New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-09-20

il was a calmness that concealed CONSTRUCTORS
irritation Of feeling. -. :. ~ cold her
aOh. she knew nothing about II, sald f ngr
father easily /" lie was little VITA. poor re-. i.i
,iu.er ~ ho v,os 80 very young; they were Just
good friends, hut 1t would all nave coile "'0''
when he settled down. h;oo+;on 2p
Sir Hildebrand laughed at this pertinacity aDou'
Nieu .Jealous of ghostp" cried he. "Of course
Maud would have made no oDJeTgon NV "u and She
would make pretty strong oDlecuonS ,,orr'
emperor, suspect, if he were any one "u' yum
sell, > ,o,o uiron M,ud to a poor
nan, o on other stared at him and then burst out
,angbine. Given Maud to a poor man l
ehonId rather think not. -,
'hou And vet yonng complies may be happy though
moor. Arthur said dryly. .,... .;o0 M
:. jounn couples Yes, If 1t is their poruon' Nv Nv
doubt they can dare say tle arn nreating
bis wife are very happy OuU VIC "'' 'P'N''''''
r am quite aware of that Sir Hildebrand, and
If Maud, Of whom we are se an Mat tai them
She could not have done So
"Bus il she had ?" ,na
@Of course it would have come 70 nOtnlil2, anu ~
she would have seen the necessity OIL It's uOine ~
aS You You" see zee have been poor man myself, :
Arthur said rather sadly land it makes me tninK
u We'll nv dear fellow. rank is rank. and it /;
not Won or / who settled these things. She would
have been sorry if she had formed mlSpI. PIE. ~
attachment and should have been sorry uuV ~
would have TO be broken OIL however soIS W.
might be-noblesse oblige."
Sir Arthur Torrington started Here were the
same two words with which he had so entrey
agreed when they fell from Mauds rosy Ups iar, q
few hours before. Did they convey the same
weight with them now that they were spoken Dy
her father? He reflected a moment, Determines
70 be reasonable and just, and ne thougnt Vn Io
fhev did Then with a bitterness Tor whlch tne
NEXT moment he blamed himself, sudden vlslon
rose before him Of his cousin John-not drowned,
not dead-but alive and fourlshing, his WIG oa .
sown-at least in Sir HlldeDrands opI11iTT ieaif
lover noy more the husband OF Maud, and mInse1
a moor clerk or still poorer curate, meeting ueul
accidentally somewhere and being slgEleu nA
them both; meeting them, perhaps, at rat tfdS
station where he got out OF his lnevltaole olu u.
cIass dirty drauQhty compartment and saw them I'D
all the Injuries OF fans ana hO-wapr tInS' iI i
their equally inevitable frst-class carriage, anu
all this that might have been-must nave Deen-
had been changed in one minute by the upSctuhs
of q boat Sir John had been drowned by the up
setting of boat on an Australian river, ana nc
"'s You never saw Sir john" said Sir Hidebrand
but suppose YOU knew the difference Ills uea'"
Not hit of IL. He kept up the quarrel with
nv branch of the family, and my father was not
a man TO think or talk about dead men 8 shoee'
There are only four or five,' the case may be,
between Inc and the barOnetcy; or, II such d
one were TO die, / should be next heir ana 40
relations l knew nothing about fell OH, was not
aware what it was all coming round TO- ana Wneh
/ read the account Of Sir John Torrlngt0n peih4
drowned, in little paragraph In Inc lines,
had not o notion of what it was going TO 90 lor
Il seldom regretted anything more than that
little paragraph" said Sir Hildebrand; how little
we know what is before us. | can't regret IL
now" smiling at his future sOn-ln-laW; ana YET
7 was fond of John-poor fellow. Such fool as
he was to 90 out to Australia and lead loose
sort of life there, and go out in boat with iot
of common fellows, not gentlemen even, ana theh
be drowned because he couldn't swim"
Il don't want TO say word against a dead
man." remarked Arthur; but nothing surprises
affection. l had fancied him such very OBJ
was always fond of john" Sir Hilqebrand
replied shortly. and dropped the subject
But Arthur TorringtOn could not make up his
mind that his cousin John had been good fellow,
or that any amount Of wild oats sown and done
with could have made him worthy OF Maud ;
II was his own earnest determination to he him
self worthy of his wife and his position, and In
his schemes for their future life he had made plans
for the benefit Of the poor and unedueated,
which at first perhaps little disquieted Maud,
but which she soon became as much interested
In as he was. Sir Hildebrand subscribed hand
somey to everything that, as Sir Hildebrand, he
ought to subscribe TO, but beyond such bestoWal
Of superfuous cash he did not take personal IN,
terest in the classes beneath him, nor had MAUD
been brought up to do so, though the loving in
fluence Of Arthnrs noble nature modelled hers to
be all that he could wish.
"You see, darling" he said, II have fear Of
misusing our position, and am haunted by q sense
OF its uncertainty"
why what on eartl. can be more certain than
our happiness ArthurP
yes, Maud, on ealth-but there is such thing
as DEATH YOU know: in one moment ] might lose
everything as Sir John did. | owe all | possess
to sudden death, and 1 owe you, Maud. TO that
also"
WELL" Maud said, little pale; but only
death can separate us-and we are young and
strong We are safe IN each other-nOthing can
change us except death"
Only if ] were not baronet and had not ten
thousand year." began he smiling.
Yes, but you are" she cried impatiently. And
nothing can ever make you anything else. That
one thing is certain; you always as long as you
live. will be a baronet with ten Thousand year.
Don't go on about that if any more, please, or I
will say if l had been n inendmper's daughter you
would never have asked me to marry you"