Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1889-11-15

half his body being so utterly dispropor-
Tomato to the other half. And now |
may, perhaps, be allowed to read my
Times in peace
The Rev. Dyke Fermor might have
said, in his own case, that Nature had
never intended him for a 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 q soldier, and
his home ought to have been on "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 a
bare four hundred a year, and he had
no hope whatever of being able to ex-
change it for a more lucrative one. He
was doomed, or 50 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 a few
years, leaving him with one child, Mar
gerry.
To her, having no other remembrance
at the time, he had been enabled to give
a really good education. But some years
later, while Margery was still at school,
he had married again, this time for
money. The second Mrs. Fernor brought
her husband dowrv of $1,000, which in
the course of q few years vanished
into thin air, the result of certain uufor-
tunate speculations in which the over
sanguinc rector had been induced to en-
bark fascinated by the golden lures
which had been dancled before his UNI
practical eyes.
Meanwhile he found himself the father
of three small daughters and the hus-
band of a 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 dauch-
Ter Margery come To his rescue. Girl
though she was, she developed capa-
bilitics which might have done
credit to 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quietly withdrawn from the nerve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 fancia5 been so carefully
considered; the children had never been
looked after as they We're now; q reign
of economy in household matters sue
cecded one of waste and extravaganza;
while TO the rector home had never
seemed SO attractive since the death of
Margerv's mother as it did now. Yet
they all had a consciousness that there
was a "whip hand" over them which
would brook no nonsense. There must
be no Jlbbng, 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 degree Of Difference he
had never accorded to those of either of
his wives.
And 50 the slow months waxed into
gears, and still Margery Fermor doomed
like a solitary rose in the garden of the
old roctory deep hidden among the Der
byshire dales
Mr.. James Gascoigne made hisappear-
ancc at the rcctory in due course. lie
had traversed the three miles from War
ley in one of the ancient flies Of which 4
supply was always kept on hand at the
| Angler Ret. Six o'clock was the
usual d!uner hour at the rectory, and the
Rev, Dyke had seen no reason why he
/ should alter it in the present instance.
lie 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 30,
who lived in her own very pleasant cot
/ tage ornee, within a bowshot Of the rec
| tory. The vicar made the introductions
/ in due form, and scarcely v ere 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,
the gaze he bent on her so frequently be-
traying as much admiration rs was COM
patible with good breeding. Margery
had cautioned Mrs Jenriclt, and, as a
matter Of course, neither Of the ladies,
when the introduction took place, al