The news., 1885-07-14

and, Jack, what makes you stop in
Bristol? Why don't you return to Lon
don?"
Because like the air here" said l.
'Have you given up your town
lodgings?"
mo"
"Can you afford to keep two sets Of
rooms going on something under two
hundred and fifty pounds year ;
cried he.
81 must endeavor to do So" | re-
piled.
Sophia" he exclaimed, 81 suppose
you can guess why Jack sticks to Bris-
tol ?"
"It is not hard to understand she
answered.
"Well," continued he, talking to her
as though / were not present, "it
proves that he is in earnest. And as
that's so, he ought not to miss our en-
couragement and good will. Heknows
Florence through us; he can charge us
with having shown him the road into
this business, and we're bound not to
leave him up to his waist in it, more
especially since old Hawkes. behavior
has relieved us of all sense of duty
towards our neighbor."
Don't trouble about me-, said l..
"If Pm up to the waist now, I'll
scramble out by and by somehow, de-
pend upon it."
My uncle left his chair and walked
about the room, and shortly after
wards my aunt went away, being
signalled by him to do so, as might
judge by the manner of her going.
When the door was closed upon her
my uncle asked me where had taken
lodgings. l told him. He then in
quired at what charge should be, and
this question, also, | answered.
"You have made up your mind to
leave us ?" said he
81 have" said ], land for the reasons
| have given"
"All right p said he, well say no
more on that head. If you had stayed
we should have been glad. Since You
won't stop you must go, But what is
your scheme? what do you hope to do
by living in Bristol? Surely Florence
isn't pledged to you, is she? Hang me
if I'm not in the mind 10 believe any
thing"
81 wish she were," cried l. Loving
her as l do-as she knows l do-and
| say thank God for that do you
thing could go and put a hundred
miles of railway between us? may
be acting like fool, or, what is the
same thing. like a very young man;
but while Miss Hawke remains single
must keep near her, in the hope of
meeting her, of talking to her, of win
ming her love-and-"
Boiling with her, dye mean?" he
asked.
/ made no answer.
well" said he, "boil me alive,
Jack, if you don't deserve all the
luck you may get. Upon my word
this business is like one of those
romances used to read when lad,
when the heroine elopes with the
hero in thunder storm, and returns
with her husband after many adven-
lures, to receive the tremulous bless
ing of her aged father, the duke"
Seeing, however, that this banter
was not much to my taste, though
forced sickly grin while he talked,
he grew serious, said that though he
did not find fault with me for falling
in love with Florence Hawke and
clinging to the place in which she
lived, l ought not to forget that my
prospects, so far as she was concerned
were exceedingly small; for first | had
to make her in love with me, and had
l substantial reasons for supposing
could succeed Second in order tC
make her in love with me it was neces
sary that we should meet; and how
was that to be managed, now that
had left his house and was tabooed BY
her father? Third, even if | induced
her to meet me, and succeeded il
gaining her love, did | think she wa
likely to defy her father by so bolC
and reckless step as an elopement
and if / did not suppose her capable o
any action of that kind, what ideai
was | fattering myself with? HI
would tell me this: that unless coulC
get her to bolt with me should nevel
win her as wife: and since there wa
no girl he ever remembered meeting
less likely to elope than Florenc'
Hawke, he would earnestly advise m'
not, indeed, to relinquish my pur
suit; there was no harm in my takin;
lodgings in Bristol; it was healthie
place than London; its temptations wer,
few, and could save money, but
not to allow my hopes of success t,
gather too much weight, lest disap
pointment should prove severer pun
ishment than had any suspicion of.
He talked to me, indeed, very mucl
as old Crusoe talked to young Robin
son; and, as with that famous persol
so, had allowed my uncle's counsel
to influence me, | should have beel
spared some adventures very nearly a
strange and surprising as those whicl
befel Defoe's hero; though to be sure
they were not limited to an uninhah
tied island, nor did they last, than
goodness, eight-and-twenty years
After he had eased his mind by lee
turing me, my uncle seated himself q
writing table and asked me hoy
long was likely to use the lodgings
had taken. | told him ! had no nc
ton "But how long," says he, "d'y
mean TO give yourself either to wi
the girl or to drop all thoughts of her?
replied that there was no good i
asking me questions of that kind as
was impossible for me to answer then
"Do you reckon" says he, ION stoT
ping in Bristol six months ?"
well" said l, laughing at his in
portuning me in this manner, =
ought pretty well to know where l al
at the end of six months ?"
On this he pulled open drawer an
took out a check-book and, aftt
making some calculations on pieC