Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-02-14

yet TO have bet all out
Before knew where was the man was
eondoling with me on my lords neglect Of my
lady and myself and his hurtful indulgence
to his son. On this last point perceived him
with panic fear to return repeatedly. The
boy had displayed certain shrinking from
his uncle 1t was strong in my mind his father
had been fool enough to indoctrinate the
same, which was no wise beginning and when
looked upon the man before me, still SO
handsome, so apt speaker with so great a
variety Of fortunes to relate, | saw he was
the very parsonage to captvate a boysh
fancy. John Paul had left only that morn
ing; 1t was not to be supposed he had been
altogether dumb on his favorite subject SO
that here would be Mr.. Alexander in the part
of Dido, with curiosity inHamed to hear;
and there would be the master like diaboli-
cal A1neas, full Of matter the most pleasing
in the world to any youthful ear, such as
battles, sea disasters, flights, the forests Of
the west and Since his later voyage) the an
cient cities Of the Indies.
How cunningly these bats might be en-
Noyed, and what an empire might be SO
founded, little by little, In the mind of any
boy, stood obviously clear to me- There
was no inhibition, so long as the man was
in the house. that would be strong enough to
hold these two apart; for If it be hard to
charm serpents, it is no very difficult thing
to cast glamor on little chip of manhood
not very long in brooches. | recalled an an
Gent sailorman who dwelt in a lone house be-
You'd the Figgate Wins q believe he called it
after Portobello), and how the boys would
troop out of Leith on Saturday, and sit and
listen to his swearing tales, as thick as crows
about carrion; thing often remarked as
went by, young student, on my own more
meditative holiday diversion. Many Of these
boys went, no doubt, in the face of an express
command; many feared and even hated the
old brute of whom they made their hero; and
have seen them flee from him when he was
tipsy, and stone him when he was drunk
And yet there they came each Saturday
How much more easily would boy like Mr.
Alexander fall under the influence Of high
looking, high spoken gentleman adventurer,
who should conceive the fancy to entrap him
and, the influence gained, how easy to en-
ploy it for the chiid's perversion
doubt If our enemy had named Mr.. Alex
ander three times before l perceived which
way his mind was aimins-all this train of
thought and memory passed in one pulsation
through my own-and you may say l started
back as though an open hole had gaped across
a pathway. Mr.. Alexander there was the
weak point, there was the Eve in our perish
able paradise; and the serpent was already
Kissing on the trail.
l promise you | went the more heartily
about the preparations; my last scruple gone,
the danger of delay written before me in
huge characters. From that moment forth
l seem not TO have sat down or breathed.
Now would be at my post with the master
and his Indian; now in the garnet buckling q
valise; now sending forth Macconochie by
the side postern and the wood path to bear it
to the .trysting place, and again snatching
some words of counsel with my lady. This
was the verso of our life in Durrisdeer that
day; but on the recto all appeared quite
settled, as Of family at home in its paternal
seat; and what perturbation may have been
observable the master would set down to the
blow of his unlooked-for coming and the fear
he was accustomed to inspire.
Supper went creditably OFF, cold saluta-
tons passed and the company trooped to
their respective chambers. | attended the
master to the last We had put him next
door to his Indian, in the north wing; be-
cause that was the most distant and could be
severed from the body of the house with
doors. saw he was kind friend or good
master whichever it was to his Secundra
Dass; seeing to his comfort; mending the fire
with his own hand, for the Indian complained
of cold; inquiring as to the rice on which the
stranger made his diet; talking with him
pleasantly in the Hindoostanee, while l stood
by, my candle in my hand, and affected t.
be overcome with slumber. At length the
master observed my signals of distress. 81
perceive" says he, that you have all your
ancient habits-early to bed and early to rise
Yawn yourself awayw
Once in my own room l made the custom.
airy motions Of undressing, so that | might
time myself, and, when the cycle was com.
plete, set my finder box ready and blew out
my taper The matter of an hour afterwarj
made light again, put on my shoes of list
that | had worn by my lords sick bed and set
forth into the house to call the voyagers. All
were dressed and waiting-my lord, my lady,
Miss Katharine Mr.. Alexander, my lady's
woman Christie-and l observed the effect of
secrecy, even upon quite innocent persons,
that one after another showed in the chink of
the door face as white as paper. We slipped
out Of the side postern into night of dark
ness scarce broken by star or two, so that
at first we CROPPED and stumbled and fell
among the bushes. A few hundred yards uu
the wood path Macconochie was waiting us
with great lantern; so the rest of the way
we went easy enough, but still in kind of
guilty silence.
A little beyond the abby, the path de-
bouohsd on the main road; and some quarter
of a mile further, at the place called Eagles,
where the doors begin, we saw the lights OF
the two carriages stand shining by the way
side Scarce q word or two was uttered al
our parting, and these regarded business; a
silent graspin9 of hands, a turning Of faces
aside, and the thing was over; the horses
broke into trot, the lamp light sped like
will-o'-the-wisp upon the broken moorland, /,
dipped beyond Stony Brae; and there were
Macconochie and | alone with our lantern ON
the road. There was one thing more to wait
for, and that WAS the temperance of the
coach upon Cartmore. II seems they must
have pulled up upon the summit, looked back
for last time, and seen our lantern not vel
moved away from the place of separation
For lamp was taken from the carriage and
waved three times up and down by way of q
farewell. And then they were gone indeed
having looked their last on the kind roof OF
Durrisdser, their faces toward barbarous
country.
l never knew before the greatness Of that
vault Of night in which we two poor serving
men, the one old and the one elderly, stood
for the first time desert ted: | had neyer felt