The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-09-21
THE STORY OF
FRANCIS CLUDDE
By STANLEY ]. wEYMAN.
Copyright, 1891, by Cassell Publishing Co. All
rights reserved.l

blush. you know" he continued, Il
nay speak freely to you, since our enemies
ire in the main the same--you know that
,ur Spanish rulers are not very popular
with us and grow less popular every day,
specially with those who are of the re-
formed faith. We have learned, some Of
as, to speak their language but we love
hem none the better for that"
II can sympatbize with you indeed,
cried the duchess impulsively. God grant
that our country may never be in the
same plight, though 1t looks as II this
Spanish marriage were like to put us In
1t. 1t is Spainl Spainl Spainl and moth
Ing else nowadaysp'
Nevertheless the emperor is great
and puissant monarch" rejoined the
Arnheimer thoughtfully, land could he
rule us himself we might do we'll. But
his dominions are SO large he knows little
Of us. And, worse, he is dying, or as good
as dying. He can scarcely sit his horse
and rumor says that before the year is out
he will resign the throne Then we hear
little good of his successor, your queens
husband, and look to hear less. l fear that
there Is u dark time before us, and God
only knows the issue. "
"And alone will rule it, Master Berthe
rejoined piously.
This saying was in way the keynote
to the life we found our host living ON his
island estate. Peace, but peace with con.
slant fear for an assailant and religion
for a supporter. Several times week
Master Lindstrom would go to Arnheim to
his business, and always after
his return he would shake his head and
speak gravely, and Dymphna would lose
her color for an hour or two. Things were
going badly. The reformers were being
more and more hardly dealt with The
Spaniards were growing more despotio.
That was his constant report, and then
,porid him MS he walked with us in
orchard or garden or sat beside the stove,
cast wistful glances at the comfort and
plenty round him. / knew that he was
asking himself how long they would last.
II they escaped the clutches of tyran-
nical government would they be safe in
the times that were coming from the vio-
lence of an i'll paid soldieryi The answer
was doubtful, or rather 1t was too certain.
l sometimes wondered how he could pa
tiently foresee such possibilities and take
no steps, whatever the risk, to prevent
them. At first l thought his patience
sprang from the Dutch character. Later l
traced its deeper roots to simplicity of
faith and deep religious feeling, which
either did not at that time exist in Eng
land or existed only among people with
whom / had never come into contact.
Here they seemed common enough and
real enough. These folks faith sustained
them. 1t was n part of their lives-a bull
wark against the fear that otherwise
would have overwhelmed them. And to
an extent, too, which then surprised me,
found, as time went ON, that the duchess
and Master BERTHE shared this enthusiasm,
although with them 1t took less obtru.
sive form.
was led at the time to think q good
deal about this, and just word may say
of myself and of those days spent on tn,
Rhine island-that whereas before had
taken but alukewarm interest in religious
questions, and while clinging instructive
ly to the teaching of my childhood hat
conformed with light heart rather thar
annoy my uncle, l came to think some
what differently now, differently ant
more seriously. And so l have continued
to think since, though have never be
come bigot, a fact l owe perhaps t.
Mistress Dymphna in whose tender hear
there was room for charity as well rs faith
for she was my teacher.
OF necessity, since no other of our party
could communicate with her, ] becam,
more or less the Dutch girls companion
l would often of an evening join her on t
wooden bench which stood under an elm
on little spit Of grass looking toward tht
city and at some distance from the house
Here, when the weather was warm, SHE
would watch for her fathers return, ant
here one day, while talking with her,
had the opportunity Of witnessing a sight
unknown in England, but which year by
year was to become more common in the
Netherlands, more heavily fraught with
menace in Netherland eyes
We happened to be so deeply engaged in
watching tho upper end of the reach at
the time In question, where we expected
each moment to see Master Lindstrom' S
boat round the point, that we saw nothing
Of boat coming the other way until the
tapping of its sails as 1t tackled drew our
eyes toward it. Even then in the boat it,
self saw nothing strange, but in its pas.
sengers did. They were swarthy, mus.
tachioed men, who in the hundred poses
they assumed as they lounged on deck or
leaned over the side, never lost peculiar
air of bravado. As they drew nearer to us
the sound of their loud voices, their oaths
and laughter reached us plainly and
seemed to jar on the evening stiffness
Their bold, fierce eyes, raking the banks
increasingly, reached us at last. Tho girl
by my side uttered cry of alarm and rose
as II to retreat. But she sat down again,
for behind us was an open stretch of turf,
and to escape unseen was impossible. AL
ready a score of eyes had marked her
beauty, and as the boat drew abreast of us
had to listen to the ribald iests and
laughter of those on board. My ears tin.
gled and my cheeks burned. But could
do nothing. / could only glare at them
and grind my teeth.
"Who are they'" muttered. 9TH,
cowardly knavesp'
"Oh, hushl hushl" the girl pleaded
She had retreated behind me- And indeed
l need not have put my question, fol
though 1 had never seen the Spanish sol
diery had heard enough about them t.
recognize them now. In the year 1857
their reputation was at its height. Theil
fathers had overcome the Moors after
contest of centuries and they themselves
had overrun Italy and lowered the prid,
OF France. As result, they had man.
military virtues and all the military vices
Proud, bloodthirsty and licentious every
where, 1t may be imagined that in tn
subject Netherlands, with their pay al
ways In arrear, they were indeed people t.
be feared. 1t was seldom that even thei
| commanders dared to check their excuses
Yet when the first flush of my ange
had subsidized looked after them, odd a
1t may seem, with mingled feelings Witt
all their faults they were few agains
many, conquering race in a foreig
land. They could boast of blood and dc
scent They were proud to call themselve
the soldiers and gentlemen of Europe
was against them, yet l admired then
with boy s admiration for the strong an
reckless.
or course said nothing of this to IN,
companion. Indeed, when she spoke t
me, did not hear her My thoughts ha,
flown far from the burghers daughter sit
ting by me and were with my grandmoth
er's people. l saw, In Imagination, tn
uplands OF Old CASTLE, as l had ofte
heard them described, hot in summer an
bleak in winter. l pictured the dark
frowning walls of Toledo, with its hun
dred Moorish trophies, the castles tina
crowned the hills around, the gray oily
groves and the box clad slopes. saw Pa
lencia, where my grandmother, Petronill
dc Vargas, was born; Palencia, dry an
brown and sun baked, lying squat an
low on its plain, the caves of its cathodra
a mans height from the ground. All thi
l saw. l suppose the Spanish blood In III
awoke and asserted itself at sight of thos
other Spaniards. And then-then forge
1t all as heard behind me an alien vote,
and l turned and found Dymphna ha
stolen from me and was talking to
stranger
CHAPTER TX.
He was young man, and a DutohmaI
but not Dutchman of the stout, burl
type which had most commonly seen 1
the country. He had, it is true, the usus
fair hair and blue eyes, and he was rattle