The Bossier banner., 1893-12-07

knocked about, although l have no
doubt he richly deserved it; he now,
feeling himself an object of sympathet-
ic interest, sat down and refused to
move any further.
| knew something about dogs, and
speedily bound up his paw with my
own handkerchief and that of his
mistress, which was simply marked
Ella"
Our faces were very close together
over the dogs leg, and one of her tears
splashed on to the back of my hand
Ella blushed, laughed and apologized
l never saw a lovelier blush or heard a
sweeter laugh in my life.
Seeing that the beast was resolved
not to walk, carried him. He was a
tremendous weight, and fdgeted
abominably. But with Ella beside me,
and her sweet, white hand, from which
she had withdrawn the glove, con-
stantly strohing the brutes neck, 1 trod
on enchanted ground. The maid
brought up the rear, giggling good
deal, but, as she constantly dragged be-
hind to stare at soldiers, her presence
did not in any way hamper us.
The accident took place near the
White Lodge, and we had to pass out
by the Star and Garter gates. Long be-
fore we reached them l was madly in
love with Ella, and had already in
formed her that this was the happiest
hour of my life, when to my dismay l
learned that she was Miss Ella Barring
ton Q10nSt dovrhfar nf Do ~ So
Starch" as we called him at the bank,
where he lodged a portion of the wealth
he had acquired in the manufacture of
that commodity.
'Barrington's Starch" lived in a
brand new stucco palace he had built
for himself, near Richmond Hill; and,
although he was not exactly "Perkyn
Middlewick, could never understand
how he could be the father of SO re-
fined and lovely and fairy like being
as Ella
Before the gates of Darlington hall,
as he called his brick and mortar mon
strosity, we paused. We were friends,
dear old friends, by this time. / knew
that she was nineteen, and that she
loved nothing in the world so much as
her bull terrier pup, except her father
and her brother Bob, and she knew
every detail of my uneventful life of
seven-and-twenty summers.
She asked me to come in; papa would
want to thank me, she said.
l found papa genial enough, albeit
somewhat condescending. 1.-The young
man from the bank l afterwards
found he called me, although my name,
Ernest Wynter, was known to him, and
he himself had begun life as a mill
hand at six shillings a week. Still 1
was allowed to visit at Darlington hall,
and to play tennis with the girls, and
every day grew more abjectly in love
with Ella, whose unaffected charm of
manner no parvenu surroundings could
impair.
Of course / dared not TO speak of my
love to her. In my position, that was
out of the question. l could only try
to kiss the dogs head, just after her
lovely lips had rested there, and to de-
tain her hand as long as possible in
greeting and parting from her.
Yet she must have guessed something
of what felt; for she took me one day
into the kitchen-garden away from the
children, and there, looking at me with
lovely, tear-dimmed eyes, she suddenly
remarked:
81 am so unhappy, Mr.. Wynter. Papa
wants me to marry Alderman Sir John
Westbury. He is nice old thing, and
papa says shall be lady mayoress.
But think he is quite as fond of my
sister Bertha as he is of me, and--l am
in love with some one else"
The look with which she accompanied
her last words was revelation. She
grew very red the next moment and
began rapidly talking of something
else, while l, like a fool, stood and
stared at her until her wretched young
brother Bob came bawling down the
garden after her, and so took my
chance of speaking from me.
For the rest of the afternoon Ella
avoided me, and cursing my own stu
pidity, went home and wrote her the
following letter:
my DEAR MISS HARRINGTON: don'tknow
whether you will think me the most conceited
ass alive for supposing that few words of
yours to-day encourage me to tell you what
meant to keep secret-that ever since first
met you, three months ago, 1 have been SO
madly in love with you that can think Of
nothing else. But as my entire income does
not exceed two hundred and fifty year have
thought 1t would be presumptuous to talk OF
marriage to you, even had I felt hopeful of
gaining your love. will not venture into your
presence again until have heard from you.
Only, I entreat of you, for the sake Of our de-
lightful friendship, If have made o mistake,
and it is some one else whom you love- not to
write to tell me what fool have been. shall
understand and respect your silence, and,
much as may suffer, will not intrude upon
you again.
always, my dear Miss harrington, what
you wish me to be-your sincere friend or your
most devoted adorer,
ERNEST WINTER"
suppose other men have watched for
the postman before now, but surely no
man ever waited upon his footsteps as
did for three whole weeks.
Even at the end of that time should
have gone on hoping, but for the fact
that, meeting Ella and her sisters in
the street, her manner toward me left
no doubt as to her decision, for, whereas
the younger members of the family