The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-30
DlT WAS, RATHER 4
 WONDERFUL THING THAT ABEL TLETcHER- SHOULD HAVE 50 FAR TRUSTED HE UNKNOWN LAD

1 give 1t up and go on with the mills which
 the old Quaker had owned. Phineas set l tied down as Uncle Phineas' in his l friends household.
 In spite of Ursulas urging, John had refused to go to law to wrest from Brith- ! wood his wifes fortune, and now was 1 sadly worried over his financial affairs
 He believed that if he could get a lease l of certain cloth mills near Enderley he could make his fortune-but that would | take money.
 As he sat breeding, with gulf of pov.
 erty on one side of him and visions oi
 wealth on the other, came to him Loro
 Luxmore, graceful, bland, high-bred and l immora Lord Luxmore brought his sor
 and was charmed, of course, to see again i his estimable connections
 Pardon me-" said the Earl. My son
 Lord Ravenel. He has just completed his | education-at the College of St. Omer
 was 1t not, William?"
 "At the Catholic College of St. Omer, " | replied the boy, a tall, spare youth of 1S
 with large, soft eyes.
 Tut" cried the Ear What does il
 matter? MT. Halifax, do not imagine we
 are a Catholic family. I hope the next
 Earl of Luxmore will be able to take | the oaths whether or no we get emanci- l patton"
 It son developed that it was to the mat 1 ter thus introduced that John owed the 1 honor of this visit from his wife's noble | relative. The question of Catholic eman- 1 cipation was to come up in the next par
 lament and the Earl was in favor of it. 1 He knew that John thought the same
 way, for by this time MT. Halifax had be- | come man much listened to by the peo- pc.
 | "Of course" said his lordship, offering | his snuff box, "a wise man esteems all 1 faiths alike worthless"
 That was the very last thing I meant | to imply" retorted John, "I hold that every mans faith is so sacred that no
 other man has a right to interfere with l it."
 1 Exactly, exactly" responded the Earl. What facility of expression" In short. l Lord Luxmore, knowing how John stood 1 with the people, was anxious to have him | returned from the pocket borough of l Kingswell. Of the fifteen free and inde- ! pendent burgesses' who returned mem- l Der of par lament from Kingswell, twelve
 were tenants of Lord Luxmore and three | of Phineas-and Phineas, of course, was | John for such purposes.
 1 Lord Luxmore talked of politics and the Prince Regent; and at the end of his talk he was astounded to hear John say that
 under no circumstances would he stand for Kingswell-or for any other rotten | borough. But he preached the subject or the cloth mills, of which Lord Luxmore was owner; and his lordship, cunningly thinking. "here is way to win this fel-
 low" offered him the coveted lease. Alas" said John, your ordship's kind ness is unavaling I have not the money" T should have imagined that your wife 8 fortune" began the Earl Then Ursula
 broke out and told him all about it. Shocking" said the Earl. "I must real
 ly expostulate with Brithwood." And he did so, and few days after ward Ursula's fortune was turned over to her and John took lease of the cloth mi Is.
 While his father had been striving to , weave his net around John, Lord Ravenel had been in the little garden watching the children at play--for by this time there were three child voices heard about the ] house-Murieps and two boys. Guy and Edwin Poor Muriel had been born blind. but was better loved. perhaps, on that account, than the others, though all were very dear to Ursula and John. Young Lord Ravene seemed much at- i tracted toward the blind girl. and after ward when John had bought little country place called 'Longfeld, which he did at once upon receiving his wife's for tune, the gentle boy was much with the Halifax family, and he and Murel played duets together in the dusk on the organ | fin the old parish church.
 Then came the election for Kingswell | nd John, having again positively re- | fused to be a candidate, MT. Brithwood nominated Mir. Gerald yermilye, and