Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1884-07-23
maid said shortly, mo, she is not" and
nnicLlu shnt the door unon him

thing mean? Had Mrs. Bracegirdle
heard somcthiDg-false, of course, and
uttered by some other base admrer of
her daughter-which had made her
take this cruel step? 1t was impossi-
bic to guess. 1t was impossible to
knock again and ask; it was ridiculous
to stand staring at the door. lie turn
ed to descend the steps and walked
down the street. =
Before lie had gone half way he met
a hated rival, very fine fellow, whom
he had only begun to hate in the last
three or four days, since he had noticed
that Miss Bracegirdle sometimes gave
him very charming and encouraging
glances. Captain Fortescue walked on
slowly and listened for the confident
rat-a-tat-tat of his rival. lie heard it,
listened and looked back The door
opened ana the visitor instantly al-
mittcd.
The unhappy man who had been
turned away from that same entrance,
sighed heavily anil went away down
the sunny street, hanging his head.
lie told himself that it would be only
a fool or a mailman who could pretend
TO misunderstood so plain refusal as
this Perhaps it was meant kindly, he
thought, and groaned at the thought.
Miss Bracegirdle was no coquctte and
did not care to have men offer her their
love when she had no intention of ac
cepting it. lie was so desperately
cnamored of her that he busted himself
in trying to see this cruel cut as kind
dcol. His hopes were gone; but he
could not bear SO suddenly to lose his
idol lie determined he would not
worry her by his unwelcome presence
where she could not easily avoid him,
nor permit himself to bo laughed at by
his successful rival. So he excused
himself from certain engagements at
houses where he knew he should meet
her. lie gave up dancing and took to
cards instead.
Mamma" said Miss Dracegirdle one
day, doesn't it seem odd that for three
weeks Capt. Fortescuo has not called?"
at does" said Mrs. Bracegirdle; land
yet, when come to think of it, we
have not met him out anywhere, either.
lie must be i'll, or more likely he has
gone out of town lie will call when
he comes back"
This she said, noting that her daugh-
ter looked little pale and out Of sorts.
But, secretly, she was uneasy herself.
Capt. Fortescue Lad shown signs of
b.ing so hot a woOer that it seemed
very improbable he would leave town
without a word to them. At the next
opportunity she quietly made some in
quiries about him, and learned that
Capt. Fortescue was neither i'll nor out
of town. This was bad news, indeed;
for Mrs. Bracegird!e knew perfectly
well that her daughters heart was
seriously touched; and, as Capt. For.
tescue was perfectly "eligible," all had
promised fairly. Now that fair prom
Use was destroyed There was nothing
to be done, except try, by other dis
fractions, to erase III impression which
Captain Fortescuc had made. Mrs.
Bracegirdle devoted herself to her
daughter more tcnderly than ever, and
the girl understood her.
Amid all the gayety and the many
engagements which came with every
day, there was a melancholy about the
house which had never been there
before. 1t was impossible for them to
Danish it altogether. Even Master
Harry, cheerful youth Of II, became
aware Of it at las, and declared his
sister was not "half as jolly as she used
to be-" One day when his mother and
sister were taking a quiet half hour
before dressing for dinner, he came into
the room carrying an umbrella.
81 say, mother, this umbrellas been
in the stand for a month. The fellow
ii belonged to has forgotten all about
it, l expect; don't you think l might
have it?'
isn't it yours?' said Mrs. Brace
girdle. "l gave you silver-handled
one last year."
"Oh, lost that long ago. replied
the youth coolly, "and l may as well
have this instead. It's like mine, but
ever so much more sweller. There's a
name engraved on il; but | could have
that scratched OUT
Let Inc see the name" said Mrs
Braccgirdlc. She took it and read
"Fortescue."
An odd look came over her face
She said nothing for a moment, but
seemed plunged in thought; then she
rose and went down stairs to the din
ing room. She rang the bell, and the
stern-eyed maid appeared.
ELIZA" she said, "can you remember
the appearance of that young man who
came one day and asked for IN UNI
brella? He came twice. think you
said, and asked for me the second
time. viii you describe him if you
cam"
ale was quite gentleman to look
at, ma'am," said Eliza; "but this sort
mostly are. Tall and broad-shouldered,
and military looking, with blue eyes,
very short fair hair, and long, heavy |