The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-11-22
GALL RIGHTS REsERvEp.)

AN.s
Sir Joseph disappeared. His daughter
rode on in silence and sadness. She knew
that it was all she could do to keep tho
tears from coming into her eyes. She
was afraid Smithers must have heard
some of the alteration between her ana
her father. Poor Sir Joseph when he
was angry with anyone, even his daugh-
ter, rather liked that the stern e1oQuenoe
of..his anger should ssmake itself impress
sive on others as well as on It's immediate
object. It2woulda be. an impressive warn
ing for Smithers to know how severely
such man could rebuke even his own
daughter when she deserved it-and, of
course, when Sir Joseph rebuked her she
must have deserved it. The girl was
glad to be allowed home without her
father. Her heart was too full and too
bitter. She did not even then doubt his
love-his mistaken and misguided love-
but it was pain and shame to her to see
how completely his whole soul was given
up to vulgar ambition, and how bis
daughters heart and happiness would
have counted for nothing with him, COM
pared to his am bition to be the father
in law of member of the House of Lords.
She was not really SO much distressed at
thesdecIaration of her father that he
would never sanction her marriage with
the lover of her choice. She did not be-
ll6Vo EndU TSSOIF0 WOulu idhO DIS long as
hers. She was determined that she
would never marry any man but the lover
of her heart-and she knew that he
would wait for her-and it would be lit
tie more than year before shs would be
twenty-one, and then she would be q
free human creature to make or mar her
own fate TO the best of her Judgment,
brain, and soul. What especially sad
deneu and distressed her was the cruel
60 +baf in fofh Oh
longer see the ideal parent--the man to
whom his child could look devotedly and
devoutly up-the guide, the friend, the
household divinity of her childhood.
That parent existed no longer-neyer
could exist again. One parent in the
dead earth of the grave, and the other in
the live earth of the worlds meanness
and servile snobbishness, the thought was
we'll fitted to make poor girl feel lonely
And this poor girl felt lonely indeed as
she rode slowly homeward, and waited
every now and then for the father who
did not come; waited, and was relieved
wheD he did not come, and then again
was shocked and penitent to find that
she could feel such relief
When she reached home she sat down
and wrote letter to her lover in which
and told him. too, that it was only
postponement and an obstruction, and
bade him be of good cheer, as she would
be, and assured him of that which In
deed he had little need to be assured of,
her undying love.
When she had written this letter and
INT 1t off she felt better, and then she
emit to dress for dinner. In the stately
household of Sir Joseph full dinner dress
was Indispensable, even when his daugh-
ter and he dined alone together.
The dinner bell rang and she went
down to the drawing room and took up a
book and tried to read while waiting for
her father. 1t was strange that he should
be late. He often found fault with her
for not being punctual, but he was never
known to be a minute behind time Lord
portant and long. Her father, she
thought had no doubt been delayed and
was still dressing. Presently the butler
came to,ask If dinner was to be served,
or If 1t was to wait for the coming of Sir
Joseph.
Has my father not come home yet,
Benson?" She turned to the man in
some surprise.
''No, miss, Sir Joseph have not come
home"
In the case of many an excellent father
and head of household this would not
have been surprising, but Sir Joseph was
never known to be irregular in his move.
ments. His daughter felt alarmed She
could not tell why. Perhaps only because
they had parted In something like quar-
rel. All, any alarm becomes grave when
one has parted from the missing creature
in anything like angerl She waited and
waited, and Sir Joseph did not come
Then she ordered up dinner and tried to
eat some of it in solitary and forlorn
state. She knew well that the one thing
Sir Joseph would never allow would be
to have any of his movements questioned
or made the subject of comment in the
household. If he was late for dinner it
must be because something made it neces-
sary and rightful that he should be late
for dinner and everything must move
on in as orderly asfashion In 5h1s absence
as under his dictatorial eyes. So his
daughter made no comment, and indeed
said nothing more about her father, but
merely ordered up the dinner and meekly
went through some show of eating her
share of 1t.
Towards the close of this lugubrious
feast the footman came with a letter ad-
dressed to her.
1T was told to tell you, miss the man
explained, that it was brought by Lord
Frankland's groom.
Come she thought with a relieved
mind, 'here is the explanation. He has
been kept to dinner at Lord Frank
lana s.
CIarissa smiled ruefully enough at the
thought that it would not be very diff
cult to prevail on her father to accept the
hospitality Of any noble lord; and she
knew that Lord FARMLAND was one of
the magnates of the district who held
most aloof from the new rich men of the
town, and perhaps especially from Sir
Joseph. All this passed through her
mind as she was opening the seal Of the
letter
Lord Franklandl What had Lord
Frankland to do with this? She read the
letter over sagain and again before she
could get to any glimpse of it's meaning.
This is what it contained
miss Carnaway.-We are sorry for
you, but your father is % hard man as
we'll as rich man, and he must be made
to give to the poor, whom he has helped
to make and to keep poor. We have CAP
tured him, and he is in the hands of his
ron, oraalass eneujes IF Won will 6oaI