Mexico weekly ledger., 1890-12-25


hands"
Three hands, including Mr.. Schneider's,
were at once raised, and that gentleman
was accordingly invited to state his case.
This he did in terms to which no excep-
ton could be taken. He was not, he
said, going to dispute the truth of the
axiom which might be regarded as the
of their society, namely, that
a man in love is thereby incapacitated
from Judging whether the object of his
affection il a suitable wife for him.
That might or might not be 80, and he
neither admitted nor denied that he was
In love with the lady whom he desired
to marry. He ventured, however, not
withstanding what had fallen from Lord
Guiss, to submit that he was in full
possession of his senses, and further,
that the match which he had in contem-
plation could not be objected to by any
fair minded man.
"It is, if may put things little
coarsely. fair bargain. have good
deal of money! won't claim any other
advantage for myself-and Lady Belvoir
has her title, as well us social standing
which,
Lady Belvoir!'' interrupted Moreton
Indignantly. 81 never heard such cheek
Il mean I never heard Of anything so
preposterous-in my life! You needn't
troubls yourself to say any more, my
good fellow; I shall certainly vote against
you. Why, you don't suppose that your
beastly money would be any temptation
to her, do you? Hang it all! she might
marry any man in England if she liked"
Lord Guise had to remind the speaker
that his remarks were both Incorporate
and irrelevant.
81 don't care what they are, " returned
Moreton. II shall vote against him"
"And you. Thoroldf" inquired Lord
Guiss blandly.
Mr.. Thorold confessed that he had not
been prepared to hear Of such project
as that which had just been made known
to them. If he was to give his candid
opinion, and to dismiss all other consid
erations than that of Mr.. Schneider's
probable welfare from his mind, he was
afraid he must say that it did not sound
to him promising one. At the same
time. since there seemed to be tolera-
bly, strong chance Of Lady Belvoirs de-
clining the offer made to her
Excuse me-" interrupted Lord Guise,
''but that has nothing to do with your
vote"
"Tnorold," said Moreton gravely, sit
strikes me that you are hedging. You
aren't allowed to hedge; it's against the
rules. If you don't think the match de-
sirable you must express your convic-
tions by your VOTE
Pressed in this way Percy was reluet-
antly compelled to declare himself op-
posed to the scheme for which the sane
ton of the meeting was asked.
THAT" observed Lord Guise, ''consti-
tutes a majority. and need not say
whether approve or disapprove. 1t fol
lows, in virtue Of our agreement, that
Schneider is debarred from holding verbal
or written communication with Lady
Belvoir for = period of six months from
the present date. Sorry for your disap-
pointment, Schneider; but there are
many disappointments which prove to be
blessings in disguise. Now, Moreton and
Thorold, we are ready to hear you.
Don't both speak at once"
The gentlemen named showed no dis
position toward display Of unseemly
haste Each glanced interrogatively at
the other, while the agonized protests
of Schneider died away unheeded; each
looked thoroughly uncomfortable, and
neither Of them opened his lips.
At length Moreton said: "Well, Tn
sure l don't care who speaks first. It's
confoundedly unpleasant having to lay
bare the secrets Of ones heart to three
grinning. unsympathizing beggars like
you; but suppose there's no help for it
I won't initiate Schneider by talking
about bargains; to my mind there's moth
ing so utterly disgusting as making mar
riage bargain. l honestly confess that
am over head and ears in love--1 don't
think ever in all my life was SO mucE
in love-with Lady Belvoir."
"Oho!" said Lord Guise.
"1don't know what you mean by 'oho,'
| returned Moreton, who was in some
| what irascible mood; "but wish yor
would allow me to finish. After that yor
| may Ohio till you're black in the face, i
| you like. I was going to say that my
being in love with Lady Belvoir doesn'
| in the least blind me to her defects. 81
that it would be quite superfuous fol
any Of you to point them out to me
Please to bear in mind that what yo1
have to consider is whether it woult
make me happy to marry woman wht
is this, that and the other, etc; it ism
question of whether you would be mad,
happy by marrying her. You can't tel
me anything about Lady Belvoir that
don't already know, and as for her fail
ings-well, prefer them to other peo
| ple's virtues. Now thenr'
Schneider, red in the face and a goo'
deal perturbed, said, without mo
ment's hesitation, that he could not pos
| sibly vote for his rival. He had no un
generous feeling in the matter, he wa
personally willing to let any man tax
his chance; but it seemed to him alto
gether absurd to suppose that Lady Bel
voir and Mr.. Moreton could live har
moniously together as man and wife.
81 should be sorry to make any conf
dent prediction upon such a subject,
said Percy; "but own that Moreton'
way of stating his case strikes me a
straightforward and promising. Upol
the assumption that man is deceivet
as to the character and disposition of tn
lady whom he loves we might be just
fed in interfering on his behalf; bu
Moreton tells US that he is acquainte,
with all Lady Belvoir's faults, and tina
he likes them. That being so, don
see why should drag him back by tn
coat tails. vote in favor of his bein;
ailowed to try his luck"
Leaving the responsibility of decis
ion with me-" remarked Lord Guise
well. it wonld i'll become me to shrin
from exercising my rights. Moretor
my dear fellow, you will have to go in
to exile for six months. don't wish +
harrow your feelings by SAYING what
think of Lady Belvoir, but il is sadly evi
dent to me that If you like her peccadil
loes now, you wouldn't like them afte
you were married to her. You mus
really think over the future in NOR
serious spirit before you commit your
SELF
| Eustace Moreton's rejoinder shall nc
DO set down here, because it was couche
In language much more vehement tina
he ought to have employed in addressin
Z friend who was cruel only to be kin{