New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-09-30

within.
; 1T was his gift?" said Penelope. brea thing
Quickly. Il see You sent him to look for 1t
on the moor, when I was told you had lost
pencil-case?~
Nina smiled.
"No wonder he was angry when Mr.. Redwood
offered 10 be your esco't to the spring yesterday
It was he Torquil Macaister. who was eng
NAUTICAL then. He did not see me. bat heard
him cursing in Ids own tongue as he looked at
Won both You had to soothe his naughty
spirit afterward I,presume?" ironically.
lyon are right" Nina was now the calmer
OF the two.
"And TO grant him last'night's meeting?'
Eyes"
For which YOU had again to lie to me. And
now YOU think | followed you out and tracked
you to this spot order to discover your secret?
Oh how little did 1 suppose there was any such
secret BY the merest accident l strolled this
wav and hearing voices. ! imagined that some
Of your servants had stolen out to meet each
other-it would have been no harm If they had
and as did not want to surprise them and make
them uncomfortable and had no time to get out
of the way hid myself behind those bushes,
pointing to the spot, land waited for the lovers
to pass by. They did pass She could not
proceed
at shocked you. d:d.it Penelope"
NINA, now can you Spcdh Hhc 'H"'' ''''
can you-how can you? To have 80 stooped-so
degraded yourself
~ do not admit that have degraded myself
Penelope YOU have told your story; will you
listen TO mine? 1t may not in your eyes ex-
cuse me-perhaps it hardly does in my own-but
7 think" she faltered paused. then resumed
more firmly II think 1t ought to make you pity
me"
81 do pity you, already. God knows I pity
YOU. dear dearest Nina" Penelope's lip was
trembling now. PITY you? My very heart has
been breaking with pity for you all night long
all through the night in which never slept
WAS that the cause of your looks this morn
ing Penelope" The idea seemed to strike home.
"Were you greving fo- me?'
Eyes indeed, dear cousin: broken-hearted for
YOU If have been cruel now
NAY you have not been cruel
1T was because / was so wild with shame and
grief and perpexity. ] know not what TO do
or whom to go TO. Nina, why did you come and
listen at Ailse's door? 1t was that which set
me on fire. ! scarcely knew what was say
ing. or where was going. = She sobbed
aloud.
Il suspected you had heard something. and
were about to communicate 1t to Aisle, ana
wished TO prevent your doing anything OF the
kind" said Nina In matter Of fact tone. i
did not mean to come in unless were required
And you heard-what did you hear?
Il did not hear much you came out too
quickly"
Nina how could your
ut necessary. | have had 10 defend
myself for long time now. You said you
would listen to my story. and will not be long,
and Penelope. try to believe that for once-for
once-I am telling you tie truth Penelope. you
\ know a family; you have lived among
us long enough to be no stranger. You see the
y warped. cramped. stunted creatures We are in
mind and soul: daughters of fine old race;
descendants OF noble wives and mothers of
wise and good women. who would have shud-
dered 10 what "e Do you know that
we might not always have been SO? That there
a time when each one Of us was bright
and happy child. free Of tongue and heart ready
for anything eager for everything-lOnging.
above all to know and see. and learn the stuff
the world is made of. Then our parents took
us in hand. and the slow. rigid process began by
which every natural growth was stopped and
every natural instinct crushed. We were to be
not what God made us but what mamma wanted
We never granted reason. or an ex-
PLANTATION. 1T Is enough that | wish IT,, was
the formula which closed every controversy. We
were not to read except 1t were the weak child
ish literature she provided and that when we
were women grown; newspapers were put out OF
our reach; what people were thinking and doing
in the world carefully kept from us
cept when 1t jumped with our parents own in
clinations and opinions. Even then 1t was dealt
out to us grudgingly. We We're not to discuss
the subjects of the day Our religion to be
the religion mamma dispensed We were pun
ished If we did not welcome 1: and receive 1t in
ships, for mamma thought 1t was bad thing
for girls to get together and talk. Even you.
Penelope when you came-and even now when
We are crushed and shapen. and have taken the
form designed for us. and have life left In
us-even now. we were warned, or | was not TO
be contaminated by your worldly wisdom and
knowledge. This has been our education: IL
only needed the finishing touch. she paused.
"and that came to me-six years ago Can you
guess what II was?
Il know" Penelope bent her head. She had
been expecting ttis
"You know? They told you Oh, yes, their
own version doubtless You see by this time
sisters have lost II their lden
tity. and they who We're once the prosecuted are
in turn the prosecutors. They watch me now
lutte To make me what they have been made.
do not blame them blamed them once but
that Is long past only II might help you to un-
derstand If I-shall | EXPLAIN
Penelope pressed her hand.
1--WE were staying away from home one OF
our rare visits; continued her cousin 81 had
barely left the schoolroom. and all the world
was bright before me. ! thought every one
kind. and good. and pleasant Mamma was not
so stern with she had been with Louisa
and Joanna. and, though perhaps ! was not
always quite open with her, did not on the
whole abuse her confidence. But we never ran
to our mother With our secrets. our outcries. our
wants and demands. as other children do. Even
now. when mamma talks with the elder ones
and thinks she has raised them to their proper
level II is she who originates every idea and
opinion. and they there merely to echo and
applaud You will see then that was not likely
to confide either 10 her or to them that THAT
new world had opened before me. Mr.. Etheridge
was handsome. clever good. He talked 10 me
as 20 one had ever talked DelOre. ana In "A feW
days had learned 20 feel that could be happy
with him-at least that was happy. and that
every hour only made me more so. Penelope. II
all fell away lik. that mist upon the ocean.
There explana tion-at least never had
any He came here-he had told me he would
come and asked my leave to do so. in a way
that could have borne but one Interpretation,
and when he came. p
She stopped.
"Yes-you?"
II was not allowed TO him. forced 10
remain III my room upstairs, and he given
to understand that he was to return no more
And you have never met each other since?"
Never"