The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-11-05
CHAPTER X

The meeting with her new relation had
great effect upon DOra's mind. 1t
troubled her, though there was no reason
IN the world why the discovery that her
mother had a sister, and she herself an
aunt, should be painful An aunt is not a
very interesting relation generally, not
enough to make girls heart beat, but it
added complication to the web of alto
together new difficulties in which Dora
found herself entangled
Everything had been so simple in the
old days-thOse dear old days now nearly
three months off, before Mr.. Mannering
fell ill, to which now Dora felt herself 90
back with such sense of happiness and
ease, perhaps never to be known again
Then everything had been above board
there had been no payments to make that
were not made naturally by her father
the fOuntain-head of everything. who
gave his simple orders. and had them full
filled, and provided for every necessity
Now Dora feared knock at the door of
his room lest it should be some indiscreet
messenger bringing direct a luxury or
novelty which it had been intended to
smuggle in so that he might not observe
it, or introduce with some ones compli-
ments as an accidental Offering to the
sick man.
To hurry off jamie and Molly downstairs
with these good things intended to tempt
the invalids appetite, to stamp a secret
foot at the indiscretions of Jane, who
would bring in the bill for these dainties,
or announce their arrival out loud, rous-
ing MIR. Mannering to inquiries, and a
stern order that such eXtravagances
should be no more, were now common ex-
periences to Dora. She had to deceive
him, which was, Miss Bethune assured
her, for his good, but which Dora felt,
with sinking heart, was not at all for
her own good, and made her shrink from
her fathers eyes. To account for the
presence of some rare wine which was
good for him by little story which,
though it had been carefully taught her
by DR.. Roland of Miss Bethune was not
true-to make out that it was the most
natural thing in the world that ''pates de
fois graS,' and the strongest soups and
essences should be no more expensive than
common beaf-tea, the manufacture of
Bloomsbury because the doctor knew
some place where they were to be had at
wholesale rates for almost nothing-these
We're devices now quite familiar to her
1t was no worse to conceal the appear
ance of this new and strange parsonage
on the scene, the relation of whom she
had never heard and whose existence
was TO remain a secret, but still it was a
bigger secret than any that concerned the
things that were to eat or to drink, or
tDAuNnA > bliS. AOuNtdlluenI Is an arr
that has to be carefully learnt, like other
arts, and il is extremely difficult to some
minds, who will more easily acquire the
most elaborate handicraft than the trick
of selecting what is to be told and what
is not to be told.
1t was beyond all description difficult
TO Dora. She was ready to betray herself
at almost every moment, and had it not
been that her own mind was much per-
turbed and troubled by her strange visitor,
and by attempts to account for her to her
self, she never could have succeeded in
| it, What could the offence be that made
it impossible for her father never to meet
the sister of his wife againl Dora had
learned from novels great deal about the
mysteries Of life, some which her natural
mind rejected as absurd, some which she
contemplated with awe rs tragic posi-
bilities entirely out of the range OF. com
mon life She had read about implacable
persons who, once offended, could never
forgive, and of those who revenged them
selves and pursued feud to the death
But the idea of her father in either of
these characters was too ridiculous to be
dwelt upon for a moment. And there
had been no evil intended, no harm, only
fatality. What is o fatality2 To have