Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-09-24

THE SQUIRE'S DARLING.
'IE
BY BERTHA vi. CLAY.

she thought, was far above the mean
ness Of Irritation. Yet she took a
pleasure in feeling the power OF her
own beauty.
Young country squires loved her in
very humble, hopeless kind of way
none among them ever dreaming, IN
their widest moments, of winning the
love of the delicate young beauty Sir
Charles Thornton was very fond OF
her; and Lord Give, of Langton, who
had been a morose old bachelor all his
life, gave in to her, and owned himself
conquered He would have given his
life to make her Lady Give; but she
only laughed merrily at the idea.
Theyall loved her; but when, in after
days, her golden head dropped, and the
bright, girlish beauty left her face,
none of them were near to comfort her
in her hour of direst need.
Sybil had yet another lover She
alternately TESTED with and scolded
Lord Give; but she was quite at loss
what to do with Sir Rupert Dacre, OF
The Hide.
1t was quite another thing. She
could neither laugh at or tease him
He was superior to every one she had
ever met: he rose even superior to the
heroes in her favorite novels, and some
of those were very magnificent crea-
| lions.
All her woman's soul did reverence
| to his noble qualities, She admired
| III CT, 9th th Of of fiY1onC loft
her without words when in his society
She said to herself over and over
again, that he was the grandest, and
truest, and most noble man in the
world. But she could not give him hel
| girlish love. He was too perfect fol
her; in her eyes he was to be looked
| up to, admired, initiated if possible
| but not loved:
| He was young more than four
and-twenty; but she never thought Of
him as young man. To her he was
totally different from all others; yet
she did not love him.
Sir Rupert Dacre had succeeded tc
The Hide before he reached his
eighteenth year His father died, leav-
ing him uncontrolled master of one OF
/ the finest estates in England. He hac
always been thoughtful and grave; but
the gravity was SO mingled with sweet
and considerate kindness that one
could never have enough of it, He was
no young lady's hero" the master 81
The Hide. He had faults, although
they were restrained by a strong will
and Rupert Dare had a will of iron
when he chose to use it,
It was partly for this that women in
stinctively loved him-there was
strength and power in his face. In the
death, one would have turned I'M
hesitantigly to him. The strong
true heart, the strong right arm, were
ever ready; yet when the woman ht
loved better than life needed both, hi
was far from her.
The Hide was the next estate tt
| Glynn; the lands met and joined. The
young heir and squire had been goo(
good friends, and it was with heer
pleasure Squire Jocelyn saw Sil
Rupert's love for his daughter. HI
kenw he could not hope to keep hel
always with him, and such marriage
as this would entail no separation
She would live always at The Hide
near him, safe from world the gooc
old squire hated and dreaded.
Rupert's love for Sbyil had not come
to him suddenly. He could not re-
member the time when he did not car,
more for Sybil Jocelyn than for all the
world beside. He loved her when she
was a pretty, spoiled, ingenious chile
who kissed him, and shared her sweets
with him. He watched her grow, ane
loved her in his chivalrous, boyisE
fashion all the time.
Then he went to college, and Travelled
for some years on the Continent. He
returned to find her sixteen years old
| thought she would be.
1t was no new love. When she held
out her dainty hands and welcomed
him, Rupert Dacre's heart went out tc
her, and he had never been able to get
| it back. He loved her then as he had
! done all his life, and as he was to dc
I until he died.
He did not tell her so all at once
although he wooed her as lovely
woman was never wooed before. All
the chivalry, the poetry, the fire of his
nature was called into action. He
wooed her with music and song-wiGh
flowers and sweet words.
He was always thinking of her, and
for her. She was his one idea-the
center of the world to him.
How he longed to make her his own!
to take her to his own home, where
he might worship her as wife was
never worshiped befOre-where he
might indulge her pretty caprices, and
give her everything her heart desired
And the day came when Sir Rupert
Dacre went to Squire Jocelyn and told
him the story Of his love.
He did not go to Sybil first She was
SO young-"only a sweet, hayward
child" He thought it better first to
c0o rC,,iro vryorn I1yi1lip0