The times., 1899-04-15

miserable, trying in vain 10 keep my eyes
and my thoughts from the house over the
way.
One day matters approached a crisis.
Bessie. my maid. had just informed me
that she had seen the doctor call twice at
No. 10 on the previous day. and remain
long time on each occasion That girl was
seriously ill-dying. perhaps. / could keep
away no longer, and ! jumped up quickly
from my seat with the intention OF run
ming at once for my hat and cloak At that
moment the clattsr of heavy wheels over
the cobblestones directed my attention to
the street What | saw there kept me
rooted to the spot. great yellow coach,
with large heraldie emblazonments, driven
by white wigged coachman. had drawn
up in front of No. 10. The powdered man
holding on behind jumped down and gave
knock that brought the rest of the Row
to its parlor windows in time to see the
most obvious Dowager Duchess disappear
through the doorway. What could il mean?
Had some dame of high estate heard of
their sufferings, and called to play the part
Of Lady Bountiful? Then 1 remembered
that from Bessie's attic could be obtained
capital view of the new tenants first
floor front, and. caught suddenly by a
frenzy of curiosity, binding me to all
sense of decency. | scampered up the stairs
and arrived at the attic window at the
moment when the strange visitor was
crossing the threshold OF the room where /
guessed the invalid lay. From where /
stood l saw the poor little white figure
spring up on her couch, eyes wide. pale
lips, parted as though she beheld vision;
then fall back on the instant among her
pillows, hiding her face in her hands. An
other moment. and the visitor was by the
bedside, bending over her, and what fol-
lowed came to me as a blurred tangle of
caresses and emotion, in which the man
standing on the other side of the bed was
also included. Then l turned away, star
tied suddenly into propriety by the con-
sciousness of tears running down my face.
A week later the great yellow carriage
drove up for the last time before the door
at No. 10, where its daily appearance in
the interval had gone far to compensate
the Row for what il had undergone at the
hands of the new tenants. The dowager
sailed in in her usual rustling state, and
returned supporting a bundle of shawls,
out of which peeped a familiar. pathetic,
little face. The husband followed behind,
and the faces of all three shone like sun
shine after rain as they entered the coach
and clattered out of High Row. Neither
of the pair gave us so much a backward
look. but the little maid-of- all-wark. su-
perintending the lading Of a fly with
portmanteaus belonging to her master,
And that was the end of 1t, and we of
the Row were decidedly out Of coneeit with
ourselves and with one another. Il had
been a variation on the theme of Alfred
and the Cakes. and We had distinguished
ourselves in the part OF the neatherd's
wife. when little more discernment might
have placed us in permanent touch with
the British aristocracy. For, although We
were never able to learn the whole of
the story the fact OF the intimate connec-
tion OF the couple with that august body
was established beyond a doubt. But by
tacit consent mention was rarely made OF
them in our neighborly talk. They lad
been the means of dispelling our illu-
sions as TO the unerring character of our
instincts and perceptions, and the subject
remained painful one.
once saw the girl again, but only for a
moment. / had gone to stay with friend
in London. and We had walked one after
noon to the Park 10 watch the carriages
returning from the drawing room She
was in one of them, stately but radiant,
in nodding feathers and flashing jewels.
A princess. every inch of heri How could
we have misread the signs? Our eyes
met. a look of recognition crept into hers.
then she turned away with a flush and a
little toss OF the head They had under
stood us. then, and our attitude of hos
tilty. and had resented it and been panied
by it. while appearing to ignore It, l
wished she could have known how near l
had once been to holding out my hand,
and my eyes filled with tears. which owed
none of their bitterness to the fact that
ii was a noble lady who had just given
me the cut direct For at the moment I
could think of nothing but the lost op-
portunity OF human love.-Good Words.