Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1886-01-07
THE WHITE LADY.
BY THE AUTHOR OF his welded WIFE,"
"A FATAL DOVER" sir PHILIPS
WARDS" &c.
PART I.-BY JEAN TREDEGAR

nine years before my story opens, and Guy,
my dear and only brother, was born ON the
day which followed his fathers death. l,
though | was three years older than Guy,
could but ndiStinctly remember the tall hand
some man who had tossed me up in his arms
one fine morning, laughingly bidding me be
n good girl and not vex "litte mamma while
he was away, and who was brought home,
few hours after, "A corpse. Scarcely more dis
tinct were my recOllectiOnS OF the little
mamma" he had loved so tenderly. | had
dim vision OF a fair sad face, bright waves OF
chestnut hair, and smile that had no sun
shine in il, smile sadder than Tears.
Such was my mother as remembered her,
totally unlike the bright lovely girl whose
likeness smiled down at us in the old gallery
"a radiant face, graceful head thrown back
with laughing glance at the baby which
she was carrying pick-a-back and yet thai
picture represented my mother and mysek
thirty long years before. Happy years ha6
they BEEN only one heavy cloud having pass
ell over them five years ago To dim their sur
shine-yeaIs passed IN the old Hall which wa
Tredegars held SO proudly and dearly-yeals
Of childish joys and griefs, of the hopes and
aspirations of boyhood and girhood, of the
fuller sweetness and beauty of manhood and
womanhOod, of the bitterness of great sorrow
and the fulness of peace. 1t is with mingled
feelings | recall them now. Yes, the bitter
was very bitter, and the sweet was very
sweet; but-ah me that it should be so i-ths
bitter remains, while of the sweet we can
never taste again. STILL looking back, auntie
Oracle and can think of the happiness with
gratitude, though we cannot yet think of the
~, In x.rifh 4 i'm XNn
be able.
Auntie Oracle was my fathers only sister,
and on his death had come 10 Tredegar,
where she has remained ever since; and She
has never let MS miss either of our parents. l
was educated at home by her and my govern.
eSses; but Guy went to EtOn and Oxford.
finishing up with the grand tour" after
which he settled down quietly mt Tredegar
with us, his great ambition being to spend
the vast fortune which had been accommodating
so long In making his tenants and the VIII
layers perfectly happy and comfortable, turn
ing Tredegar into modern Utopia and do
ing as much good as he could in his day and
generation. If, by the laundering of a fish
ing-smack on our rocky coast. happy wives
were made widows and their children father
less, and both rendered destitute, my broth
eTss purse was always ready; II the owner
of the smack were saved by the lifebOat Guy
had given to and supported at Tredegar, who
would replace the boat which won them bread
II not "the Squire Heaven bless 'em'? So
single-hearted, genial. and frank, dearly and
deseryedly loved small marvel we gloried In
our Guy!
After he had been home with us some little
time, auntie Oracle one day told Guy half
seriously that he ought to marry. i remem-
Der how we laughed at his cOmical face of
distress as he faced her with the assertion
that two women were enough for any one
man to manage, and, having that number al
ready he did not wish any addition. All the
destinations of the neighboring beauties, of
my young-lady visitors, of half dozen pref
ty cousins, every one Of whom might have
been labelled dangerous" seemed lost upon
Guy. Remembering day-dream which
had INDUCED in during the summer of my
life and the rude awakening from which had
settled things for me here, felt sorry that
he should not know the happiness of requit-
ed love; that it would come later did not
doubt.
Three years ago Guy received a pressing
summons from college-friend to join him in
winter tour through the South of France,
whittier he was going to recruit his strength
after long course of hard study which had
very materially affected his usually delicate
health. The friendship between Hugh Cor
don and my brother was very warm and sim
cere, and Guy did not hesitate To accede u
his request. They were 10 winter at Cannes,
Nice, or Mentone, whichever place suited
them best; and, as l babe Guy Goodbye"
said laughingly-
Bring me back a little sister to love, Guy
want some one who will always keep you
at home"
Guy had been gone three months, and we
had heard from him only Occasionally-for,
man-like, he was not very good correspond
ent-when one morning in the beginning OF
March received letter from him enclosing
. a few pretty lines from and photograph OF
one who would ere the autumn be my sister
You will try to love me- sister Jean, il not
for my own sake, then because | love him SO
dearly ran the dainty note. II don't eN-
he does; but, dear, will do my best, my very
"BERTIE LEoNHARDT."
From Guys letter | learnt that Berries
mother was dead, and that her father had
married second time-a young French lady
only five years older than BERTHE herself; thai
they had been living at Mentone ever since
Mr.. Leonhardts death, two years before.
BERTHE was half French, Guy said, having
been entirely educated in France, and she
was just twenty-Sne. The photograph repre-
sented a fair young girl with big dark eyes, a
graceful head, and q very pretty fgure-by
no means beauty, but with something un
common and piquant about her which was
doubtless very attractiye and the little note
so simply charming, bewitched auntie and
me. In couple of months Guy returned
home. He looked well and happy: but there
was change in his manner which we could
not fail TO remark, an added steadfastness In
his dark gray eyes, a sweeter, graver smile
curving his lip.
''Bertie and Mrs. Leonhardt will be here
early next month";" he said quietly to me. 81
think you will love her, Jean; she Is very
frank and true. You are not sorry dear%'
"SprryT' l echoed. Nothing in the world
could make me happier! Love herp Oh
course / shall ~
1t was in that fairest time of the year which
Charlotte Bronte so prettily describes as
''Thc marriage-time of May
With her Young lover June"
LldI DcIlic Cdillc diioilS W., Ncu oNci
one evening, Guy and |, in the pony-carriagt
to the little rOadsde-station which was the
nearest to Tredegar, to meet our guests.
remember wildly all the details of our hap
py drive. Guy, radiant with happiness lik,
q scho0iboy out for holiday, drove along
recklessly, leaving the wagonette which wa'
10 convey the servants and trunks far behind
The soft evening air famed us In our rapie
passage; the little station itself seemed en-
fete, for the station-master had taste fo
horticulture, and, had placed plants and flow
ers wherever he could find space for them
his own little cottage being a perfect bower
while his mother, an old family-servant o
i - 4. tI..I Ian