The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-06-20

you go to the charity ball or other mixed as.
sembly, upon asking the names of the most
Notwithstanding men you will fird them
| nobodies. l never inquire now-it Is toe
painful to be told that the noble-pr esenced
man who smiles SO condescendiL<'v Is Mr..
Smith, whilst that other insignificant-lookin
being /. Lord This or the Duke of That. 1t
upsets ones cherished ideal as to what the
aristocracy should be,
Beatrice Clauson, then, was very fair see,
and had what silly people call thorough
brel look. Fond as those amiable men, her
uncles, We're of the girl, she was douby dear
to them because that look was Individually
owing to the Talbert strain OF blood in her
veins.
This morning she threw books, music paint
ing, everything aside, and played with her
new toy. 1t was Saturday. The Tables"
who invariably went shopping together, were
bound to Blacktown to buy groceries. Before
starting, Herbert found his way to Beatrice,
and asked her II she had any commissions to
DO executed in the city. He discovered her
with flushed face and rumpled hair romping
with the child. He watched them with amuse-
ment then, going up stairs, found after a little
search in one Of the attics some antiquated,
battered toys, which five and thirty years
ago had been dear to Horace and himself.
He carried them down stairs, and Beatrice
thanked him for the kindly thought and act.
When, in a few hours time, the brothers
drove back with a wagonette full Of tea,
coffee, sugar, yellow soap, house flannel,
Bath stone, emery paper, or whatever else
was needful to make the wheels Of house
hold management run smoothly, they found
Beatrice still engrossed by her charge They
| did not say much to her. Saturday was too
busy day to think of anything save the af-
| fairs Of the house, and as many precious min
utes had been wasted in making inquiries at
| Blacktown station, the brothers were hardly
pressed for time-so hardly pressed that
when, about four O'Clock, the curate called
they sent their apologies by Whitaker, and
| left their visitor to be entertained by Miss
| Clauson.
The Rev. Sylvanus Mordle, when he
! thanked Heaven for the many blessings it had
bestowed upon him, always excepted the name
he bore from the list. 1t was, he told himself
| a particularly terrible name-doubly so when
its owner was clergyman. He felt it to be
provocative of laughter, if not of contempt
| Even as Howard, a Talbot, Montmorency
or Plantagenet is called upon to live up to
| the great name he bears, Mr. MorCile found it
| incumbent on himself to endeavor to live
away from his singular designation To
| counterfeit the sinister effects of such
name he felt compelled to affect an air
of cheerfulness even under the most trying
circumstances which fully justify mans
| looking lugubrious. He considered his
name a great drawback to him in his
professional career. The gift which every
young clergyman fancies he possesses, of
preaching imprisoned sermons, was sadly
shorn by his name In this perverted age,
when runs are not considered signs of social
depravity, Mr.. Mordle felt sure that tear in
his eye--even the delivery of a pathetic SER
mon-would be fatal. The least lachrymose
tendency in manner or words would present
too great temptation to be resisted by weak
human nature; in spite OF the best intentions
the word ''mordling" must suggest itself
A surname one can not choose any more
| than one can choose q dark or a fair skim
but whilst the curate was willing to allow
that tho name of Mordle was an unavoidable
congenital misfortune, its conjunction with
| Sylvanus he looked upon as foul crime, and
reviled the godfathers and godmothers who
had tackled such soft-sounding appellation
on to Mordle.
On the principle Of living it down, he was
always brisk and CHEEKY in his manner. 1t
was never too hot, never too cold, never too
sunny, never tho windy for the Sylvanus
Mordle He preached almost merry sermons
conveyed in short, incisive sentences, ratified
out in a quick, decisive, ute-beyond-doubt
way. His phrases followed one another like
| the detonations of cracker. They seemed
designed to slap the listener on the breast,
| and hammer and hammer away at that sim
| hardened receptacle, as if meaning by series
| of repeated blows to enforce conviction and
| obedience. They were crisp, strong, muscular
| exhortations, eminently suited to the spiritual
needs Of the poorer parishioners. Only when
| he preached funeral sermon could Mr. Nor
| dies STYLE be cavilled at. On such an occasion
he was bound to be doubly careful not to get
his manner mixed up with his name, so some
| times his discourse did not quite satisfy the
bereft relations and grieving friends.
But funeral sermon was only due to de-
| ceased member of one of the families of
| position moreover, Oakbury Is healthy
| spot, and when an important death did occur
| the rector was usually in his place to do his
| duty. So the Rev. Sylvanus managed very
| we'll
For the rest, he was a man OF about thirty,
pleasant-looking and popular, not disdainful
OF tho good things OF tnlS WOrlu, YET nob nan-
kering after them-doing the whole work Of a
curate and three-fourths Of that of rector
! for one hundred and twenty pounds year.
| It was lucky he had good constitution and a
small fortune Of his own
This afternoon Mr.. Mordle felt the Tai
| berts' excuses no slight to himself. He
| begged the brothers might not he disturbed
He was quite content that Miss Clauson
should entertain him tete-a-tete as long as
possible. He inquired if any news had ar
| rived about the missing mother; then, turn
| ing his attention to the child, went through q
variety of those little actions which grown-uo
people, rightly or wrongly, suppose ingra
tiate children. Noticing how the pretty boy
chung to Beatrice he complimented her on
her rapid conquest Of his affections-a COM
pliment in which Miss Clauson might have
found deeper meaning lurking had she
cared to look for 1t. He would have called
much earlier to learn what had transpired,
but had been compelled to attend funeral
several miles off. He alluded to the melan-
choly reason for his delay with as much
cheerfulness as many people mention we'd
ding.
| "a nd where are your unclesn he asked.