The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-10-03
ONLY A
GOVERNESS

An advertisement that appeared
one day in the Morning Post, in
formed an interested world that Mrs.
Mandeville-Jones required a govern
ess for her younger daughter, aged
thirteen, with the mention Of SAL
ary identical with the wages that Mrs.
Mandeville-Jones paid her under
housemaid.
Reggie Fulwarton, who knows
everybody, spotted the advertisement
at once, and in the smoking room Of
the Hookah Club, called the attention
of one of his pals to its seductive
offers.
What! You don't know Mrs.
Mandeville-Jones? Why, old Jones
was proprietor of some patent medi-
cine or other. Regular old bounder.
And she too awful for words. But
he's safely planted underneath the
daisies, while she's got a house in
Berkeley square and plenty of the
needful! So there you are!"
Nevertheless, Mrs. Mandeville-
Jones had plenty of answers to her
advertisement from applicants to un-
dertake the education of Miss Irene
Mandeville-Jones at Els year.
Among the rest was a dark girl OF
about twenty, very simply dressed
in mourning, whose appearance at
tracted the mamma of Miss Irene, be-
cause she looked meek and snub-
bable, and was neither too good look
ing nor too we'll dressed for a gov
erness person"
Mrs. Mandeville-Jones elected the
fact that her name was Una Carew;
that her father, who had been rector
of a remote Cornish village, had late
ly died, leaving her mother and her
self very badly off: and that she had
decided to take situation as gov
erness, while her mother went to live
with her brother in the north of Eng
land; who could not take both of
them in.
And you have references?' in
auired Mrs. Mandeville-Jones.
IT have a letter from Lady Ched-
grave" said Una, timidly, handing it
to the lady as she spoke.
Lady Chedgrave!" said Mrs.
Mandeville-Jones, suspiciously. Il
thought the present earl was wild
ower!"
"This is from the Dowager Lady
Chedgrave," explained Una, hastily.
'She lives in our village and has
known me all my life"
The handwriting of dowager
countess did not fail to impress Mrs.
Jones mind, and she decided to en-
gage Miss Carew as the instructress
of her beloved Irene, who was a fine
ly developed specimen of the genus
spoiled child"
Una Carew, who had always been
used to being petted and made much
of at home, found her life in the
Berkeley mansion anything but bed
or roses. The ostentation and vul-
garity of the whole establishment and
its occupants Jared upon her.
But unfortunately there was an
other thing which preyed upon her
mind. Nearly year before her fa-
theirs death, Lord Langley, the eld-
est son of the Earl of Chedgrave,
whom she had known ever since they
were boy and girl together, had come
to her and asked her to marry him.
But Una knew what a hor-tem-
pered and eccentric old man Lord
Chedgrave was; and though he had
always been extremely kind to her,
and even made a sort Of pet Of her,
she knew he would never dream of
accepting her as a daughter-in-law.
In fact, he had definitely said that
his son must marry an heiress, and
that if he disobeyed him and married
a pauper they might sweep a cross
ing, for they would never get penny
of allowance out of him.
And so had told her ardent suiter
that she would never marry him. n
consequence he had gone off to the
Rockies in search of the grizzly. But
poor Una, having got rid of her lover,
with feminine perversity longed for
him to come back; and when she saw
q paragraph stating that Lord Lang
ley was bringing home an American
heiress as his bride she began to lie
awake at night wondering why the
universe was not run on a totally diff
ferent plan.
One day, however, there appeared
a new misfortune. Irene announced
that her brother BERTHE, aged twen-
ty-two, was coming back from pro-
tracted tour on the Continent. And
he proved to be very much the sort
of little bounder that she had eX-
pected. What Una had not antici-
pated, however, was that, finding a
-'doosid pretty girl established
under the maternal roof, he felt it
his duty to start "spooning."
Now Una Carew was by no means
80 deficient in spirit as Mrs. Jones
had imagined; and when Mr.. BERTHE
began paying her his somewhat eX-
aggerated attentions, she had no hes
itation il snubbing him heartily.
BERTHE himself was surprised and
disSusted to find that mere gov
erness was not prepared to accept
him quite at his own valuation; and
he took counsel with bosom friend
at the club.
Fact, I assure you, dear boy,
Spend all my time maxim eyes at
her, don't you know; and don't get
a bit forrader!"
L,,ly1.a ~ lcal.al s.Al, LII