Daily Republican., 1885-03-25

by CIJY DE RAYMOND.

US, just from the hot, overcrowded city
were the trees and grass no fresh ant
green, the sky no soft and blue or tn.
air so sweet and balmy.
1t WAS country life pure and simple
| and from morning until dewy eve W,
| roaned about the place, amusing our
selves singly or In groups, or piouicket
in body down In the swo set, cool grow.
where tie delicious sunshine filtered
through ltafy branches and tlccked tn,
velvet turf with fantastic shadows
And in tie evening there were tn,
pleas int strols down the country lane
tor those " bO preferred poetry and stal
| gazing Ia the music and lively chitcha
| Ut the parlors
Merrill Meadows was a picturesque
old place which had une xpectedly come
iRto the possession OF my friend, Tom
Merrill, through the will of some dis.
| tant re alive, aud he ard his gay
little wiie were making their FIRST sum.
mer spent there bright with the pres
enc1 1T half n doz or No young
| friends.
There were ~ me extraordinarily pref.
~ giris among The rumb.r, but by
long Odds the pretiiest and proudest Of
them all Was III x Wilders, "a cousin of
Toms ~iit--a tsl qu-eply girl, with
bright chestnut hair, broad brow and
brilliant eyer, y hose ex act shade il was
hard to catch, such q dazzling way
they had of changing color and express.
sion with every passing mood.
She Was pleasant and gay, however,
| with all her queenliDess, and was on
the beat of terms with all Ravo Cecil
Mayer, q promising yonng journalist
whose bright talents were beginning to
attrac, considerable attention.
IL wss hard to understand Meg's
apparent aversion toward him, for his
manners were at orce agreeable and
modest, while a certain quiet air of
power about him seemed to indicate
that he could, at all times. be master of
the situation ifhe chose.
Yet, clearly, Miss Winders would
have none Of him. A little laughter
lift OF her graceful, glossy head, a little
added chillineas in her sweet, proud
tones, whenever she was obliged to
address him, told the story unmistaka-
bly,.
Cecil took it COO ly, though some of
us knew that be had lost his heart to
the scornful beauty at first sight. A
sudden flash of his keen gray eyes, or
a slight compression of those firmly cut
lips under his dropping mustache, WAS
the only sign which betrayed the least
| consciousness of the iady's dislike.
Mrs. Merrill was much annoyed
one could easily eee that, though she
wisely passed IL by without remark.
But, II there was one more person in
The house more favored by her than
another, il was Cecil Mayer, with his
quiet, brilliant wit, his cool, easy man.
uers, and that je ne Bais quot, which
made him 30 interesting a companion
| always.
am sure ! can't imagine why Meg
is ~ provoking" said she, quite sym
pathe ically, one warm afternoon " hen
all were scattered about ON the green,
SHADY lawn. zone would think she
considered yon quite all ogre, when y GU
are really -"
She checked herself there with a lit
| tie laugh and glance that convey ed
volumes Of compliments to the hand
some fellow laZily reclining on the
I grass at her feet, talking and occasion.
ally reading TO his fair companion some
| extract from favorite poet.
What a pity, thought Mrs. Merrill,
! that he should have 10 waste his elo-
| Quence upon married woman who did
not care pin for flirting that Meg
was not there to have her proud heart
stirred to it's d, pths by those low, thrill.
/ inRtones of his, which always added ten
fold to the effectiveness of any thing he
read,
But, of course, Meg was anywhere
save within listening distance of that
beguiling voice just now she was
yards away, sitting under an ancient
oak with young Drayton, who certainly
1 did mt mn Aeaa anv danuarauo oifta "a
| fascin alton, if one might judge from
| his listeners bored expression.
Cecil Mayors glance wandered over
,, He had very keen eyes and, perhaps,
detected something below TIC surface O;
| Meg's manner which her vexed cousin
had failed to see.
| At any rate, he shrugged his shout.
ders slightly and answered his pretty
hostess with smiling conposure.
"Don't worry on my account, Mrs
Merrill" he said. 1t will all come
right in time. Miss Wilders Is queen
OF Merrill Meadows. and it would III
become one of her loyal subjects t.
murmur at little pardoDable disdain
on the part of his sovereign lady. In
fact" he added, coming down abruptly
nom the height of poetry to the level OF
! prosy truth. rather like 1t.
believe he did, At least, l was
strongly of that opinion the next day
when moonlight excursion was plan
ned to a neiGhboIinR grove and som,
one suggested that Meg should ride with
Mr.. Mayer. She turned, with coldl,
flashing ey Oh, upon the daring individ
ual STinO proposed it.
W'h Mr.. Mayer-I ?" she asked
an xcs hAuteur, impossible to describe
iu her tone. 81 will not"
/ Another man would have been crush
ed by blow like that from the belle o
the party. Cecil merely bit his lip anl
| smiled
The evening passed in the usual way
Meg was brilliant as ever surrounded
by her circle of admirers. Cecil asket
her for one waltz, which she rathe
haughtily granted, but when with hin
how different was her manner. All tn,
gayety, the sparkle was gone, ant
nothing but coolest civility remained
She would not be too rude to her cousin
guest, but there 1t ended.
BY and by somebody who Likes
kissing proposed an old fashioned gam,
of forfeits, to which all l.ughingly az
sented but Meg, who proudly refuse,
TO join it.
The game went on, however, and a
last 1t came Cecil Mayors turn to pay
kiss the one you love best" wa
the startling order he had to ODE,
before his forfeit could be redeemed.
Meg was looking On little curiously
She was out of the game and sitting
little apart from the players, 30 sh
imagined she had nothing to fear
What was her surprise and indignation
therefore, when Cecil Mayer came di
rectly toward her.
NUtth ,N,,lsa aba t-roa1 q