Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1898-09-30
CHAPTER

sS y " "a
tended me fer one"
mature has made you IL queen by right
of divine grace and beauty" was the earn
est reply. land Nature. Niolante, is Il lady
who never makes Mistakes"
But cried the rich voice again, "a
lady. Vivian. to have II title to my name,
to live at IL grand castle. to have servants
IL carriages, jewels, and all kinds of
grandeur! Why. Vivian, l should not
even know myself"
But l should know you, and that is
more 10 the purpose" he replied.
Better amy pain now" she said, ethan
that hereafter you should repent; and,
vivian. we are so far apart, our lives
have been so different. You would re-
pcnt. l am sure"
I'VE are not far apart" he replied, hast
lily. IF YOU mean by that that l have
thousands a year and your father one
hundred, maintain that you are quite
wrong. Your father is IL gentleman, II
scholar. and IL man of honor. What am l
morr-evcn ii l have so mucll:"
She made the most charming little cour-
tcsy, full of mock Difference and Will
ming grace.
You. monsignor." she interrupted, "arc
Lord Vivian Sclwyn. of Selwyn Castle,
Knight of the Order of the Garter, Baron
OF liulstone in Yorkshire. and of Craigh-
ley in Scotland. You see, l know your
name and titles 10y heart
He smiled amusclly.
Never mind my titles" he said. "You
are The daughter OF Il gentleman: you are
q lady by instinct. by nature. by training,
by education. in manner. liz thought, word
and deed. What can | desire moyc:'
There WAS still some hesitation in her
lovely face.
"Niolante," he whispered, 80 you see
how the flowers bloom. and how their
leaves send out fragrant messages to their
ardent iovcr-thc sun? Do you hear how
the birds sing? Do you lcar the wind
Whispering among the trees? Shall iiow-
ers and birds and trees be more happy
than L."
For the first time she turned and looked
at him. her beautiful eyes met his, and
rested IN them. In that quiet, serene
glance. the destiny of their lives was set
tied.
The world is full of beautiful pictures.
Some hang on the walls of grand old GAL
@leries; some OH the walls of palaces whose
very names are redolcnt of fine art; some
brighten humber homes; some are placed
i'll old cathedral aislcs-ovcr the affairs of
churches: some have never been framed
or painted, save by the hand of the Great
Crcator-pictures whose beauty makes
earth so fair; pictures of white. tlcccy
clouds sailing over IL blue sky; of golden
sunshine falling i'll soft rays: of pale.
pure stars, making more solemn the SOL
emn night-tide: such pictures as touch
mems hearts with IL sense of the sublime,
tes r;,,., ,lnA,, 1,.l,. :A a. -,
and tears of earnest gratitude to eyes long
dry.
And surely the %fairest, the sweetest,
the purcst picture of all was this one
upon which the sun shone like a smile
from heaven. The picture of II long green
Ian where the grass grew soft and thick.
where the banks presented one mass of
bloom, and the hedges were white with
HAWTHORNE green, shady, fragrant lane,
such as one only secs in Old England.
There was the quaint, picturesque town
of Woodeavcs lying in the Lciccstcrshirc
hills, half buried i'll green foliage, sur
rounded by thick woods, by rich green
clover meadows. by golden cornficlds, by
fertile pasture lands. howcry gardens and
fruit-laden orchards, stretching out to the
purple hills as to an unknown land.
There was Il grand old church whose
spire pointed like n slcndev hand to hcav-
en-. 1t was covered with ivy, and inclos-
ed by tall oak trees, under whose shade
the dead slept so quietly and so well. The
houses were pretty aud stood embowered
in trees.
That was the picture one saw from be.
tween the trees: and then, turning to the
stile at the end of the lane, there was
another picture even fairer still.
Behind n cluster of golden lnbnrnums
and purple lilncs, there stood q pictur.
esque, gray old house, frightened by scar.
let crcepers. by purple wisteria, and climb.
ing wcodbines: Il house with large, bright
windows. framed in trailing flowers and
roses of white and red, with quaint old
gable ends md deep. ~ovcrhanging caves,
where birds built their nests and sparrows
chirped.
a house that stood in n most hcwilder-
ing gu'don-not square and trim and laid
out as the Dutch like to sec-hut full of
hooks and corners: full Of trees, whose
roots were hidden in great masses of
mignonette and Glove carnations: full of
old-fashioned flowers such as poets loved
long years ago-sweet peas and sweet
williams. southernwood and pansies, lilies
and roses. Every path had n charm OF
ItS OWL. lSituiHS cltuef 10 fragrant rose
bushes or beds of white lilies or plots OF
rope-rcd Strawberries or ruspbcrries run,
ming wild. At the end of the garden stood
the pretty rustic old stilc; golden labur
nuns dropped over it, and tall lilacs stood
proudly near; and here the sunheams fell
as though they loved 10 linger, fer the,
frightened the fair head OF one of thu
fairest girls who ever looked up to iii,
summer skies.
She, yiolante Temple, stood by the stile
with the laburnums dropping over her
Her lover had pushed aside the boughs
and they made a frame for her lovely
riQuant face. He was bending oTcr her
watching the play Of her beautiful lips
drinking in the c~ver-changing beauty ol
her eyes.
She was a fair picture. No artist evel
painted, no poet ever sung of a fairer. She
could not have been more than seventeen
Her girlish. slender figure was full OF
grace, every movement full Of harmony
1t was of exquisite proportions, with slop
ing shoulders, md II carriage full of cas-,
dignity. She embodied the very poetry