Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1884-04-17
THE GIPSY'S CURSE.
CHAPTER VI.


The Court was magnificent pile of
buildings standing about two miles from
the river, on the opposite bank to the Weir
Mill, in the midst of an extensive park,
beautiful pleasure-ground Immediately
surrounding the mansion.
The Sabines almost knew the place by
heart; they had carte blanche to go to the
Court when they chose, only the library,
MUSHROOM, and one or two other apart
ments being locked up. The building it,
self, they told lima, would take fortnight
to explore, to say nothing OF tue picture
gallery, state apartments, chapel, and
works of art innumerable, collected dur
ing several hundred years.
The Sabines' carriage rolled under =
deep arched gateway into u vast court
yard, and lima looked up with profound
veneration ut castellated walls that had
frowned OH crusaders and had been de-
Tended against Cromwell's soldiers. How
could Sir Philip care so little to remain in
such grand old home as this, breathing
traditions of. glory and greatnessY Her
heart swelled within her, her eyes filed
with tears, and her breath came quickly.
But the carriage stopped NJ the noble ell
trance, and Sir Philip came down to re-
ceiye his guests
lie gave, as in duty bound, his best at
tention to Miss I-arnford, but Ilma's rapt
face was the only one he really cared to
see. They passed through the great hall,
where lima would have given the world
to linger, and where it seemed proper to
converse in subdued tones, TO q noble
apartment all furnished In OAK and ebony,
with stained-glass windows and painted
domed ceiling, and with stately pictures
by Velasquez aud yandyck on the walls.
selma is quite oyeraweG," remarked
Rose, laughing; and the girl WINGED and
colored, but smiled when Sir Philip turn
ed to her.
"Your organ Of ,cncration Is large" he
said; and just for Il second wild vision
flashed through his mind which made his
heart almost cease TO beat, as he saw her
standing there in her young beauty, with
the warm light Oh her golden hair and y
deeper light in her wondrous eyes.
Would she ever know why he was silent
for moment and summed her cloudless,
fearless gaze?
az suppose" he said, after that pause,
"that, though lima is the youngest here,
she must bc commander of the expedition,
as she is the stranger. You oil know the
Court as well as-perhaps better than-I
DO. Miss Durnrord tells me she would
prefer to remain here for a little, and then
intends to steer FOR the Conservatives,
where wilkins will be a superior guide to
myself, for am the worst of Horticulture
lists. So, lima, where is IL to be first for
your"
lima hesita:cd and then she said.
81 am sure to like it all"-thinking that
perhaps Sir Philip would not like to go to
the picturc.gallcries, which she would visit
when he was away again.
"would you like to sec the picture-gal.
lcries!" asked Darrell, diyining what
was in her mind. ayes? This way
then"
As they paused before an old Scvres vase
In a corridor, he said
alt was very kind Of you to think OF me
but have no objection at all to the pic
ture-galleries. Perhaps we had better
commence with the one containing the fam
ily portraits" he added, rs Roland ant
Rose approached, jamie having gone OF
somewhere else.
1t took some time to reach the galleries
there being so many things TO admire ant
hear about on the way. But for llma'
company, Roland would far rather hav.
been In the stables. lie had not mucl
taste for curious carvings, statues, ant
things of q kindred nature. He could no
have told the difference between the Re
naissance and any other period, any NOR
than he could have assigned painting L
any given school. Sir Philip however hat
&c all at his finger'sends, and lima SCENE,
In her glory; but in her heart she Tel
more and more, as she went on, that TIL
grand place was not a home. A SHADOW
seemed to hang over IL. Sir Philip wa
proud OF the Court; he loved 1t passion
ately I'm way, but not word passed hi
lips such as would have been natural 70
its master, in the flower OF his manhood
indicating that he regarded It as an abit
ine-place. Nor had it an air OF home.-
Everything was redolent of the past.
ma felt as IL she were back In the middl
ages. A laugh sounded odd and harsh,
commonplace speech seemed out Of cha
acter. III Sir Philip had called her "fal
maidenv and "thee'd" and "thou'd," sh
would hardly have been surprised. He II
deed was suitably framed but Roland an
Rose looked painfully out OF place ami
such surroundings. Yet lima wished sl
could see one room that looked as IL IL Ina
bee,f lived in within the last hundre
wears. as II children bad ever played thei
or Young girls dreamed there. What
grand, bright, happy home this might b