The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-08-16
MILE. EULALIE.


of the western circuit. i've half mind to
throw the thing up altogether Hugh said to
himself pettishly ''and come abroad for good to
live as well as can upon my little bit fprivate
income" -Four hundred year is not so bad,
after all, for young man to live upon.)
| 1t was in the sale a-manger of the Hotel des
Deux Mondes at busting Cherbourg that Hugh
Portledown came (momentarily) to this heroic
resolution. The next minute he had forgotten
all about it. and was Justify calling the clean
shaven garcon to produce the note. That docu-
ment duly arrived in FIVE minutes, goodly roll
! of paper indeed and it must be acknowledged
that even Hugh Portledown, who was CHEEKY,
happy -go-lucky fellow of the jolliest sort did
look just trife surprised when he glanced at
| the total duly inscribed in very French figures
at the bottom of the long column
"Seventy-fYe francs he said to himself, a
! little aghast s'Seventy-fve francs for three
days entertainment for single man thank
/ goodness haven't married one Of these pretty
Norman girls)-why upon my soul, don't be-
lieve shall have enough money left to pay my
way back to Bristol Let me see Seventy five
| is three pounds one, two three four-seventeen,
six. Four, seventeen, six. Through ticket to
Bristol as per advertisement. one pound sixteen;
Z
franc twenty hve leaves me exactly sixpenee to
pay all incidental expenses on my return journey.
| Well, it's blessed thing can manage to do that
much. Confoundedly awkward it would have
been if I'd run short altogether Great mistake
| in going trip away from home not to take ten
| pounds in your pocket beyond the furthest posi-
| BILE estimate of your total expenditure, / vow
I'll never do 1t again; and yet, it's curious fact
in the history Of humanity that one always does
/ vow one won't repeat these unpleasant expert
/ fO forth witt 20 a
head. on the earliest feasible opportunity. Who
defined man, wonder, as two-legged rational
anima2 Two-egged, if you will Except at Chel-
sea Hospital1, but as to rational why, the things
absurd. Otherwise how could have come to
leave myself with only sixpence to pay all my
sundry expenses on the way back to that detest-
able BristoR
He counted out the Is francs ruefully,
twenty five, and sailed forth, travel
ing bag in hand, out into the delicious
summer evening. and down to the Office Of the
steamboats,, which at that time used to be run
nightly between Cherbourg and Poole, in Dor
setshire. II shan't be able to afford berth, he
said to himself, gruesomely; ''but anyway, it's a
splendid night-full moon. and sea like mill
pond-and, after all, one might do worse than
| spend July evening looking over into the re-
| Election of the stars on that beautiful water.
Here goes, then; first cabin and third class to
Bristol Ell 16. Thank goodness, I needn't go
/ second cabin. I'm not particular, but draw a
/
seas bad enough in any case, and doesn't re-
quire to be made worse by the combined smell of
an oily engine and bad tobacco"
| Hugh paid his fare boldly, with the air of a
| man who had several pounds in reserve in case
he wants them, and walked aboard at once to Sc
/ cure himself comfortable corner before the ar
rival of the train from Caen and Paris. IF I've
| got to sit up all night he thought, II may as
| well do it as conveniently as possible So he
chose nice corner on deck, with a padded seat,
and laid his bag there to keep the place for him,
while he paced up and down and took birds-eye
| view of the situation.
i There was hardly anybody on board as yet for
most of the passengers came by the Paris train;
but one young lady, pretty French girl with a
i smiling round face, was standing by the side of
| the paddle-box, watching the hurry and scurry
on shore, where crowd of douaniers, sailors
and fishermen were fighting out shat inevitable
battle which RACES ceaselessly night and day at
all French seaports. She held a bundle of rugs
in her hand, and on the loose parchment label
! that hung pensile from the end Hugh could dis
tinctly read, in large, round French school
| girl sort of hand, the neat inscription. "Mlle.
Eulale Leruth, chez Miss Spurter. The Semi
nary for Young Ladies' Weston super Mare"
/ Hugh felt slight pang of remorse as he read
that tel-tale little address, and thought to him
self of the sort of reception Mademoiselle Eula-
| lie Leruth what charming namely was likely
to obtain at the hands of his ingenious young
countrywomen. Poor little thing, it was quite
clear that she was going to be a French govern
ess in England, and that this was her first ven
ture beyond the stormy channel 1.-THE sea was
actually at that moment like sheet of glass;
/ but in compassionate frame of mind one al
ways makes the worst mentally, of all barriers
| of separation which divide the poor exile from
i his or her beloved fatherland She was so
pretty and nervous and shrinking too; when
Hugh's eyes happened to meet hers, she blushed
| a bright red Immediately, with the naive instfnc-
| tive modesty of a bienelevee French young lady.
i Hugh was chivalrous, tender hearted sort of
fellow, and he blushed in return Though not
| visible to the naked eye1 to think of the way
i that delicate dainty, round faced little Norman
girl would be harried and worried half out of her
i life by his rough young fellow citizenesses.
1 Looking with prophetic eye into the immediate
i future, Hugh Portledown felt so thoroughly sorry
for the poor little thing that he was half Inclined
then and there, to go up to her and say in a
| fatherly fashion young men of twenty seven
are always so fatherly to girls Of eighteenl:
i MY dear lady, or rather, Madame, allow me
| to beg of you not to submit yourself to the
i treatment you are surc to experience from the
Isuntutored young savages of the SomersetShire
/ marshes" However, his courage failed him on
| this count and he contented himself with exercis-
i ing fatherly supervision over Mademoiselle
/ Eulalie from afar
/ Presently his unsuspecting protege, seeing
| Hugh's eyes bent closely upon her beyond what
was convenable, stepped to the top Of the com
/ panion-la and began an Intellectual attempt
| at conversation with the fat stewardess The
stewardess, of course, having only been engaged
| for twenty two years in visiting French ports,
j couldn't speak single word OF their outlandish
i furren lingo and Mademoiselle Eulae was on
/ the point of giving up the endeavor in despair,
when Hugh, raising his hat with courtesy that
was more than English (Eulalie thought, inter
vened to act as interpreter. "Mademoiselle
| will pardon me- he said, advancing toward her
| politely ''but she is unable to make herself un-
derstood to my compatriot, l fear. My com
patriots generally, one must confess, mademoi-
selle, do not speak foreign languages with ease
! or huency. Mademoiselle, on her part, does not
rifc 70 ma obop
| to explain to the stewardess what it is she re-
| quiredl"
Mademoiselle Leruth blushed still more
j violently Had not that dear grandpapa solemnly
signed her trembling to the diligence from
| Gruch- lies Grevlle for Cherbourg that on no ac-