The herald., 1898-06-12

I spent several weeks in Sir Peter 8
house. and strange weeks they We're in
many respects. l never had the least
complaint to make of the kindness of
Sir Peter or Lady Hawkshaw, except
that Lady Hawkshaw insisted on in
vesting my money, all except ten
pounds, which she gave me, charging
me to be careful with it; but Sir Peter
secretly lent me a considerable sum, to
be repaid at my majority.
Sir Peter was actively at war with all
the women folk in the household, from
his lady down, except little Daphne. of
whom more presently. He assumed to
conduct everything in a large town
house in Berkeley square exactly as if
he were on the Ajax" seventy-four
He desired to have the lazy London
servants called promptly at two bells.
five o'clock in the morning, and put
them to holystoning, squilgeeing, and
swabping off the decks, as he called it.
OF course the servants rebelled, and Sir
Peter denounced them as mutineers.
and would have dearly liked to put
them all In double irons. He divided
the scullions and chambermaids into
watches. and when they laughed in his
face, threatened them with the articles
OF war. He wished everything in the
house slowed away in the least COM
pass possible, and when Lady Hawk
shaw had her routs, Sir Peter watch
in hand, superintended the removal of
the furniture from the reception rooms.
which he called clearing for action, and
discharged any servant who was not
smart at his duty. He had a room,
which he called his study, fitted UP
with all the odds and ends he had col
lected during forty years in the navy,
and here he held what might be called
drum-head court martials, and dis
rated the domestic staff, fined them,
swore at them, and bitterly regretted
that the land law did not admit of any
proper discipline whatever.
1t may be imagined what a scene of
discord this created. although Sir Peter
was Of so kind and generous a nature
that the servants took more from him
than from most masters, and, indeed,
rather diverted themselves with his
fines and punishments, and when dis
missed, declined to leave his service,
much to his wrath and chagrin.
Little Daphne was the only one that
submitted to Sir Peters whims, and
he swore, twenty times a week, that
she had the stuff in her to make a sea-
officer of the first order.
My infatuation for Lady Arabella
continued; but I cannot say she ever
showed me the least mark of favor.
But that she did to no one except Over
ton, and I soon knew what everybody
in town knew, that she was desperate
ly smitten with him, and would have
bestowed herself and her fortune upon
him at any moment, if he would but
accept it. AS for Giles Vernon, she
showed him what no other women ever
did,-a coolness at first, that deepened
into something like active hatred. She
knew he stood between Overton and
the heirship to the Vernon estates, and
that was enough to make her dislike
him. I had thought that pride would
have kept Giles from paying court to
4 person so inimical to him; but pride
was the excuse he gave for still pur-
suing her. He declared he had never.
no. never, been fiouted by woman, and
that Lady Arabella should yet come at
his call. He was enchanted by her, that
was the truth, and could no more leave
her than the moth can leave the can
die.
saw much of Daphne in those days
chiefly because 1 could see so little of
Lady Arabella, who led life Of singu-
lar independence, little restrained by
the authority Of Lady Hawkshaw, and
none at all by Sir Peter. Daphne was
fond Of books, and commonly went
about with one under her arm. 1, too,
was inclined to be bookish; and so there
was something common between us
She was keener of wit than any one in
that house; and I soon learned to take
delight in her conversation, in Lady
Arabella's absence.
Giles was much with us at that time;
and acknowledge had great benefit
from the spending of his prize-money
-or rather, should say, much enjoy.
ment. He laid 1t out right royalty, asked
the price Of nothing, and for the time hi
was In London, footed 1t with the best
OF them His lineage and his hedrshiY
to Sir Thomas Vernon gave him en-
trance anywhere: and his wit and cour