Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-05-24

or passionate admiration, Which seemed L
fash out in spite of himself. and were rea
enough. Now behold, the time of tria
came. and he was eager to hand her over
to another. How coul she have been 50
5lind-so deluded? Her rage was more
against herself than against him. Her
long slender fingers clutched the arms of
the seat with feverish force. in her agony
and self-contempt. How could she have
been so weak, so conceited, as to suppose
that she had become all in all to such a
man as st. John Lisles Yet, yet he did
admire her and seek herl A hundred in
stances crowded on her memory which
might well have misled her: important
trit1eS which could not have occurred had
he not loved her at the time. If he had,
why did he change so suddenly? What
had she done to forfeit the tenderness of
which she was so sure? No! She was not
all sel-deceived. He was false, tickle
cruel-she might be less hard upon her
SELF AS to poor Waring, she bestowed
sal&Il consideration on his honest affection
for her. OF all the house-party at Har-
roWby Chase, she had taken least notice
of him. Their previous intercourse had
consisted Of a few meetings at evening
parties, where he had perseveringly asked
her to dance, and she had as perseveringly
endeavored to evade him. OF this he was
unaware, as her manners were softly gra-
cious, and she hated to give pain.
Now this ungracefU!, shy, inarticulate
young man was thrust upon her by Lisle,
who had so often turned him into ridicule
Anything was good enough for girl who
was penniless and almost unprotected! It
would gohard with her, she thought, while
her cheeks glowed, and her heart beat fast
very hard, before she would consent to
marry him. And poor grannie! MOna's
heart reproached her for having utterly
forgotten grannie, who had been so stun
ned by the terrible loss which had befalIen
her. How her proud, worldly, yet sound
nature would wither under the disgraces
of poverty. Grannie who loved her so
well, even while she tyrannized over her
she had often been reballious, selfish, now
she would try and comfort the poor old
woman. She had built such hopes, too, on
Mona's success, now everything was crun-
bled into the dust
The Hon. Mrs. Newburgh, sister of the
late and aunt of the present Viscount Sun
derline, had had much disappointment in
her long life Beginning with all the adj
vantages of rank and beauty, she refused
numerous excellent offers-to accept, at
the mature age of thirty-five, the good
looking hOrsey son of Yorkshire squire.
He loved her, but he also feared her-which
condition of mind led to much concealment
of difficulties, and their consequent COM
plication. Mrs. Newburgh was woman
of strong will, and some business capacity,
and she always held on firmly to her own
small fortune. Her only son went into
the army, and was killed at Inkerman.
Her only daughter, who resembled her
father in character, formed strong at
tachment to an obscure young Scotsman,
whom she met accidentally in the High
lands, under somewhat romantic circum-
stances. Mrs. Newburgh set her face
against so disgraceful union; she dragged
her pretty daughter from one continental
court to another, and finally tried to force
her to marry an ERglishman of high posi-
ton and large fortune. This was too much,
and the weak, simple, frightened girl fled
to her Scotch lover. Her mother renowned
her, and never saw her face again.
From this time Mrs. Newburgh devoted
herself to increasing her fortune, both by
saving and specializing She returned to
London, and once more took her place in
society.
The announcement of her daughters
death made little or no change in her way
of life; she made no attempt to communi-
cate with the bereaved husband, and
seemed to forget she had ever had daugh-
ter. About five years later She was star
tied by letter from the minister of a
church in the neighborhood of Glasgow
describing the last moments Of Kenneth
Craig, who had been q broken man ever
since the death of his wife, and inclOSing a
brief letter to Mrs Newburgh from the
deceased. In it he simply said that the
pay of bank clerk had been too small to
permit him to lay anything by for his little
girl, that his own people were poor, that
he trusted her mothers mother would so
far forgive as not to punish the innocent,
and begged her to give the chill sufficient
education to earn her bread hereafter She
was named, he said, Mona Joscelyn, after
her mother and her uncle
Mrs. Newburgh answered this appeal by
sending for the little b"ight-eyed six-year-
ling, and placing her ut a school specially
arranged for children whose parents were
either dead or absent. 1t was in the cOUn-
try, and kept by quiet mOtherly old maid.
For some time her grandmother never saw
Mona, but one spring, when the child had
nearly attained her tenth year, scarlet
fever broke out in the school, and little
Mona was sent off without a word of warn
ing to Mrs. Newburgh, who had been
spending few months in town, and was
packed up and ready to start for the Con-
tinent
Though dreadfully annoyed by the con-
trctempS, Mrs. Newburgh was struck and
pleased with the improvement and promise
OF her granddaughter, especially as she
was very like her late uncle, her reddish
hair being a legacy from the plebeIan
Craigs. Finally she took her abroad, and
placed her first at a convent school in
Paris, and after in an educational estab-
I1shment of very superior description at
Dresden. Here Mrs. Newburgh occasion
ally visited her, and she remained till she
was seventeen, when she went to reside
with her grandmother in London; she con-
tinued to study music under the best mas
tiers, and was always present when Mrs.
Newburgh received. The spring before
the opening of this story she had been pre-
sented, her grandmother was well satisfied
with her social success, and hoped for
brilliant marriage, when the blow fell
which ruined them.
1t was quite dark when Mona reached
St. Pancras; she was utterly weary, and
profoundly still
AS a porter threw open the carriage door,
a respectable foreign-looking man, some
what tan-colored in complexion, and pear
shaped in figure, going small to the feet
and spreading out roundly above, put him
aside. Raising his hat he said in German.
welcome, my frauleinl hope you are
not fatigued''