The Springdale news., 1889-11-15


 SIR RUPERT BROKE TIE BADGE OF DEATH. read the solitary line written in Miriam S fine, lady-like hand. Over and over the one single sentence he went, forgetful of Johns presence. The servant would have gone downstairs, as was his wont after delivering message, but in this case his inquisitive anxiety ovcrcame his man. ners, and he stood with hungry eyes fixed on the masters white, haggard-ooking face, shrewdly guessing it was from the long absent daughter and trying to divine the contents of the epistle.
 Presently the old man looked wearlly, sadly from the letter to the anxious face bending over hlm. and said, as if measur- ing each word by it's sorrowful meaning: He is dead-Fairfax is dead and Miriam is q widow" Then he turned his white face away in the shadow of the curtain, and motioned to John his dismissal.
 "Miram has written said the tender hearted John to the servants, as he wiped his eyes with his handkerchief. "Her- husband is dead; yes, Arthur Fairfax is dead -
 A moan escaped the lips of the little group gathered about their lonely dinner at the close of thls memorable day. Poor Miriam, - and John made another 2pplica- tion of the handkerchief to hide the tears gathering in his honest eyes.
 .'An' it's dead ye say he is? Oh! this wurruld is full of throuble. Dead, an not q pairson to comfort the misthress. Oh! Oi expected it." And Peggy bowed her gray head on the table and Wept aloud
 sDeadln echoed Anci. shaking his whitened locks as he knocked the ashes out of his pipe against the broad, hospitable jamb, and came oyer and sat down by his wife. An now the masther'll be afthur sendin' fur the heart-bhroken misthress an repintn' ov his sins,n yenrured he further as Q sort of comfort.
 An he won't naythern' blazed Peggy, angrily, and suddenly forgetting to sob Tn her resentment of any thug humane as expected of Sir Rupert. 'Niver wmn he let the young gntleman wurruk hissef into the grave, and niver welcome loine could he sind-not even to her
 As usual, Ancil subsided with hls notions of charity and devoted himselfto his dinner, while Peggy enlarged on the doings of the past and wandered off into the future, with very severe opinions concerning her mas ter.
 She was the ruling faction in the west wing, and when any one of it's inmates ex-
 
 would send for Miriam, or may be go to her himself, "seeing she was in mourning so soon again, Peggy would shake her cap ruff1es into confusion dire in her authority. Her negatives usually silenced all hopeful expectation as with the spell of a seer, capped with her Hberman climax of ''nivcr a bit will the haythunlsh masthur go to the childer; he wud doIe forninst the day of puir stubborn maueneSS.p
 And uncharitable as Peggy seemed, she was, nevertheless, nght i'll her assertions, for not word of condolence or pity did Sir Rupert send to his bereaved daughter, neither dld he express any sympathy he might have felt for her in her sore be- reavement.
 But Peggy, good old soul, sent letter brimful of comfort and loving sympathy to the onely-hearted Miriam, ssunbcbnowin to the masthur,o for, as she confided to John, who smuggled the missive in with the mail of the Hall, "he needn't think as how the whole wurruld is goin' to walk in the loikes of his mane footstheps.n And so the long letter of condolence indicted to Miriam by the faithful Peggy was sent, and all the servants promised to keep it secret from tie master. They never forgot his commands of four years ago, to never mention Miriam's name in his hearing, nor to appear concerned in her welfare for fear of his wrath. These orders they had never broken, with the exception of the time when they heard of Arthur Fairfax having gained in wealth and position In keeping their thoughts far from the masters s ken they had 'grown wise as serpents and harmless as doves. n
 Some weeks after the cuckoo had sound ed It's note along the sunny hedges anG told the pleasant story that spring had come, there fell another memorable day to the Hall
 All winter long the inmates of Heather leigh had lived in utter secusion from the merry outside world and catered patiently to the whims of Sir Rupert And when the snows vanished from park and lawn, and the dry alder leaves whirled sorrowful. 1 ly into odd corners at sight of budding life, and the dark -budded elms bowed gent ly to the great English ivy which had been clutching with naked arms at the wealth er-stalued facade and dreary dormer win dows in their wealth of bursting new life, there came break in the routine
 Up the long silent avenue came, winding slowly as If in fear of intrusion, close carriage. Sir Rupert was in his own apart, ments, and the servants were lolling list lessly about the grounds, when the sound ofwheels came to their eass. They started