The Lambertville record., 1903-07-08
WAY Of A
GUARDIAN
BY dIberf Foster
7 Copyright, 1905, by r. {. MeClme
sQS. r - %aS| s.. + I. :,

he chose for his departure for the next
world. Ii he could only have waited
until his daughter Ellen was little
better able To take care of herself, l
should have been saved lot of worry
and bother. As II WAS had To post
pone my trip TO Egypt for whole
month until | could get her settled
with Thatcher's two maiden auntS, for
of course he had made me her guard
IAN The fact that was only thirty
while she was fourteen was of no Inn
portance In his eyes.
When once appetite for wandering
has laid hold ON Il man, he knows no
time nor place to rest, 50 my year of
travel dragged itself out to six. Let
ters came ut intervals from one or the
other of the aLnts telling me that FL
len WAS we'll and happy. Once or twice
iii the earlier years | had brief and
very conventional note from the young
lady herself thanking me for all that |
had done for her. suspected Ellen of
symptoms of irony in these expressions
of thanllfulness for the only thing
that had done was to take myself off
To the ends of the earth and leave her
to the care of Providence and her
aunts, not always synonymous terms.
In the course of time driftcd back
again To the land of the stars and
stripes. My first days passed drearily
enough. | visited my old club, but the
best chairs We're occupied by men who
had been striplings when | was last In
the land of civilization My old chums
had drifted away or into matrimony
and only dropped into the club now
and then to Shed a few drops of pity
Oh their single brethren.
Finally | bethought me of my long
neglected ward and determined for the
lack of something better TO do to pay
the child Il visit, SO sent II note To the
aunts 10 apprise them Of my coming
| have received many severe shocks
in my life aud have, | trust, borne
them with Christian fortitudc, or at
least with pagan stolcism. have been
turned out of my berth in an ocean
liner in the middle of the night to shiy
er and seorch by turns In an open boat
In the middle of IL sailless ocean, | have
been held up and eourteously relieved
OF all my valuables by Greek brigands |
| have even Mithstuod with eeuannitY |
the charge of Il brigade of Swiss hotel |
keepers, but all these were aS n fall of |
dew compared with the surprise which |
| experienced when Ellen, my little
ward came into the parlor of the cot
tage to give me dutfnl greeting | had |
left behind me scragglN little girl. |
. .S~issr.os.i sod ssisslt a s-s.l
self shaking hands with Il beautiful
young lady. slender. erect, with Il calm
ness and self possession infinitely
greater than my own
In the days that followed my Won
derment only deepened. French
count marked genuine the son and
sole heir OF IA railway magnate, II min
ing baron from Denver of slightly ad
vanccd years, but undiminished ardor
and II newly risen but still rising polti
elan with his eyes on the United States |
senate and his feet planted firmly on
more valuable real estate than the |
finite mind could well comprehend |
were the major planets which con |
stantly revolved around Ellen. Then |
there was II countless number of satcl- |
lites, young college fellows. bankers, |
lawyers and merchants | was regard
ed as II fatherly old chap whose favor |
was worth having only by virtue of the |
relation In which stood to the young |
lady In question This was Calling to |
me, as | was ready to take my oath |
that at least half of the idiots would |
never see my nge again | think Miss
Ellen OWNED my resentment or else
the quizzical twinkle playing about |
the corners of her eyes belied her |
thoughts
| went prepared to stay three days. |
The end Of a month found me still |
there. | had fallen head over heels i'll
love with my own ward. When | had |
succeeded in diagnosing the case to my |
own satisfaction and despair con
cluded that | must take myself out of |
the way of danger. Accordingly | an
nounced my intention at luncheon one
day. The aunts were politely sorry, |
and | could almost have sworn that |
Ellen looked sad for ut least thirty |
seconds.
After luncheon the aunts cornered |
me III the library and asked me fatty |
what | thought about Ellcn's matrlmo-
NAL future | protested that hadn't |
thought about ii, didn't know that She
had to have one and didn't know that |
1t was any concern of IA guardians |
anyway.
''Of course it's some concern OF |
yours" said Miss Henrietta, the elder, |
taking up the last point that | had |
made and going through my argument |
backward, woman fashion "She must |
marry, naturally, and she must marry |
well" meaning, as | guessed, that she
must induce Dan Cupid TO lead her in
the direction of well grown bank ac
count
well what do you think of the
COUNT asked Miss Angela, the youn
ger. | replied that | would rather not |
think OF him if she didn't mind. | |
didn't object to counts for people who
liked to spend their money that way,
but | preferred men for myself Miss
Angela shifted and then asked my opin-
Ion of the offspring OF the railway
.aagnate. | replied that | considered
his whole claim to the respect and
gratitude of mankind to lie In the fact
that he was not twins. Two Of kind.
OF that kind at least, would have been
altogether too much for a long suffer
ing world 10 bear. The mining baron.
as | Informed the good ladies', might
much better be preparing for the next
world. The aunts shifted In chorus.
Then what do you say to Mr.. Cav
eus;" inquired Miss Henrietta.
Politics isn't bad for man If he Is
well shod and doesn't mind muddy
roads, but the woman who travels
with him is apt to get splashed bit"
Another sniff from the aunts.
The other candidates were trotted
out In turn, and all seemed 10 me
equally undesirable. Apparently the