Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1889-06-12

But she felt that to he occupied any,
how was preferable to sitting unem-
ployed under the searching gaze of
the new comes large dark eyes; and
with some nervousness "a thing
very unusual with Victoria - she
resumed her seat at the piano, and
commenced the beautiful and touching
ballad. Was 1t wonderful that, inter-
preted by such an exquisite contTalto
voice as that of Victoria Kemp, the
sad story should go straight 10 Sydney
Chevilstone's heart? Never had the
young man in his Auglo- Indian expe-
rience had the opportunity of listening
TO SO pure and beautiful a voice. So il
was not surprising that Sydney CheYll-
stone was quite taken by storm and
when, at the conclusion of her ballad,
Victoria yentured to glance furtively
at him, she Was astonished and gratifled
10 perceive that the tears had actually
gathered in his eyes, and that he was
incapable of uttering a single word of
thanks. Even the old colonel sighed
as he stroked Psyche's long silky brown
ears.
'Ah,' said he, that's something like
music? L don't know whether it's out
OF nv regard for the old Highlanders,
but the very name of anything Scotch
warns my heart. KISS your old father,
Vic, darling. You sing like a seraph. ,
Victoria bent over her father.
Shall l sing another. papa dear?'
oh, no-I-that is-pray excuse
me!' burst in Sydney impulsively; and
then he looked embarrassed.
The Colonel and Victoria turned to
him IN surprise.
You were going to say something?'
said the father
The young man looked more and
more confused. After a few moments
he stammered out
We'll, 1 was gong to ask Miss Kemp
not to sing any more
'Ah,' exclaimed the old soldier, de-
lighted. There's a compliment for
you Vic, Mr.. Chevilstone thinks as
do; that after that nothing VIII do. He
prefers 10 retain the impression of Aud
Robin. Isn't il SO, Mr.. Chevilstone?'
Yes, / confess it is. returned the
visitor, looking at Victoria in fashion
that made her feel strangely agitated,
and cast down her eyes involuntarily.
How absurd l aml' she said to her
self angrily; yet she felt pleased and
gratIAed, as by the compliment to her
singing.
Was there ever such a charming
woman?' thought Cheyilstone.
a month or six weeks had elapsed,
and Sydney Chevilstone had become
thoroughly domiciled at the Beeches,
Colonel kemp's seat. Already was the
young Anglo-Indian on such friendly
and affectionate terms with his host
that they had many a laugh over the
ambiguous wording of the letter writ
ten by the formers father. Indeed the
young man habitually called the Colo
mel guardian and the soldiers ward
had to undergo much bandinage from
the visitors to the Beeches, the fact of
| course being that there was no real
guardianship III question. The whole
mistake had arisen from the Colonel s
too hasty Interpretation OF the letter by
Mr.. ChevIlstone senior. Yet the veteran
could not but notice that when the sub
ject was alluded to there was a sort of
sly smile on the young mans lips, as
If there were some secret behind all this
that he-the Co,onel-was not a sharer
in. 1t was not long, however, before
the owner of the BeecheS was enlight-
ened on this head.
AS TO Victoria Kemp and Sydney
ChevilstOne, both being young, good
looking, intellectual, accomplished, and
of similar tastes, what possible termi-
nation save one could there be to such
an acquaintanceship? sydney Cheyil-
stone and Victoria Kemp were over
head and ears in love with each other;
and though no explanation hal yet
taken place between them, each was
conscious of the truth.
1t was in the month of October. The
woods were one mass of brown, purple,
Ia
bent beneath their weight of nuts. and
the pheasant and hare reYeled over their
banquet of beech-mast. The garden.
were ablaze with scarlet geraniums,
China asters. chrysanthemums, and a
few late dahlias. The air WAS pure ana
warm and the sky blue and without a
cloud.
For a day in mid October the Colonel
and Victoria had planned their last
picnic of the year, and by permission of
the Ranger It was to take place in
Windsor Great Park.
Victoria Kemp understood the art of
making a fete champetre go off well.
She possessed the tact necessary for
amusing crowd composed of mlsce,-
laDeous elements, and people strove to
get an invitation to her outdoor gath
erings. The picnic now OIL the tapS
however, was TO be small and select,
and to consist of only fifteen or sixteen
very intimate friends OF the colonel and
his daughter.
For a more exquisite day than it
turned out for this their last picnic of
the season it would have been impossi-
ble to wish. The whole of the party
WAS charmed with the success of the
undertaking. Never were there such
champagne and such lobster salads, or
such genial master or mistress of the
ceremonies as the old colonel AMI his
daughter. So declared everybody.
he eating part of the business was
happily concluded; the colonel with one
or two OF the older men were defying
the rheumatism by laying at full length
on the grass smoking their cigars,
while, as matter of course, the
younger members of the party had
paired off, and were talking all sorts of
nonsense IN couples.
Victoria Kemp and Sydney Chevil-
stone, walking in one OF the beautiful
glades of the park. were at consider
able distance from their companions;
but they did not appear TO be aware of
the fact, or il they were, 1t did not
cause them any uneasiness.
They were laughIngly discussing the
mysterious letter of Mr.. ChevIlJtone
senior, which had introduced his son to
the household of the Kemps, and Vic
toria maintained that any one, after
perusing it, would have supposed that
little boy, or at any rate a great grow
ing lad, was about TO be inflicted on
them.
Chevilstone smiled, and asked what
had been her own opinion,
We'll, L confess said Victoria,
smiling, that l fancied we were to