Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1906-02-26
CHAPTER XIV.

GiScOunt AucheSter was He was go
ing to marry Leslie! The thought
dwelt with him all the way up 10
town, lowered about him as he lay
awake throughout nearly the whole
night, and came to him in the morn
ing with a joy exceedingly description.
| To marry Leslie!
What had he done to deserve such
happiness, such bliss? he asked him
self, as he hurried through his tub and
| dressing; and while he ate his break
! fast in a feverish, restless kind of
| haste, he pictured and planned out his
| future-a future to be spent side by
side till death parted them. They
would leave London Immediately after
their marriage and cross the Channel.
Perhaps they'd stay awhile in Paris
but only for few days. 1t would
be too big and noisy for such bliss as
! theirs No; he would take her to
some quiet spot in Normandy; per-
haps to Rome, that delightful old
world town with its magnificent
churches and historic streets. Why.
he could see themselves standing arm
in arm in the vast cathedral, listening
reverentIy to the grand service; ne
could see Leslie's pensive face with
the sweet gravity in her lovely eyes
with the half-pensive and yet happy
smile on her pure lips. He fancied
her by his side, looking up at the
carved gables of the quaint houses, or
seated at one of the little marble
tables in the Cafe Blanc, with its
shining copper vessels and glittering
glasses. Then they could go on into
Germany, up the Rhine.
How delightful to have her beside
him as the steamer toiled against the
stream, and the delicious panorama
unfolded itself mile by mile. Then, if
they chose, there were switzerland
and Italy There was Lucerne, for
instance. How she would delight in
Lucerne with it's marvellous lakes, in
which old Pilatus shadows himself;
with its famous bridge spanning the
emerald Reuss; with it's snug cathe
dral in which the wonderful organ
surges and walls.
Happy He would make her happy
or know the reason why! He would
devote every hour of his life, every
particle of his by no means gigantic in
tellect, in the effort to prove how dear,
ly he loved her.
He sat for a little while after
breakfast making a mental plan of his
procedure. He would have to act
prudently and warily. No hint of
what he was about to do must be al
lowed to get out. If his numerous
creditors, Jew and Gentle, had the
least suspicion that he was about to
marry a penniless angel instead of
Lady Eleanor Dallas, the heiress,
they would swoop down upon him. No,
he must be very cautious.
He had gone around to Mr.. Arnheim,
the dealer, on the evening before i'm
mediately after he had reached Lon
don. and was very cautious with him,
giving him to understand that he
merely wanted small picture of Mr..
Lisle's, and asking Mr.. Arnheim in
quiet a casual way to write and ask
Mr.. Isle whether he would accept
commission. Don't mention any
name. please" he said, and Mr.. Arm
helm nodded and shook his head.
Yorke went away quite confident
that the vaguest of letters from the
great dealer would bring Francis Lisle
post haste to London, and, as we
know, he was right.
Then he went down to Doctors Com
mons and inquired about the license.
He knew no more about the bust
ness than the veriest schOOl-boy, but
he had. a vague idea that you could
buy a license somewhere in that
strange locality, and that armed with
that he could marry Leslie right away,
at once-at once. The thought sent
the blood rushing to his handsome
face and made ST. PauTs Cathedral,
hard by which is Doctors Commons,
waver before his eyes. A seedy-look-
ing gentleman led him to the office
where the mystic license was to be OBJ
tanned, and a grave and sedate clerk
SOI OH Il uuS0 SlOOl ctC a uCoh anu PUC
several questions to Yorke, who, for
the first time in his life-or the sec
ond, perhaps, for he was nervous when
he had asked Leslie to be his wife
felt embarrassed and agitated.
rs it an ordinary license you re-
quire, or special?" asked the clerk.
what is the difference" he asked,
almost shyly and struggling with an
actual blush.
The clerk eyed him with cool SUI
periority.
by an ordinary license" he eX-
planned, you can marry in the church
of the parish in which one OF the
parties resides, and only there, and
he or she must have resided there fiji
teen days. With a special license you
can marry in particular church
without having resided in the parish
fifteen days; but you would nave to
give sufficient reasons for requiring