The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-01-31

! after all, was the good OF going pack
to the same clabs, and the same men,
| and the same women, that had dis
t,pensed too much money for him during
| the last seven years Of his life: He
was not q bit more weary OF himself
I in the country than he had used to be,
| half his time, in. London. He could
| dine in his shooting jacket, and be his
| own master here, at least. And then,
| Yatton was his: and he was beginning
| to get back something of his old inter
est in the exercise Of small feudai
power; and it was inherently grateful
to MI. Clifford Mohun's nature to be
| liked and looked up to-as the poor
people of his estate, true to their Gered-
| itary instincts, Liked and looked up TO
| him now.
Persons Of the class that are always
ready with decided and correct estl-
mates Of everybody else's moral condi-
ton pronounced Clifford reformed. He
was not in the least reformed, if by
| that term change Of nature is intended
| to be expressed. Men of nearly thirty
years very seldom 10 change their ma
| lures. I fancy. He was simply begin
| ming to ind out that he had hitherto
missed the kind Of life which suited
| him best-the unintellectual. laziiy ac-
| tive, healthy, material life Of the oun
try. Wherever he had lived, Clifford
| Mohun must inevitably have sunk to a
| tolerably low scale Of existence; put
what had been disreputability in Lon
| don was at vatton idling about with
| his gun OF his rod, and habitually
drinking rather more than was good
for him-and gambling ONLY when any
of his friends came do | from 30
hernia or Belsravia to stay with him.
Jane Grand was, Of course, one OF the
hottest supporters Of the reformation
theory: Mr.. Follett, not less naturally.
one of those who looked skeptically
upon Mohun's change OF life: ami so II
fell out, after a few rather sharp dis
sensions on the subject, that the wears
visits to James cottage began to grow
extremely rare and cold. He always
found Mohun there when he called;
and when Mohun was there 1t was
simply ridiculous to think that he coulu
be wanted, TOO. His fastidious Selier-
osity made him speak well OF his rival
Ito every one save Jane); he called ut
Yatton at stated periods; he even dined
with M0hun, and asked him. IN return,
to the vicarage. But 10 see him 1amil-
iarly seated in James little loom-o1
which every object was so sacred TO
his own H2art-to see James eyes ap-
proving Of all he said, to hear James
praises of him when he was gone
were just pieces Of slow torture tina
the Vicar Of ChcSterford did not feel
himself called upon to endure; and, as
/ have said, his visits TO James cottage
grew rarer than they had ever been
since the days in which he first began
to teach her English history when she
was nine years old.
And Miss Grand-who, simple as she
was, had all q wOman's acutest small
~iealousies in matters OF affectiOn-Mlss
Grand was wounded 10 the quick by
this dereliction Of the man she did not
love!
She liked Clifford. CT course, as She
could like TO other being created, ana
his society was ali. sufficient to her.
and yet-and yet-reader, don't we all
know what it is to go back to the place
where we lived when we were sct;oo
children? How we dream OF it before
hand, and how u hearts throb when
we first begin to recognize the old IA
miliar mlIestones, and the bridge at the
turning Of the road: and then, when we
are there, how shrunk it all seems. ana
htw we wish we had let the good old
past rest. instead Of digging it up ana
staring at its poor. lifeless remains
so different now 10 what we last re-
membered themi Well, something Of
this feeling would ~coStinuaily come
over Jane, whether she wiiled it or not.
in her intercourse with Giffosl. n did
not know whether the change was IN
him or in herself; she only knew That a
change was there. Once OF twice ne
came TO her house after dinner, when
his utterance was hot perfectly dis
tinct. IGr his remarks very coherent;
and lying awake at night, after such
visits, Jane had to think Il very long
while o~ey the old bright vision Of the
Mohun OF Ee- youth before she could
disiodge from her brain tine visitor
whose eyes were glazed with wine OF
the present. Had Mr.. Follett CHANGED
TO call on the following morning after
Jane had thought thus, she would, you
may rest assured, have been especially
acrimonious 70 him, and more than ever
disposed to uphold and make much OF
Clifford in his presence. But Mr.. Fol
lett did not call. either on these or any
other mornings; and so, not having
to defend Clifford afresh, only to see
him continually. both in the before and
after-dinner aspect of his everyday life,
Jane Grand was forced gradually to
feel that ne was not-never could be
again-that which he was when she
first loved him in her youth.
She d~isallowed all such creditablc
feelings to herself as Indignantly as she
disalloweG the fact that she missed
the society of that true and refined and
honest gentleman who had been her
| sole friend and counselor during these
| last outcast years of her life women
| like Jane invariably consider any faint
| dawnings of reason in their love affairs
lust in the same light that they would
ouestionings or doubts in theological