The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-19
THE FARMERS WIFE.

these pages will show. Youth and discre-
tion beauty and wisdom do not always
walk together. a bright, joyous, laughing
creature was Florence Armstrong, one who
took life she found it-and she found IL
uncommonly pleasant, so far as her ex-
perience went.
Married at eighteen, she was not twenty
when John Armstrong her husband. de-
cjded that in view of the increasing agri~
cultural depression, he must take farm
ing pupils if he could get them They had
room for three he advertised, and he got
three young men, all more or less anxious
to learn farming, and before they had been
a month with him they We're all more or
less-two more and one less-iE love with
the farmers wife. John Armstrong was
what is called in Norfolk his native coun-
ty, a gentleman farmer; the term is an
ambiguous one, and is less used now than
in former times when farming was a more
profitable occupation than it is at present
Then the large tenant farmers of Norfolk
were rich men, able TO drive their car
rages, as some do now, and send their
sons to college, and live on the fat of the
lard.
John Armstrong was a fine, big, hand
some man. nearly twenty years older than
lis wife; he was rather aristocratic in APP
pearance. and bearing, and until he spoke
would have been taken for a country
squire; but directly he opened his mouth,
the linked sweetness of the Norfolk sing
song twang proclaimed his bucolic calling
She was a clergymans daughter, and John
Armstrong was in position to give her
far more comforts and Iuxuries than she
was ever likely to have in her own home.
So they were married-he for love, she
for money. said their neighbors, who, of
course knew more about it than they did
themselves. But, in truth. there was not
much doubt that John Armstrong was
maGly in love with Florence before they
were married; though. perhaps, his shrewd
old mother was right when she prophesied
that The woulG soon get the better. of that"
buckingham House. which was their
home was an old manor house about a mile
from the village. On one side was large
kitchen garden with tall. box. fences all
round the BEDS and besides fruit and vege-
tables. plentiful sprinkling of old-fash-
toned flowers
The front of the house was given up to
an orthodox garden, with lawns and rib
bon borders and everywhere there were
roses, for John Armstrong was a noted
rose grower, and always took prizes at the
local horticultural shows for them.
1t in March that the three pupils
arrived, two years after John Armstrong;
marriage, but the spring is always late
before the gardens began to look their
lest and by then these three foolish young
men had no eyes for any of the farmers
roses but the fairest of all, the one they
had no right to-his wife.
III.
THE BLIND MICE.
It was young Allenby who was the blind
est, and he was also the oldest, so he might
have known better. He was four-and- TWEEN
~. the son of a rich city merchant, and
why he came to buckingham at all was
a problem Florence had yet to solve. 1t
certainly was not to learn farming. for he
never attempted to learn anything, and half
the mornings work on the farm was done
before he was out of bed. He would ride or
drive into Norwich once a week on market
day, dressed in the height of fashion, for
he was great dandy; he would occasional
ly go rabbit shooting. and he would play
tennis all day if any one would PLAY with
novels, and he was Away; smoking.
Besides this, he made love most persist,
flattered himself he had only to whistle
and she would &c. to him. He had a pro;
found contempt for John Armstrong and
his brogue; his goatee beard of dark brown,
and his curly hair; his grave, silent ways:
his politics, and what Allenby stigmatzed
as his absurd religious opinions; his tailor
and his industry were all equally objects
That any sane person could have thought
this great, silent man, with his handsome
face and fine manly figure, his country made
clothes and his Norfolk twang. more at
tractive than he with his little body so per-
fecty fitted by a West End tailor, his
pasty, beardless face and convict-cropped
hair. his racy conversation and up-to-date
opinions, it never could have entered into
Ralph Allenby's little head to conceive.
The second pupil was an Irishman, wild.
sent down from one of the universities, with
a hint that his presence would not be re-
Quired there again, his father had sent
him to learn farming. with view to his
pursuing that occupation in one of the
colonies eventually. Jack Luttrell was the
name of this lively young Irishman. When
he came to Hindringham he had one great
passion-lOve of horses; he rode like
jockey, and the ambition of his life then
was to meet the horse he could not break in.
Before he had been a month at Hindring-
ham he had another passion. ana a less IN
n9fent a4nlton ne was mitaIy m io we
could only distinguish himself by running
away with her. he would have fulfilled his
destiny very pleasantly, II not gloriouSly-
lie had quite as exalted an opinion of his
own powers of fascination as Allenby had of
his; but with more reason, for all women
liked wild handsome Jack Luttrell, with
his dark blue Irish eyes, his fascinating
manners, his witty conversation, and his
field. He was musical, too, and sang very
we'll in a rich baritone; he was flrst-rate
shot: he danced beautifully, and was good
at all games In fact, if life were all play,
he would have taken most of the prizes;
and there is no harm in saying at once,
he stood first by a long way in Mrs. Arm
strCng'S good graces; facile princeps was he
with her, with most women, to whom he
chose to make himself agreeable.
George Taunton was the youngest or the
pupils he was the son of a Devonshire
squire and had come TO learn farming in
order to farm MS own estate. and was the
only one of the three who made any effort
TO fulfill the purpose for which they had all
come to Hindringham His affection for
Mrs. Armstrong was of a milder form than
Aionbys nsolent admiration or LuttrelFs
Wild passion: Taunton's was based on pity,
supported by Il boyish admiration for her
beauty, and WAS not of a kind 10 outstep
the limits Of decorum, even in thought. He
was intensely sorry for her, married TO
man so much older and graver, and in some
ways obviously so inferior to herself; she
had evidently in the opinion OF these
three young men, sacrificed herself Tor the
sake of her family. and married. II not Tor
money, at least for home.
Luttrell made no secret of his passion. he
talked of ii openly TO his two comrades,
who were much more reticent on the sub
jeCt Taunton was naturally reserved, and
Allenby pursued his wooing slyly; but Lut-
trell was man without guile he had at
any rate the courage of his vices, and GER
tainly never tried to make himself out any
better than he was.
1t amused him, too, to try and rouse the
farmers jealousy; he had a shrewd notion
that grave. silent, phlegmatic John Arm
strong would be an awkward person TO