The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-06-21

world; neither had any prospect of succeed
| ing to any fortune from their parents.
Robert Lynden went up to London and was
speedily loot in the whirlpool of the great
city. What became of MIN, what he did
there, nobody knew. For the first year or
two that he was in London they heard from
him regularly at home. He had apprenticed
himself to a chemist and entertained serious
thoughts of turning to medicine as a pro-
fession later on, and to enable him to attend
| the schools his father volunteered cJnsidera-
BILE pecuniary assistance. For a few months
young Lynden drew steadily for this pur-
pose, then suddenly all communication from
him ceased. He not only abstained from
writing for money, an exigency apt to
ensure punctual correspondence, but he did
not write at ali. His mother grew very
anxious about him, inquiries we're set on
foot, the chemist to whom he had bound
himself was duly communicated with, and
replied that Robert Lynden, after ,volun-
tarily spprenticing himself, had broken his
indeutures at the end of a ear, and that he
had neither seen nor heard anything Of him
since. His father went up to town and
made inquiries in every direction. He even
consulted the police on the subject; but no,
nothing could be heard of the missing
youth, London scanned 10 have swallowed
him uD. and all endeavors to ascertain his
fate proved useless. He was advertised
for In all directions, for his people were
we'll enough to do to be able to spend
some little money in trying to trace their
boy. But nothing came or inquiry or
advertisement, and after O time his mother
mourned for him as dead, while his father
came sadly to the conclusion that his disap-
pearance was one of those inscrutable mys-
teries ever characteristic of great cities.
Whether he had been foully done TO death
who could say. or whether be was the I'M
recognized victim of some accident! But
that their son was dead, neither Mr.. or
Mrs. Lynden entertained the slightest
doubt, and in due course Of years went to
their graves undisturbed in that belief.
Nellie Lynden could have told you very
little about her fathers antecedents. She
could barely remember her mother, who
had died when she was very young, and
from that time her life had simply been a
progress from one school to another. Clever
and sensitive, even as a child the thought
had oppressed her that she belonged to
nobody. She was kindly treated, but it was
bitter for her when the holidays came and
the other girls went to their homes. There
were no holidays for her, for what were
holidays without home, and she had no
home. Boys, we know, can be very cruel to
each other, and fancy girls are very little
better In this respect. Some OF her school,
mates, perhaps because they were out of
lelHI6E, peEudpS lTOul tudk luudOo uSslE6 W
torture which exists in the young of both
sexes, would twit Nellie when the holidays
came round with having nowhere to go to.
They would inquire, with affected interest,
If she did not find it dull being there all
those weeks by herself. And she did find
it dull-horribly dull, and they knew it.
Her school mistresses were kind enough,
but what could they dol Their engagement
with her father was that they should always
take care of her in the holidays as he had
no home to take her to. He was kind
enough to the desolate girl upon his few
brief visits, aud lavish with regard to money
for her dress or anything else she fancied as
she grew older. But. except occasionally
for a very few days, he had never taken her
away with him. And then an hotel had
been her home. The result of this peculiar
training had been to make Nellie Lynden a
somewhat reserved girl, not one to give
away her friendship lightly, and though
popular in every school she had ever been
in, she had never formed one of those gush-
ing friendships which girls are so apt to con-
tract in these days.
Some four years before our story COM
mences she had been called upon to go
home ana take charge of her fathers house.
For the first time i'll his life DR.. Lynden adj
mitted of having a house. Nellie further
wondered, on the receipt of this letter,
whether he had also a practice. Ques-
toned once upon this point he had replied
that he had practised chiefly abroad, that
he had given it up now, and only prescribed
in an amateurish way for intimate friends
or acquaintance. He had further made
some rather severe structures on the vice
of curiosity, and avowed his opinion that
there was no such bore alive as aipainfully
inQuisitive person. This was quite suffi-
Gent hint for Nellie. She never ventured to
inquire further into the past life OF her
father She accepted things as they were,
and admitted that she had no cause to COM
plain. The doctors house in the suburbs
of Manchester, though not large, was ex-
tremely comfortable. Nellie was perfectly
satisfied with the rooms put apart for her
exclusive use, as well as the drawing-room
and dining-room. The doctor reserved for
himself, besides his bedroom, large room
fitted up as o laboratory, which he called
his den" The popularity about this room
was that it was guarded by elaborate
double doors from the rest or the
house, and, further, had a separate
stair communicating with the outside,
so that it was possible for the doctor from
his laboratory to leave the house without
| the knowledge Of the other inmates. The
outer of these doors was kept jealousy
locked, which the doctor explained by say
| ing that evil smells were emitted from
| did not wish the rest of the house poisoned
moreover that servants could never resis
touching things, and that be did not wish
housemaid to blow her head off by fiddlinl
| with a retort which did not concern her
He had had a passion for chemistry from
| his youth up, but it was really only o
late that he had found leisure 10 indulge
| it.
81 can't say as yet, Nell, that I've mad
any discovery calculated to benefit man
kind. don't suppose l ever shall, but
amuses me and hurts nobody. I've don
my best to render my hobby inoffensive, s.
you must put up with it,"
My dear father" said Miss Lynden
"why shouldn't you do as you like in you
own house, AS for the laboratory, tn
double doors are so effective that am sur
no one could ever detect that there wa
such thing in the place"
If DR.. Lynden went out but little himself
he was not forgetful of his daughte
He made arrangements with a lady
with whose husband he was tolerabl,
| intimate, to act as Nell's ehaperon, and q
that young lady herself was by means IN
attractive, she was not long before sh
knew a good many people in Manchester.
Her chaperoD, Mrs. Montague, was one c
those vivacious ladies who contemplate
passing an evening at home with dismay
This restless lady could not bear the idea o
not assisting at everything that was goin
on in Manchester, and would work wit
untiring patience and assiduity to obtai
tickets. The more difficult they were
IL