New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-27

are dressed 80 difcrentlv-I sec il all now-every-
thlng has changed; he would not be as your are !;
nc would be old and gray now. And l.; Oh!
now foolish have been to think he could recog-
ME me If he came back, merely because l am
dressed as was when he left me. OF course l
iook absurd in this drcSS-but have always had
Il prScntiment that he would come back to me
one Christmas night, and wanted him to find me
Just as ne left me Christmas night fifty -sevcn
years ago. You see she continued, after she had
cried bitterly for minute or two, during which
tlme did not very we'll know what to say or 10,
We were to have been married, and we dmed
together at my fathers house-thiS night hity-
seven years 1.,o il was. lie had to go to America
90 business. There were no trains in those days.
ne next morning be left London by an early coach
Tor Liverpool, so | did not see him after hc lett
the house that night. His ship was never heard
OF after it sailed But he was TO be back within "A
year, and he promised me so faithfully that we
should be together on the next Christmas evening.
i, nave always believed that ne would come nacK
AT last, and every Christmas | have had strange
preSentlment that he would come to the house JUST
NJ dlnner-timc on Christmas night. And so have
always been alone on this night and had his place
nld for him at the table, and been dressed as
was when we parted-but see 1t all how-eVery-
1hing has changed and passed away"
lcre the poor little woman fell into an uncon-
trollablc fit of weeping, whilst / felt moro per-
peNcd than ever to know what TO do. At last,
"hen | was saying something TO the effect that /
was sorry TO be the cause of reviving such pai}!-
'ul associations, she got up from chair on which
3he had been sitting, and said, as she wiped the
tears from her eyes:
No, no, don't say that; shall not cry any
more | feel that you have been sent here by
providence to wake me from my dream. | always
believed that Robert Ashley would come at last.
and he has come If he be- not the same Robert
Ashley that ! expected, neither am | the same
Laura Paine whom he would remember. And
now, forgive mo for a moment, while lay aside
these clothes forever"
She returned in FEW minutes, dressed in II
manner that was more suitable to her age. and /
learned from the conversation we had that She
KODpFt Acblatv NrnoS raj hupr n W
was an uncle of my father. Miss Paynes father
Died about two years after Robert Ashley was
lost at sea, leaving her his only surviving child
ana an heiress. By the time | was acquainted
with these facts a servant came into the room
TO say that dinner had been on the table for some
minutes. u was then about five minutes past q
o'clock We were in Sussex Terrace, which, if
the weather had been clear enough 10 enable me
TO see my way, would be about ten minutes walk
from Dorchester Terrace, but the fog was as dense
as ever. Under the circumstances, could not re.
slSt Miss Paync's invitation to take the place that
was reserved at the dinncr-tabe for Robert Ash
IeV 80 | sat down TO my Christmas dinner with
MISS Payne, the only person who had dined with
her ON that day for NOR" than half a centdry.
Apart from the little illusion about thu other
Robert Ashey's return, she was not merely quite
sane, but very intelligent. and full OF interesting
anecdotes and "reminiscences of the early part of
the century. Altogether the dinner passed 50
pleasantly that / felt quite sorry when she rose
from the table, saying that | should find her in
the drawing-room when came upstairs.
nope YOU VIII he aDic 10 stay Win m" ulltll
o o'clock she said Us she was leaving the room
granddaughter and grand-niece of mine will be
here by that time, if the fog clears of. ! should
Ike you to see my niece. She IS called Laura
after me, and is wonderfully like what ] was.
In fact, you might think that Laura Beaumont sat
for the portrait which you saw upstairs of me when
| was a girl
Beaumont" I exclaimed.
Yes; do you know heP?' asked Miss Payne
eagerly.
No; but I know Captan Beaumont
of the - Regiment ~ interposcd Miss Payne.
Yes; he's client Of ours Good heavens,
lated almost uncOnscOusly as | sank into chair,
where | sat looking banlly before me- Up to
this moment ! had forgotten. since | entered the
house, the purpose of my intended visit to Mr..
Arkwrieht.
- can SCI there is something amiss; tell mo
all about H." She said in grave. kind voice, as
she closed the door and sat down near to me.
For moment or two paused then told her
as concSey and plainly as | could the story Of
Mr. IOmplinS and the bonds. She had not the
least difficulty in understanding me. An nteli-
gent woman. accustomed to read the newspapers
and to consult with her own stockholders, shr
knew quite well the difference between buying and
selling for cash and buying and selling for the ac-
count. and perfectly appreciated every point in
my story.
y" You remember what Hamlet SAYS about the
divinity that shapes our ends she said
when 7 concluded. Mr. TOmplins has acted
very wickcdlv and might have got you into a
UfedNInl procurement. II IL VfFlDle 10 tnlDK now
the innocent are sometimes made to suffer for
the guilty. | understand perfectly the position
Of affairs. and ! can assist you more efcctually
perhaps than Mr.. Arkwright would be likely to
do. The bonds must 10 got from the bank on
Tuesday morning. | shall give you a check for
the amount that has been advanced against them
-thcrc-don't thank me: remember that Captain
Beaumont is my Tand-ncphew. and that | look
upon you rs my gmnd-ncphcw also. Besides.
Your coming here tonight has been worth more
than 900 pounds TO me- and believing as / do
that your coming WAS not by mere chance but
that this matter Of the bonds was ordered to send
you here. ] feel that | am under an obligation TO
redeem them. But, now. abont your own losses /;
they will amount TO many thousands, through
This fresh intelligence from South Africa
Miss Payne WIS very wealthy. and. had I en-.
couragcd her. | believe sho would have provided
any sum that might be required TO enable me to
meet orr " difercnces" at the settlement 50 as
TO end my connection with Mr.. TOmpiinS without
going through the Bankruptcy Court. | need not,
however. detail our conversation any further.
and it would be quite impossible for me 10 de-
scribe my feelings when. n few minutes after
ward. she gave me a check for the amount that
Mr.. ToRplinS bad drawn on the security OF the
bonds. Under ordinary circumstances | should
have felt huTilintcd in taking such n sum from
4 stranger, notwithstanding the shadow rchti0n.
shin that subsiSted between MS. But ! must
frankly confess that in the check she gave me
/ saw my release from having to stand in the
deck of the Old Bailey, and any thought of the
lesser humiliation being merged and lost in my
conception of tho greater, and mere awful. humilia-
ton from which ! WAS saved. | experienced for
some time the most exquisite pleasure in my
sudden dclivcIance from the dreadful prcdicamcnt
in which had become entangrd, however innO-
Gently.
Al about 2 o'clock the fog cleared off almost
rs quickly rs it had como on I sent a note to
Mr. Arlwright to explain and apologize for my
absence, and to say that circumstances had oc.
cured which rendered il unnecessary for me to
trouble him about the matter on which I had
wished TO consult him. Captain Beaumont and
his sister Joined MS at little after o'clock.
the portrait Of what Miss Payne had been. We
passed II very pleasant evening, and il was not
until nearly l o'clock the next morning That |
got back to my chambers. with an exceedingly
distinct recollection Of a fair-haired girl. who
had large blue eyes, and very soft musical
voice.
III