Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-07-12
CHAPTER I.

that lies below the city Of Richmond. is
situated the old-fnshioned county OF Ches-
terfeld. In by-gone days, when the gentry
Of the country used to bowl over tne
attend church st Falling Creek. or 70
honor some levee at the Capitol with their
presence, the county was reckoned among
the richest and most aristocratic IN the
State; hut now, since the elegant social
structure Of colonial Virginia has been
almost, il not entirely destroyed, me once
wealthy and aristocratio county IS n.sie
more than mere waste OF orooms'ia"
Acids and pine woods. So,
The war between the States with It's Mt
PENDANT evils. has wrought many changes.
MANY OF the roomy mansions OF English
brick. which the gentry thought they were
building for posterity. have passed away
and the few which remain seem TO wish 70
hide themselves from sight, each In It's
Here and there are houses which retain
eome OF their former greatness, whose
doors are still Hospitality open to all VINO
may pass their gates. but for the most
mari. the remaining few are either left TO
the careless hands of newly-come owners,
or maintained by the descendants OF the
founders, as best they may out OF their
slender means. -,
In the northwestern corner OF the
county. on tho road leading from Man.
chester 70 Bollona arsenal, Is an old house
that often attracts the notice OF strangers
who pass that way because OF its pictu::
rescue situation. IL stands In cIuIpp OF
oaks upon the summit of q round hill that
stones gradually 10 the road on the eastand
ON the west overlooks tho falls of the
James. In summer. and indeed. in early
spr,ng. but little of the house itself save Its
red gable and odd chimney-pots Is visible
from the road, but in winter every door
way and window of the eastern front may
be discerned.
II is evident to one but little conversant
with the early history of the colony that
the house dates back TO the first quarter OF
the present century. The small. oblong
red bricks of which IL is constructed. the
eharply-slanted roof, tho roomy porches
that surround IL, the clumsy chimneys
TONED with clumser POSTAL are unmls-
taxable tokens Of its age, and even the
yeriest strangers from foreign parts are
not surprised when told that it was built
In the wear 1913 by ono John Trent Esq, a
retired Revolutionary officer and magis-
trate for the county.
Late ia the afternoon of April day, in
The wear 1881. q man might have been seen
leaning on the gate that hangs between
two brick posts at the foot OF the slope.
The man was young-perhaps five or SIX
and-twenty though bis years seemed to
certain amount OF sternness IN his gray
blue eyes, and an air of thoughtfulness and
repose about his face that was out of keep
ing with the youthfulness of his figure.
He had the air OF one who IL already weary
OF life. A young lady might have thought
him poet q eynic might have supposed
that he was suffering from adisorderedliver,
but perhaps both would have been wrong.
IN fact Jack Trent. ESD, of Trents Hill,
was q plain, rather commonplace young
man who had suffered, but was not yet
sick of life. As he stood in the redress OF
the April sunset, leaning on the gate with
q PARKWAY look in his eyes. he was merely
day-dreaming the most commonplace
Of men sometimes dream for want OF some
thing better to do. He was thinking of q
face he had seen another day of his life. II
came back TO him now, "a no had seen 1t
that other day, with vividness that made
the past years seem as so many hours. He
was recalling ii now IN fancy, though with
out any other emotion than that of plea
sure.
At one and twenty the pulse IL nearer
the skin and quicker to beat than at six
and twenty. and the heart, like paper
matrix, receives impressions easily and re-
tains them neutrality-suspicious.. then, il was
not strange that this one face should have
He remembered now as If 1t were yester-
day the one most charming day Of his life
the strains of the violins, the glamour OF
the lamps, the impalpable. odOr-laden at
mosphere Of the ballroom and the face
that had passed before him then. The
practical toiler of to-day was o tolerably
care-free student with his life all before him
who had come back TO Virginia from the
smoke-clouded dormitories of Heidelburg
for q brief vacation. Dragged, much
against his will, from communion with
Goethe and Schiller he had accompanied o
cousin to the Assembly ball at the
old Theatre in Richmond near by.
The ball was fine enough in its
fashion; the women were pretty, the
men were not bad looking, but to one IA
mjliar with the gayeties of European stu
dent life it was, to say the least somewhat
duh. He remembered that for the most
part he had passed the evening by o stand
Of flowers entertaining himself in dull
fashion by looking on. 1t was nearly
morning. when people were beginning to
get away from the dance, that the ball be-
gan for him. He had left the shade of the
hower-stand and was standing In the lobby
ut the foot Of the stairway leading to the
dress circle when half dozen young peo-
pie descending attracted his attention.
He gazed ut them carelessly enough, won
dering who they might be. They came
down slowly, laughing Us they came.
When they reached the foot of the steps
o tall young man turned and bawled up
the stairs in high-keyed voice:
"Madge, Madge, are you coming?"
Presently, answered a sweet, low voice,
and then around the corner of the stair
way came girl in low-necked. blue silk
dress, who smiled and nodded at the
group below.
Trent looked at her wonderingly, as she
leaned over for q moment on the balus-
trade. His eyes fingered upon her; he
might not take them away. but he was IN
conscious as he was incapable of rudeness.
She was, he thought, the most beautiful
creature he bad ever seen. She could not
well have been older than sixteen or seven
teen, for Der figure was slender although
charmingly developed, and her whole
personality expressed the innocence
OF maidenhood. Her face was one of those
exquisite combinations of fairness and
color that one rarely sees, except in tropi-
soft and looked on the scene below her
with an expression of truthfulness and
tenderness, intermingled with certain
timid curiosity. Her hair was coiled In
mass Of spun bronze on her white neck,
and her beautiful head was set upon an ex-
quisitely- bust. great bunch of
jacqueminots was at her breast, their fra
GRANGE pcrtuuiihG the All ABOUT ner. but
her great charm was her manner, which
was modesty ITSELF Trent thought as he
looked up at her that she must have como
from some State in the far South. for she
seemed to breathe the sweetness of the wild
yoses Of the Louisiana forests.
Trent had noted these things mentally,
and yet only o few seconds could have
elapsed while she paused on the stair, for
presently she came down, her left hand
sliding along the rail. her gown sweeping
the steps. The young man who was look
ing ct her saw that her eyes turned upon
him aud that she looked earnestly at him
y she descended. and IT gave him q
strange, happy feeling. HE happiness
lasted but little while, however, for
when she reached the foot OF tho stars the
group Of Young people standing there
with some impatience, drew her toward
the outer door. Trents eyes mechanically
followed her, and then occurred something
that would have delighted an older and
colder-natured man-the girl going out
turned and gave him q long, lingering
look. II was but for moment that their
cyss met, and then she went out into the
darkness of the street and he lost sight of
her.
And this was Ave years ago. and this was