Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-07-16

penny novelette,.
She was only 20, and life so far
had meant to her a convent school
and Nara, with occasional weeks at
Lucknow, and one whole fortnight of
dissipation in Calcutta.
Moreover, she had the nature of a
saint rather than a flirt, and it was
her amazingly angelic temper which
most won Frewin. A man likes that
sort of Griselda girl-until it pals,
and he wants a change.
So they rode and danced and dined
together throughout the four
months winter, while Mrs. Burton
beamed propriety and conveniently
went to sleep.
There was no definite engagement,
but just mutual understanding which
seems almost sweeter when you are
young and foolish, and the world is
gay-the state which Versteht sich
Won selbst, as the expressive German
phrase goes.
Frewin wrote home fanciful ac-
counts, in confidence, to his favorite
sister Git is a curious fact that most
gritfins do this), and wrote Rose
many chits when he should have been
attending to the service of govern
ment. The spring wind blew rose
leaves through their small particu-
lar world and made life a glad thing.
March brought back Nazra's sum-
mer population, including sundry of
the heaven born, without whose guild
ing hands the station managed to do
very well during the winter months,
but who were absolutely necessary
to the working of things there when
it began to warm up in the plains.
Old C. S. men, with many rupees
and few joys, owing to their touchy
livers-or their wives; younger ditto,
to whom Nara meant little work,
much gayety, and many dirtations,
and who voted India immense" not
| being able to see from their comfort
able place on the top rung that An
| glo-India was situated chiefly at the
bottom of the latter, in steaming'
plains, where there was small leisure
and less heart for polo and lawn ten
| mis-; sick men who had been consider
ately sent up by their firms in or
der to save giving them six months
to England; men without their wives,
longing for them daily; men with
their wives, wishing them anywhere
but in Nara hourly; pallid, snarly-
tempered women, with babies that
were ditto, only more so; objection
able Anglo-Indian children, compared
an angel-all the miscellaneous, UNI
| wholesome collection, of varied color,
which swarms up to an idyllic hill
| station and make it hades.
The Nara crowd included the usual
limited number of Just out" girls,
brought out by their respective rela-
tives as marriageable lots, under
which heading came Miss Ethel May
nard. She was the most perfect
specimen possible of the conventional
English girl-tall, fair, well-dressed,
warranted irreproachable in CONVEX
sation and department, with a knowl-
edge of all the polite accomplish
ments and no grain of originality
or tenderness in her whole body
the kind of a woman a man marries
because she suits his dining table and
the family plate. He is never
ashamed of her, but as the years go
on he gets very tired, and generally
he lives his real life apart,
1t was at what the newspaper hack
still continues to describe as a minor
function that Miss Maynard met
Miss Rowan: naturally. Miss Rowan
being associated with trade, was not
asked to the great functions.
THAT is Miss Rowan" in response
to Frewin's directing nod. 'Oh!"-
the Englishwoman's nasty little 'Oh!'
with a significant pause after it
"She is the'-Miss Maynard almost
said "person"-'the same who did
that extraordinary thing last week
galloped a mile and a half at night
alone, to see some native?"
She was still honoring Rose with
the stare known in vulgar English as
polite. Frewin, not being a large
minded man, felt awkward under
Miss Maynard's disapproval. Yet he
had thought at the time, when Rose
had shyly told him of the incident
how splendid it was of her.
"Er-it was a very old servant
her mothers ayah, | believe" he re
piled, "and she was dying, and sen
a message TO her missile baba," he
broke off, lamely.
1t sounded really absurd now, ani
Miss Maynard's light, cold eyes were
disconcerting.
Then he did a foolish thing, ever
for a griffin with no tact-he intro
duced Rose to Miss Ethel Maynard
There was the usual stiff five min
utes conversation, and as Rose moved
away. Miss Maynard, with Rose bare
ly out of hearing, asked briefly:
Country born"
Only that-with the exquisite in
Election of the most refined and utter
contempt natural to a pucca ''gir
from home"
"Er-yes-I believe So" said Ere
win, in a vague tone, as sc he wished
he could deny it, and completed his
confusion by adding, Shes really
Irish, you know"
Miss Maynard laughs the English
woman's little laugh of petite ircred
ulity.
Yes? Funny thing, isn't it? They
axe generally Scotch"
Luckily Frewin's Indian experience
has not been sufficiently lengthy fol
him to appreciate the insult applied
But when he rides with Rose mex
day, the soft staccato voice jars OF
him for the first time, the many tri