The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1886-06-13


Yet sometimes In the spring,
When first the daisies peep,
Meihlnks, when am listening,
lie murmurs IN his sleep.
@. w. EHon IN Time.
A LAWN-TENNIS TOURNA NJ ENT.
One summer afternoon q number Of ladies
and gentlemen, seventy or eighty altogether,
was assembled In an Enclosure which resem.
bled large yard. IL was surrounded by a
high wall, and in the centre were a couple
of concrete lawn tennis courts, on which the
sun beat Gercely. One of them was not be-
ing used OH the other burly, brouzed, ED.
erly man with struggling gray hair aud
whiskers was contending against red
headed, stalwart young fellow, whose I'M.
doudtedly excellent play was married by at
fec,ation. AT each end of the not there was
q big barrel, and on the barrel a chair, and
on the chair an umpire with an umbrella
over his head. Perhaps neither umpire
could give quite as much attention to the
game as he should have done, for the
groups around kept upa running fire of COM
ments. Most of the ladies occupied benches
placed along the shady side of tho yard but
there was also goodly show of sunshades
opposite, and row offgures in ilannes aud
| straw hats behind.
On a bench apart from the rest sat two
ladies and lad. One was the wife of the
elderly player, Capt. Wigram; another was
his sister n-law, Miss Hubbard the third
was his son, Godfrey. All three wer. re-
markably alike.-tall, thin, and angular,
with pncbed features, nearly black hair,
and sallow complications not a handsome
trio by any means, hut interesting-they
looked 80 lonely, and were so shabbily
dressed. They scarcely seemed to breathe
as they watched the game, from which their
eyes never wandered for amoment, and when
the Captain, who had doiled coat and waist
coat, and wore a soft hat with n puggaree,
made u successful stroke, their faces bright
ened simultaneously, only to return inme-
diat-ly TO their prevailing expression of in
tense anxiety.
1t cannot be said that their satisfaction on
these occasions was shared by other specla
tors. There was manifest a general disposi-
ton to ridicule Capt. Wigram and applaud
his Young opponent, Basil Moore, who could
do nothing wrong, while the elderly man
could apparently do nothing right. He
showed 10 sign OF annoy ance at tina cruel
iests leveled against him he was too al
sorbed in his game for that but the three
motiomless figures sitting apart qnivered at
every stab. He had gripped his racket more
| UrNly anu Stt us ttttu nt Giareu NJ Two OF
three as if he would have fsled them to thu
ground, their contemptuons Indifference To
him only adding to his wrath and the angry
light that bazed from his eyes was dimly re-
hected in the eyes of his wife and sister
Nobody cheered the Captain but they all
the other people laughed at him, no doubt
without knowing the paiu they were inflct-
ing. And yet, like many big men, he was
light of foot, he was singularly active for his
years, aud he fought with the greatest stub
bornness, shouting alond after each difficult
stroke and necessarily appealing to the UNI
pres.
What was his oilense 7 Firstly, he was Il
talker without tact i'll othsr words, 4 bore,
10 he which is to commit the greatest social
sin. Secondly, he was considered mean and
nggarlly, though in truth the most ahect
poverty was at the root 81 ths matter, and
| only the most strenuous efforts could have
concealed it so long.
The originator of the lawn-tennis tourna.
ment which had caused such stir in Over
bury dnring the last few weeks, and was to
be concluded this afternoon, had been al
| bowed ont of the management because of his
fnssiness, which was decidedly objectionable
to some other fnssy persons However, in
| stead of taking Olfense, no had given way to
the new managers, with his usual good
nature, and entered himself and his family
just as if nothing unpleasant had happened.
There were four competitions altng ether
| one for wives another for husbands, a third
for spins.ers, aud the last for bachelors.
The prizes were TO bs given in money, aud
| AS nearly every body in the town, whether
intending to play or not, had thought it a
matter of duty to subscribe. the amounts
were very considerable. II wac possible, of
conrse, for one family to win everything (.
| iii
practiced brought down upon their heads the
strongest csnsnre. 1t was scandalOus, I'M
principled, the height of meannrss, and
much more to the same pnrport. However,
these good people did not know how very,
| very much few pounds meant to those
whom they censnred so severely.
| Capt. Wigram, into whose circumstances
it is unnecessary to sItar further than the
statement Of their wofui plight, lived in a
tumble down old farm house, situated at
some distance from the town, aud therefore
remote from the prying eyes OF neghbors.
| In the wilderness of decrspit trees, tangled
| hushas aud rank grass that surrounded IL
he had n.s!e q couple of lawn-tennis conrls.
Aud here he mana,nvred his little crew,
roaring his orders at them just as If they
had been at the masthead and he on the
quarter deck, and capering about with mar
velous energy, his white puggaree floating
| away behind. They worked at the game
| from, morning till night, wet or fine when
the sun blaxsl with intolerabls heat they
hoistsd torn aud r"s'y umbrellas, and 30
de1ed him. Now aud again soL.a uasser ly,
psepng through the matted fsncS, wo1ii
| sea them, and wonder when thay fed.
When did they But seldom, fear. They
knew that What they were striving for was
in reality respite fsOHl starvation.
| Tha in.nrlUal ynnlarIullv
silering the short time at their dispo5ai, end
the Captain grew very sangnina. Poor old
| man! he talked little too loudly and
| little too soon abOnt hat his wife oOnid do,
| aud what his sou could do. For when II
| was suddenly proposed that the tournament
should he pay.i, not on the grass, but on the
concrets conrts which had bean constructed
for the new club, his heart sank within him.
| IIa opposed the proposal tooth and nail II
was unfair, and he said 20 with unusual
warmth bnt it was carried against him.
| Once more his good nature reasserted IT,
| self. Those whom his Ontspoken words had
offended he tried to talk into more friendly
mood la volunteered his services to carry out
many things --his own suggestions-whic
were declined without thanks; and finally
hs aud his tronps j0iGe3 the club ani prac
| ticed on the ground as mnoiI IS p0ssl bls dur
| ing the two days which still remained 10
| them. Bat IL cost them u terrible wrench
| for the subscriptions nearly emptied the
family pnr.s, This step, 1t sh0nld bs said,
was taken by the Captain against the wishes
of his wife aud sister, who would beth have
retired from a contest which they considered
hopsless. However, he stood Arm he nsra
| his powerful lungs To breathe courage into
them hs rated them sounily for their COW
ardicr hs predicted their signal Triumph,
In the end they yielded, sWiling 10 order,
yet quakine inwardly, and 80 he ,s9 them
| into the contest.
| Mrs. Wigram was soon out Of il, hut the
others managed to struggle into their "iuals."
When the Captain stood up against Basil
Moore his fs,nily hal still II ohan3s of win
ming three prizes, rmali though 1t was, for
the young man was much the better player
aud knew the ground. The ladies' were
most eager to hack him for countless pairs
| Of gloves, and when the fair Int prudent sex
takes u plunging Jon may be tolerably GER
tain they have gGttsn hold of for-gone con