Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1897-11-18
The girl ran to him and touched him on

the sleeve.
Mr.. Werner. dear Mr.. Werner, l am so
glad!' she gasped, breathlcssly.
Slowly. and as if with an effort, the
aim old eyes withdrew themselves from
the church tower and gazed wonderingly
upon the pale young face looking eagerly
upward.
why Stella: Are you still at the cas-
tic: They told me you had been sent to
school. Why did you not come to see me
beforc?"
Il was not allowed to go out till her
ladyship went away. and l did not know
you were bere. They said you had gone
to London"
"They were right. my child" answered
the old man. with a profound sigh; Il
did go to London. | was in London near
~ four months. a terrible place, child
Il fearful p!acc-when one has lost the
habit of cities. as ! have. The din of the
ro"ded streets Gcafencd me. the strange
faces made me feel ~distraught. 1t is Il
drcary wilderness. Stella. for IA man with
out friends: and l had no friends in Lon
don~-no. not one. But let us talk Of it
no more. Come indoors and rest yourself.
stella: ii is too cold to be standing here
so long"
lie led the way into Il cottage parlor,
Uttered with the chaotic lumber of Il stu
cents days and nights-a table crowded
with pamphlets and papers. books piled
IN every available corner. heaped upon
the floor; dust. untidiness everywhere.
The owncr of the cottage had given up
the struggle for neatnesS and had allow
cd her eccentric lodgcr to have things in
his w way. He was not "A troublesome
lodger. needed but little attendance. new
cr gru1nbled at the cooking. paid his way
punctually: but his long night watches
were il source Of fear to his landlady. lest
in porting over those dry-as-dust old vol
nlnes he should fall asleep and suffer the
house to be set on fire.
Have you been living here long:" ask
cd Stella, looking at the chaos ana longing
to put things straight with dcXtrous
womanly fingers.
Only since last November. Lord Lash
mar has been good enough to give me Il
small pension. which l accept without
compunctiOn. as l know that my dear
pupil always intended to provide for my
old age. And you. child, how has it
Jared with you since that fatal day."
Stella was slow to answer. She strug-
gled with herself in silence for a little
while; the dark brows contracted in Il
frown; the crimson of passion kindling
in the wan cheeks, and then she burst
into tears. The old man drew her to-
wards him, gathered her upon his knees,
sheltered her wet cheek upon his breast
| with almost maternal tenderness.
my poor child! my poor child" he muir
,,,,rCJ ssl.otb xro r-nvv or,,nl r., ~ ,pl
to me that summer day"
'Oh, if we had only died, too" sobbed
Stella, and then in broken sentences she
| told Gabriel Werner what her life had
| been like since he left the castle, a life
spent among servants. in the bondage Of
mental servitude.
'She took away my books, too" Stella
went on tearfully; 1.-The books he gave me:
my Greek and Latin books; my book
about the stars, and Scott and Tenny-
son. But l. have zone on learning my
lessons and writing exercises, though
there has been no one to tell me the
faults"
'That need be no longer, Stella. Come
to me every day, if they will let you, and
l will so on with your education. Yes"
cried the scholar with sudden enthusi-
asm, ut shall be the delight Of my life to
train this bright young mind. YOU
| with the rapture of comforting an incffa-
| BILE boon-''you shall help me to annotate
my book"
II will" said Stella. and l will keep
your room tidy, if you will let me. l
know how to arrange books and papers,
| and keep them all in nice order, without
| disturbing anything. l used to tidy his
papers when l was very, very little, when
l could hardly reach up to the table,"
So day by day and every day, as the
leaves unfolded and the flowers came
peeping forth in the hedgerows and mea-
| dows-first, the season OF daffodils, and
| then the season Of k%ing-cups, and then
| the glad time of bluebells, and onward
even to the first Of the dog-roses-Stella
| lived her own life, and learned diligently
in the great volume Of classic lore, till
even those modern Middleshire copses.
| that riverside of to-day, seemed peopled
| with ideal forms, SO interviewer became
| the fables OF the past with the realities of
| the present. And every day the girls
| care helped to make the old students life
more pleasant, providing for and fore
| stalling his wants, supervising his mod
| est wardrobe, identifying his cottage
home, surrounding him with an atmos-
| phere Of womanly love and watchful-
ness.
Lady L.ashmar was in London, in~Paris,
in Vienna, with her adored son, following
him as a satellite follows a planet-not
/ with him but always near him. He had
| spoken in the House of Lords, and his
speech had attracted attention; had been
talked about as a wonderful speech for so
| young an orator; and it had been said by
| some Of his party that Lord Lashmar
was a young MAI who would make his
mark.
CHAPTER TX.
The years had come and gone and
| strange things had happened in the world
| of history and politics; wars and treaties,
49, s. ~