Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-05-31
CHAPTER ".
BEATRICE S PROPOSAL.

guest he was IN short the only
daughter indeed, the only surviv-
ing result of that brilliant mar
riage made by Miss albert when she
allied herself with Sir Maingay Clauson
Fart
There is no reason for charging upon
the admirable way in which Lady
! Clauson filled the position which her
| own merits had gained, or to which
Fate had assigned her. Socially and
domestically in the outward as well
as inward life she was all n baronet's
wife should be all save that she pre-
scented her husband with no heir TO his
title and estates. This was a sad
omission, but for the sake of her many
other good qualities, Sir Maingay over
looked it, and made her very good hus-
band as husbands 20. When Lady
Clauson died, some twelve years after
the birth of the daughter who lived, Sir
Maingay wept copiously. He even
opened his bible the first time for
many years-and by the aid of Cru
den S Concordance looked out a text
appropriate TO her many virtues More
over, tor her sake, or his own, he re-
manned single for five long years.
Then he went the way of all middle
aged, titled, wife-bereft flesh, and mar
ried again.
Beatrice ClawsOn, Just about to leave
school, romantic young lad whose
head for the present was, however, only
occupied by pretty, filial dreams of
| looking after her father. ministering TO
his comforts, ruling his house, and
| generally doing the best she could to
I'LL 81 q 4 4
| herself without word of warning pre-
sented to a new mother, one, moreover,
but four years older than herself. 1t
was a crushing blow! 1t was a girls
first lesson in the vanity and instability
of mundane expectations.
She ought, OF course, TO have antici-
pated it; but she was young, and like
most young people, considered her
middle-aged father abnormally old and
| staid Besides, she could remember
her own mother well enough, and re
membered also Sir Maingay's sincere
| grief when death claimed his wife.
| She remembered the way in which the
weeping man threw his arms around
| herself and told her that she was now
| his ALI his treasured memento of his
wifc-his one tie to life. Recalling all
this she was sanguine enough to fancy
that memory was even more vivid, that
| grief had craven its lines deeper with
| her father than with her.el So the
bolt came from the bluest of the blue!
When the enforced meeting between
| Lady Clauson and her Step-daughter
took pla the Young lady, by means of
| those signs and tokens the masonry of
which women alone fully comprehend,
| showed the state of her mind so clearly
| that war to the knife was then and there
declared.
Ii matters little who was most to
blame-the girl for her unreasonable
ness and stubborn spirit and want of
resignation to the inevitable ed Lady
| Clauson for retaliating with all an in
| jured woman's pettiness and spite Sir
Maingay for the thoroughly mainline
conduct in letting things drift. They
did drift with vengeance! The breach
between the two ladies soon became too
enormous to be bridged over by any
family diplomatic engineering
The battle royal was fought when
the time came for Miss Clauson to be
presented Lady Clauson asserted that
she was the proper person to present
her step daughter. Beatr ce coldly de-
clined her aid Her ladyship ms isted-
her step-daughter was firm in her re-
fusal. Sir Maingay declared himself
under his wife's banner, and for once
attempted to assert parental authority.
Whereupon Miss Clauson cut the matter
short, and declined being presented at
all.
When alone with her father Beatrice
always behaved prettily She was very
fond of him, although the remembrance
of the tears, the teyt. the distracted
vows, when contrasted with his second
marriage for nothing but good looks,
made her look upon him with little
contempt.
She heard his remarks in silence, then
gave him her opinion on the matter.
IL don't want to be a nuisance to
you, papa. l am eighteen now--too
old to 60 back to school. It's nonsense,
of course, to say i should like TO earn
my own living, because when come of
age shall have some money. May |
go and live at Fairholme?"
Fairholme was Sir Maingay's seldom
used seat in one of the southern coun-
ties.
"But you can't live there alone" he
said
Eyes, could. Mrs. Williams could
take care of me. l shall be happy
enough"
"My dear girl, why not be reasonable
and make friends with Lady ClausonP
Then we could all go abroad together.
81 can't 60 abroad with YOU" said
Beatrice I'll shall be miserable myself
and make Won miserable ~
"'But if you stay in England you must
be presented and come out and all that
sort of thing"
'If ever l do get married." said
Beatrice dryly, Il will be presented as
Lady Clauson was, on my marriage"
Sir Maingay's cheek Redeemed. He
was much hurt by the sarcasm. Poor
old King Lear found fitting smile for
an ungrateful child, but the sharpness
of sarcastic child is more painful than
whole lawful of serpent's teeth. He
did not reply; but the worthy baronet
was at his wits end. What could he do
with this grip He had very few rela-
tions-he cared for none of them. Old
Mr. Talhart of Hozlawood Houea was