Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1891-09-13

| Strettell would rt return In any great
hurry; that Hele would soon get rid OF
her visitors and hat ample time would
be left to him folthe saying of what he
had to say to her Meanwhile he took
the liberty of lighting cigar and
unused over his pOspects, which he had
| to admit were bmewhat less positive
than he could have wished them to
be. A man, eYn though he be no
longer a Young man, does not wish
to be accepte solely because he
has made large fortune; yet he was
conscious OF HAVING relied upon his for
tune as bis sheetRnchor, and he could
not pretend thatL Lady Strettell had en-
couraged this raewed intimacy upon
any other ostensple ground. Well, the
shortest way oaispel painful misgiv-
ings was to ask kr and have done with
it; but as she didnot re-appear for some
little time he stDlled down the garden
with his hands /. his pockets; and thus
it came to pas, II the innocence OF his
heart, he was gilty OF grave indis-
| erection.
Two general rlles may safely be laid
down for the guidance of such young
couples as arr MT openly and formally
engaged to be married. First, they
should not kiss Dne another; second, II
they will kissone another-and there Is
reason to iearthat they sometimes do
they should be careful not TO do so
when they are.urrounded by turf, upon
which the sound of approaching foot
steps is apt tolbe inaudlble. Through
neglect OF this latter precaution Mr..
Luscombe and Miss Strettell were sur
prised by the insuspecting Mr.. Best in
an attitude which really did not admit
Of being explained away, and perhaps
Miss Strettel dopted the only course
open to her by altering short scream
and taking to h,r heels.
OF the two m@ who were left face to
face, the elder vas by far the more red
and embarrassed He stammered out a
heartfelt apology, but fastened to add
| that he had not been in the least aston
ished by what he had seen. 81 guessed
how things werethe first evening came
here" said he, 4aud I was meaning to
speak to Lady Strettel about it this
very afternoon. Lack Of money, OF
course, is the obstacle, and / think, II
you will show me-, can remove that.
You can ride, sQppose?"
"Ridem answered the young man,
with open eyes and mouth. "Oh, yes; l
can ride"
81 mean 1t Is rather necessary that
any one who is to look after my Austria
liam citizens shoull be able to ride, and
what / wish TO propose TO you is that
You should undertake that task on my
behalf. / think OF settling In England
myself, and your services, l assure you,
would be well worth el,500 a year to
me. l fancy YOU would rather like the
life, but even If you didn't, and il you
were to come home after year or two,
l should take care that Milly didn't
starve. must tell you that | regard
her very much as daughter of mine"
This concluding statement amazed
young Luscombe 80 much that he quite
forgot TO make any acknowledges emit OF
the generous offer which had preceded
it. "Your daughter !" he exclaimed.
''Good gracious / had no idea that you
regarded her in that light-nor had she
nor, you may be sure, had Lady STREET
tell"
1t took no little time to convince Rich
lard Best that Helen had actually mag
lined and wished him to be a sutton for
her daughters hand; but his informant
Twas so confident as TO the fact and had so
many proofs 10 adduce In support OF II
That his incredulity was at length over
LONE. He learned with sincere regret
hat Milly had been too much afraid OF
i'm to feel any personal affection for
me whom she might otherwise have
liked we'll enough; he also learned that
/ was very doubtful whether Lady
strettell would consent to assign her
granddaughter to Mr.. LuScombe, even
though the latter should be granted so
handsome salary as Ell, 500 year. FL
mlly he received provisional accept
ace OF his offer, together with the
warm thanks which were his due, al
though Mr.. Luscombe candidly confess
et that for choice he would little bit
rsther not end his days at the antipides.
cts awfully good of YOU" the
ytung follow said, with a sigh,
| in conclusion; "onlY I'm afraid
it won't come off. I'm afraid there'll
beno end of row when you tell the
olt-when you tell Lady Strettell. |
shall never marry anybody but Milly;
bu | can't believe, somehow, that l
shall ever be allowed to marry her."
Then why did you kiss her, sir?"
asked his senior, trhe sternly.
For the same reason that you caught
meat it," replied Mr.. Luscombe, who,
| 1t must be owned, was not very bash
full person-''because couldn't help
myself"
'H'mr' said Richard Best, shaking
his head. That's not much Of an ex-
Gust, though l dare say it's true. Well,
if you can't help yourself, suppose
you must be helped, that's all"
He entertained little doubt as to his
ability to help the helpless in this in
stance; he did not in the least under
stand the significance Of Luscombe's
half sheepsh, half compassionate look
when he declared his intention OF seek
ing cut Lady Strettell forthwith, and
making it all right" with her. Not
withdrawing the shock that it had
given him to hear that Helen had sup
posed him capable of making love to her
| daughter, he was a thousand miles from
antic pating the revelation which was
| in store for him beneath the Japanese
umbrella, where her ladyship was now
placidly awaiting his return.
Her placidity was not much disturbed
| by his first avowal. Perhaps she found
it flattering, although 1t entailed vex-
atious interference with her schemes,
and although she fastened to assure
him las she had done on a similar occa-
sion many years before) that what he
asked for was "quite impossible" But
her self-control completely forsook her
when she was informed, without any
warning, OF the attachment which ex-