Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1891-05-28
women always want to give their young
friends the worst Of champagne?"

"Perhaps you will have the kindness t.
leave wondering alone; here is Dick"
something must be DONE" said George
'but you know, don't think that your the
sort of fellow, young Master Dick, who
cares about handling things and looking
after people,"
aIf you want that sort of thing don't ex
pect it here; 60 to the stores for it, or to
the universal providers, or-or anywhere
And Dick sat down in my China-cane
chair and looked as if he were going to
dare to whistle in my presence-only he
dared notch no!
Next week found us at the Acacias
| The Acacias is nice old place near Mort
lake, an old house with Georgian porti-
co and red brick with magnolia growing
over it that somehow or the other when
its in bloom always reminds me of the
Spice Islands and missionaries, and Flori-
da water that stupid people will always
persist in smuggling from the Continent.
OF coruse Fanny Laughton, wha is ex-
cellent enough in her way, took me UP
into her room directly she could.
"She's already here" said she. 1 knew
at once that she meant that nice young
derson with the Ia per cents and the
warehouse property near Rotherthithe.
"How delightful" l said. "The dear
child is such an old friend"!
"Quite romantic and sentimental" said
Fanny.
$50 here we are again, Fanny, and
pleased am to be here. 1 suppose the
datfodils are showing in the garden, and
the Chelsea's pug tail is In its usual curl.
And we shall be quite warm in the sun,
and then it will be half showing. And
we shall drive over Barnes Common into
Richmond Park or into Putney and see
the crowd staring up into the crews win.
dows, as much interested as if the latest
murder had been committed there. Oh!
yes! we shall be very comfortable"
Well, we went down to take good Pekoe
out of Fannie's egg-shell china and there,
of course was that girl, Florrie. Such
nice girl. Nice bright eyes, nice brown
hair, nice smile, nice fresh young voice,
and then the od0r of IA per cent about
her which is better than all the lavender.
''Sweet child" thought to myself, "what
treasure you will be to the family" In
fact, felt quite motherly toward her, or
mother-in-lawly. Its funny world, isn't
it? All onr intentions are honesty itself,
particularly as we are tolerably sure we're
going to get something worth having for
them.
l sat down beside her on the sofa.
Poor motherless thing! I quite felt for
her.
"You are very fond OF the river" 1 began;
show .oyely it is, and always so sweet"
I Looked out of the window. A coal barge
was just going by, and a bulldog was
barking on board. ave often spend half
the evening on the lawn listening to the
nightingale, and the old sweet familiar
sounds"
Eyes; and what noise those Sunday
people from town used to make when
they poked at each other with their boat
hooks. and fought as they came out of the
lockA'
The girl was somewhat practical.
"Ah! my dear, you don't seem to care
about the real sentiment of the river But
of course, its so much altered nowadays
All great hotels now. Don't l remember
the dear little riverside inns, with their
old-fashioned gardens, with sweetwilliams
and sweetbriar, and cottage roses"
"And then was there not a lovely trag-
rance OF parafin and beer"
The girl had no poetry in her nature.
Never mind.
Well, anyhow: in the evening Dick
ought to have had some sort of time of it..
He knew all about the betting on the race,
too.
"Jones of Corpus, told me-" he said, 'that
number four in the Cambridge boat was
awfullv groggy."
"Ah, how interesting it must be to know
all the news.' said Florrie.
"I've been and interviewed the baker in
the Highstreet, and he says they want the
the bread stale. That looks mysterious"
Dick shook is'head solemnly.
at sounds like hearing about Bismarck
and politics and things" she answered
turning her pretty eyes toward him. I
could have embraced her on the spot.
These S1-4 per cents were safe for the
family.
We had some music that evening. A
girl in pink played "The Restless Night
and somebody or the other sang q
ballad about "My Heart is low as the low
dark Stream" about young woman wall.
ing for her lover, and her dead spirit hover.
ing over the stream and getting cold, per-
haps, among the mist, and bulrushes and
the water rats or something of that sort
The usual drawing-room dirge and the
usual tremolo and the gasp in the middle
of the bass.
However, Dick could talk to the poor
fatherless orphan, while the wretched
singer was fighting with accidentals. ]
had consultation with him next morning
what did you talk to her about" said
"Oh! about the race"
"Did you say she must be an Oxford
girl, because she had Oxford dark blue