The citizen., 1901-06-21
A KNIGHT ERRANT
How He Stood by an Innocent
Girl In the Hour of
Her Peril.

as ii AIdtteF OF TACT, StunQlSn was not
cold. He was indeed freshly and unex.
! pectcdly romantic under his apparent in
vulnerablity. Once, long ago in early
manhood, he had seen for an instant ideal
love as he had dreamed it. 1t had not
| been for him. and it had flown to fairer
worlds almost before he had realized its
beauty, but he had never forgotten the
revelation.
If now he sometimes looked over curl
ously at the girls and women he met, it
was because he had always an irrational
hope that that divine glimpse might again
be vouchsafed TO him. How did he know
but that any day, in any drawing ROOM
in the street. on the river, he might meet
the lady of his dreams. He had always
been disappointed hitherto. Never since
Mary Grayson died had he met love.
Women Of all ages made much Of him.
He was eligible as well as attractive and
had gifts of mind rs well as of person
and manner.
So it was that he had drifted into be-
ing made much of 10y Mrs Lawrence. the
wife of Tom Lawrence a good. honest,
stupid fellow, one fair hair of whose head
was worth all worthless little Mrs. Dolly
Standish could hardly have explained
how he had drifted into being always at
Mrs. Dolly's beck and call and why he
was to he found so often on the hearth
rug at the Codars when the LawrenceS
butler brought in the afternoon tea. 1t
was Mrs. Dolly's doing, no doubt, and
II a hoe
with his heartleSs little Wife. looked on
Dolly's friendship with Herbert Standish
contentcdly.
Standish arrived one afternoon in April
rather later than usual and found Mrs.
Lawrence very much put out at some
thing or other. Even the lilies Of the val
ley which he laid at her feet failed to dis
pei the cloud on her brow. For the first
time Standish felt that Mrs. Dolly was
inclined to impose yoke upon him to
which his broad shoulders did not bend
gracefully.
While he was chatting a little at the
lady's eXactions the hopes of the house.
Guy, Cecil and Arthur. rioted into the
room, followed more demurely by their
sister, Millicent, mincing little girl.
who, by and by, would be the image of
her mother. 1t was jest of Mrs. Dolly's
that Standish was to marry NIillicent one
day, and even now, at S years old, Mlli-
cent, nursing her doll. made unsuspected
eyes at the tall figure on the hearthrug.
Following came Nora O'Bren, Mrs.
Lawrence's new governess.
As the slender girl in the straight blue
frock passed silently to her place behind
the tea table StandiShs heart gave a sud
den, unexpected throb. With such
heart throb the lad of IS had looked on
the heaven destined beauty of Mary
Grayson, but never since, never since,
had it beaten with such high hope, with
such a quick despair.
An instant and he had stepped forward
to take the cups from the new govern
ess' hand.
Mrs. Lawrence had not introduced him
to the new inmate of the house. She
never did introduce her governesses, a
fact of which Standish was aware and
which had often caused him a feeling of
contemptuous irritation with charming
Mrs. Dolly. But since he was so often a
visitor he had come to be on speaking
terms with the long line Of Mrs. Law
rence's governesses. so many of whom
had failed to please the lady and her eX-
acting young daughter.
AS he took the cup from Miss O'Brien's
hand he paused an instant and looked
down into her eyes. She did not change
color, but looked up at him steadfasty.
Her eyes were dark blue. fringed with
black lashcs. He seemed to look down
into her heart in that instant of time to
ask her if she was really the one he had
been looking for since he lost Mary Gray
son. What she answered with her stead
fast long look he could not read easily.
Only he was sure she was honest and
true and that her love was his to win If
he could He smelled the fresh. spring
like smell of the dafodils in the breast of
her blue gown. 1t was bewildering.
Then a word from his hostess, spoken 4
little snappishly, recalled him. He car
ried the cup of tea to Mrs. Dolly aud
fetched her the tiny table to hold it
which she was in the habit of using. He
offered her the foie gras sandwiches and
the buttered toast. Only very fine OBJ
server would have noticed that his eyes
We're alert now, no longer jaded. and that
something like n spring wind had put a
little color in his face and rufiled his
smooth hairs ever so little.
Little Milicent. on her footstool
watched the new governess from eyes
that had a trick of narrowing like her
mothers. watched her and then went on
furtively to Herbert Standish's subtly a.
tered face.
The weeks of the spring went by In
jocund procession. Standish was as as
siduous as ever in his attendance at the
! Cedars, ana rLe house by the river grew
pleasanter as the May burst in blossom
and the little fotila of the water lilies
! rocked at its moorngs.
I He hardly ever spoke with Mrs. Law
rence's governess, yet from his place on
the hearthrug against the background OF
palms and ferns which had taken the
| place of the fire his eyes watched her in.
cesshntlL
! He had angered Mrs. Lawrence once or
| twice by, unnecessarily as 1t seemed to
I her, turning over the pages of the gov
! erness's music and lingering by the piano
while she sang heart piercing Irish songs
in the richest. softest of contraltos. How
ever, after time he was forgiven. be-
! canse he loved music. and il was excuse
! enough for mis- transgresslon, since even
Mrs. Lawrence could not deny the beauty
| Of the Irish girls singing.
| Go fav words had nnEspd batween than,