The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-26
The Curate OF POltOns.
BY ANTHONY HOPE.
BY ANTHONY HOPE.

I Trix affected dense unconsclousness;
| her mother allowed herself O. myster-
| ious smie-which, however, speedily
vanished when the curate (he was taxi
| ing lunch with us) observed in a cheer
I ful tone:
"Newbaven! oh, l remember the
| chap at the House-plowed twice In
| Smalls-stumpy fellow, isn't he? Not a
bad chap, though, you know, barring
his looks. I'm glad he's coming"
You won't be soon, young man."
Lady Queenborough's angry eye SEEM
ed to say.
Il remember him." pursued jack
"awfully smitten with tobacconists
daughter in the Corn-oh, it's all right
Lady Queenborough-she wouldn't look
| at him."
This quasi-apology was called forth
| by the fact of Lady Queensborough
| pushing back her chair and making for
! the door. 1t did not at all appease her
| to hear the scorn of the tobaccon-
lists daughter She glared sternly at
Jack and disappeared. He turned to
| Trix and reminded her-without diff
| dence and coram populO, as his habit
was, that she had promised him a stroll
in the west wood.
What happened on that stroll 1 do
not know; but meeting Miss Trix on
the stairs later in the afternoon. 1
ventured to remark:
Il hope you broke it to him gently,
| Miss Queenborough?"
Il don't know what you mean, re-
piled TriX, haughtily.
You were out nearly two hours"
said |.
Were we?" asked Trix with a start.
Good gracious! Where was mamma,
Mr.. Wagner?
"On the lawn-watch in hand"
Miss Trix went slowly up stairs, and
there is not the least doubt that some
thing serious passed between her and
her mother, for both of them We're in
the most atrocious of humors that
evening; fortunately, the curate was
not there. He had a Bible class.
| The next day Lord Newhaven ar
| rived. l found him on the lawn when
7 strolled up, after a spell of letter.
writing, about o'clock. Lawn ten
mis- was the order Of the day and we
were all in flannels.
"Oh, here's Mark" cried Dora, see
ing me. Now Mark, you and Mr..
Ives had better play against Trix and
Lord Newhaven. Thatll make a very
F! good set"
mo, no, Mrs. Potion" said Jack Ives.
They wouldn't have a chance. Look
here I'll play with Miss Queenborough
against Lord Newhaven and Wynne."
NeWhaven-whose appearance, by
the way, though hardly distinguished,
was not quite so ornamental as the
curate had led us to expect-looked
slightly displeased, but Jack gave him
no time for remonstrance. He whsked
| Trix off and began to serve all in a
moment. had a vision of Lady Queen
borough approaching from the house
with face aghast. They went on; and,
owing entirely to Newhaven's absurd
chivalry in sending all the balls to
Jack Ives instead of following the we'll
known maxim to pound away at the
lady" they beat us. Jack wiped his
brow, walked up to the tea table with
TriX, and remarked in exultant tones:
I'VE make "A perfect couple, Miss
| Queenborough; we ought never to be
separated"
Dora did not ask the curate to din
ner that night, but he dropped in about
Q o'clock to ask her opinion as to the
hymns on Sunday; and finding Trix
and Newhaven in the small drawing
room, he sat down and talked to them.
This was too much for Trix: she had
treated him very kindly and had al
| lowed him to amuse her: but it was
impossible to put up with presumption
of that kind. Difficult as it was to
| discourage Mr.. Ives. she did it, and
he went away with a disconsolate, puz-
zled expression. At the last moment,
however, TriX so far relented as to ex-
| press a hope that he was coming TO
tennis tomorrow, at which he bright
ened up a little. 1 do not wish to be
Observation-Disclosures of all to charm
ing young lady--but my opinion is
that Miss Trix did not wish to set the
curate entirely adrift. think, how
ever, that Lady Queenborough must
have spoken again, for when Jack did
come to tennis, Trix treated him with
most freezing civility and hardly-dis-
guised disdain. and devoted herself to
Lord Newhaven with as much assduty
as her mother could wish. We men,
over our pipes, expressed the opinion
that Jack Ives little hour OF sun
shine was passed. and that nothing
was left to us but TO look on at the
prosperous, uneventful course of Lord
Newhaven's wooing. TriX had had her
fun $50 Agly bluntly phrased iD and
would now settle down to business.
81 believe, though" he added. that
she likes the curate bit, you know"
During the whole of the next day
Wednesday-Jack Ives kept away; he
had, apparently, accepted the newt
able, and was healing his wounded
heart by strict attention to his paro-
chial duties. Newhaven remarked on
his absence with an air of relief, and
Miss TriX treated it as a matter of no
importance; Lady Queenborough was
all smiles, and Dora Potion restricted
herself by eXclaiming as | sat by her
at tea, in a low tone and apropos Of
nothing in particular: "Oh, we'll
poor Mr.. Ives"
But on Thursday there occurred an
event, the significance of which passed
at the moment unperceived, but which
had, in fact, most important results
This was no other than the arrival of
little Mrs. Wentworth, an intimate
friend Of Dora's. Mrs. Wentworth
had been left a widow early in life:
she possessed a comfortable compe-
tence she was not handsome, but she
was vivaciouS amusing, and, above
all, sympathetic. She sympathized at
once with Lady Queenborough in her
maternal anxieties. with Trix on her
charming romance, with Newhaven on
his sweet devotedness, with the rest
of us in our obvious desolation--and,
after a confidential chat with Dora,
she sympathized most strongly with
poor Mr.. Ives on his unfortunate at
tachment. Nothing would satisfy her,