The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1889-10-20
THE FISHER CAUGHT.
Showing How Simple Country Maiden Landed
a Real Live Lord.
By T. W. SPEIGHT.
lcomplsLe in this Lanls.l

| Inc rev. DyKe Fer1nOr nlSnJ nave
said, in his own case, that Nature had
never intended him for country par
son, nor, indeed, for a churchman of any
| kind, and certainly inclination had moth
ing to do with the fact of his being one
| He had all the instincts of soldier, and
his home ought to have been on 1.-THE
| tented field" rather than within the four
walls of rectory He got through his
duties perfunctorily; his heart had never
been in them from the first, and with
each succeeding year they became
more distasteful to him He hated
sermon writing and he conveyed"
as much from the old divines as
his conscience would allow of his
doing. He hated visiting the poor
and he kept away from them as much
as possible. He had no patron and no
rich friends. His living was worth
bare four hundred year, and he had
no hope whatever of being able to ex-
change it for more lucrative one. He
was doomed, or SO it seemed, to linger
out the remainder of his days at White
apple and find his last home in its
churchyard. He had been twice mar
ried His first wife had died after few
years. leaving him with one child, Mar
gerry,
To her, having no other encumbrance
at the time, he had been enabled to give
really good education. But some years
later, while Margery was still at school,
he had married again, this time for
money. The second Mrs. Fermor brought
her husband a dowry of $4,000, which in
the course of few years vanished
into thin air, the result of certain unfor-
tunate speculations in which the over
sanguine rector had been induced to en-
bark, fascinated by the golden lures
which had been dangled before his UNI
practical eyes. -,.,
Meanwhile he found himself the father
of three small daughters and the hus-
band of wife who had settled down
into the condition of chronic invalid.
The poor rector would have gone dis
tracted at this period had not his daugh-
ter Margery come to ~his rescue. Girl
though she was, she developed capa-
bilities which might have done
credit to a woman twice her age
The reins of management were
quietly withdrawn from the nerve
less grasp of Mrs. Fermor, and all con-
cerned felt the benefit of the change
Mrs. Fermor herself had never been
made SO comfortable, never had her lit
tie whims and fancies been SO carefully
considered; the children lad never been
looked after as they were now; reign
of economy in household matters sue
ceeded one of waste and extravaganza;
while to the rector home had never
seemed SO attractive since the death of
Margery's mother as it did now. Yet
they all had consciousness that there
was "whip hand" over them which
would brook no nonsense. There must
be no jibbing, no rearing, no, kicking
! over the traces, otherwise would the lash
descend and no mercy be shown. Even
the Rev. Dyke himself stood somewhat
/ in awe of his curly headed, girlish look
/ ing daughter, whose wishes and opinions
he treated with q degree of Difference he
had never accorded to those of either of
his wives.
And SO the slow months waxed into
years, and still Margery Fermor bloomed
like a solitary rose in the garden of the
old rectory deep hidden among the Der
byshire dales.
Mr.. James Gascoigpe made his appear
ance at the rectory in due course. He
had traversed the three miles from War
ley in one of the ancient flies of which /;
supply was always kept on hand at the
Anglers Rest. Six o'clock was the
usual dinner hour at the rectory, and the
Rev. Dyke had seen no reason why he
should alter it in the present instance.
He accorded his guest a hearty welcome,
for, whatever he might be in other re-
spects, he was genuinely hospitable.
Three minutes later Margery entered the
drawing room accompanied by Mrs.
Jenrick, still handsome widow of 40,
who lived in her own very pleasant cot
( tage ornee, within bowshot of the rec
tory. The vicar made the introductions
in due form, and scarcely We're they over
when dinner was announced. Margery
wore white today, her only ornament
being damask rose in the bosom of her
dress. She made a charming picture,
and Mr.. Gascoigne evidently thought so,
IIle BiZ0 ne Deut ON HSI So frequently De-
traying as much admiration as was com
patible with good breeding. Margery
had cautioned Mrs. Jenrick, and, as
matter of course, neither of the ladies,
when the introduction took place, al
lowed Mr.. Gascoigne for one moment to
suspect that they were conscious of there
being anything out of the common in
his appearance.
!. w 5 = M