The Irish standard., 1896-02-08

play hal m "a ,bFtlYe at4t h t. riSc
isho,a;in,tsdo it,stho,sulgih, TOR / fshcy that
In gaining your demi=god you might lose
pleasant everyday acquainta nee '' s.
]. Then II not de ,, it, promise you;
pleasant aesltai II Aness are not not 50 pleIn-
.stiful in TregArthea that one can afford
10 experiment with them, not event Tor p
the sake Of restoring a; cherished idol Y
/; Having obtained a.footholdS at "Elc
& Laurels, :" Ringbrand made good use Of
Z his opportunities; and 'as Hester came
e know him better she began an to forgive
him for breaking the idol. AZ Ludlow Il
had foretold, there was. no limit to the
. eolonel's hospitality; and from stroll
= ing up to the plateau at irregular inter
/ walls after supper, Ringbrand soon fell
!: into the habit of spending the greater
/, number Of his afternoons at the home Of
the Latimers, and Hester soon found
herself looking forward to his visit as
to something without which the day
would be incomplete. 49,. . 49,, ..:,.,
3. One afternoon, when he had benin
;: vited: to come at = certain hour, he
!. found Hester, in riding-habit and hat,
and the ecolonel's boy leading two sad
!. died horses up and down before the
veranda steps. $;
~ "Tm going to carry yo,u horseback
riding, Nj. Ringbrand," she said, run,
ming down the steps te meet him:
r., He, looked askance, at the two: thor
oughbreds, and tried to Summon the
:couragesto say that he knew less than
nothing about horsenanship, IT nj
afraid you'll find me a; sorry cavalier,
Miss: Hester: he demonstrated: y
= - "Oh, Pluto is gentle; nybody can
ride him, y she; rejoined, gathering: her
~ skirt and standing beside her horse '
:Win yon size ne g hand. please -
-. Having. in his stories, had frequent
occasion todescriba the dexterous man
ner in which a gentleman assists a lady
ITO mount, Ringbrand knew precisely
what was; required of him; but, unfor-
tuna ely, the ability toportray dexter
ity, in vvirile English does not necessarily
imply it's possession BY the artist. He
took his. place rather awkwardly beside
Hester. and made. q, step. Of his hand,
=. holding it SO, high that she hesitated.
.!rJust little bit lower, if you please
she said, demurely, and his last shred of
self-possession took fight as he COM
Piled. Since Miss Latimer was any
thing but ethereal. the first attempt
broke his hold and covered him with
confusion; putting. his strength into
the next, he lifted SO vigorously that
nothing but Testers ready agility saved
& her from fallingout of the saddle on the
opposite side. 1T was too much for her
equaninity, and she. burst into a ring
ing laugh. ~. ~ - 80
g. Ringbrand Strengthened up and wiped
the perspiratfon from his face. II beg
your partlon-indeed do; I told you
was but an Indifferent horseman," he
apologized. =. .. ~. t.t.iis +.sy,:..sss Il -.,
'Please don't mention it, she said,
as. soon as she could speak. ;''It's aw
fully n1eanin me toslaugh, but I couldn't
helpit. Ishall have an immense respect
for your strength after this
Ringbrand took Pluto''s bride from
:. the grinning boy and tried to mount,
forgetting, in his embarrassment, that
well-trained saddle-horses are prone to
object to approaches from the wrong
side. He did not realize his mistake I'M
til he had enc foot in the stirrup and
/ was hopping about breathlessly in a
desperate endeavor to make Pluto stand
still long enough to enable him to spring
: into the. saddle; but with the knowl-
edge came sudden access Of obstinacY,
and he determined to succeed if it took
the remainder Of the afternoon. Hestei.
= was convulsed with laughter, and it
was some moments before she could:
find breath to suggest that Pluto was
unaccustomed to receiving his rider
form the off side.
"I-know--=it !, isn't - customary"
gasped Ringbrand, making violent eff
forts to keep near the plunging animal,
'butrr-I--usually-do it-this. way"
= Just then his foot slipped out of the
stirr,1p. and Pluto's enthusiastic and re-
: proachftil protests ceased. The disco,n-
flied cavalier mopped his steaming face
> again. and. beckoned. to the, boy. ''''
;. .':Just hold him a second, will you ?"
he. said, and, backing away for Short
!, run, he yaulted into the. saddle before
the astonished charger knew what,was
happening. 60, 80, ~ ..s: SD.
q e.'Bravo! bravo" exclaimed Hester,
clapping her hands in delighted appro
val. THAT was certainly original.
!. Where did you learn to'vault, Mr.: Ring
BRANDT ~, ,..., -, ' ,.... ~,
4 used. to do little. Of it at the uni.
yelsityt"' he replied, modestly forbeor-
ing TO add>that he had held the record
for the running high. jump in his class.
"a ''Do--do gentlemen usually mount
that way in New York;" she inquired,
iflnocent1y. sss'@.4 ~ 'E'@>'-@.&'.i
~ ~ can't say they. do--not always" he
responded. as they .ambled down the
long avenue and turned iptp the noun
tain road. :. ts.Now. that, you speak of it,
I'm not sure that ever saw anyone do
it in just that way-at leastnot outside
Of circus l.",,E.e@
She laughed again, a sweet bubbling.
over Of unrestained merriment that
made him think Of happy children and
singing birds, Didn't you know, sure
enough, that you were on the, wrong
Bide?"v she asked, naiyely.
'Honestly,I didn't At first" he con
fessed, but / began TO. suspect some
such dreadful thing before you spoke.
Then it occurred to me that Pluto was
unreasonably particulars about such a
c~,.u %hinn and r +hnur1t ~ rD;ul,t, he