Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1891-03-20
LORD JOHNS BNRG AIN.

ir.t place of the ia.i that he WI. a
- Pierre aud At &C. same time COM
sidrird himself competent r'pr'-
sentative Of the tai, q, aud grace. II
the ancient aud u-irious HOUSE II
StuucN hurst Ia th, uctt place be- VS.
vera proud IT hi- reputation A. Quo
81 the hr,t shots of driven game in ih"
United KINGDOM and 81 his rpu-r-
uTnut ,D.iyr intu man, country h"u.v,
Nurrr onl, brilliant shots Wrrr wei
coined He was also proud Ncrk
proud. 81 hi, own perfect manner. aud
plumed himself not without clus". un
his in.inua,ing address 1t was ga his
reputation. howeNer.hs successful col.
hector II china that he principally
au .,d himself aud the iritling sums
which he had pad for various ARTICLES
- NrItu " hich ofnamcntcd his inums
nj the Albany formed his fatoriir
theme 81 conversation. Indeed, II all
be- Naid was true. aud II al the china
Was reall, gcnuinc. he fully deserved
all the congratulations which he
claimed.
Nor did he fail 10 see how valuable
were the three aforementioned qunliii-
cations In their reference to this latter
pursuit MANY a cuttager who hal To-
fused Ia sell his precious little heir.
looms to the travelling dealer WA ouly
too proud to part with them, NJ per
haps low price. g. u Lord John
I"rd john. too who spoke ~ prrltily aud
made himself so agreeable II was grand
"a think that some little figure or cup
aud saucer which had stood unnoticed
In the cupboard should take its place.
~ the seller fondls Imagined would Lee
the ease. among the priceless gems ~
S.un~,hurst abbey
Johns presence too at 81 many sport
Ing places gave him opportunities of adj
mission into the interior If coitagrrs'
Rnd keepers houses which might not
otherwise have been obtained. II 10
not given Ia everyone 10 he q district
visitor. taN collector. or school attend
ancc officer. aud without such or sim.
liar professions II IL not easy Ia gain
nm introduction unlimited 10 the homes
~ the poor. Lord John, however.
had special privileges, aud he lost no
opportunities Of svailing himself Of
the facilities offered by shooting
lunchcons In farm.houscs or keepers
lodges on the different propcriic. over
which he shot.
A few winters ago my brothcr-in-
law came to shoot al my home. Pen
Owen court. In Monmouthshirc. Know
lug. as ! did. how unsavorably the
bags even on my best days compared
with the slaughter Ia which John was
accustomed, ] had had some hesitation
In inviting him into such an out-of-thc-
way part Of tho world.
He hnd heard. however Of the won
deriul stand nj EsstIield coppice said
10 be- perhaps the most difficult sport
Ing In England, aud was ansiou. TO
try his hand at our 'rocketcrs." had
no possible objection. and he WIS In.
,iie'l for three days shooting.
A sal mysterious calamity. however.
In connection with the death of one Of
the heaters happened the first day, and
tho unhappy incident prevented ~
from carrying out the weeks program.
Guests who have no resources 10 oc-
cupy them when sport fails arc nat
uraIly difficult TO entertain. aud con-
sequeutly was not altogether sorry
when my visitors. with the exception
Of Lord John. decided upon taking
their departure the morning which
succeeded the catastrophe.
He however remained and In the
"
intention Of going up to the keepers
house. where he had lunched the prev
ious day. aud Of course ] offered to
walk there with him. Rather TO my
SUI pr;se hs Seemed TO have no particu-
lar desire for my society. and I began
to wonder II his projected visit had
any connection with the mysterious
affair to which have already alluded.
At any rate determined TO accompany
him. aud on the way ] was made q
coniisiant Of his lorsiship's intentions.
On the previous day he had noticed
two china figures on the keepers chin
ney-plecc. and. though with connois-
seur's natural suspicion he had at the
time done nothing 10 attract general
attention to them. he now confessed
that he had every reason 10 believe
that they were old Dresden. lie Inn
sgined them 10 be Of great value aud
had determined to pick them up as
cheapiy rs he could. have never
been able to make up my mind about
the morality of such a proceeding.
but I thoroughly disliked the idea Of
picking up" valuable article CHEAP
from one Of my own retainers. and ~
Il were. under my own sanction. How
ever, determined to bide ny time
and see what happened.
John annoyed me very much nj the
first opening Of negotiations lie be-
gan by asking Mrs. Rawlins. whose
husband was not at home, questions
about the family Of the dead beaten.
with expressions Of the most profound
sympathy for his orphaned daughter.
OF course there was no harm In these
inquiries; indeed. they were quite
natural. But the questioner's manner
was 50 affected and his expressions Of
regret and sympathy 90 exaggerated
that l could scarcely believe their sin
certify. and felt sure that he was think
ing more Of the Dresden figures than
Of poor Nelly.
The next proceeding consisted Of .
glance around the room In affected adj
miration OF various ornaments with
which II was decorated. Some mis-
shaped stuffed birds. some tawdry
prints. even some hideous compo-
sitions OF shells and moss. came In by
turns for their share Of admiration.
And then. at last. with look at the
two figures on the mantel-piece--
'Oh. by the bye. Mrs Hawkins John
always managed TO get his victims
names correctly. what are these china
.groupsP Have you had them longe"
That china. my lord. was present
from my grandmother. and set great
store by It,"
q easily followed my brother-in
laws calculation. Mrs. Rawlin's
grandmother! The things must be
100 years old. ut leastr')
Have you any fancy TO part with
them?" he continued. Il don't sup
pose they are worth much. but I
should like q little remembrance Of
Monmouthshirc. and Of our pleasant
lunch here yesterday"
oh. my lord. II Il wasn't for Raw
lins should be glad to give them to
your lordship. or with glance at mel
any gentleman staying ut the court"
Il wonder what the lordship would
have said II had not been present
'Oh. no Mrs. Rawlins. cant think
Of taking them for nothing"
well. my lork doubt II my grand
mother. II she'd hs' been alive. would
have liked the alca Of my selling her
presents"
Lord Johns coun,enance fell.
Certainly" added Mrs. Rawlins.
She wasn't too proud to sell her own.
Why. she got 10 guineas for two tig-
ures not half so gay rs these from