Oxford Democrat., 1906-02-20
CHAPTER II.

IOES there exist an incredulous
or jealous deniZen Of another
d5z1 portion Of our country who,
ly0e2S knowing that the room IN the
wooden cupoia over Mr.. Carewe's IL
brary was commonly alluded to by
ROuen as the tower chamber" will
prove himself SO sectiOnally prejudiced
as to deny that the town was verita-
Bile hotbed of literary interest or that
Sir Walter Scott was Ill appreciated
there? Some OF the men looked sly and
others grinned ut mention Of this apart
ment, but the romantic were not lack
Ing who spoke Of 1t In whispers-how
the lights sometimes shonc there all
night long and the gentlemen drove
away, white faced, In tue dawn. The
cupola, rising above the library, over
looked the garden, and the house, save
for that, was Of single story, with u
low veranda running the length OF its
front. The windows Of the. library and
of q row of bedrooms, one Of which
was Miss Betty's, lined the veranda
steamboat fashion, the inner doors Of
these rooms all opening upon a long
hall which bisected the house. The
stairway leading to the room in the
cupola rose in the library itself, Willie
the blsecting hall afforded the only ac-
cess TO the library; hence the gosslps,
well acquainted with the geography of
the place, conferred seriously together
upon what effect Miss Betty's home
coming would have in this connection.
for any one going to the stairway must
needs pass her door. and, what was
more to the point, party Of gentlemen
descending late from the mysterious
turret might not be so quiet as they In
tended and the young lady sufficiently
disturbed to inquire of her father what
entertainment he provided that should
keep his guests until 4 In the morning.
But ut present 1t was with the op-
posite end Of the house that the town
was occupied, for there wOrkmen were
hammering and saving and painting
all day long, finishing the addition Mr..
Carewe was building for bis daugh-
ter's debut. This hammering disturbed
Miss Betty, who had become almost as
busy with the French revolution as
with her mantIa maker, for she had
found In her fathers library many
books not for convent shelves, and she
had become a Girondin.
She found memoirs, histories and
tales of that delectable period, and for
a week there was no meal In that house
to which she sat down earlier than half
an hour late. She had rightful prop
erty interest in the revolution, her own
great-uncle having been one OF those
who suffered, not, however, under the
guillotine, for to Georges Meilhac ap-
pertained the rare distinction Of death
by accident on the day when the busi-
nesslike young Bonaparte played upon
the mob with his cannon.
There were some yellow letters OF
this great-uncle's in box which had
belonged to her grandmother, a rich
discovery for Miss Betty, who read and
reread them with eager and excited
eyes, living more in Paris with Georges
and his friends than in Rouen with her
father. Indeed, she had little else to
do. Mr.. Carewe was no comrade for
her. by far the reverse. She seldom
saw him, except Mt the table, when he
sat with averted eyes and talked to her
very little, and. while making elaborate
preparation for her Introduction to his
friends (such was his phrase). he treat
ed her with perfunctory civility
which made her wonder II her advent
was altogether welcome to him, but
when she noticed that his hair looked
darker than usual about every fourth
day she began to understand why he
appeared ungrateful to her for growing
up. He went out great deal, though
no visitors came to the house, for It
was known that Mr.. Carewe desired to
present his daughte. to 10 one until he
presented her to all. Fanchon Bareaud,
indeed, made one hurried and embar'
rassed call, evadIng Miss Betty's refer
| ence to the chevaliev of the kitten with
4 dexterity too nimble to be thought
| unintentional. Miss Carewe was for
bidden to return her friends visit until
after her debut, and Mr.. Carewe ex-
plained that there were always some
worthless young men hanging about
Bareaud's, where, he did not add, they
interfered with a worthy old one who
desired to honor Fanchon's older sister,
Virginia, with his attentions.
This was no great hardship for Miss
Betty, as, since plunging into the rev.
olution with her great-uncle. she had
lost some curiosity concerning the men