Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-09-15

'She is tired Of course with the
| journey; you must not Judge of heI
| locks tonight. l think you had better
| drive home at once, and let her have
some supper and 60 to bed. l shall
stay and walk back with the boys.
Every well, we will start then" and
Frances gathered up the reins, and tie
| little bay ponies carried them swiftly
away.
| Esperance looked round her with
| languid pleasure as they crossed a
: bridge over the little river. now scant-
lily covering its stony bed, ascended
the hill, and then branching to the
left, drove along the road in the di-
r5ction of Penmaenmawr till. nesting
just at the foot of the mountain,
among a plantation Of fr-trees, they
! came to the house which Sir Henry
! had taken for the summer.
! Frances took her upstairs at once,
! and indeed Esperance was quite tired
: out and thankful to go to bed, but
with all her wearf- ess was a restful
| consc; BUSINESS that she had come to
! tie right place. and tonight fer the
| first time since her illness she did not
cry herself to sleep.
Lady Worthington was obliged to
60 the next day, for she was to meet
her husband in London and start a.
once for the Contir ent. IN fact her
expedition to Rilchester had been
solely on Esperance's account. She
had first heard of her illness from
the wife of the archdeacon, whom she
, had met at Llandudno, and her
motherly soul had been so grieved at
the thought Of any one being nursed
by Cornelia, that she had at once
found an excuse fer a short visit to
Worthil gton Hall, and with much de-
light had been able to carry off her
protegoe FIR change Of air.
ct IS, indeed, my dear, a clear prov
, ing Of our two vocations," she said
laughingly to her sister. "I have
brought Esperance down here with
all possible care, and have left the
strictest orders for her diet, her sea
bathing, her afternoon siesta, and her
quinine and steel; to you l leave your
special function-the 'ghostly' mission
only stipulating that you will con-
slider er body n the matter Of church
services"
Frances promised, laughing heartily
and Lady Worthington started on her
travels after having seen the invalid
comfortably established in a shady
corner of the garden, 'o1king none the
worse for the fatigues of the previous
day
Fer the first day or two this was
about all that Esperance cared to do:
she lay contentedly under the fir
trees, catching glimpses of the sea,
Or looking up the grassy slope to- the
more rugged side of Penmaenmawr,
wondering how Kathie and the boys
could ever have climbed to the top.
while the only sounds that broke the
entire stiffness were faint echoes from
the neighboring quarry. and the low
plash of the waves On the beach The
railway which ran not far from the
ouse was no disturbance to her
she rather liked it, and would watch
the trains passing to and fro with
were a connecting link with Gaspard.
The distance between them, though
so great, was quite bridged over by
railways and steamboats,, and every
train seemed to her in consequence a
kind of messenger Of comfort.
Frances was a most charming
nurse; she had been i'll so much her
self that she understood and sympa-
thized perfectly, and Esperance could
not help feeling what a contrast it
was to CCrnelia's well-meant but
Wearlsome attendance. It was
pleasure to look at Frances as she
moved quietly about, or to watch her
white hands as she sat working. still
more to listen to her delightful voice
as she read aloud. She had chosen
'Fleurange" as the book most likely
to suit her visitor, and Esperance was
so delighted with it that she was
never tired of being read to,
It was not until Sunday evening
that she had much talk with France.
She had been a good deal alone dur
ing the day. and Frances was afraid
she had found the time long, for her
face had a little of the burdened ex-
preston which it so often bore at
Ri chester
Eve must have some reading.
cherie," she said, when the children
had started Tor the evening service.
Il am afraid you have been lonely"
To be continued.