The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-01-17

! come IA she hoped, a iIrst- lass govcrn"ss,
and who poor thing, 10y reason Of natural
thickness would never roach even the third
/ rank Iris would have becn sorry for her,
/ because she worked so hercely aud Wa 50
stupid but there vas something hard aud
unsympathe ia tier nature which forbade
pity. She Nns rui4rably poor, too, and had
an unsuccesS 'ul father, no doubt rs stupid
rs hcr,-l' and made pittul excuse,
for not To- wsrding th. slender ices Nth
regularity
! Everybody who is poor should lie, on tina,
ground alone, worthy Of pity and sympathy.
But the hardness. and stupidity, and il-tern'
yer, nil combined and clearly shown N her
letters, repealed her tutor Iris who drew
imaginary portraits Of her pupils, pictured
the girl rs plain 20 look upon, with dull
eve, a lea thery, pallid check, a forehead
without sunshine upon IL and lips which sol.
dom parted with asmile.
Then there was, besides, a Cambridge un
aergrsduate lie was neither clsy.r nor
ind US tr ious. nor very ambitious he th6urhi
that molerats place was quito COOL
enough for him to aim at, and hs founi that
tnis unknown and obscure tutor by cor
re,pondence wa, cheap and oblising, AMI
willing 70 take trouble, and quito a. efllca-
Cambridge coach. Iris presently discovered
that he was lazy and luxurious, n dcceiver
~ himself lweler in FOOLS Paradise, and
a consisten: sAirkar Of work. Therefore,
she dslikcd him. Had she actually known
him and talk1d with him she might have
liked him tetter in spite of those faults and
shortcomings, FOR he was really pl asant
easy-guins youth, who wallowed ia intel.ec-
q. l.,,NI ,b,-c, al aNfi utt hp
will presently drop easily. and comfortably,
and without an effort or doubt, into the
bosom OF the church, and will develop later
on into an admirable country parson, un.
less they di,estabiish the Establishment; in
| which case, do not know what hs will do.
! But this other man, this man who was
coming tor.an explanation, this Mr.. Arnold
Arbuthnot was If you please, a very dix.
! ierent kind Of pupil, In the first place he
| was gentleman, a fact which he displayed,
but not ostentat,ously, in every line o. his
letters next, he had come 10 her for iustruc-
tion-tha only pupil sho had in that science,
! in heraldry. which she loved. II is far more
pleasant to be describing shield and setting
questions in tho queer old Ian auage OF this
| queer old science than in solving and pro-
posing problems in trigonome.ry and comic
Il
gins to talk rouni the subject ami to wander
into other thinssi You cannot very we'll
talk round a branch Of mathematics, hut
| heradry is a subject surrounded by fields
meadows and lawns 50 to speak, all covered
with beautiful flowers Into thess the pupil
wandered and Iris not unwilingly followed.
! Thus the teaching Of heraldry by CORES
| rondence became the mos, delightful inter-
change ot letters imaginable, set of and en-
riched with curious and strange p.quancy
derived from the iact that one OF them, sup
posed TO be an elderly man, Wa, young
girl, ignorant OF the world except from
books, and the advice given her BY two old
men, who formed all her society. Then, as
was natural, what was at first a kind Of
play became be ore long a serious and earn
est contid mes on the one sids and a hestat-
Ing reception on the other.
Lattery he more than once amused him
self Ivy drawing an imaginary portrait OF
her: it was a pleasing portrait but it made
her feel uneasy.
Il know you" no said, from your letters,
but yet | want to know you in person.
| think you are a man advanced in years"
Poor irs ami she not yet twcnty-ona.
you sit in your study and read you wear
glasses and your hair Is gray; you have
kind heart and cheerful voice; you are
not rich--yOu have never tried to make
yourself rich; you are therefore little
versed in the ways Of mankind Won take
your ideas chiefly from books: the few
friends you have chosen are true and loyal;
you ara full OF sympathy, ana quick to
read the thoughts Of thoso in whom you
take an interest" A very fine character,
but it made Iris'3 cheek TO burn and her
eyes TO drop To be sure she was not rich,
nor did she know the world; so far her pupil
was right, but yet she was not gray nor old.
And, again. she was not as he thought, a
man.
Letter writing Is not extinct, as it is n
commonplace 10 affirm, and as people would
have us believe. Letters are written still
the most del ght'ul letters-letters as copious,
az charming as any OF the last century; but
men AM women no longer write their letters
as carefully as they used TO do in the old
days, becau-e they were then shown about
and very likely read aloud. Our letters,
therefore, though their sentences are not so
balanced nor their periods 50 rounded are
more real, mora truthful, more spontaneous,
and more delightful than the laborous pro
ductions OF our ancestors, who hal 10 weigh
every phrase and 10 think out their mOts,
epigrams ana smart things for weeks be-
forehani, 50 that the letter might appear
full OF imTromptu Wit ! should ike, FOR in
stancs, just Tor once, TO rob the outward or
the homewagd mail, in order TO read all the
delightful letters which 90 every week back
wards ami forwards between the folk IN
India AMI tho folk 40 home
Il shah lose my letters Fri, reflected,
an her near; sank. Not only did her CORE
,p,ndeut osgia 70 draw these imaginary
portraits % her, but he preceded 70 urge
upon her 10 come DOT Of her conrealment
ANA t0 grant Inn an interview This she
might lave refused in her desire b continue
a correspondence which bri ghtencd her
monJ.ouous lilo. But there came another
thne and this decided her. He began 20
give, and cg ask, opinions concerning love,
marriage and such topicy-and tuen she per
ceiyed II could no; possibly b. discu-sel
with him, even in domino AMI male dis
guiya As for love- her pupil wrote, Il
suppgse II is 4 real and not L .aucai ncces-
sty OF lie A man, mean, may 20 on
long time without IL, Tut there " % come a
time--!1 not you think E9l-wben he ia
bound % feel the incompietencss Of life