, 1889-01-10

inspected the Gunboat, or tried to inspect
it, for the object glass was very misty with
little transparent worms that seemed to be
wTiggling and dancing all over it; returned
the telescope to its OWNER, who said: Thank
! you, ma'am, very quietly, and with his look
of sadness highly developed again.
Still he remained remarkably non-obtJII-
| sive: he did not attempt to force his CONVEX
sation upon me i'll any way. and presently he
was walking down the jctty with Mr. Brian,
and talking and laughing Is if he had known
him all his life.
/ thought all this WIS Il new and deep laid
| scheme of his, but it was really Lily Brias
who was at the bottom of it all, or who at
! least induced her parents and brother TO say
from that day Good morning" 20 Mr. Bird,
and even to shake hands with him. Hence I
| was obliged 10 say Good morning" also
| when he directly addressed me, and to be
! come by degrees on speaking terms with him
! again, and almost to forget that umbrella
| question which had been bone of conten-
| tiou-a whalebone of ontention-between
u.s. Not that the umbrella was off his mind
| IN any way. for he had been introduced 10
Capt. Choppers on ore occasionally Capt.
Choppers express request, rs that gentleman
wanted TO borrow his telescope-and to my
aStonishmCnt | heard Mr.. Bird say, five
minutes after the introduction,
'YOu see, it was not for the value of the
umbrella, but because of the associations con
nected with IT. | hope you understand, cap
tain"
II understand perfectly" was the reply:
"but that was no reason why yOu should
have kicked up such an abominablc UprOar,
SIR
Capt Choppers had borrowed the telescope
and was now dominant and rude.
The time was drawing toward the end of
tie holiday when Mr.. Bird and We're friends.
l may remark, actually friends, although
will say very firmly, and despite Lily Brian's
opinion, nothing more than f~in"h' NJ
Birds holiday would expire a feE
our own, | learned, and, though
have owned it for untold weaIti
he was going back To London.
formed me of his position 10y
of his prospects for the future,
them. He had given up the business, and his
fathers business before him, of carver and
glider in the GosweH road; he was very clever
at his trade, felt sure, for he had been Of
fcred the post of superintendent of work by
an eminent firIa i'll Oxford street, with whom
he had done business for Years, and at very
respectable salary indeed.
He was exceedingly communicative the
last day of his stay in Margate; We were sit
ting together under the shelter OF the veranda
of tine rafreshment room, with the band play
ing out III the rain. We were alone for o
wonder; the BTians were on the rocks in
search of anemoncs, with the exception of
Lily, who had left me half an hour ago, with
an injunction to come home if it poured"
and with an umbrella to shelter me- as had
ventured out without my own. She had seen
having very sharp eyes of her own-Mr.
Geofiry Bird advancing down the jetty, and
had made some trivial little excuse to leave
me ito give the poor fellow q chance, :" as she
told me afterwards. And there he was sitting
by my side, cool and comfortable, and with
the rain coming down in big drops and start
ling and confounding the pleasure seekers
'I shall be quite the gentleman soon, Miss
Neild," he said, with a laugh, land with
soul above shop keeping. l only want q few
friends about me to make life worth living,
but l have never had any friends Never
had the time, or never saw anybody who was
worth taking any trouble about, until-untir
lately"
l could not reply to this. did not know
- '''Aant by lately"
'-N- ha aon-