Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-10-09

money and was amenable on the question
of settlements, so there was a little pre-
liminary lowering, and then came an ex-
tremely frigid proposal. Lady Olivia bent
her stately head and accepted the substan-
tial banker. 1t was October now, and the
marriage was fixed for the early spring.
Once or twice q week Joseph called on his
intended. They sat in state in the Dart
ford drawing.room in Ea~ton-square. Some
times he kissed her hand at parting-it
seemed q matter of supreme indifference to
her whether he kissed the fan or the hand
that held it-and they conversed always in
this way. Lady Olivia is lying back in her
chair locking very beautiful and bored
Joseph is seated on the other side of the
fireplace.
olivia" says her lover, we have had
bad news of my unfortunate brother
Il imagine all news of him must be
bad, she replies in her level accents. 1t
is an extremely painful subject need we
discuss it?"
u think ! must claim your co-opera-
ton, - he answers, in preventing his re-
turn. He is going from bad to worse"
That is material, says Lady Olivia,
" so long as he does not return home"
His letter to-day says Joseph, ." states
that he has squandered all his capital and
that he is absolutely starving, and has
taken a berth az a farm laborer, He seems
TO have associated with the lowest
Kindly spare me any details. 1t is ex-
tremely distressing. He is your brother,
unfortunately, but he has long since been
a social outcast, and, as you are aware, il is
a most painful feature in our future rela-
uonship. ! should prefer dropping the
subject"
From which you can see hat the Lady
! Olivia was possessed, among her other high
qualities, if not exactly of what Carlyle
calls a soft inyincibility, still an inyinci-
bility Of q very definite character.
But although this extremely admirable
couple found Jack such a distressing sub
iect and declined to discuss him las, in fact,
society in general did, to me he was a sub
ject of undying interest, and l am never so
happy as when ! am talking of him, either
on the sly with his poor old father when
| Joseph is safely out of the way, or quite
openly and joyfully with his aunt, old
Lady Betty Pimlico, of whom more mon.
Wasn't Jack mygodson? wasn't | response
| bic for half my dear lads sins? He was
nay dear bad lad all through. Was there
ever such a scapegrace? Surely he was
possessed by all the devils Of mischief,
frolic, riot, and uproar. His school days
were one long rebellion; he infected the
whole school; he was the ringleader in all
mischief. But how the boys adored him
and followed him! He could wheedle
round the sternest Of masters. AT last he
| got beyond all bounds. In a moment of
utter recklessness he arranged an internal
| machine composed of q battery of bottles
OF Bass, which by an ingenious device was
timed to open fire land actually did upon
the head master in the dead of night as he
lay peacefully sleeping in bed. After
that there was nothing to do but
expel him. | went to try TO make peace,
but old Doctor Turner was iniexible.
The lad was demoralizing the whole school,
and ne must go. But for all that the doc
tors eyes were full of tears as he rested his
hands on my poor lads shoulders and
spoke his little farewell sermon OF warning
and advice. So he went home to his
fathers house-he was then Is. He had
demoralizsd the schoo. and he demoraliZed
Us. He kissed all the servant girls, and
they all dotted on him he had four pet
dogs and three horses; he was the boon
companion of all the men servants. l
know that old T%ompkins, the butler, lent
him $50 out of his savings, and the very
stable bows would have laid down their
lives for Master Jack. Joseph came back
from Oxford inst about then, il possible
more decorous thar he went. Il had been
arranged for some years past that Joseph
should enter the bank and Jack the army
so il q few years Jack became Captain
Jack.
1t was one Of the lOyeliest sights in all
London 10 meet old Sir Peter ambling
along Piceadilly, arm in arm with hand
some Jack. How the old man dotted on
himl And amid all his vices, and they
were many, Jack had this one tremendous
virtue-he always adered his father. And
now old Lady Pimlico drifts into this
family history, and she plays an important
part in it.
She was Sir Peters only sister, q widow
childless, supposed TO be wealthy, and
known to be mean. She lived in a little
house in Park-lane q narrow, lean little
house. wedged in between two big ones.
She had the warmest heart and the sEarpest
tongue Of any old lady Lever came across.
Ask her maid jenkins about the tongue,
and leave Jack TO vouch for the heart. |
have several photographs OF this venerable
old lady in my album. Whenever 1 enter
tain NV friends, and conversation days, my
albums are produced, and I doom my
guests to the social penalty Of gazing at and
saying something appropriate about hosts
Of people they have neTer known. Every
BODY saws, directly they see Lady Betty's
photograph, What an extraordinary old
lady p She wore an audacious wig, q ca
pacious brooch, an old brown silk dress,
and on state occasions q quantity OF ex-
tremeiy dirty old lace. Out of doors she
invariably wore an old fur tippet. She was
q valiant old soul, free cfspesch, given much
to questionable stories, hating shams, and
fearing no man, and loving Jack more than
any other creature on earth. She fought
his battles, she paid his debts, she outraged
all the prophecies Tor his sake; and when
that awful business VITA Jack aud Mrs.
Deloraine cropped up, and be had to leave
suddenly for Manitoba, the old lady broke
down and took to her bed for some weeks.
When She got about again she refreshed
herself by trotting over to Harley street
and having q battle royal with Joseph.
How he hated heri She alone had the
power to ruf1e his ~decoruui, and 10 make
his pale face flush and his eyes glsarn.
it was November, and ala the folks had
hocked back from Scotch moors and sea
beach, and the season promised 10 be 8
brilliant one. l went round one afternoon
to call on Sir Peter. Joseph and his
father were sitting together in the dismal
dining-room in Harley street. Sir Peter
was very shaky and silent and Joseph was
more yirtuous and respectable than ever.
lie told me he was going 10 preside at
some philantropic meeting that evening at
Exeter Hall.
Conversation tagged, we all three seemed
sleepy and stupid. 1 did not dare TO ask
about Jack. Joseph kept rambling on in
/ his smooth dec0rc'ls monotone about the
pauper lunatics and discharged prisoners,
temperance 1ssherwomen, and all the rest
of it, when suddenly the servant an
| nounced Lady Pimlico. Joseph's face
changed and hardened, and old Sir Peter
frightened UP. My Lady entered, eyi-
| IDENTIFY in high spirits, more uniidy than
ever. She greeted her brother with afeo-
ton, me with cordially, and Joseph with
five got news" cries the old lady, seat
| ing herself, with her feet on the fender and
her hands on her knees.
saw Sir Peters hands move feebly and
q CLEAN of light pass over his face.
Good news. l hope says Joseph.
" What I call good news" snaps back the
old woman, and what you may cali bad
news. My boy is coming hcme."
In al instant l could see the sorroW and