The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1895-11-28

9E7HfvVAlCAS NlIAlA " WCChf VI has ACSuAA,
he greeted her at length en- the neutral
ground Of the Nottingham club, she.
found him good deal changed-older,
improved, nothing Of the boy she re-
membered about him, except his feat
ures, which We're good.
"Then you haven't quite forgotten
me" she said.
Forgotten you? Is it likely? My
dear Lady Brereton, don't you recol-
lect my youthful alteration? You made
me as wretched as a lovesick boy can
be. The letters used to write to you!
The speeches used to make! How
must have loved you! I was so very
much IN earnest; one takes oneself so
seriously at twenty-one. l have often
laughed over the thought of it since"
He laughed now. So did she, very
naturally, too. But she was not
pleased; for in his frank allusion to
the past she discerned that her empire
was lost, and no woman loves to make
that discovery, even if she has not val
ued it at the time OF possession. "
"And is your stay in London to be
long?' she asked.
"Oh, am not going back to India at
ALL" he said. "The regiment will be
home next month. mean to settle
down and marry. The governor wants
it; fidgety about the title, you know,
since my brother died. It's rather a
bore" He laughed. by the way,
Lady Brereton, was intending to call
and ask your aid about it. l thought
for the sake Of the old times you might
feel sufficient interest in the nice boy
now he's grown UP, to find a nice girl
for him-decent family, Of course, and
a little money no objection, but not
sine qua non. Women are 50 clever at
this kind of thing" ~.
II shall be- delighted," she said.
sweetly. "I'll look out for you, and
you must come and see me, and report
what discoveries you are making on
your own account"
But the conversation was little
one-sided after that. Capt Valence
chatted easily, little nothings of the
hour, the amusing conversation of a
Well-bred man of the world with a
witty tongue and a shrewd perception.
But she did not pay much heed to
what he said. She was thinking Of
the last time they met She was then
Blanche Forester, and he called her
his angel sister, the light Of his life,
and she had laughed and hidden him
not to be a sly boy. The whole episode
had been very absurd, of course, but
somehow his mockery of it did not
please her, and the glibness of his
Lady Brereton' grated.
Thursday is my day." she said to
him when he put her in her carriage
by and by. "But if you like to take
your chance, you know
Perhaps she thought about him more
on her way home than she had ever
thought about him before at one time,
and called it little beast. Such is
feminine justice! ~.....
II was young once" said Capt.
Valence to the horse chestnut trees,
II was distressingly young-a malady
we all suffer from. But feel better
now, thank God!" he added piously.
And he lighted a cigar and went to
watch the polo with a smile of self
satisfaction s,.~ ~ ~: =
They met a good deal in the course
OF the next few weeks. He reminded
her Of her promise, and she mentioned
two or three desirable damsels to him;
but her assistance ended there, and he
never saw an attractive looking girl in
her house. Also he found occasion to
allude once more to his salad days.
Nothing polishes a cub" he said,
like an affair with a woman of the
world. My dear Lady Brereton, accept
the assurance of my gratitude"
She would have been better pleased if
he had intimated that she had ruined
his life, better pleased even If he had
openly ovoided her. His camaraderie
stung her feminine soul. She did not
approve of platonics, especially in an
old admirer.
Zone would think I was his grand
MOTHER she said to her own wrath
full reflection in the toilet glass. And
then she Wept stOrmily-fOr no reason
| that she would have named to a living
soul.
For a week she saw nothing of him
then one evening their eyes met across
| the opera house, and faint resent:
ment-the sequel to the unexplained
tears-was in her smileless eyes, II
was perceptible, too, in the manner OF
her greeting when, during the last
entr'acte, he deserted his stall for he1
box, and, on Mrs. Crosbie's invitation
uAOppCu luCO tuC VuCuuC ClldlI DcLWceu
them. But he appeared to notice nc
GOODNESS in her manner; he was in the
most brilliant of moods i s.t.
II have news for you,'' he murmured
in her ear, when the stage claimed
Mrs. Crosbie's attention. ''She is
found.'' - -lr' ..z~
Indeed! And am to congratulate
you?" ~ 49,. ~
Perhaps it would be trife prema
ture. You see, I haven't proposed yet
I'll tell you all about it tomorrow il
you are sufficiently Interested"
Tell me now," she said. ~
| She spoke quite naturally, and she
was smiling. But he did not look a
her face; his eyes had been on he1
hands as it closed with spasmodit
force upon the handle of her fan.
''You will break that toy If you treai
it like that he said, quietly.
She dropped it as if it had stung hel
and drew back in the shadow of thu
draperies with her white teeth press
ing her lower lip. 4
/ go on," she said. lis it an affai]
of the heart or the head" III
tShe is the only woman would eve]
wish to marry" he answered II wan
her more than I have wanted any