The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1884-04-11

we passed through lOw-lylng village
! some OF the houses OF which were hoode
in winter, Mr.. Reade told me-up hill
down Il hill, ani up another soping road
at the side OF which stretched the mars
again.
"There is the Alders, Miss Christie, " sal
he, pointing with his whip to pretty re-
! house, half covered with ivy and sur
/, rounded by trees, which stood below th
road, on the borders of the marsh
. "Here, Laurence" I'll get down all,
take the short cut" said Mr.. Rayner.
There was footpath which led from thi
point of the road straight to the hous
through couple of fields and "A plantation
After Mr.. Rayner had alighted Mr.. Read
and drove ON by the road
"What a lovely place" ! cried enthu
siastically.
My companion remained silent.
"And oh, what beautiful pond! d.
believe it has water-liies" l exclaimed
turning round half breathless at such 8
glorious discovery.
~ wouldn't have that stagnant water
near my house for my children to play
about for somethingl" said he, in an ener.
getic growl which surprised me.
l said no more until We drove slowly
down the sloping carriage-drive through
admiration broke out.
ooh, how delightfully."- cool it looks,
with tho ivy all over it to keep out the hot
sunl'
Yes, and to keep in the cold moisture,
Miss Christie. The ivy hasn't been cut for
the last five years; and it ought to be torn
down altogether to make the place fit tc,
live in. 1t is no better than pest-house!'
he went on, getting more and more OK
cited 81 wouldn't let laborer 1.-Two in
itr'
"a laborer won't have chance until my
lease is up, Laurence" said Mr.. Rayner
dryly, coming out Of path among the
trees. And the two men exchanged looks
which showed that at the bottom of their
hearts they were not friends.
But then it was not likely that Mr.. Ray
ner would care to hear his beautiful home
called pest-house!
We drove slowly down to the hall door,
which was open, and gaunt, untidy- look
| ing servant came out and carried in my
boxes. Mr.. Reade helped me down and
| stood by me, apparently examining the har-
| ness, while looked in an ecstacy of ad-
miration at the dark red house thickly COW
cred with ivy, and at the gray stone porti-
| co, the pillars of which were stained with
capitals were overgrown with soft bronze
and brown moss. Then he seized mo-
ment when Mr.. Rayner was speaking to the
servant, to stoop and say to me quickly, in
low voice
Don't let them put you near Mrs. Ray
ners room"
| could not answer, could not ask why,
for the next moment he was calling out
good-by to Mr.. Rayner, and, raising bis hat
to me, was walking by the side of the dog
cart up the steep drive that led through the
garden to the road. l was sorry he was
gone. | wanted to ask what he meant by
his strange warning, and to thank him
for his kindness. A distressing sense
of loneliness came over me Mr..
Rayner, who had grown grave and
silent and deeply occupied with his
letters during the last part of the drive,
had gone into the house forgetting to in
vite me in; the servant had disappeared
with my last box. Instead of following
her, stood watching the dog-cart and its
owner out of sight until harsh womans
voice startled me.
"Wont you come ins I'm to show you
to your room"
1t was the gaunt servant who addressed
me. | turned, blushing, and followed her
into low, long hall, dark, cool and old
fashioned, such as the outside of the house
had prepared me for; up an oak-lined stair
case; through O few of those short and in
convenient passages which abound in old
houses that have been added to from tirne
to time, to a corner room, shabby, dark and |
bare looking, where my boxes were already |
installed. 1 sat down on one of these, the
only friendly things had about me, and be-
gan to cry. Somebody might at least have
come to the door to meet me / thought
of Mr.. Reade's words, and began to Won
der with new sense of dread what Mrs.
Rayner was like. Was she an invalid
Was she-mad? If not, why had she left
the correspondence about her childs gov
erness entirely to her husband? My tears
dried slowly as I went on puzzling myself
uselessly about this mystery which must be
very soon solved; and was scarcely ready
when the servant returned to tell me that
tea was waiting for me- But my curiosity
was only to be sharpened. Tea was pre-
pared for me alone, the servant saying that
Mr.. Rayner was busy and had his taken
into the study. Not word about Mrs.
Rayner-no sign of pupil SO great was
my anxiety and curiosity that I forgot
how hungry l was, and in few minutes ]
had finished my tea, and was standing by
the window looking out into the garden.
1t was not yet seven o'clock and a bright
summer evening. light breeze had
sprang up and was swaying the tops of the
trees that grew thickly round the house.
On tho side Of the dining-room a messy
lawn stretched from the roots of the trees
right up into the French windows. l
had never been in such a beautiful garden
before The grass was soft and springy
and well kept; there were no stiff beds of
geraniums and verbenas, but under the
trees and against the house, and wherever
there was a spare corner, grew clumps OF
Scotch and monthly roses, Canterbury bells,
princes feather and such simple flowers.
The house was built on the very border of
the marsh at the bottom of hill which
sloped down, covered with trees, toward the
side of the house. | made
ny way round to the front and
she moss grown portico-from here one
taught glimpses of the marsh through
he thick trees. | followed a grass
path cut through them, facing the
ront of the house, until came to the pond
which had excited my admiration from the
log-cart. Here the vegetation grew I'M
checked. The water was half covered with
smooth, green duckweed and water lilies,
md the reeds and rushes, which grew tall
md thick round the margin, had encroached
much upon the little sheet OF water. The
path had followed was continued through
he trees, within a few feet of the pond, TO
the outer edge Of the little wood which in,
closed the house and garden; there few
'ough steps over the fence connected it with
he footpath along the borders of the marsh,
which joined the road at the descent of the
ill This was the short cut by which Mr.