The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1886-04-30

De better lar.
"Perhaps So" Mrs. Lane sold quiet
ly. But the cottage would cost mo
sixty or seventy pounds a year, where.
as here save all that, and the girls
can move about so much more,
II see that, but" and her sister
from Gypsy Hill looked up and looked
down, and then looked round the real
ly fine drawing room.
"But, you would say, we should not
get such rooms?" Mrs. Lane had a
spice OF quizzical humor underlying her
quietness.
Indeed. no; was thinking of no
such point"
"But we really should not; and now,
after so many years Of colonial open
air life, must have space. The cos.
termongers will not trouble us in the
winter-now, the windows are all
open."
1t was summer, and one could hear
every sound-shouts of selling; SQUAD
bling Of cross, tired children; the rat
thing of the chains of barges; aye, and
the rustling OF the leaves Of the trees
in the garden, and in the lull of other
sounds, even the soft swish of the in.
coming tide against the old stone
foundations OF the Shore House.
Here Maud came in with handful
OF ruddy carnations for her aunt The
smoke of factories did not prevent
their growing llalf-wild in the old gar-
den. Maud was going off that evening
for few days visit to Gypsy Hill, and
she meant to show that the Shore
House garden could do as well as any
OH the score of carnations. She was
q fair, ycllow.haired girl, not by any
means vulgarized by the Shore House
locality, but as sweet and refined as
any girl could be.
Bessie and Nan were the other two
dark girls both OF them, and in that
like their father. Bessie was home on
ly that very day from q weeks stay
in London. Nan was the stay.at.
home daughter.
The August evening drew on. Aunt
Mary had driven off in a cab with
Maud, and the usual course of things
drifted on. The river-breezes, soften
ing the blaze of daytime, came now to
be chilly, and the windows were closed.
Then Nan sat down to the piano-the
girl played unusually well-and the
two others each took q book. Pre-
tence for both of them! Mrs. Lane
never even found her place, but open
ing the volume, and fixing it on her
knee, with her hand ON its open page,
she began to say: "Had Bess seen
such person? heard how such anoth-
er was getting ON?
And Bessie apswered-answered
quite distinctly, but nevertheless in
such way as her mother detected to
be new way. The girl was thinking
of something outside her words, and
as she answered she carried her book
to the window, seemingly so interested
in its contents as to be unable to spare
q moment for what her mother, want:
ed-a nice chat. She had by mistake
taken up adictionary which Maud had
chosen to consult for some bubble Of
spelling.
Mrs. Lane had seen this, and smiled
to herself.
When the cleaning had gathered q
bit more, and Mans fingers were wan,
dering amongst the dreamy, sad fan
cies Of Chopin, Mrs. Lane said.
"Come here, Bess DEAR" she was on
a sofa, and she made the girl sit at hel
, feet on furry rug. 1T was a stupid
visit then, after all?"
"Stupid? It was heavenly"
Bessie was given to impulses.
"Heavenly! with Mrs. Clay laid up
and all the boys off for their holi
"Just so, mumsie dear. ia bette,
make a clean breast of it at once
hadn't l? Invent on Wednesday, and
. the boys were off on Saturday-thret
clear evenings, you see, for me to enjoy
the charms OF their society, and''-
shestopped for a second, "and the so
ciety Of their friends" Here bit o
lace trimming ON her muslin dress
gave a little scratching noise-hei
fingers had torn it,. "Bother!"
"My dear Bess?" her mother criei
in her calm way.
1.-THE bother belongs to the tori
lace, my dearest, not to-to-the othel
) thing. Shall I tell your" The cir
turned her face round to her mother.
"You had better dear, Ishould say.
Mrs. Lane did not feel calm in hel
innermost heart. Mothers get pre-
!, sentiments,
q You knew that clint DOy!
"Clint boy?"
, DWELL, scarcely a hoy, l suppose
a seeing he is OF the ripe age of 81. H,
= has actually asked me to marry him
Presumption, isn't it?"
"If you think so. l suppose you
told him so?"
"N[umsie dear, could l be SO rude!'
and Bess linked her hands upon he
, mothers knee. "But I mean it Sc
! riously-quite true!" she nodded. {"
mean it's quite true that he wishes
wishes-what said just now"
"Dear, dear, and you only nineteen!'
81 feel fifty, dear, really, ever since
came home, and have had time to thinl
it over"
We need not give any more of thil
, conversation; fact, looming in TIN
future, grew out of it, and became ,
} very present reality. Bess was en-
, gagged, and would, early in the comm,
} year, be married to Michael Clint.
| It was certainly not O brilliant out
look. Young Clint had no prospect,
| in England, but had the promise of /,
clerkship-a first rate clerkship-in ,
, merchants house at Valparaiso.
"And," said Aunt Mary, "if thegirl.
, had had more suitable home-societ,
they would not become so fond o
j gadding about, and would not hav'
known so much of their friend,
brothers friends. You'll see I an
right, Elizabeth, when they all hav,
: done the same thing"
Whereat Mrs. Lane drew up hel
; pretty fair head, and answered in 4
lower voice than usual:
, Ishall be content, Mary with othel
sons-in-law if they equal Michae
Clint"
Christmas was over, and the Shor,
house had much business going on il
it. 1t was only natural that Mrs
Lane should shrink from the idea O
J losing Bess-perhaps her tavorite child
; because SO much the opposite of her
self-but she looked upon the starting
, in life abroad as nounreasonable mat
, ter. Had she not done the same her
self, and had not her husband made
the Bar0adian home a paradise fol
. her? He had not left her rich. but he