The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-12-22
j" THE STAGE WAITS. :"
.Belgravia.

THE STAGE WAITS"
 .Belgravia.
 ' will drink the toast" said Nj. Grat- in. '.'Our noble professor, the lyric art l have no great fancy for your gin, but will drink the toast in the liquor of your country" He was on his legs at ;he time, and bowed forward right and eff before he drank. so as to include all the company under his condescending compliance in pledging the art to which he belonged in a product of England.
 Hear, hear, hear p cried several voices eheerfully. The Frenchman emptied his glass and sat down with look of pro- found satisfaction.
 ssyy V .: . -: sssss, and they all appeared in the very best humor and spirits. They were seated in the dining.room of James Walford, professional singer, and the occasion of ,he meeting was to commemorate Wal ford's signature to an agreement with the .essee of the Cremona theatre. A few aays ago the document was duly com pie,ed. Walford was 10 have TO week. the largest salary he had yet reached. and was to create the leading :enor par, Tn new comic opera. To be gre me Cremona was not a first-ciass .aeaue. ba, Walford was glad 10 get a e eadlng par, anywhere, and / 70 week as great advance upon 10, which he .ad formerly been earning m a subord- iaa:e par;.
 Waliord himself was hardly as glad as .s friends. for he was the best natured. tes; tempered. kindesi hearted tenor that seli. There were other reasons also which made those who liked him glad Il his success. 4 few months ago he had os, young wife 10 whom he was devot- edly attached. and he was left widower with an only child, boy four years old. N ow that his wife was gone. this boy was liie vey apple of his eye. He took the hild with him wheresoever he might,and when he came home. whether |, was early or late, his hrst care was to visit the boy. Those who knew hm bes, said i, was veil he had tine child to centre his af. fections on. for otherwise they feared ,ha, his reason might give way
 He Was not one ot those who wear their hearts upon their sleeve. He was made .! stubborn stuff. But then all knew th at when he married his late wife he had gwen her the love of his whole nature and that the very quietness of his man. ner upon her death meant a stubborn na- ,nre terribly controlled. To one or two of his most intimate friends he had said eonhden,ially that if anything happened to his boy he should not care to live.
 One of the pleasantest things in con- nec,ion with the present social meeting was that NJ. Grattin had come and shown himself most cordial and agreeable. Every one regarded this as exceedingly good on his par, for i, was known 10 ali nat the choice of a tenor for the Gre mona theatre was between him and Wal ford. Thus he had come. as ii were, to slgnali1e the triumph oi his rival over himself.
 M. Grattin was man of medium height, back haired. sallow. with dark brown eyes, slightly aquilne nose and good hgure. His manners were ,efined and gen,lemanly-like, and the osly ob- iec,ion Englishmen found 10 him was that he seemed to be anxious to show elaborate kindness in small things at the expense of sincerity in greater Thus i, happened that although the men present in Albany Lodge, Canonbury, that nigh, greeted his arrival en,husiastica ally, and ,old him he was good fellow for com ing. next morning, when they thought more quietly over the matter, they agreed T was only what was to be expected rom so polite and courteous man.
 IL was but natural that, under the cir cumstances of the death of Walford's wife. his carly-headed little boy Freddy should be made much of by the Bohe- rnian friends of his father For a time TO one came to the house withou, bring ng hlm some little toy or sweetstufis. and il the boy had not very good disposl- non and a gay and airy manner, which made him take the gifts with the laughte, and deligh, rather than the gravity oi greed, he would have run fair chance af being hopiessly spoiled.
 Albany Lodge was much more mod es, hoase than one nigh, suppose from Inc name. For. taking the times he had engagements with the tunes he had not Walford could not hitherto count on earning much more than 300 a year During his wife's time she had a general servant for the house, while she herself looked afer the boy. But upon the death of his wife Walford having no wom m relative who could take her place, dis missed the general servant and hunted up his old nurse, Martha Grace.
 She was now at least sixty years of age and of course nothing like as active as she had once been. Bat he knew he could rely on her to do justice to his boy, and that was the great consideration in his heart then. When she came to stay with him he said to her with all the ear. nestness he was capable of:
 Martha, l am not particular about the house l shall not wan, you to do much for myself lfyou will just keep the little place tidy and get me something simple 10 eat and drink when l want 1t shall be quite content. But 1 am particular about