The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-10-11

able way, for it was not in plain En. slish. that she had stopped low and .acEihced much in accepting his hand 1; and he had promised she could go to london every spring had promised that lis life, not biameless in th past, should oe reformed on ali points in the sfuture 1; had promised-oh, who could say all be promised, and vas willing to promise, if only she would indeed come to BofhEel nall to be it's pearl, its flower, its guar dan angel, and his most eultless riSes
 And % the riarrisge took place. and !. Lady Griselda Venner teczme Lady Griselda Beverley.
 Humphrey belonged to that species of
 'ountry squire which, le, us please our selves by imagining, is in the present day extinct, but which, in the ea1iy part of the century, knew more about the
 pedigrees of' their favorite' hounds and horses than that of the monarchy of
 England, and held an unwriren code of laws that required gentleman and NJ.
 F. H. to forget as soon as possible, and
 as a poin, of honor, the classics and
 mathematics with which he had been re galed tsith due accompanimep,s) at ,he
 puohc schools. The foreign politics of ,he;e gentlemen were not complicated
 ut consisted m finn belief that En-
 gland knew what was proper and right 1 tor all nations a good deal better than lhe nations did themselves, and could and would beat them by land and sea to the tune of Rule Britannia as of,en
 IS occasion required. Home politics
 were. on the conlrary, a mighty occasion ot words and blows, especially when they touched local interests, and election times were half-carnival, half Pandemo- nium. The hunting field was Elysium literature nowhere, and the feudal system
 with all its sins that now, no doubt, we have expunged, and its dear old kindly virtues that we still regret, was carried out in some of its most cardinal points on large and small estates alike. Eccle- siastical matters troubled nobody much not even the parsons, and drinking was conducted on liberal, not 10 say lavish principles.
 To that species and those days. then. belonged Humphrey, carrying On the traditions of his fathers with answering faith, but stamping his own individuality none the less on his tenure of power, al Boutwell, hall. He was the only son of his parents, and prized and spoiled ac- eordingly. His fathers eyes glis,ened with pride as he tossed the handsome boy on his shoulders f,f visit to the Sennel; and the servants and laborers on the e:ta'c vied with each other to abel his whims and to initiate him into the mysteries, legal or otherwise, of those held sports so dear to the hearts of Britons
 IL was hard to say whether the squire punished himself or Humphrey mos, when at last the lad was sent to school but certain quiet influence, of which we have yet to speak, was no longer to De resisted. and in the doubtful hope that Master Humphrey might nov be in- duced for the first time Tn his hfe 10 sit quiet at his books for half an hour, he Sas sent to Harrow, and the echoes Of home were silen, to his merry laugh and boyish shouts. Every one missed and regretted him; the squire on his return from escorting the boy to his new abode drank quantities of bottled ale and port
 But Humphreys parting words to h,s father had been, Be sure to tell mamma to write to me often, and to write plain. and tell her l won't forget to try to be a good boy"
 This mother of Humphreys gave him, as mothers often do, and, alas, often do not, his first idea oi excellency in woman Her beautiful oval face, the regular fea- lures of which he inherited, was to him more sacred than any of the NJ idonnas Calm, noble-minded, unsel6sh, loving, she was spending herself devoiedly for husband and son, and fulfilling all her duties faithfully and unostentatiously Content with the age in which she lived. she ye, wished that her boy should rise above ii, be more cultivated, more fit 10 be the master oi others.
 For the destiny of the young life os Humphrey she felt sae stood in par, responsible, and tha, Rom her training and example his first bias must of neces- si,y be taken. Perhaps 1t would seem from the foregoing picture of Humphreys boyhood that she succeeded bu, Ill but many other influences. and some harm ful enough, were al work on him: over indulgence, hauery. and surrounding license.
 But let those who think she failed re- member this; Humphrey to the end of his days could scarcely speak her name with clear voice and dry eyes: he never asked pardon of an offended Maker with out feeling he had sinned also against her who had usht him so much better. i He never gave up the hope that in his wife he might meet again her rare swee, goodness and wise ways; never until in his married days the hag Disappointment revealed her hideous shape and pointed the road to Despair.
 Humphrey was left master of himself and Boutwell, hall at an early age, fos the squire and his wife both died rema- turely and by the time he attained his majority the loss of his parents had be- come an outgrown grief, unconnected with the present, although tenderly hon. ored in remembrance. The hatchment was down, the flags of rejoicing were up, and it takes but a few years to make up a long ago at twenty-one.
 He was a handsome and popular ..sl