Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1897-02-18

had been thought of township there,
when the Metropolis was still quite
distant thing, old Mr.. Williams had in
habited THE Brambles," as the little
house was called. and had owned all
the fields about it. Six or eight such
cottages scattered over a rolling coun-
try-side were all the houses to be found
there in the days when the century
was young. From afar. when the
breeze came from the north, the dull.
low roar of the great city might be
heard, like the breaking of the tide Of
life, while along the horizon might be
seen the dim curtain of smoke, the grim
spray which that tide threw up. Grad
ually, however, as the years passed, the
city had thrown out long brick-feeler
here and there. curving, extending. and
coalescing. until at last the little cot
tages had been gripped round by these
red tentacles, and had been absorbed
to make room for the modern villa
Field by field the estate of old Mr.. Will
liams had been sold to the speculative
builder, and had borne rich crops of
snug suburban dwellings, arranged in
curVlng crescents and tree-lined ave-
nues The father had passed away be-
fore his cottage was entirely bricked
round. but his two daughters, to whom
the property had descended, lived to see
the last vestige of country taken from
them. For years they had chung to the
one field which faced their windows,
and it was only after much argument
and many heartburnings, that they
had at last consented that it should
share the fate of the others. A broad
road was driven through their quiet
domain the On3Cfar
''The Wilderness" and three square.
staring, uncompromising villas began
to sprout up on the other side With
sore hearts. the Two shy little old maids
watched their steady progress, and
speculated as to what fashion Of neigh
bors chance would bring into the little
nook which had always been their own.
And at last they were all three An
ished. Wooden balconies and overhans-
ing caves had been added to them, so
that In the language of the advertise
ment, there We're vacant three eligible
Swiss-built villas, with sixteen rooms,
no basement, electric bells, hot and cold
water. and every modern convenience
including common tennis lawn, to be
let at flOO year, or E1,50O purchase
So tempting an offer did not long re-
main open. Within few weeks the card
had vanished from number one, and it
was known that Admiral Hay Denver,
V. c., c. B.. with Mrs. Hay Denver and
their only son, were about to move into
1t. The news brought peace to the hearts
Of the Williams sisters. They had lived
with a settled conviction that some wild
impossible colony, some shouting, sing
ing family Of madcaps, would break in
upon their peace. This establishment at
least was irreproachable. A reference to
Men Of the Time" showed them that
Admiral Hay Denver was a most dis
tinguished officer, who had begun his
active career at Bomarsund, and had
ended 1t at Alexandria, having man.
aged between these two episodes to see
as much service as any man Of his
years. From the Taku Forts and the
Shannon brigade. to dhow-harrying off
Zanzibar. there was no variety Of naval
work which did not appear in his rec
ord; while the Victoria Cross and the
Albert medal for saving life vouched
for it that in peace as IN war his cour-
age was still Of the same true temper.
Clearly very eligible neighbor this,
the more so as they had been confident
~ assured by the estate agent that Mr..
Harold Denver. the son, was most
quiet young gentleman. and that he
was busy from morning to night on the
Stock Exchange.
The lla. Denvers had hardly moved
In before number two also struck It's
placard. and again the ladies found
mat th";' had no reason to be discont-