The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-12-01
CHAPTER vii.
. In, the Old 1vvateh-rower.

Grafton did not find the time of his inn
prisonment hang heavily on his hands.
An only child, whose mother, like Anne de /
Rohan's, had died in his infancy, he had I
been early sent to sea. He knew but lit |
tie of family life, therefore, and even less
Of children. Through his connections and /
influence he was not without some ac- |
,quaintance with: the high life Of the court |
Of England-a somewhat unusual privilege |
for a young naval .of1cer-and he easily |
moved in the first tcircles in America when |
his duties permitted him arare visit there: |
Mingling in this good society he had ac-
;quired an ease and manner which, added !
to his native breeding and instructive dig
fully wherever he found himself he
had no experience with young girls Of the
age of the young countess, Sr~
: Fortunately, his. was q sunny, lively dis !
position, full Of laughter. and. ~ hun1or,
which made it. not difficult for him to
enter into the, spirit, of the play in ac-
cordance with his new friends fancies.
He had been attracted in some strarxe
way to the little de Rohan from the first
moment he had seen her-nay, from, that
morning hour he, had only heard her in
the garden-and the. romantic friendship
which she had Instituted between, them,
and upon which he had entered to please
her and. as a pasttrne for a. prisoner, IN
consciously assumed "a permanent aspect
He took part In the play with q zest
which surprised him. . and the. more he
was thrown in contact. with the strange
she Interested him. She was a singular
mixture Of the. young and the, old, the
very childish and the: very wise. She
stood, as it were, poised half between
the: intellectual level Of Josette, her play
" old ID marquis . her prspeptor and Guide
/ She was too old TO: play at dolls, he
| thought, too young to play at love: And
! yet she had done the one and was doing
! the OTHER, although The adorable, Toto"
adorable philip. s4irewdness, Wit, and
common sense ming ed Ia equA measure
| with unboundeaa cfS SiAity. and the most
| romantic .$i1naginattoS.a And her fffnpetu-
esity and abandph were az evident as
! were her Wisdom oreheri oeence:
There were no dragons, to be sure lat
least they; aid not find any real ones;
butt the two, who were loft greatly. alone
! by the marquis whose many duties as
vice-goVernor Of the town took him ire
| quently from the chateau to the city dur
| ing<a those :warlikes times, easily evoked
| mythical ones from the crowded realms OF
their imagination, which they routed with
| great slaughter. Anne was crowned Queen
l Of :love" and beauty a. dozen times day,
| and Philip as often distinguished himself
by.deeds of daring. ~; = = "
Z. She read to him sout OF quaint old 70.
mances and f1irtively compared him with
bygone heroes-not3at all to his disadvan-
tage 1either.r= They discussed sapiently Of
love and chivalry, the girl telling him many
things of which he had never heard, while
he unconscious1y gave her limitations OF
the world of the present of which she was
SO ignorant-light touches which her quick
mind appreciated and woye into. the fabric
of her dreams: -: : = = $50 i ns
And in all this, sfie-both Of them, in
deed-did not. forget to be children. In
the climbing of trees, In the running OF
races In the playing Of games of all sorts
| with her and Josette-who was not a
little scandalized, by the way-for rivals
the young Englishraan proved himself an
adept. He had not had such fun since he
was boy. - Z" = f.
One evening after Grafton had been q
week a prisoner. In. the chateau, the mar
quis took 1t upon himself to discuss mat
tiers suggested by the growing intimacy
between his granddaughter and the young
Englishman, thinking that possibly. a WORD
Of warning; an intilnation and an assllr.
ance might not be unnecessary. So"
Monsieur, He said after supper "111as
I have a few words with you this evening
Mademoiselle Anne, you will excuse u.s.
am sure, ;" he: added, waiting for her per.
mission. sa = x fs.ss ~ 4:s MS 81.
! The old man was most puncti1iousl,
]
his prisoner as we'll. Had it not been fol
the walls and the gate, Philip would never
have known that he was captive.
Certainly, gentlemen she: answered
with that assumption of the manner of the
grande dame which. sat 50 easily upon hei
immature shoulders and which Grafton sc
delighted to see, ct viii withdraw. ~
fare. Monsigtr Grafton win accompany
me to my cabinet sand.we will return here
presently il Nol.wHl await JUS z,
my young friend,'' said the marquis
when the two were alone, "you may have
noticed that his is strange house. There
are few. fathers who would permit theil
; daughters so much freedom even withir
these walls as. I. have given my grand
daughter the young Countess de Rohan
/ She is all have left, monsieur. and have
!. reared and educated her and shall con.
tinue to do SO, upon "a plan of my own
She is very precious to me, Captain Graf.
ton; I have hun1ored and INDUCED hel
even. when she wished to play the dc
game of chivalry with a stranger whom
fate brought to our doors. Perhaps
have done wrong here, too but Shells onl,
+ a child as vet II shad-Is have a thought
monsieur, that:it might be good for her t.
meet you freely = You are a. gentleman
and Of the world outside, OF which I hav.
purposely kept her In ignoraf1ce-ye sh,
Z must know it some day. =. He sighed as h,
thought Of the contingency, and after
) little pause, continued, She has seen bu
s few gentlemen Other own station in life
l myself, Monsieur De Kersaint-ins short. 3
have opened my house ito you, monsieur
; While you are prisor 1er-forgive tn
!, forget the fact-it has become-wiiats i
i Eyour English word IA b. yes. your home
} Monsieur, she ! is my only granddaughter
l my most precious possession. The heart