The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1886-05-07
CHAPTER II.

Kingscourt wears ''ermine too deep for an
EARL when Hereward sees it for the first time.
For Blount's persuasions, renewed day by
day, together with various considerations of q
mercenary nature which forced themselves
upon him whether he would or not, have in
duced him to accept the ptoffered post.
He has left the train at Kingsleigh, some
three miles from his destination, and is fin
ishing his journey on foot. They have sent
no conveyance to meet him from Kings
court-perhaps he hardly er .,ected any-but
ounce, and carries his thin valise with very
high hand.
There Is thick covering of snow on the old
stone gateway as he passes under it, shaping
itself to the three great arches with grotesque
vagueness. Wide tracks of untrodden snow
lie in smooth fluctuations, family intimating
the whereabouts of carriage-drive and sunk
fences and garden-beds. The ornamental
water lying in hollow to the left shows only
black expanse of ice, broken in places for
the swans, who look anything but white to-
day. The beautiful old red-brick house is
itself picked out with icing, like Christen-
ing-cake, every stone mulion and transom,
every high-peaked roof, every stack of twis-
ted chimneys, bearing its burden of snow.
The terrace-steps, the open-work stote bal
ustrades, are delicately tipped and touched
with downy white, even the dead geraniums
in the muffled stone vases assume new beauty
from their glittering shrouds. The blue
brown of the distant woods behind the house
and the cold clear blue of the sky give colour
and depth to as fair winter picture as one
might care to see. But Hereward does not
care to see it. Neither his feelings at the
moment, nor his great-coat, are such as to
make walking in snow or snowy weather de-
sirable
He marches up to the great door and
stares at the coat-of-arms carved above it
while he waits the answer to his almost saw
age pull at the bell-an answer long in COM
ing. Perhaps from the window of some
lower region the gallant gay domestics" have
watched his approach, and are measuring to
q nicely delay equivalent to the shabbiness
of his great-coat. But there is period even
to the pause incumbent upon their dignity and
Hereward finds himself conducted through
great dim hall, not half lighted. and as cold
as death, to an anteroom scarcely less cold,
and there left to await the pleasure of the
Countess.
There is no fire in the CRATE, no vestige of a
fire having been there at any period, however
remote. The walls above the high wainscot
are hung with tapestry, and the tapestry wav-
ers in invisible draughts of air. There is not
merely the GOODNESS of snow and winter in
the room. there is the deadly chillness of
vault. Hereward, standing ON the rug before
the empty fireplace, longs for his sunny
window and his old bear-skin rug, and per-
haps for liberty.
In about half an, hour the Countess be-
thinks herself of him. He finds her in q
small, almost oppressively warm room lined
with rich old-fashioned chintz, and having
comfortable chairs and lounges, also chin;z-
covered. A diminutive black-and tan terrier
starts up from the deecy white rug before the
fire and barks energetically at Hereward with
an absurdly small bark, ringing the silver
bell attached to its collar as it takes up var
lous coigns of vantage. The lady leaning
back in q small easy-chair directly In front of
the fire strikes him as being very wrinkled
and yellow, and that is all.
''Mr. Hereward, believe
Hereward bows coldly.
pray be seated. What severe weather, is it
not? You walked from Kingsleigh? How
very pleasant to be able to do so! am such
a wretched invalid that 1 dare not venture
out during the winter in this climate"
Hereward finds himself listening to her
voice with strange feeling of pleasure, inso-
much that he forgets his grievance. There
Is certain popularity i'll It's accent, in its in
tonatlon, which he has never observed in any
other voice. Bat then he has never heard o
Countess speak before, very probably.
II am sorry my son is out this moment
He rode over to Nettlewood after luncheon.
have heard very pleasant things about you