The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-08-15
Perhaps there

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pride forbade any proposals of surrender.
| Nevertheless, something had to he done tc
make life toerable. She cared little oI
nothing for general society, and even had sht
done so the fact of her possessing few friends
anywhere, AMI none i'll London, would have
rendered her going out into the world a mat
ter of difficulty.
So that Miss Clauson, who was a young
lady of no mean abilities, and who had some
how imbibed the modern notion that, il
rightly directed, womans brain-power is
euual to mans in acquiring knowledge, de-
| cided that the most satisfactory method by
which time could DO killed was by contnu.
ing her studies from the point at which she
laid them down when she left the fashionable
| finishing school
Being also rather troubled by the feeling
that she ought TO do something for suffering
humanity, she organized little charitable
scheme She had plenty of pocket money.
! Sir Maingay, who, since old Talbert's death,
had received considerable sum per annum,
paid out OF the trust, for his daughters main.
tenance and education, behaved most gener.
Dusty in this respect. There is no salve to
| the conscience 20 etiicaciouS as money sde.
ritce!
Beatrice, then, did what good she could on
Der own acoc.nt, As a piteous tale always
| owned her purse, reviers OF inliscriminats
nlmsgiving may think little Of her efforts.
Perhaps they bore no fruit savo in one note
worthy instance.
Charity brought her in contact with q
woman, who, from "A variety OF circum-
! stances, had been reduced from the state OF u
superior domestic servant TO abject poverty,
and who was lying almost at deaths door.
Rentrice heard her history, relieved her
wants, had her doctored and cured, and by
these acts made the woman her slave for life.
! She rivetcd the links forever, when, tancylng
she could do with maid, she, in spite of
grumhe from her great-aunt, took TINS
woman, named Sarah Miller, into her ser
vice, This happened in the early days OF her
soiourn at Mrs Erskines.
The course of study progressed, For tho
most part Beatrice taught herself. After n
while it struck her she should like again TO
take up her drawing Here, as her ambition
rose higher than wishing to execute the
usual schoolgirl masterpieces, she needed
master a caller, ar acquaintance OF Mrs.
! Erskines, gave her name and address,
which had been given to her by some one
else. Beatrice wrote and asked the artist.
terms He replied She wrote again, &C.
cepting the terms and begging him to call
ON certain day. So Maurice Hervev csn-
| into her life.
When first she saw him the girl was sur
prised to find she had summoned to her aid
Young man of about twenty But the
age of II drawing master appeared to Miss
Clauson as matter of secondary import
auce So long rs he knew his business what
mattered if he was twenty-five or tifty-fve.
1r,..G, laI a
affair. She knew that a master gave her
niece lessons twice or thrice week. The
old lady never even acquired his name To
| her he was the drawing master, no more and
no less There arc usuy such old ladies as
thsl
In order that what happened may be read
Alright two facts must be distinctly borne in
mind. The first, that Beatrice Clauson was
not then the stately and apparently emotion
less young lady. whose calm and self-con.
tanned demeanor was such a subject of con-
graduation to her uucles, and such a puzzle
to Frank Carruthers She was but girl OF
eighteen, proud, if you will but romantic,
impulSive, and notwithstanding the shatter'
ing of the patelnal idol, trustful of man and
womankr,d She was lonely; cTaved for
sympathy; and in spite of her position in tbs
world, her lie, so far as she could see it,
looked void and colorless. A long stretch
without visible goal Lastly, she believed,
as most young people of eighteen believe
that her Judgment as to what was best tor
herself nfallible.
The second fact to be borne in mind is that
Maurice fervey at twenty five was not, in
appearance the scowling, crafty-looking
felon seen by Mrs. Miller in Portland prison:
not even the malicious, mocking rufian who
confronted her on his release The mask
worn by the man when Beatrice first knew
him fitted to perfection, and, until the
wearer chose. showed no glimpse OF the vii
famous, sordid nature it hid. He was de-
cldedly good looking he was well dressed,
a d if lie carried touch of the Bohemian
about him it was not more than was pleasant
and compatible with the profession he fol-
lowed His hands, matter upon which
young girls set undue store, were white and
we'll formed He was attentive and respect
tul in the discharge of his dutcs--doubly So
after the first few lessons!
For by that time he had found out much
about his pupil-not all he wanted to know,
hut a good deal He had learned that she
was baronet's daughter, and I'm heiress
He could not ascertain how much money
she would come into or from whom it came.
But, SO far as it went, lie believed his
information to be trustworthy, and acted &C
cordingy
He began by awakening the girls sym.
pathy for his unworthy self He told her,
or, it might be said, conveyed to her pro
digious lies about his own hard lot; h
dilated on the drudgery of lesson-giving to o
man who believed he had genius. SO cleverly
did he talk that Beatrice was persuaded that
she was under an obligation to him for the
very act of teaching. His lies were master
pieces, because he did not, like many self.
styled neglected geniuses, believe in his OWL
talents The man knew that such skill a
he possessed could make him, at the outside,
u fitth-rate artist, or it might possibly he, II
tirst-rate drawing master.
But all the same he made Beatrice believe
he was one day destined to storm the Royal
academy, and when once she believed this all
differences in station between them vanished
Our age, as every one knows, is the triumph
of art Poor artists and strug CLING literary
men do not now fawn upon lords-iords ask
them to dinner and make much of them, OF
such is the common belief. So, now that
Miss Clauson was convinced that Maurice
Hervey was q genius, no cold spectre Of
social distinction rose between the man and