The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1905-03-25
to your chief, you know I shall sena

sent 1t by mounted messenger to the
Burg"
"1he young ladies they wish to sec
you" said the baroness. "They are
kind-hearted; they would like to de
what they can. But l tell them no;
they will make you to be very tired.~
"On the contrary, it will rest ma
Let them come" ! said.
But l warn YOU" said she, lifting
her finger as she left the room, do not
fall in fove. They are full of mischief
They do not study. They do not care
You know they make much fun al
day"
The young ladies came in presently.
They wore gray gowns admirably fit
ted to their fine figures. They brought
big bouquets and set them, with q
handsome courtesy. on the table be-
side me. They took chairs and sat
solemn-faced, without word, as if it
were Quaker meeting they had come
to. never saw better models of SYM
pathetic propriety. l was about to
speak, One of them shook her head
finger on her lips.
"Do not say one word" she said SOL
emily in English. 1T will make you
YER sick"
1t was the first effort of either OF
them to address me in English. AS
soon knew, the warning had exhausted
her vocabulary. The baroness went
below in a moment. Then the one
who had spoken came over and sat
near me, smiling.
"She does not know you can speak
French" said she. whispering and adj
! dressing me in her native tongue, az
the other tiptoed to the door. "On
your life, do not let her know. She
, will never permit us to see you. She
will keep us under lock and key. Shs
knows we cannot speak English. SO
she thinks we cannot talk with YOU
1t is great lark. Arc you better?"
| What was | To do under orders from
such authority? AS they babe me- l.
! hope YOU will say. for that is what Z
! did. | had no easy conscience about it
l must own. Day after day took my
| part in the little comedy. They cams
in Quaker-taced if the baroness were
, at hand, never speaking. except to her
until she had gone. Thcn-wcll, such
animation, such wit. such bright eyes,
| such brilliancy, l have never seen or
heard.
| My wound was healing. War and
stern duty were as things of the far
past. Tic grand passion had hold of
me. tried to fight it down, to shake
it off, but somehow it had the claws Of,
tiger. There was an odd thing about
it all: | could not for the life OF me
tell which of the two charming girls
| loved the better. 1t may seem in
credible; | could not understand it N.Y.
self. They looked alike, and yet they
were quite different. Louison was s.
year older and of stouter build. She
had more animation also, and always
a quicker and perhaps brighter ms
swer. The other had a face more &c.
rious, albeit no less beautiful, and &
slower tongue She had little to saye
but her silence had much in it to adj
mre, and, indeed, to remember. They
appealed to different men in me With
equal force. did not then know why.
A perpleXng problem it was, and had
to think and suffer much before | saw
the end of it, and really came to know
what love is and what it is not
Shortly ] was near the end of this
delightful season Of illness. | had been
out of bed a week. The baroness had
read to me every day, and had been Sc
kind that | felt great shame for
my part in our deception. Every af-
tcrnoon she was Off in boat OF in
her calcchc, and had promised to take
ne with her as soon as | was able to-
go.
You Know said she, 81 am going
to make you stay her Il full month.
have the consent of the general"
| had begun to move about q little
and enjoy the splendor of tn at forest
home. There We're, indeed, many rare
and priceless things in it that came
out OF her chateau in France. She had
some curious old clocks, tokens Of
ancestral taste and friendship. There
was one her grandfather had got from
the land Of Louis XIV.-le Grand Mon
argue, of whom my mother had begun
to tell me as soon as could hear with
understanding. Another came from the
bedchamber OF Philip H. of Spain-s
grand high clock that tolled the houY
in that great hall beyond my door.
little thing, in a case of carved
ivory, that licked on a table near my
bed, Moierc had given to one of hey
ancestors, and there were many others
Of equal interest.
Her walls were adorned with art
treasures of the value of which had
little appreciation those days. But I
remember there were canvasses of
Corrc2gio and Rembrandt and Sir
Joshua Reynolds. She was, indeed, q
woman of fine taste, who had brought
her best to America: for no one had O.
doubt in the time Of VIII ch | am writ
ing, chat the settlement of the Com
paGnie de New York would grow into
a great colony. with towns and cities
and fine roadways, and the full COM
plement of high living. She had bulk
the Hermtage-that was the name dR
the mansion-ffne and splendid as II
was, for mere temporary shelter
pending the arrival of those better
days.
| She had a curious fad, this hermit
baroness of the big woods. She loveG
nature and was naturalist of nc
poor attainments. Wasps and horneH