The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-12-08

the order which prefers a still autumn
pool or rushing ocean tide.
"They remind me often of the old
rhyme about Till and Tweed, which
used to know when was boy" said
Mr.. Lascelles one day, when they had
been talking about 'the two lads, ;" as he
called them.
"What rhyme was thatP" asked Mar
garet.
"Well, it ran something after this
fashion
:" Said Tweed to Till,
why rim We so stillr
Said Till to Tweed,
Though ye rim WI speed,
And rim slaw.
Yet, where We droon ao mon,
Horridr' said Margaret, shivering.
"Oh, fatherl that is as much as to
say that Louis is treacherous," .ex-
claimed Rupert, hot and indignant.
Nothing of the sort, my lad! 1t was
only that quiet Till was capable of Civ
ing surprise, whereas the worst of
Tweed was seen as it rushed swiftly by
But such discussions always give a
garbled view of things"
Margaret agreed, silently.
From the first, Margaret seemed to
fit into her position at the Grange as
naturally as possible. Various reasons
conduced to bring this about. Had the
situation been any other than it was,
it is almost certain that before q fort
night was past Margaret's disguise
would have been over. With all
her protested desire to see life as it
was, from the poor governess point of
view, my heroine would have been
quite unable to put up with the second
airy place which governess, pure and
simple, must occupy. Mrs. Lascelles
could not make enough CT the woman
who had wrought so wonderful a
change in her sick and generally I'M
happy boy. Had Margaret been the
most unpromising of young women in
manners and appearance, the devoted
mother would still have had no indul-
gence too great for her-no amount of
consideration too much. But, being
what she was-beautiful, charming for
an elderly lady as well as for spoiled
| invalid boy, a refined gentle woman in
manner, and clever and agreeable So
cially-Margaret soon found herself
more like daughter of the house than
anything else. With her Mrs. Lascelles
felt none of the discomfort she had ex-
perienced before in dealing with stiff
and rigid Miss Flint. or with morbidly
sensitive young ladies, who, if ever they
were asked to perform some trifing
service not in the schoolroom routine,
thought they were being insulted. More
than once she said to Margaret:
"My dear, you are friend, indeed. !
never can feel that you are anything
| ole
shall be forever in your debt"
On such occasions Margaret had an
uncomfortable sense of being in false
position, but she had never yet discov-
cred the courage necessary to extricate
herself from it. For one thing, she
found this kindness and gratitude ex-
ceedingly sweet, and the sweeter in
that there could be no question as to
whether it was paid to herself or to her
position. These people knew nothing
of her position-of her fortune. The
atmosphere of flattery on the one hand,
and of warning and suspicion on the
other. in which she had been aceus-
toned to live, seemed TO melt away from
her, and leave her at liberty to breathe
a freer and purer air. She, Margaret
Darlington, had found a practical work
in this life; she was of some use, of
some solace to those who sorely needed
help and comfort. How long could
such state of things last if her true
condition were knownp Not a day
she knew it well. If she told Mrs.
| Lascelles the truth, that sensitive lady
would be constantly distressing herself
imagining that Margaret was detained
against her will-that out of pure kind
ness she was sacrificing herself and her
pleasures to her and her boy. In every
way it suited the young lady better to
be known as Margaret Percival, COVER
ness of necessity, than as Margaret Bar
rington, rich and Independent, playing
at charity for freak, and introducing
herself into strange houses to CRAFTY
within. There was no longer any freak,
or within, or playfulness in the matter
AS time went on, and Rupert grew
more and more dependent on her, she
grew more devotedly fond of him.
From out all his ''pale winter of mis-
fortune" there cleaned sometimes such
sunny rays, such tender, and sweet,
and lovable traits, as to endear him to
her daily more and more. She could
not find it in her heart to speak of leav-
ing him. He chung to her; even his
bodily health had 50 revived under the
influence of her companionship that she
shrank from the idea of loosening su,h
bond. Yet she knew that it must
some time be loosened. Meantime, she
tried 10 avoid considering the question,
and remained where she was, growing
each day more fond of her surround
ings, and to them more indispensable.
1t has been said that John Mallabarr
and Louis were constant visitors. Nal
labarr called several times after his first
visit, before leaving for town. On each
of these occasions, whether by accident,