Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-03-18

w1r,a ana sne IaugmngIy gave linn her hand, which he, rising to his feet,
 bowed low over and kissed, rather fer
 vently and lingeringly, thought.
 Hand kissing was new to us in Eng
 land, excepting in case of the king and
 queen at public homage. It was a lit tie startling to Mary, though she per-
 mitted him to hold her hand much longer than there was any sort of need "a fact she recognized, as I could
 easily see from her telltale cheeks,
 which were rosy with the thought of it.
 k So it is when @ woman goes on the
 defensive prematurely and without cause.~ It makes it harder to apply the check when the real need comes.
 After little card playing I express ed regret to Jane that could not have a dance with her for lack of music.
 "I will play, if the ladies permit" said Brandon, and he took Lady Janes
 lute and played and sang some very pretty little love songs and some comic ones, too, in style not often heard In England, so far away from the home
 of the troubadour and Iute. He was full of surprises, this splendid fellow, with his accomplishments and graces. When we had danced as long as we wished-that is, as Jane wished; as for myself, would have been dancing yet | Mary again asked us to be seated. Jane having rested, Brandon offered to ! teach her the new dance, saying he could whistle an air well enough to give her the step. I at once grew un- easy with jealous suspense, for did | not wish Brandon to dance in that fashion with Jane, but to my great relief she replied:
 ''No, thank you; not tonight" Then, shyly glancing toward me: Perhaps Sir Edwin will teach me when he learns It is his business, you know" Would I? If month, night and day, would conquer it. the new dance was
 as good as done for already. That was 1 the first real mark of favor ever had | from Jane.
 | We now had some songs from Mary
 and Jane; then I gave one, and Bran don sang again>at Mary's request We
 had duets and quartets and solos, and | the songs were all sweet, for they came l from the heart of youth and went to the soul of youth, rich in its God given fresh delight in everything. Then we talked, and Mary and Jane, too, with sly, shy, soft little word now and then, drew Brandon out to tell of his travels and adventures. He was a pleasing talker and had smooth, easy flow of
 words, speaking always in low, clear
 voice and with perfect composure. He k e f&oxa and then another straight in the eyes with a magnetic effect that gave to everything he said an added interest. Although at that time less than twenty five years old, he was really a learned man, having studied at Barcelona, Sal amanca and Paris. While there had
 been no system in his education, his mind was sort of knowledge junkshop
 wherein he could find almost anything he wanted. He spoke German, French and Spanish and seemed to know the literature of all these languages.
 He told us he had left home at the early age of sixteen as his uncle's es- quire and had fought in France, then down in Holland with the Dutch, had been captured by the Spanish and had joined the Spanish army, as it mattered not where he fought so that there was chance for honorable achievement and fair ransom now and then. He told us how he had gone to Barcelona and Salamanca, where he had studied, and thence to Granada, among the
 Moors; of his fighting against the pi- rates of Barbary, his capture by them, his slavery and adventurous escape and his regret that now drowsy peace kept him mewed up in palace.
 'It is true,'' he said, there is pros pect of trouble with Scotland, but I