The herald., 1898-06-05

nized him. And when Lady Hawkshaw
commanded, there was but one thing to
do. and that was, to obey.
So with heavy heart, I took my
self and my portmanteau and, in a
canvas bag my two thousand guineas
to the admiraPs great fine house in
Berkeley Square.
When I reached Sir Peters house
about noon, the same tall and insolent
footman that I had seen on my first
visit opened the door for me. Lady
Hawkshaw, wearing the same black
velvet gown and the identical feathers,
received me, and sitting with her
Daphne Carmichael and the glorious,
the beautiful, the enchanting, Lady
Arabella Stormont.
Lady Hawkshaw's greeting was stiff,
but far from unkind; and she intro
duced me to the young ladies'. who
courtesied most beautifully to me.
"Is that your prize-money in that
bag, Richard?" asked Lady Hawkshaw,
Immediately.
I relied it was.
"Jeames," she said, Ego and make my
compliments to Sir Peter, and say to
him that if he has nothing better to do,
would be glad to see him at once.
And order the coach"
Jeames departed.
1 sat in adoring silence, oblivious of
Daphne, but gazing at Lady Arabella
until she exclaimed pettishly:
La! Have I got a cross-eye or
crooked nose, Mr.. Richard, that you
can't take your eyes off me?"
you have neither, replied gallant
ly. And my name is not Mr.. Richard,
but Mr.. Glynn, at your ladyship's SER
vice.
BELLA" said Lady Hawkshaw in
voice of thunder, "be more particular
in your address of young gentlemen"
"Oh, yes, ma'am!'' pertly replied
Lady Arabella. But such very young
gentlemen like Mr.. Glynn, or Mr.. Thin,
or whatever his name may be, are al
ways difficult to please in the way of
address,
BY this speech I discovered that al
though Lady Hawkshaw might rule her
world, terrorize Sir Peter, and make
the Lords of the Admiralty her humble
servitors, she had one rebel in the
camp, and that was Lady Arabella
Stormont.
Sir Peter now appeared and greeted
me.
"Sir Peter" said Lady Hawkshaw in
her usual authoritative manner, "you
will go in the coach with me to the
bank, with Richard Glynn, to deposit
his money"
Il will go with you. madam" replied
Sir Peter; "but will order my horse,
and ride a-horseback, because I do not
like riding in that damned stuffy coach.
And besides, when you and your feath-
ers get in, there is no room for me-
you ride a-horseback!" shifted Lady
Hawkshaw. Even the grooms and
stable boys laugh at you. You are al
ways talking some sea nonsense about
keeping the horses head to the wind
and yawing and luffing and bowsing at
the bowline, and what not; and besides,
am afraid to trust you since Brown
Jane threw you in the Park"
1t ended by Sir Peters going in the
coach.
That night Lady Hawkshaw was at
home, and I had my first experience of
London rout. The card-tables were
set on the lower floor, for although
Lady Hawkshaw hated cards, yet it
was said that no one could entertain
company in London without them.
And that night 1 made a strange and
terrible discovery. Lady Arabela was
a gamester of the most desperate char
acter, in ready money, as far as her
allowance as a minor permitted, and
] in promises to pay, when she came into
her fortune, as far as such promises
would be accepted. But they were not
much favored by the gentlemen and
ladies who played with her; for the
chances of her marrying before her ma
jority were so great, that her l o US
were not considered of much value, and
found few takers.
Among those who did not play was
Daphne, then quite as tall as I and we'll
on into her sixteenth year. 1 could not
but acknowledge her to be a pretty slip
of a girl, and we sat in a corner, and 1
told her about our bloody doings on the
Ajax" until she stopped her ears and
begged me to desst. I regarded Daph-
ne with condescension, them but per-
ceived that she was sharp of wit and
nimble of tongue, much more so than
her cousin, Lady Arabella.
After a while I left Daphne and went
back to watch Lady Arabella. I soon
saw that she was very poor player,
and lost continually; but that only
whetted her appetite for the game.
walking about 1istlessly-although he
seemed to be known to everybody pres
t,-approached me. 1t was Captain
Overton, as handsome, as "distrait," as
on the first and only time 1 had seen
him.
Much to my surprise, he recognized
me and came up and spoke to me, maxi
ing me a very handsome compliment
upon the performances of the Ajax"
"And is my cousin, Mr. Vernon, here
to-night?" he asked, smiling.
l replied I supposed not; he had re-
ceived no card when we had departed
that morning, and 1 knew of none
since.
IT shall be very glad to meet him."
said Overton. II think him a fine fell
low, in spite of our disagreement. 1 see
you are not playing"
II have no taste for play, strange to
say"
do not try to acquire it," he said
sit is wrong, you may depend upon it;
but Indulgence in it makes many be-
lieve it to be right. Every time you
look at sin, it gets better looking"
1 was surprised to hear sin mentioned
in the society of such elegant and we'll
bred sinners as I saw around me, who
never alluded to it, except officially, as
it were, on Sunday, when they all de-
clared themselves miserable sinners
for that occasion only. Overton then
sauntered over toward Lady Arabella,
am she seemed to recognize his ap-
proach bytinstinct. She turned to him,
her cards in her hands, and flushed