Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-05-09

aid we judged his age to be thirty,
From his conversation 1t was clear
| that he had seen good deal Of the
world; and when invited him to stay
with us as long as he wished to re-
main in the neighborhood, he accepted
| the invitation with cordiallty. Moth.
| Ing, OF course, was said by us as to the
| duration of his visit. l looked upon
him as much my uncles guest as ours,
| and he was welcome to remain as long
as it suited his convenience and pleas
| ure.
He was soon at ease with. us. and
we with him. My wife pronounced
him to be gentleman, and con-
Cured; Mile. ROsalie said that he was
"delightful," and was not backward
in showing him attentions.
Mr.. Mortlock had much to tell us
of Mr.. Wilmot, whom he evidently
knew better than VIC did. He dilated
upon nv unclc's uniform Kindness and
consideration for others, upon his sound
opinion of men and things, upon his
ripe judgment, and, incidentally, upon
his strength of character.
"What l admire in him." said Mr..
Mortlock, "ls that, once having taken
certain view, once having resolved
upon a certain course, he is not to be
turned from It by any arguments that
can be advanced against it."
During the week small matter
somewhat ruffied me. l was taking
the letters out Of the postbag, prepara-
tory to sending them to the postoffice
by the hands of Samuel Fleetwood,
when Mr.. Mortlock said:
II beg your pardon. l have dropped
q letter by mistake into the bag
There was not more than six or seven
in all, and Mr.. MortlOck, selecting the
one to which he referred, took it from
the little pile and put it in his pocket.
1t was quite by accident that l saw
1t was addressed to my uncle. Mr.
Mortlock, l concluded, was acquainted
with my unclc's address, OF which l
was kept ignorant, and was In COM
munication with him, whereas l was
debarred from the privilege. 1t was,
as | have said, small matter, but 1t
ruftied me. Our relative positions
should have given me the advantage
in my uncle's confidence, but this ad-
vantage was held by another, who
surely could not be so close to him as
| was. 1t was, of course, in my power
to ask Mr.. Mortock to give me the
address; but it seemed to me that the
asking of such simple question would
be violation of my uncles wishes,
and therefore refrained. l consoled
myself with the reflection that time
was waning fast, and that my uncle
would soon be home.
Time, indeed, was flying. Two
months had elapsed since Mr.. Mortlock
set foot in our house, and he evinced
no inclination to put an end to his visit.
Not in the rometest manner could
give him n hint upon the subject. 1t
would have been breach Of hospital
ity; and yet l felt that his visit had
been unduly prolonged. l did not feel
at my ease, nor did my wife and daugh-
ter. There were reasons for this dis
comfort.
First, it appeared to me that Mr.
Mortlock was too strongly attracted
toward Eunice. His attentions to her
were marked by tenderness which
was not agreeable to her or US. There
had been nothing concealed from him.
He knew that Eunice and Harry Clan.
ronald were engaged, and he could not
but see that they were devotedly at
tachcd to each other. Was 1t, then,
the conduct of an honorable man to
introduce a discordant element into
this engagement?
Eunice took every pains to avoid Mr..
Mortlock; and had he been either an
observant or a fair-minded man 1t
would have been impossible for him
to mistake her meaning. But he ex.
hibited no consciousness of 1t, ana her
avoidance Of him did not cause him to
abandon those marks of attention
which were SO distasteful to her.
Harry Clanronald's jealousy was open
ly demonstrated, and the two men who,
during the early part Of Mr.. Mortlock's
visit, We're In frequent friendly asso.
citation, now seldom exchanged word.
must say that Mr. Mortlock took this
in good part, and that, 20 far as out
ward appearances went, his demeanor
continued to be cheerful and well-bred,
while Harry was sullen and occasion
ally offensive; and as nothing seemed
to disturb Mr.. Mortlock's equanimity,
Harry was placed at conspicuous dis
advantage in this antagonism.
Another reason for my discomfort
was the behavior Of Mile. ROsalie.
Between her and Mr.. Mortlock some
kind of confidence seemed to be es.
1 tablished of which could not approve,
and yet could fix upon nothing which
would warrant open ccnsure.