kingscourt as the little dining
room. The diminutive can only be applied
comparatively, for the room is spacious, with
a low heavy ceiling divided into square pam
nels, and walls painted a deep dull red, which
throws out the richly-framed picture upon
it we'll
Crusaders in bronze bear aloft the sideboord
lamps there are lamps on the table, and vet
the sombre apartment is only half lighted.
The little Doctor is very friendly. He is al
roundabout little man, with bald polished
head and spectacles, and reminds Hereward
irresistably of the portrait of Mr. Pickwick in
the well thumbed edition of that immortal
book which he and Blount so often laughed
over. The Doctor does the honour with al
grand air, though the footman does not hurry
himself overmuch to obey his orders. The!
Fraulein Is friendly too but she seems to
suffer very much from the cold, and is wrap
ped i'll thick chenille shawl of an apple
green colour. The dinner is cood-what
there is of it; and Hereward does not trouble
himself to tnlk. He sits in his place with a|
very uncommunicative face and stares at Il
picture which hangs on the wall opposite 70
him, merely because it is opposite to him,
not because he admires it.
II "a a Gos,ch~~o,.rl - -
court family, of course. An the pictures in the
room are family portraits, and they are all.
with one or two exceptions, the portraits Of
very ugly people, unless the painters who
painted them were guilty Of gross injustice.
But this Gainsborough Ii head forms one
Of the exceptions, though Hereward may
not admire it Il i . girls head, with
very fair hair curling round and over the
forehead, q small, rather aquiline nose, oil
pair of cold, unutterably cold, blue eyes, and
0 beautiful proud sweet mouth which alraost
but only almost -counteracts the eyes
10 n ooa1uuzD.1