Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1897-06-10
CHAPTER VIII.

to enjoy his meditatiye stroll on deck,
FOR the full radiance Of light that
streamed over the sea and land was
100 clear and brilliant to necessitate
the attendance Of any OF the sailors
FOR the purpose Of guarding the
fGulalie. She was safely anchored
and distinctly visible to all boats or
fishing craft crossing the Fjord, so
that unless a sudden gale should blow,
which did not seem probable In the
present state of the weather, there was
nothing for the men to do that need
deprive them of their lawful repose.
Burlington paced up and down slowly,
his yachting shoes making no noise.
even as they left no scratch on the
spotless white deck, that shone In the
night sunshine like polished silver.
The Fjord was very calm, on one side
1t cleaned like pool OF golden oil in
which the outline of the Eulalie was
precisely traced, her delicate masts
and spars and dropping flag being
drawn in black lines on the yellow
water as though with a finely pointed
pencil There was curious light In
the western sky; a thick band OF
clouds, dusky brown in color, were
swept together and piled one above the
other In mountainous ridges that rose
MP perpendicularly from the very edge
of the sea-line, while over their dark
submits glimpse Of the sun, like a
giants eye, looked forth, darting
dazzling descending rays through the
aullen smoke-like masses, tingling
them with metallic green and copper
Euos as brilliant and shifting as the
! bristllng points of lifted spears. Away
to the south, u solitary wreath of pur-
pie vapor floated slowly rs though lost
| from some veil the pale moon peered
sorrowfully, like dying prisoner
lamenting joys long past, but unfor-
gotten.
A solemn siler CO reigned; and Err
rngton, watching sea and sky, grew
more and more absorbed and serious
The scornful words of tho proud old
! Olaf Guldmar rankled In his mind and
stung him. "An idle triller with time
an aimless wanderer!" Bitter, but,
afier ALL true! He looked back on his
life with n feeling kin to contempt.
What had he done that was at all
worth doing? He had seen to the
proper management of his estates,-
well! any one with grain of self
respect and love of independence would
do the same. He had travelled and
| hin,pnlF hn hnI utnlinI Inn
guages and literature, he had made
many friends; but after all said and
dCne, the bondes cutting observations
had described him correctly enough
! The do-notbipg, care-nothlng ten
dency, common to the very wealthy
in this age. had crept upon him uncon-
sclously; the easy, cool, Indifferent
nonChalance common to men of his
class and breeding was habitual with
him, and he had never thought 1t
worth while to exert his dormant
abilities. Why then, should he now
begin to think 1t was time to reform
al this,-to rouse himself to an ef-
ftrt,--t gain himself some honor,
some distinction, some renown that
should mark him out as different to
other men? why was he suddenly
seized with an insatiate desire to be
something ore than n mere "mush-
room knight, Il fungus of nobility
why? II not to make himself worthy
of-ah! There he had struck sugges-
tive keynote! Worthy of what? of
whom? There was no one in all the
world, excepting perhaps Lorimer,
who cared what became Of Sir Philip
Elrington, Baronet. in the future, so
long as he would for the present, en-
terrain and feast his numerous ac-
quaintances and give them all the adj
vantagos. social and political, his
wealth could SO easily obtain, Then
Why, in the name Of well-bred indo-
lence, should he muse with such per-
sistent gloom, on his general UNI
worthinoss ut this particular moment?
Was II because this Norwegian
maiden's gland blue eyes had met his
! with such beautiful trust and candorP
lie had known many women queens
of society, titled beauties, brilliant
actresses, sirens Of tho world with all
their witcheres In full play, and he
had never lost his sell-possession or
his heart; with the loveliest Of them
he had always felt himself master Of
4 the situation, knowing that In their
opinion he was always n catch IAN
| eligible" and, therefore, we'll worth
winning, Now, for the first time, he
became aware of his utter insignih
cance, this tall, fair goddess knew
none of the social slang her fair,
pure face. tho mirror of fair, pure
soul showed that the eligibility" of
n man from pecuniary point of view
was consideration that would never
present itself To her mind. What she
would look ut would be the man him
self, not his pocket, And, studied
from such an exceptional hetght,-a
height >ldom climbed by modern
marr,ing women. Philip felt himself
unworthy II was "A good sign; there
are great hopes Of any man who is
honestly dissatisfied with himself