Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-08-27

Davenant Hall with his only sister,
where his persistent seclusion soon cut
him off from old friends and prevented
him from making new. Miss Jane,
/ though ten years older, looked up to and
reverenced her brother with a blind
sort of hero-worship. Though person
ally fond of society, she acquiesced IN
all Hervey's plans. and fell into his
ways insensibly. Miss Jane had met
with disappointment when very
young, and, though neither soured nor
blighted by it, people saw at a glance
that Miss Jane'' she would remain to
the end of the chapter.
But, for all her apparent devotion to
| HerVey aud unprotesting sanction of
his mode of life, Miss Jane, in her Sc
cret soul, was not satisfied. She thought
II sin and a shame that her grand
handsome, clever brother should NOPE
away the best years of his life in a
gloomy library, surrounded by muSty
folios, and dusty dead bats and beetles,
and other hateful debris of animal life
She longed TO see him married and fill
ing his proper place in society, and 9,
not venturing to openly express her
wishes, set numerous little traps to
Catch his unsuspecting and unwary af-
fections. But, though Miss Jane fan
cied that she arranged her plans with
MachiayellIan diplomacy, they were as
| transparent as water 20 the keen per-
ception of the intended victim. Her
vey seemed to know by intuition when
an ambuscade was prepared, and always
managed to cover his retreat, if not
with dignity, at least with security to
himself and defeat to the enemy.
But Miss Jane was an inveterate
matchmaker, and pursued her designs
year after year, very hopeful of ulti-
mate success despite repeated failure /;
though the ninety ninth matrimonial
bait for Hervey failed, she set the ham
dredth with unshaken faith. Miss Ire
herne she meant to take the citadel by
storm, Never before had she gone SO
| openly and undisguisedly to work and
her plan would at least nave the adyan-
tase of novelty.
il lady visitor at Davenant Hall the
miSanthrope regarded as a simple nul-
sance which necessitated his leaving
home for as long period as she chose
| to remain but. as he could generally
contrive to make himself tolerably com
| Portable in hotel somewhere, he did
not regard the arrival of ore of James
ftiends as very serious disaster. But
that there should be a visitor, and that
| he should have to remain at home, meet
! her, and help to entertain her, was quite
another thing; how to set about such a
task exercised his mind a good deal.
S.'il. he reflected, Jane was very good
/ creature, who seldom troubled him in
/ any way: doubtless her friend was a
very dear old one, or she would not be
so ANXIOUS that be should show her
/ some attention. She was not danger
Gus Iom a matrimonial point of view
on that head he was quite satisfied
/ or she would have been introduced sur
reptltiously, and made known to him
without warning. In all probability
! she was prim antiquated lady in lace
mittens and spectacles, probably with
| extreme religious views, and perhaps
| chronic bronchitis. She would be a
bore however-of that he was morally
certain; still, to obllge Jane, he would,
/ IL IL Ntlt HtCtSSdiN y. bt NAfAi " al OLA
of the most Objectionable of her school,
| fellows, for in his secret heart, far
down below tie cynical and miSan-
thropical strata, Heryey Davenant
| dearly loved his sister
"This is Miss Treherne, Hervey. Ef-
fie, my love, this is my brother" Miss
Jane said hurriedly, inverting the usual
| order of introduction in her blind be-
lief III Mr.. Ddvenant's absolute suprem-
acy.
'.How do you do, Mr.. Davenant ?"
The misanthrope was standing on the
white fleecy hearttrug in the drawing
room, looking down curiOusly at a
young girl who knelt there, warming
her hands before blazing fire-a very
Slight girl dressed in black, with pale
| golden wavy hair fastened carelessly
with black ribbon low down on her
neck. bright hazel eyes, delicate col
| orless complexion, and a sweet happy
smile. She looked little more than a
| child as she knelt in the freight and
glanced up half curiously, half fearful
| ly at Hervey, who, after making a
| formal bow and muttering some unin-
tellisible commonplace on the pleasure
Of meeting his sisters friend, stood SOL
emnly silent.
A bright imperious winning little
girl, with a half-pleading, half COM
manding voice and wholly fascinating
manner, Effie Treherne rubbed her del
lcate little white hands, and prattled
about her journey, her Impressions of
the country, of Davenant Hall, and
every object that happened to catch her
observant eye as she was driven from
Hailsham. In few moments dinner
was announced, and, silent still, with a
gravity that was more sad than grim,
Hervey took the young lady to the din
ing-room, and, with politeness which
| Lord Chesterfield himself might have
enyied, anticipated all her wants and
wishes. In her widest flights of imag-
| inatiOn Miss Jane never pictured such
a metamorphosiS in her moroSe brother;
and vet she was not satisfied. All
through dinner she was nervous and un-
happy; there was a look of sad re-
proach and positive pain in Hervey'S
ewes which she could not at all compre-
bend. He looked at Effie Treherne in
a strange thoughtful way, as though he
were endeavoring to recOllect an old ra-
ther than study new face. Miss Jane
was very unhappy she feared she had
made some terrible mistake without
having the faintest idea what 1t was
so that, between her anxiety and Her
vey's silence, the dinner was but dull
affair, in spite of Efiie's lively chatter
and flow of eager childish questions.
At length it was over. Heryey held
the door open for his sister and her vlS-
itor to pass, promised to join them very
soon, and then made a dash up to his
room. crammed some miscellaneous
articles into portmanteau, rang his
bell violently, and by the time it was
answered forgot what he rang for,
kicked the portmanteau out OF sight,
and. returning to the dining-room, rest
ed his elbows on the table, his head
upon his hands, and INDUCED IN long
reflection. His forty years sat more
heavily on him that night than he ever
remembered to have felt them before :
his brow seemed marked with deeper
lines, his very hair appeared to him to
| lo.-o -ro,x-,, cyrovor and a 1o,lk of suffer-