The San Francisco call., 1904-12-25
I3S7
ANTHONY
HOPE

In Others" said he. smiling. "lIav
come and see it in your house some
times? I promise not to disturb it,
L don't think you could.
She taunts me with my advanc1ne
years" he complained to Mrs Selford
Anna's disapproval Of him was mark
ed; it increased his amusement at the
life which lay before Walter Blake.
Blake would want to disturb excellent
order sometimes; he would be INDUCED
in that prOclivity TO a strictly limited
extent. If Grantley ImasOn were a
revengeful man, this marriage ought To
cause him a great deal Of pleasure.
Caylesham, while compelled to approve
by his reason, could not nelp deplOring
in his heart He saw arising an ultra
British household, clad in the very
buckram of prOpriety. Who could say
that morality did not reign in the
world when such a nemesis as this
awaited Walter Blake, or that morality
had not a humOr OF it's own when Wal
ter Blake accepted the nemesis with
enthusiasm? Yet the state Of things
was not unusual-a fair sample Of a.
bulk Of considerable size. Caylesham
went away smiling at it, wondering at
it, in the depths Of his soul a trifie ap-
palled at it. 1t seemed to him rather
inhuman; but perhaps his idea of hu-
manity had gone q trifie far in the Op-
posite direction.
And, after all, could not Walter Blake
supply the other element? There was
plenty Of softness about MIN, and the
waves Of feeling were by no means
wanting in frequency or volume. Con-
sidering this question, Caylesharn pro-
fessed himself rather at a loss. He
would have to wait and look on But
would he hear or see much? Anna had
evidently put him under ban, and he
believed that her edictS would obtain
obedience in the future. So far as he
cOald see now, he had a vision Of the
waves stilled to rest, of the CLEAN Of
frost forming upon them. of an Ice
bound sea. Now he felt it in his heart
TO be sorry for young Blake. Not be-
cause there was any injustice. The
Nemesis was eminently, and even lu-
dicrously, just. He felt sorry precisely
because it was so just. He was always
sorry for sinners who had to pay the
penalty Of their deeds; then a fellow
feeling went out to them. OF course
they were fools to grumble. The one
wisdom ne claimed for himself was not
grumbling at the bill.
He paid another visit that day, un-
der an impulse of friendliness, and per-
haps Of curiosity, too. He went to Tom
Courtlands, and found himself repaid
for his trouble by Toms cOrdiality of
greeting. The COurtland family was
in the turmoil of moving; they had 10
go to a much smaller house and to
reduce the establishment greatly. But
the worries Of a move and the prospect
of comparative pOverty-there was very
little left besides HarrIet's moderate
dCwry-were accepted by Tom very
cheerfu1ly, and by the children with
glee; they were delighted to be told
that there would be no more men ser
wants and fewer maids. and that they
would have to learn TO shift for them
selves as much and as soon as possible.
rTrr.. 4 4 I,
gloomy house." over which the shadow
of calamity still broOded.
THE children don't like to pass Lady
Harriet's door at night, Suzette whis-
pered in an aside to Caylesham-
Tom himself seemed younger and
more sprightly; and he was the slave
of his little girls. His gray hair, the
lines on his face, and the enduring scar
on SCphy'S brow spoke Of the sorrow
which had been; but the sorrow had
given place to peace-and it might be
that some day peace would turn 20 joy.
For there was much youth there, and,
where youth is. joy must come, if only
it be given a fair chance.
We're rather in narrow circum-
stances, Of course" Tom explained,
when Suzette and the children were out
of earshot. That's because / made
such an ass Of myself"
well, don't be hard on Flora She
was good Ir1enQ 10 you.
I'm not blaming her; it's myself,
Frank. 1 ought to have remembered
the children. But we can rub along,
and perhaps I shall get a berth some
day.
Caylesham did not think that pros
pect a very probable one, but he dis
sembled and told Tom that his old po-
litical friends ought certainly to do
something Tor MIN:
Because it never came to an absolute
public row. did it?'
Everybody knew" sighed Tom, with
a relapse into dependency.
Anyhow you won't staFve.' Gayle
sham said with laugh. Il reckon you
must have about a thousand a year?''
It's not much: but-well, ! tell you
what, Frank, Suzette Bligh's pretty
nearly as good as another five hundred,
and / only pay her seventy pounds q
year. You wouldn't believe what a
manager that little woman is. She
makes everything go twice as far as 1t
did, and has the house so neat. too.
Upon my soul. 1 don't notice any diff
ference. except that I've dropped my
champagne"
well. with champagne what II most
ly is nowadays, that's no great loss.
my boy, and I'm glad you've struck 1t
rich with Miss Bligh."
1--WE should be lost without her. I
or what I should do with them, but for
her One good thing poor Harriet did,
anyhow, was to bring her here"
Yes; but If Harriet had known how
II was TO fall out, had foreseen how
Suzette was TO reign in her stead. and
with what joy the change Of governs .
ment would be greeted Caylesham
imagined, with a. conscious faintness OF
fancy, the tempest which would have
arisen, and how short a shrift would
have been meted out to Suzette and all
her adherents- He really hoped that
poor Harriet. who had suffered enough
for her faults, was not IN any position
In which she could be aware Of what
had happened; it would be TO her (un-
less some great transformation had
been wrough) too hard and unendura-
BILE a punishment.
1.-The children are changed creatures
Frank Tom went on. we don't try
to repress them, you know That
would be hypocrisy. wouldn't II, under
the circumstances The best thing is
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