Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1906-06-08

LORD MarSnllllQ S.. corrected MTS.
Larch. His mother, l see by Debrett,'
was a Pearle-Harkness, q member of a
well-known West-county family !"
well, l trust he will turn out salts
factoriIy ~ said Mrs. Smythe, unfurling
Il red parasol which had seen its bright
est days. 'Those cadets of big houses
are rather apt to Eade on their rela-
tives' names"
Mr.. Harrison is just coming in at
the gate" broke in Mrs. Larch. abrupt
ly, with a beaming face. HE prom
ised me to look in if he We're not
obliged to go up to Tattersalls to-day
about q horse. SO you will have the
opportunity you evidently desire, Mrs.
Smythe, of putting him through a
cross-eXamination." And Mrs. Larch
rose ponderously from her seat, frown-
ed at the c~urate's wife, and sailed ma
iestically across the lawn to meet Mr..
Harrison.
She brought him up to the group
round the tea-table-now augmented by
the four tennis players, who had oppor-
timely finished their game-and made
The necessary introductions.
Mrs. Shackel at once warmly ap-
proved of the handsome, smiling young
man, whose immaculate raiment and
easy manners testified so f~avorably to
his pecunlary and social status: and
who, after assisting to supply the Ia
dies with tea, dropped into the vacant
chair by her daughter Comics side.
That young lady chatted to Mr.. Har-
rison in her engaging little way, but
was presently annexed by Mr.. Smythe
as his partner for another set. And Mr..
Harrison. who professed to be too out
of practice to play, moved up 4 couple
of chairs, and transferred his atten-
tons to her sister.
That evening the conversation ut the
Rectory dinner-table chiefly consisted
in the singing Of Mr.. Evered Harrison's
praises by the three ladies'. @
Such a cultured, gentlemanly per-
son !" murmured Mrs. Shackel. 'lfe
was telling me about his travels. He
seems to have done a good deal Of
yachting; and spent last summer fish
ing off Norway. His trip to Russia,
too, must have been most enjoyable.
The Car received him at Il special au-
dicnce, and was most kind to him. But
no doubt his relatives are well known
In st. Petersburg!!"
well, he doesn't put on Il scrap of
~snobbary." said Connie, enthusiastical-
~. ".In fact, when Mrs. Smythe asked
him if Lord Marshland was quite well
again after his hunting accident IL The
winter, he scarcely answered her. He
Is not a bit of Il snob-anyone can see
that
NO, indeed" chimed In Mildred.
"And isn't it lucky? He seems to have
taken quite an aversion to Isabel Ewes
more. At least, he asked me the name
of the girl with the yirulent red hair
and disagreeable expression who was
always motoring past his house; and
when I told him she was the nearest we
could do round here in the way of an
heiress, he laughed, and said 1t was
fortunate such an unprepossessing
damsel had something to back her up!"
1t was a sultry day towards the end
of August. The sun had gone down irz-
lily. leaving the earth exceedingly warm.
and its inhabitants distinctly dlsin-
clined to exert themselves. With such
atmospheric conditions, 1t was not sur
prising that the majority of people pres
ent at the dance which young Harrison
had elected to give in dual celebration
Of his t~wenty-ffth birthday and bis en-
gagement to Isabel Evesmore preferred
sitting out In the dimly-lit garden to
dancing in the improyised marquee on
the lawn.
Duly sponsored, Landed, and intro
duced by Mrs. Larch and the Shackels,
Harrison had become a very popular
and much-sought-after parsonage dur
Ing his two months residence in the
neighborhood; and half the elite Of the
district had accepted the invitation TO.
his ball. which promised to take rank
as "the" event Of the summer
Harrison had pointed out the inpos-
sinpiitiIity Of getting any Of his friends
down from Lonao1-a plan Mrs. Shack
eli had guilefully suggesreelsa now
that Goodwood and G2wss gtfes over,
they were all off to Scotland or the
Continent; but he had secured d sut1-
cient number of local dancing men to
make the affair q success.
The m~ise-en-scene was charming, the
ices unexceptionable, the band melo-
dious and inspiriting, and Harrison was
proving himself an ideal host. The
chaperons almost forgave the young
man for having engaged himself to the
only rich girl in the neighborhood as he
assiduously brought up partners for
their pretty daughters, and went
through a succession of duty dances
With the palmer and more neglected
dantsels.
Eren Mrs. Shackel, to whom the news
of his engagement had been a great dis
appointment after Harrison's frequent
visits to the rectory and the attentions
he had shown to Connie, murmured her
admiration of his delightful manner
into the ear Of a neighbor as Connie
and Mildred went off on the arms Of
two particularly eligible young men to
join in the lancers.
How s%plendidly you have managed
everything" Mrs. Shackel murmured
presently to her host as he deposited
his partner, the village Doctors taciturn
wife, with an air OF relief on a chair
by Mrs. ShackePs side when the grand