The Washington herald., 1908-06-01
CHAPTER XVII.


which is reflected a hundred feet deep.
In the fairest river Of the south OF Ire
land The persistent ivy has scaled the
ramparts which Cromwell could not take,
and eonspired with lichen to hide the inef-
fective breaches made by his cannon. A
castle owing no debt Of beauty to the skin
Of modern architects but planned and
built by soldier race as their city Of
refuge, it had watched the tide OF feudal
wars storm by, and remained uncovered
by the tides OF English conquest. Turn
ing grayer with every century. where the
ivy could not reach It, It had grown TO
look Ike a mass Of powders in G world OF
woods
In room Of this castle. which over
looked the river. Lady Donoyle and her
daughter were sitting at breakfast one
morning about year from the time Van
draken had made his party call
Paddy, the post is late again to-day"
observed Lady Donoyle
Yes" said Kitty. And I wonder will
his excuse be sitting up with the aillng
pig. or meeting the white lady n Drum
rooe Wood. Poor old dearf He ought to
think OF something new"
Talking about the post Kitty. do you
know that Dumbdale. NJ. P has used It
very much OF late In an effort to discover
when you are going 70 marry him? Your
attitude OF optimistic evasion seems 10 .
pail on him. Nothing from Mr.. Van
( draken?-'
/ Nothing but the wonderful white HIes,
with the red rose IN The MIDDLE. 7 wish I
knew what it meant" unused Lady Kitty,
wistfully.
1T is very poetical, dear AS the French
general remarked. apropos OF the charge
Of Balaklaya. IT Is grand. but Il Is not
war OF course. the flowers come In very
handy in London. and keep down the for
lists bills. but really. in the country.
where flowers are so plentiful. they be-
come molOtOnous. think AicCracken re-
sents them as an imputation on his hot
houses. and cannot afford to lose Nc
Cracker. I should never be able to re-
place him at the price. We arc getting
harder up all the time. I know where
money comes from. but I can't think
where IT goes 10. Yes, Kitty. much as I
dislike the idea OF Mr.. Dumbdale as
son-in-law. I am afraid you viii have TO
put up with him as a husband. All
Here comes Richardson with the postr
She broke or. 10 Kittys relief the
butler entered with the salver heaped up
with letters and papers.
The inevitable Times" said Lady Kilt
". 1t has got dull since the japanese
war and the book war stopped
only want Of ammunition. Kitty Tho
book war may be amusing again yet"
II wish Il would; but. thank goodness,"
confessed Kitty. I can always get my
maid TO smuggle UP the Daily Tale from
the housekeeper's room"
'Ah," said Lady Donoyle. as she opened
and glanced carelessly through the let
ters. Fiction for fiction: and that ac-
counts for the difficulty my maid has IN
getting hold Of II. I'm afraid it's ha'porth
Of picturesQuely embroidered detail ap-
peals TO me more than the thrippence'
worth Of plain facts IN its respectable
rival Why,-whats this? Why, KittyI
This is most extraordinary" Lady Do
noyle rose UP from behind the coffec-pot
in her excitement. holding in her hand a
llegal-lOOking letter. The cynical calm had
forsaken her pale blue eyes. My dear,
It's Ike something out Of a three-volume
novelt'
Whatever is it. mammal" Kitty had
never seen her mother so conquered by
human emotion before.
It's from Tarrant & Rice. OF LincOln's
Inn. They have been instructed by a
client, who insists on remaining unknown
that in the event OF your being unmarried
one year from last July they are to pay
me twenty thousand pounds a year as
long as you remain unmarried. and four
hundred thousand pounds down should
the same mysterious client die while you
are still unmarried
What can this mean, mamma? Who
on earth"
1T means many things. Kitty dear"
interrupted her mother. zone Of them is
that we need not keep poor Mr.. Dumb
dale in suspense any longer. As 10 who
II IS. we must respect the wishes Of our
unknown friend and allow him to retain
his incognito."
Il don't like II. mamma. think we
ought TO refuse"
I'VE ought TO. Kitty. but we won't.
High principles and steam yachts are not
within our means. The unknown seems
to have foreseen your probable refusal.
and has thrown the burden onto my con-
science. Still. If you insist on marrying
Mr. Dumbdale-"
Lady Kitty went to the Oriei window
and looked down on the clean, dark. peat
dyed river. hurrying along over a hun
dred feet below. She was lighting a re-
vulsion of feeling which threatened to
embroil her In a scene with her mother.
She was trying 10 restrain her wings
from hattering against the bars OF arti-
fetal conventions with which that mother
had surrounded her A sudden longing
for a real mother, real father real
household duties. real love. the solid
earth, made all the toO-accustomed SPLEEN
dor Of her surroundings seem cheap and
tawdry. Her mother, looking at the pose
OF her euely modelled shoulders, read her
thoughts and wisely changed the subject.
| When Kitty cried, as child, her mother
had proceeded on the assumption that she
didn't ike what she was thinking about.
and given her something else to think Of.
She did the same now.
] I have another rather interesting let
ter, Kitty. about the DOnoyle chaplaincy.
The Bishop OF Cloyne has been asked by
the Rev. Fabian Dare to indorse him for
the appointment"
Kitty turned around from the window.
Fabian DareI' she cried, in a startled
voice.
Yes Don't you remember. dear? He
was introduced 10 US at Oxford the COM
memoration before last. Rather nice
boy. I took quite fancy TO him. 1t is
so hard to get anybody worth while for
these private chaplaincies I suppose he
remembered meeting nc, and heard the
chaplaincy was vacant. I think I may as
well write to the bishop and Mr.. Dare to
accept. One is always glad to do kind
ness to nice boys. You thought he was
nice boy. didn't you. Kitty? Not Of our
world, OF course"
Don't have him. mammal
why not? Why on earth not2'
'I can't give any reason. I just have G
feeling he wouldn't suit the place" She
turned back TO the window again.
You are in a shocking mood this morn