Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-02-11

ems an. winifred's bridal. The NaIo,
and his wife and daughters had resigned
their tenancy Of Roseworthy, having in.
herited q house aud landed property of
theft 6wfl In the Midland Counties. and
the old mansion, with It's Old SERVANTS, re.
manned u%noccupied during the summer
months, the domestics not knowing IL thew
must prepare to receive strange tenants
again, or their own old rightful mistress.
when unexpectedly, to their great joy,
they had tiotiee of her arrival from her
Continental homie, which notice Madam
Vivian followed six hours afterwards in
person; Accompanied still BY Miss Ire:
wliella; Indeed that WORTHY person's dis
content at foreign ways ind foreign ian:
guages; and, worst bf. all. the pertdy OF Il
foreign gentleman wfth whom she had
formed a sentimental friendship, had been
a strong motive IN causing her mistress
return.
"Trewhella and l are getting old" Mad
am said, maliciously Indifferent to the
sensitive abigail's dmour prCprc on the
subject OF her years ard appearances; cher
hair Is gray and mine Is yhite; we both
prefer English cosy Comfort; instead 81
cold Frenchined elegance, amidst which
to end our days"
Rely, Madam, reely," Miss Trewhella
said; trembling With indignation, II trust
Il RELY trust, Madani-that 'evin will
See fl not TO cut me of In the PRIME OF
| iife!''
~ trust so, too" returned her mistress;
with provoking urbanity: "you will doubt.
less outlive me by n good many years-for
you are twenty years younger than | am
,,Ibut You are growing nm old lady for all
that, T%rewhella"
Perhaps she was, and perhaps IL was
the longing desire for English feather
beds, and English coal-fires, and fragrant
black teai and spicy gossip with old Eng
lish ~acquaintances that had led her to re-
gard in such bitter disf0vor Continental
hbodes and fare and, friends alike. Ger.
tain IL Is that Miss Trewhella from time
to time kept her mistress well posted as I'd
the melancholy state of her mind and
nerves and health, proceeding. as far as
tncipient symptoms of consumption, with
n threatening of melancholy madness, and
a strong suspicion of disease OF the heart
which signs and symptoms all gradually
but surely increased aad assumed aggra-
waited forms until the day Of her starting
oh az u JoNi NY W DuAlilld'
"She is getting old. and her health is
breaking, poor thing" said Madam, to
herself, with real compassion; I'VE both
want rest and peace in a quiet old English
home.''
But there was another desire at the bot
tom Of her heart-a desire, Il wish, n loneI
ly longing%which Madam Vivian would
not even acknowledge to herself rs one OF
the ~disposing causes of her return from
the villa in the Lower Pyrenees to the old
Cornish mansion at Roseworthy. She
would not even allow it TO herself now, on
the day Of her return, when she sat in the
old handsome green d~rawing-room, look
ing about on the familiar furniture and
drapery and ornaments, 50 carefully pre-
served by her faithful old servants, and
looking out; with eyes that grew so dim
with the ready emotion Of age, on the dis.
tant Head Of Tregarthen and the mem
cries it conjured up.
In spite Of her worldly heart, many 4
time during those three years her better
nature had uttered, with softened, pity.
ing feeling, Poor Stephenl Poor VIM
nie!"
She had not altered her mind now, she
~strenuously declared; only-well, she must
see her poor nephew and he reconciled to
him before she died, reconciled to Winnie
also; what was lone could not be undone:
she would be %reconciled TO Stephen and to
Stephens poor, little. afflicted wife.
Death-bed reconciliations were but COW.
ardly things, like death-bcd charities after
a selfish life, Madam Vivian wisely said:
Hhn xynIllH In rannu.tlnI ,,nu. ,ao -. -.
down and die.
She would be reconciled. And on this
very day Of her return, In the soft, warm,
shadowy summer afternoon, Madam viz.
ian, strong of will and purpose yet, for all
her seventy years, put on her travelling
attire, which she had scarcely laid Off,
took her slender. silver-headed walking
stick in her hand, and then quietly set
out to walk to her nephew's house mt Treg.
arthen.
Poor Stephens sorrowful, desolate home
her poor, generous, self-sacriiced bowl
What did Trewhella mean by her rldicu.
lous gossiping news about his wife's being
nearly well? Those kind Of people were
SO apt to eXaggerate everything. The
poor, dying, crippled creature was perhaps
able to go about in a Bath-chair, or be car
ried into an easy-cushioned barouche, or
something Of that kind.
Poor Winnie! She used to be such an
active, nimble little creature. Poor
Stephen, to what q life he has doomed
himselfp' Madam thought again, as she
came in sight Of the quiet old g~ray-stone.
pointed house lying amongst the trees and
evergreen strawberries at Tregarthen, with
the blue smoke rising softly on the quiet
evening air, not even q ray Of sunlight To
brighten up the rows of windows, not a
sound 10 be heard on the smooth-mown
lawn or the neatly-raked carriage drive,
not a figure of a human being visible
about the orderly precincts of the calm,
quiet demonstrating old mansion.
at must be nothing less than q prison
to him after his free, wandering life
my poor Stephenl' Madam almost
groaned. "His days have to be spent in
IN invalid's room, or in one Of those silent
downstairs rooms, reading the newspa-
per-"
One OF the silent downstairs rooms had
its long French windows standing open.
1t did not look particularly gloomy or
dreary either, with it's vases of lowers,
its gay litter of tiny chairs and footstools
and tables, its open books, writing cases,
and open piano, with loose sheets of music
fiuttering here and there in the evening
breeze, all which Madam caught sight of
as she passed On.
She had espied the open door of the
high-walled fruit-garden lying to the south
nf thu hntIca md hnrt Iar So. Xl..l,N.
HE is in the garden, perhaps she
thought, with kindly pity, "He was al.
ways fond of wandering about in a gar
zen, plucking flowers ard fruit, pvvr lei
lowl"
Yes, there was no 6oubt that he was in
the garden, for Madam caught the sound