The Irish standard., 1896-02-29
with me, and the mo- especially as you


mind of it's advota te was too busy with,
questions suggested by the pres
ence of Hester Latimer. All through
the argument he was studying her face,
searching therein for the proof or the
contradiction of Mrs. Ludiow's asser-
ton, and tornenting himself by trying
to, imagine what Hester would sayif he
should tell her Of his intended depart
ure and the reason for it.
After an carly tea the colonel excused
himself, riding off with Henry to the
west farm. portion OF the estate lying
two miles farther back on the noun tain.
When they were left alone together,
Ringbrand made a commemorate effort
to keep the stream Of conversation flow
ing in trivial channels: but his
thoughts set so pe1rJstently toward the:
.feud, and it's bearing upon both their
lives, that he had spoken of 1T almost
before he knew what he WAS saying.
Il should think it would be a constant
source OF anxiety to you he said, ir-
relevantly.
perhaps il would, if j knew what it
was" she answered, demurely.
~ s'Pardon me-I must have been think
= ing aloud: meant the feud.
She smiled at his preoccupation. Il
supposed that was what you were
thinking of. No. l can't say that it is
exactly a source of anxiety, although,
of course, I should be glad enough il
the Bvnums would leave the country.
1t isn't pleasant to have the en1nity Of
such people,"
''But your father and !orother--don't
YOU sometimes feel anxious on their &C
count?'
She shook her head. "That would be
disloyal; it would imply doubt of
their ability to take care of them
= Selves .a
Rinebrand was thoughtful for a mo-
ment, and then he said: TITS dreadful
state of affairs, though, Miss Hester; i
should think it would be a perfect
nightmare to YOU
cit seems terrible to you, no doubt,
used to it-or, anyway, as nearly as one
can be used TO such things. I should
feel quite lost without the feud.'
81 envy you your courage"
"That's odd. l didn't suppose man
ever envied woman the possession of
such an ordinary virtue as courage
~ "Perhaps it isn't SO commonplace as
yo,, imagine
"Oh. meant with gentlemen; of
course, it says itself that women are
!; towards, but that is only another way
OF saying that men are brave
{" sI'm not quite sure that follow your
logic. Would you mind giving me your
definition of courage?"
Perhaps will--after you've told me
yours"
. Ringbrand reflected a moment before
answering. Possibly my definition is
not quite sincere. I have always
thought that the truest courage con-
sisted in doing right when it is easier
r. and safer to do wrong--in other words,
that it requires Il higher kind Of cour-
age to suffer injury than to resent it.
I'm beginning to suspect, however, that
this test can be applied only to martyrs
and TO cowards-to the latter, because
they use it as a plea for nonresistance.
tltiAh tll61O 10 Say Ait G1S NC IeI1A LILY
depth" replied Hester, shipping rose
from the clam boring bush that covered
the, end of the veranda and beginning
to trim the petals into danlia-like pre-
cision with her scissors. 81 have al
ways thought of Il brave man as; one
who was simply not afraid of anything;
one of whom it could be said that he did
mt Erox., u1,nt faar yyas - 80
THAT always seemed to me like du-
bious praise If one doesn't know'the
sensation of fear. there can be littlevir-
tue in being brave. To my mind, the
man who realizes the danger and We:
compels himself to face it, though it
may be with pallid face and shaking
knees, deserves the greater credit
II suppose that's true. only | never
= got that far into the subject before. I
: don It often reason about such things,
because suppose you would say be-
cause woman doesn't reason about
anything; but it doesn't seem neces-
sary; life isn't SO much a question of
motives as of deeds: it isn't so much
what one thinks as what one does. And
father says one does what his ancestors
did" ~
I'm that case ought to be a brave
man." said Ringbrand, smiling; my
forefathers were Scottish clansmen,
and they haven't left record of many
other virtues"
us your name Scotch?'
:, .'Yes;, tradition has it that our an
,cestors were the heralds of the clan,
and that the name comes from their
custom of wh:rling a lighted brand in
a circle as a signal for the gathering of
the hosts.''
Elbow swcetly romantic! 1t sounds
like bit out of dear old Sir Walter.
should always believe that, whether it;
is true or not"
Ringbrand laughed shortly: "You
have true .woman's admiration for,
valorous deeds. haven't you? A peace
able man finds himself rather out of the
running
She looked up in surprise at the Gym:
zeal outburst. II think that's little 1
unkind,'' she said, quietly; but if you
will insist upon throwing down the
challenge" she paused and trimmed off:
the last remaining petals of the rose,
II don't begin to understand how any
true woman could respect a man who
isn't brave; I'm sureit wouldn't be pos
sill BILE for me, if for no other reason than
that am my fathers daughter. There