River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-11-05
KITTY DELANE.

IIdNtISiOil - O4lt VI TIC lLiih Wv AH
of which at once the best and the worst
that can be said is. that they are with
in comparatively convenient reach of
London The advantages of such
position are too obvious to need point
ing out; the disadvantages arise main
ly from the absence of any sense of
self-sufficiency. of corporate unity and
integrity. The inhabitants depend for
the most part on London for their bust
ness and amusement, and there Is
nothing to counterfeit the shifting in
stability which constitutes one of the
leading difficulties of life in the suburbs,
where society is cut up into sets,
cliques and factions, the edges of which
overlap uncomfortably aud where the
range of ones acquaintance is deter
mined neither by the well-detned social
qualification of an old country town,
nor by the wide freedom of choice in
the matter OF friends which Londoner
prefers even to fresh air, green fields
and a low horizon. Yet everywhere
there are pleasant people to be found,
and in Haverston the rule was well il
lustrated by the set of which the Hal
lams and Delanes were the most popu-
lar members. The Delanes were a
large family, all more or less charming,
from Mr.. Delane, who had given W
the bar for the quiet pursuits of liter
allure and botany, and Mrs. Delane, of
whose sweet face and sympathetic ma
ture no one could ever speak warmly
enough, to the sturdy little boys of
four and five. whose inseparable figures,
golden haired and blue-blOused, were
familiar to every one in the place.
But the third girl, Kitty, just turned
twenty, was perhaps the greatest favor
lite of all. She was her mother over
again, people said, meaning that she
had not only the same delicately refined
face and winning manners, but that she
was uniformly kind unselfish and gen
tie. Her chief friend was Grace Hal
lam. whose quick sightedness and most
rare sagacity made her the best possible
companion for a girl of Kitty difiident,
self contained nature. The two had
grown up together, and without much
| interchange of sentiment had reached
! that stage of mutual confidence which
| transcends all uttered condolences as
surely as the quality of resolution trans
cends all defined resolutions.
The Italians and DelaneS lived with
in stones throw of one another, on
opposite sides of a hilly lane. Their
nearest neighbors were some people OF
| the name of Field, who sounded a some
what lower note on the gamut of cul-
| tivation, but with whom they were, al
most of necessity, on terms of Intimacy.
/ The children from all three houses
PLAYED together and it was impossible
to drop old habits merely because the
divergence of breeding showed more
distinctly as they grew up.
George Field, the eldest. had been a
pleasant. handsome boy, and in the old
DAYS Kitty had taken to him kindly
enough; but n change for the worse
! came over him as he reached manhood
/ ana now IIlt 2itl SuIdUk iIblu MS
/ clumsy familiarities SPOILED by his
wealthy parents he had conceived an
| intense belief in himself. and n strong
confidence in his own good looks, abil-
1 tiles and powers of fascination, which
completely overlaid his one good vir-
I tue of good nature with acrust of blind
egot:sm and stupidity. The tall, big
Young man, with his fat. impassive
I face and heavy manner. possessed no
| quality likely TO gain favor in kltty'S
/ faStidious eyes. yet for some time he
! had chosen to assume condescendingly
/ ioverlike attitude towards her, and to
annoy h6r with awkward civilities.
! Her efforts to convince him of the
! fruitleSSnesS of his attentions remained
Quite without effect; conscious of his
wealth and infinite superiority to any
other man i'll HayeFStOD, he persisted
! in considering himself a favored sutton
/ That he should ever have rival seem
ed to him hardly possible. Yet the
/ dav came when the truth flashed upon
him with unpleasant distinctness that
other people at any rate. saw the mat
/ ter from different point of view, and
! that his pTetenSiOnS were being en-
danocred by man whom he himself
had been rash enough to introduce to
Kitty. A schoolfellOw had written To
him one day asking if there were any
houses in Haverston, to be let for the
season. and George had replied in the
affirmative. with the result that pretty
house on the hill was taken for three
months By the Sehool-fellQw father.
Gen. James. The Fields made the
most of the very slight acquaintance
between the two young men. spoke
Familiarity of 1.-THE general and trotted
out Georges friend, Oliver
James, on every possible occasion.
Young James submitted with a grace
that concealed his amusement. At
first he seemed but slender boy, but
the impression of his extreme youth
contributed by a slight fair moustache,
a pair of frank gray eyes, and an I'M
pulSive manner. wore off on nearer ac-
duaintance. No one could have con-
trasted more completely at all points
with George Field. 1t was the differ
ence between cart horse and a race
horse. Oliver James was excitahle.
agile of limb and brain, good at games
ready of tongue. delightfully."- free of
self consciousness, chiFalrously court
I Il mir, nm,