Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1902-08-08

er the departure Of Nance
kSy2 bel. He used TO wander al
round the neighborhoOd. through tie
meadows. down by the river or aione
to the Weir brake, or again he would
20 away up TO the top Of Bardon bill
and survey the wide landscape. idenu.
fying almost every feature Of il with
some recollection Of his lost Nancy
Here was a lane in which she had
made shy confession Of her love anj
sworn sweet vows Of constancy until
death. Yonder was the highway il
which not a fortnight thereafter they
had had furious quarrel, and stu
farther along the point at which she
had become suddenly penitsnt and hac
wept mild tears of contrition. He ever
went into the little shop in the Higl
street and begged Miss Kate NARROW
TO allow him TO visit in solitude anc
silence the vacant little courtyard il
which Nanciebel and he had coniurej
up so many fair dreams and visions OF
the future. Sister Kate was sympa
thetic and understood. She left him &c
himself and gave him ample oppor
tunity to become as miserable as be
wished. But one afternoon Miss KATE
had a more definite favor to bestow oil
him.
Il had letter from Nancy this morn.
ing" she said at the door of the shop
Il was wondering she did not write
but she said she waited until she go,
settled. Would you like to see it!''
"Oh, yes" said he eagerly, ''for she
won't write to me until the end of next
week! OF course am anxious to know
how she takes to the place"
Herewith he followed Nanciebels
sister inside, and she went and got tn;
letter. 1t was a long and elaborat,
composition, showing care as regards
the handwriting. No doubt Nancy was
already practicing, but it was the con
tents that interested Mr.. Richard and
surprised him. He expected that Nan
ciebel would be complaining Of her SAD
fortune, pining for absent friends, re
calling the pleasant hours she had pass
GU Will tucSt eut NV ch luOst anu NplA
dering when her period of lone Danish.
ment was to be over. Nothing of the
kind. In this letter Nancy seemed
rather to be giving herself airs. Hel
sister was told of all the elegancies Of
life at the vicarage, even to the ringin.
of a dressing bell before dinner, and
was given to understand that Nancy
was put in a position of perfect equal
ity with the wears daughters and ever
treated with consideration and respect
by the lady housekeeper-a somewhat
awful person, as it appeared-who pre-
sided over the establishment. Mention
was made of the Stanhope phaetoI
which had awaited her at the station
The garden of the vicarage communi
Gated with that of Toliwell Court (Hon
G. Stapleton, brother of Lord de VauS
and Eskl, and as the wears family
had the free run of the place Nancy
when the two young ladies were al
their mornings tasks, would sometime
wander into the hothouses, where the
Scotch head gardener told her the LatiI
troduced her to the science of botany
And so Mr. Richard read on, momenta
rily expecting some reference to him
self, but finding no such thing. He
handed back those closely scribblet
sheets and thanked Miss Kate. Thel
he walked away home rather dispirited
But a very different letter arrived a
Woodend toward the close of the fol
lowing week. There was no showing
off or pride of place, but the outpour
ings and tender condolences of an limo
cent young soul that might have melt
ed heart Of stone. Oh, for the happ!
days, never to be recalled, which sh,
had passed with her dear Richard il
that beloved Stratford town! Here sh,
was all alone, far, far from friends
with no one to cheer her or comfor
her, with the future all grown darl
and hopeless. The night brought wake
full hours of memory and weeping owe
bygOne happiness; the morning brough
with 1t renewed sense of isolation.
moan as Of dove deprived of its mat
went all through this letter, and eve
while the young man priced and we
coined eagerly these artless confession
his heart was stricken with sympath
and pity. Poor Nancy! Even the Star
hope phaeton and the dressing bell be
fore dinner and the Hon. Mr. Staple
tons greenhouses and the Scoto-Lati
names Of flowers seemed not altogether
to compensate. She still thought of her
dear Richard and of drowsy Stratford
town Ind the silent winding Avon.
But rhe drowsiness of Warwickshire,
so far as Mrs. Kingston and her son
were concerned, was about to be bro
ken in upon in sudden and startling
manner. Quite unexpectedly, without
nny warning, the news arrived that
Richards uncle out in China had at
last accomplished the end he had long
had in view, his retirement from the
immediate direction of the firm of
Kingston, Campbell & Co. of Shanghai,
and that he and his stepdaughter
would almost Immediately start for Eu-
rope. There were some further details
In the letter. Uncle Alexander meant
to set up house in London after he had
had time to look about, but in the
meanwhile on his arrival there would
be good deal Of legal business to at
tend to and he would take it as kind
ness if his sister-in-law for that brief
period would receive into her house his
stepdaughter Florence. Now, Mrs
Kingston had never even seen this
young lady, who was daughter by q
former husband Of Uncle Alexander
second and recently deceased wife
But the little widow never thought of
evading this demand made upon her by
her imperious and hot tempered broth