The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-07-19
CHAPTER X.
MRS. SEACOLEs.

and please, miss Miss Nellie said | was to
tell you that alls WE'LL exclaimed Polly,
volubly, as she drew back the curtains and
threw up the blind OF Miss Smerdons room
one bright May morning.
THE mail inn cried Frances, as she
bounded out of be l, plunged into her dress
ing gown, and dashed of to Nell's room, to
pick up such crumbs OF comfort as that
young sybarite might choose to drop from
the snug depths of her couch, and perhaps
at 20, when thoroughly in earnest TO lie IN
bed and read love-letters is as enhancing an
occupation as a maiden need hope for.
Capt. Byng is all safe, said Miss Lynn
den, "the return was all a mistake. Hugh
saws he had the closest possible shave of be-
ing killed and they thought at first he was
so; he was stunned with bullet, but Is
really only very slightly wounded, and do
"Thank Godm said Frances, ~ almost
wish now | hadn't written TO him"
80, Frances, Frances" rejoined Miss
| Lynden laughing, you're little the old
est, and, / used TO think, a good deal the
wisest. but oh, my dear. you're sad goose.
| Here you are in love with man, AMI be-
| lieve in your heart that he's in love with
| you, aud Just because he hadn't got the
| pluck to speak up before he left England,
| you regret that you've written him a very
| proper letter, to inquire after him on seeing
| that he was severely wounded. A very
| proper letter. l dare swear it was-I
| shouldn't wonder If it began: Miss Smer-
! don presents her compliments to Capt. Byng,
| and begs to inquire
stop, oh, stop. YOU tease; it wasn't a
| proper letter, aud that's the reason"
80, never mind the reason. know all
| about that. fought to be shocked, but Pm
| only very glad you were sensible girl"
Now tell me what Hugh says, at least as
| much as may reach the public ear"
Thank heaven he's safe; tiresome boy, he
says so little about that terrible night, and
do feel 80 proud of him. His letters full of
nothing but dog hunting, divisional races
and all that sort of thing. Pm sure to read
| it, the Crimea seems to be most lovely eli
| mae and they're all having the greatest
possible fun out there. But now run away
| must really get up and dress. | will read
you all the gossip of my letter at breakfast,
at present I've hardly read it myself"
Frances Smerdon walked off to her own
| room echoing her friends reflections.
Yes" she murmured, that's just what
the best of them do, when the work is seri-
| ous they make light Of it and also of any
| grief that may come to them. There was
| poor Algie Barnard, at Cowbridge. last
| year, they said he threw the steeplechase
away by his bad riding; he made no reply
| but tainted in the weighing-room, and then
they found ne had broken two ribs, and that
| the muscles of his right arm had been laid
| open in a fall he'd got on the far side of the
course. Tom makes light of it, but I've
very little doubt his wound is serious" And
then Miss Smerdon proceeded to dress, and
rack her memory in the meantime for every
record i'll which injuries TO the head had ter
minated fatally; and as her experiences IN
that way were principally connected with
the hunting field, by the time she had re-
membered two conclusions of the brain,
one case of paralysis, and another Of per-
manent affection of the spine, she had
| brought herself to a very low and contrite
| spirit with which to join the breakfast
table. Could she but have seen the object
| of her solicitude III the course of that day, |
! think she would have almost grieved to
think so much womaIly pity had been
wasted upon him.
If a Crimean winter can be as hard and
| dsagreeable as an English one-and with
the exception Of one particular in the mat
! ter of logs, it can quite match 1.-THE coun-
try rejoices in one glorious superiority as
regards climate Winter does not linger
there all through the spring and hslf way
! through the summer as it does in England
| but ouce got done with, it breaks into gen.
uine spring; not such o conglomeratlon OF
| wet and bitter east winds as usually sig
nalizes the advent of that season with us,
| but bright skies. balmy breeEes, and all the
delights that the poets sing of-and which
! we so rarely witness. 1t cannot be said that
many flowers came with the spring in 80
for everything that would burn had been
burnt by the army during that pitiless win
ter, and the poor flowers had been so ruth
lessly trampled in the mire that the few
which survived had a hard struggle to get
their heads above the ground.
However, with the sunshine as aforesaid
cana great exhilaration throughout the
! Snnnilas of all
such a MULTIPLICATION of stores canteeIs
cafes, restaurants, etc, as to look as if the
| lies would be permanent colOnists, with nc
Intention of ever returning to their native
countries, to which the establishment of 6
railway from BalaBava to the front still
further contributed. About half way he'
tween these two points on the main road q
large wooden building, half store, half res
taurant, had been opened by middle-ageC
colored lady, who had somehow or other
obtained considerable popularity amongst
military men in the West Indies. What she
had done out there l don't know, but Mrs
Seacole soon became a familiar name to the
Crimeau army. Horse and foot, hussars anC
artillery, naval officers and newspaper cor
respondents, all drank and dined at Mrs
Seacoles. 1t was a sort of high change fol
gossip and stories Men from all parts
brought the news of the camp thlthev as
common mart for the exchange of all such
commodities. Many dinners came off IL
the suug room at the back of the front
saloon, which was the general lounge; mat
ter OF no little diplomacy at times, these
dinners, US unless previously ordered. the
procuring of table was impossible.
| Perched upon barrel in the saloon, with
a short pipe IN his mouth, and bearing nc
sign whatever of having been severely
wounded. sat Tom Byng. INDUCING in gayesr
badinage with an old friend who was
chatting him about his late narrow escape
1T won't do, Tom" said the hussar; ''you
must be ruled out of it by all the conditions
Of war. You were carried away for dead
and we really can't have you coming to life
again in this way. just think of the con
fusion it would make out here if other PEG
pie behaved as you have done! Why, We
should never know where we were, or who
commanded anything. Now Pm very sorry
for you, but in justice to the regiment"
shut up. LOCKWOOD cried Byng. Just
ask how long it's going to be before that din
ner's ready I'll show you then whether am
alive or not"
"But you're not, my good fellow; in jus
tice to the regiment you can't be. l don't
want to counsel extreme or immoral meas
ures. There is no reason for your completing
! what the Russian so clumsily attempted