The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-01-27

it a great hardship, and had now grumbled
| about it over year: six months before he
retired, and six months after. "a man IN
the prime of life, ~ he said many time to
his family and friends, and thought many
time as he looked at his own vlsage IN the
glass The visage was not handsome, going
by the ordinary standards Of humanity.
He was red-faced mau, with large fea-
| lures and small, green grey, lrasclble eyes,
| with very light eyelasheS and shaggy light
brows He had been reddish-haired, but
| the color was, in his 50ch year, fast fading
into grey. And he looked so thoroughly
ill-tempered that people said Col. Forth
never lad good word for anyone, and peo-
pie, as rule, certainly returned the com
pliment.
He was a widower with two daughters,
aud his marriage hal been mistake. He
had married a handsome girl for her beau
ty, Il d the beauty had soon waned, and the
poor woman had nothing LETT to fall back
upon, for she had neither mental nor mon
etary attractions, and the colonel felt that
he had thrown himself away, and " rs not
above broadly hintiGg this to his wife. Per
haps she took his inslnuations 10 heart; but
she died early, and then Col. Forth gram
bled at her loss.
How was he to bring up his two girls! he
said, and in truth he was not fit person to
do SO. They had gone about with the regl-
ment and picked up some sort of education,
and Frances Forth had had many lovers,
| but, as her father often thought, had
| thrown away her opportunities, and at %,
when he had been obliged to retire from ac-
tive service, she was still unmarried. She
| lacked Ut is said certain quality, which is
to a fair woman as the setting to the gem.
Be this at it may, her beauty was undenla-
BILE, and in his secret heart Col. Forth was
proud of his fair daughters. Bnt lie rallied
| at them, as he rallied at all things, and no
doubt also found them heavy expense.
When he had to seek settled home for
| than after he left the regiment, he fixed on
| Headfort for one reason because he had an
old acquaintance living in the neignbor-
| hood for another the houses were cheap
| there, and for a third the place possessed a
fort and a small garrison. He had been a
| soldier all his life, and ne felt that neither
he nor the girls could exist without the ia
miliar sights and sounds. But he found it
dull, very dull. Accustomed to active work,
strict officer, and a man who won't into
| the smallest details about everything, he did
not know what to do with his time in this
quiet place.
"A conf)unded gossipping place, too, " the
colonel designated Hsadfort, before he had
been there a couple OF months
The For hs were indeed naturally much
talked of; the girls were handsome, and
| there were other = rlS who wore ready to
fling stone at their new nelghbors, and
| mire.
But then the old colonel is always run
ming after the msn, and asking them to the
| house" they would say; and they thus ac-
counted for the fact that the officers
| Of the garrison were very frequently
to be seen in Miss Forth's pretty drawing
room. For it was pretty, though Miss
| Hillard, the bankers daughter, wondered
how they could contrive to turn round in
it.
But Miss Hilliard lived il one of the big
houses Of Headfort, and naturally looked
down on the dimensions of Col. Forth's
| small one.
Bat i'll the meanwhile Susan, the young
housamaid of the establishment, having by
the colOnel's command raped at Miss Nuth' 5
door now returned to the dining room
where her master sat Tuning.
| ooh, please, sir, Miss Ruth said | was to
say she would be down directly, but she had
been so put about by tho thunder; and
please, sir she sent the key, and said you
were to make tea, and not TO watt
ITO wait! No, l should think not. Con-
found it." roared the colonel, his red face
turning to vermilllon tint as he snatched
the key of the tea caddy from Susan's
hand and while he was processing to make
tea for himself, his youngest daughter
walked into the room in a white dressing
gown, with her soft, pretty light-brown hair
rolled up in a somewhat disorderly knot at
the top of her head
Il am sorry l am late. father" she said,
in sweet, toned voice; but the storm
last night frightened me so.'
Absurd! Why should the storm brighten
you! Ruth is there no bacon, or eggs, or
something fit to eat; or am l expected to
breakf asst on dry breadP
Il will see abouti5,n answered Ruth, and
she went into the kitchen to order her
fathers breakfast, aud after a little while
III I,fa
pausing once or twice while doing so, how
ever, to look disapprovingly on the pretty
face opposite to MIN.
WHATS the matter with you, Ruth, this
morning." he presently asked, sharply,
still eyeiug his daughter. "E on look as if
you'd seen ghost or something, declare
you do You are a pretty washed-out look
ing creature"
1.-THE storm was so dreadful" said Ruth,
while a deep wave of color stole to the
white face her father was finding fault
with.
"Ths storml Fiddle-de-deel What
harm could the storm do youf It's cleared
the air, and very good thing, too; l de-
clare, you girls are no better than cow
ardsl"
II am always afraid cannot help it"
'You got it from your poor mother, be-
lieve: she was one Of those nervous, ridicul-
Gus women who are afraid of everything.
Was Frances afraid, too"
~ es am going to take her breakfast
up now"
absurd, girls lying in bed to breakfast,
utterly absurdl | like TO see girls come
down to breakfast in neat morning gowns,
and not bedgowns like that white thing you
have on
We'll, I'm generally dressed, father; but
am late this morning
Late, should think So" and the colonel
looked at his watch. "By-the-bye, Ruth,
saw Seaforth last night in the billiard room,
aud he said he was going TO call this morn
ing about you and Frances driving over
with him to Sudley tomorrow, so | asked
him to lunch; therefore, you had better see
about ordering something decent, and get
off that bedraggled article you are wear
ing"
Again Ruth blushed deeply, but this time
she made 10 answer Nevertheless, she at
once obeyed her fathers orders. Sne went
upstairs ana told her sister, who was still in
bed that Mr.. Seaforth vas coming 10 lunch !;
and they consulted together what would be
suitable for that reDast.
Then Ruth changed her dressing gown for
a pale blue morning gown; and presently
went into the garden, and began cutu
some flowers from the dashed rose bushes
and geranlums They were still wet, and
the bright flower leaves lay thickly on the
| soa ked anrth. and while she was doing this