Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-04

/ to FER relative. March had left England
| rather Suddenly or he would have hidden
| farewell to Lady Amprey in person. As
/ II was he had written her upon the eve of
| his departure, telling her that he had been
/ asked to 60 out and explore the promis-
1 ing colonies recently forfeited by His
/ Majesty for certain company of young
| men Of his acquaintance who had been
! led TO think of emigrating to them. They
| were very good fellows, with very small
| fortunes he said, and he intimated than he
| might JOIN them if he found the prospect
| favorable. Lady Amprey was not sur
| prised. Those who reasoned only from
| knowledge of Owen March's position
were amazed; but Lady Amprey had
| known him, since his father, Sir John.
! had sent him as a boy from one of the
| West Indies, of which he was Governor,
/ TO Elton; and she had perceived long ago
/ that his aims and theories were as far as
/ possible Fl ON those common at the time
! to the second sons of BarOnet. She was
| aware that he kept particularly warm
/ place in his heart for America, and she
| had admonished Sir John early in her
! acquaintance with his son that he would
| some day make an American of himself
| She added that it was reasonable to
| expect something Of the sort, for ones
mother was not a native of the colonies
| for nothing. This mild pleasantly was
/ intended for Sir John, who in marrying
an American girl with whom he became
/ acquainted in one of his numerous vow
| ages to the United States, had done an
undeniably peculiar thing. 1t was very
| successful and charming marriage, as
was admitted on all sides when the cOun-
ty families on the return of the pair to
England called upon the highbred woman
whom Sir John had made his wife, and
saw the two together; but this was easily
accounted for when it was remembered
that in fact her father had been born in
England, and of an irreproachable fam
lily. She was apparently American
enough, howe yer, to bestow upon her son
some strikingly un-English tendencies,
and these had exhibited themselves so
clearly to Lucy Amprey, while he was
still in his teens, that she was prepared
for almost anything which he might do.
This plan of colonization was quite in
the direction of her provisions, and by so
much grateful to her prophetic soul. But
the satisfaction of being able to say, 81
told you So" which at its best was
adulterated with regret for his departure,
was almost entirely alloy when she came
to the postscript of his letter. Il have been
offered" he wrote, sat the last moment,
quite without warning, the position of
correspondent Of the Republic in Amer
lea. 1t is you know the single newspaper
champion Of the United States on this
be glad to say my say in it. Over here
we don't understand the people who have
grown away from US across the water. /
say lre, hoping that my fancies about
them may be sufficiently justified when l
reach there to say You; but am at least
anxious TO comprehend and knowsthem,
which comes nearer explaining the
Republics choice of me than anything
else perhaps. But it doesn't explain it.
l have suspicion that you are uncon-
sciOusly the explanation. You know how
you have been accustomed to repeat my
mutterings against the corn-laws, and
some other things which are making our
dear England an undesirable place of
residence, as kind of joke. Perhaps
the editor Of the Republic mas taken them
seriously; though it is hard to fancy how
a man whom the government prefers
should usually read his seditlous journal !
behind prison bars can be in the way of |
hearing Lady Amprey's gossip.
81 imagine that, in fact, he fixed upon |
me in desperation, because he could not /
at the moment get out of his prison to |
find any one else. The position is at pre- |
sent held by a doctor in JUdea, Nora |
Wan settlement in Pennsylyania-Dr. |
Van Cleef-a young man, ! suppose, who !
finds that growing practice leaves little |
time fer musing on paper. Well, shall |
have time; for, after leaving New York, |
where my mothers people are, shan't |
know a soul in the country, and, with the |
best intentions, l can hardly do much /
eXni1ring for my intending cOlOnists in |
the long evenings. Somehow fancy the |
evening will be very long over there"
LADY Amprey's feelings upon reading |
this would not have been guessed by a |
reader of the letter of Introduction to |
her kinsman which she Immediately |
wrote and dispatched to March. She was |
entirely silent as to the position and the |
appointment, devOting herself consci- |
entiOusly to the praise of March. But |
her sentiments were made PLAIN IN the en-
closure to the young man himself.
sit is very nice Of them TO appoint |
vOu.v she wrote, after a very sparlng use !
Of her right to iInpute to herself the art |
of diVinatiOn, upon his fulillmentaOt her |
prophecy, ''but your young doctor chances |
to be man of nearly seventy, ana my |
cousin. Since 1t must be some one, II |
NAV altogether best be you, but L could |
wish YOU were to displace younger and |
less charming man. You will say that L |
am Dreiudiced by kinship. But DIR. Van |
Cleef is at least my tenth cousin, if there |
is such a thing; and, If 1t were true, you |
ought to be the last man to complain OF |
nv sense of the ties of cOnsanguin1ty. lie |
is such fine old gentleman as L fancy |
YOU will scarcely believe they make |
across the water; and he has an interest |
ing daughter. Be careful that you don't |
fail in love with her. It's true L saw her !
several wears ago, and there is no telling |
what she may have bl0ssOmed into. But |
it can't be anything disagreea0le. I've |
seldom met any one who seemed to under |
stand herself better. she knows preclseIy
whittier she is gong. Pray see TO 1t that |
you do!
Il repeat, they are charming people,
for Americans, extraordinarily so. My |
distant cousiuship-the mothers branch, |
of cOurse-was license TO perfect open |
ness. and IN the course Of my visit, when |
1 assure YOU was not brief, should nave |
discovered any ugly little angles, If they |
had any. But they haven't.
"Adieu, my dear boy; l envy you the |
prospect Of seeing people without angles.
So many On my calling list are constantly
tempting me to murmur, The hypotne-
mise of : right angled triangle is equal to
twice the square of the other two sides. is
that it? Sincerely, LUCY AMPREf"
Lady Amprey's lght-hearted plant
reached March lust before he set sail,
and there was no time to assure her tnaL
of course he should not displace her klns-
man. There was not even so much time
as would have enabled him to inform the
Republic of his determination. But
when, six weeks later, be reached New
YORK. he put both Lady Amprey ard the
Imprisoned editor of the Republic into
possession of his intentions. The voy-
age. whose leisure had given opportunity
for a great deal of reflection, had left him
with many hours which ne could only de-
vote to a most active regret for the impulse
which had led HIM to accept post which
was Enthusiastically very dear to an old
man. He read this between the lines OF
Lady Amprey's letter, and his only wish
was that he had read II between the lines
Of the proposal of the Republics editor.
He was quite conscious that he was sur
rendering an oppOrtunity-on which
meant more perhaps to a young man Of
his aims and ideas than IL would nave
meant to almost any one else-but TO give
il UP was immensely less costly than TO
keen it. It was not at all a matter Of
philanthropy, or Of sentimental kindness;
nor had it anything in common with the
unlicensed beneyOlence which is gener-
Gus a great many times week fer the
sake OF seeing itself in the act. he sim
ply could not do it; and having yielded
his chance he spent no mourning upon 1t.
March had long ago investigated himself,
and taken account Of life, and the outlook
had Instructed him that the reasonable
thing was to be happy.
lie had many letters to write on his ar
rival in New York besides those already
named. In his capacity Of spyer-out of
this land of promise, he was, of course,
oblf0nT n rnuGpr an carly aPpOunf of his