Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1908-06-03
cHAPTER \.

CHAPTER |.
/ never quite knew how it was that
/ took Vincent with me, except that we
both needed holiday at the same
time and the same kind of holiday ap-
pealed to us both. .Vincent's whole
name and title is Lord Wilfred Vim
cent, for he is the younger son of the
old duke of Totem Men of his own
age call him Freddy" but | call him
Vincent or Wilfred, because | con-
slider curtailed appellations undignified.
Vincent is an artist-that is, he calls
himself one; his friends call him "a
dabbler in art" He doesn't really go
In for it seriously, you know, but ne
did little sketches of cows and that
sort of thing rather well, | fancy. So
we agreed that our aim was to tind
q little old village, far away from
London. and get rooms in some old
farmhouse. My idea was that Vincent
would go out and paint the cows while
! would lie in the hammock and the
old lady would bring me buttermilk.
Wilfred had an idea that he, too,
would like to spend good bit of his
time in a hammock but with this dif-
ference, that the old lady's beautiful
daughter was to bring him lemonade.
But | pointed out to him that the
chief reason that / was running away
from town was to get rid of the
debutantes, and therefore he'd have to
leave the fair ones out of our air
castle.
Our plan was just to bask in Nature
and we had six weeks to bask in The
foreign Office doesn't seem to require
much of Wilfreds time and he doesn't
do anything else except "dabble." or
course, being a younger son, he hasn't
a shilling of his own, but the old duke
makes him comfortable allowance,
because he dotes on Wilfred as much
as he detests his eldest son, Edmund,
the heir to the dukedom. So, when
Vincent complained Of feeling "all run
down" it was easy for him to get six
weeks off, although, as | tell him, he
has been getting six weeks off, ever
since he left oxford, two years ago.
He isn't "a yet.
Nevertheless, Vincent is one of the
best little chaps in the world. | don
mean that he is understood, for he
stands six feet two in his tochngs;
but is SO good natured sdqjolly and
amiabe and straight-well-just natur'
ally nice, don't you know-that every
BODY is ''just crazy about him." as the
American girl met last summer used
!, to say, and all the men, young and OLD
alike, have gotten to calling him lit
tie Vincent" or Freddy" from his
Eton days, just by way of endearment
OF course. I'm much older than Vim
cent-to be more exact, there's a mat
ter of 12 or is years between us--bu'
l must say can't help being drawn
to him. I've known him ever since he
was born, and then, you see, were
both Oxford men, belong to the same
clubs. and. of course, Terhune is as
old name as Vincent, even II II hasn't
any handle to it, and, If / do say 1t
there's never a dinner given in Lon
don town that. Archibald Terhune Il
not invited But, somehow, in this, my
tenth season, became utterly weary
OF the limelight, the dinners, the balls
the matchmaking mammas flor ! an
an eligible bachelor') and, most o
all, the debutantes, with their edu
Gated smiles and cultivated stares.
felt that must fee from London 4
escape. and thus, as Vincent is al
ways ready for holiday we foun'
ourselves one fine day well started o.
our iurney. We had taken the nooI
train for Kingsbridget and changing
there we're to 60 on to Cuppstone
which an artist friend Of Vincents ha'
recommended to us as just the plac
we were looking for
aJolly lark this said Vincent, afte
we had been some time on our way
.oniy hope Cuppstone and Damer'
farm will be what we want. Graham
cracked It up to the skies"
at "That's the trouble" ! complained
"when a things talked up too rnuc
It's sure to disappoint one"
"Wait till you see 1t, old pessimist!
said vincent, with a cheerful grir
'Tt'a rot COWS which provide butter
mix. ana art, and I've got some len
ons ii my grip for the lemonade. tn
onIv thing that troubles me is tn
jandlady's beautiful daughter. II
AFRAID sheTl be a minus quantity
Then he put his feet across on m
side OF the carriage and lit mast
smelly, old pipe. That's the wor'
~ Vincent; he's 80 young he doesn
think how thing like that may q
On ones nerves. But wouldn't hui
his feelings for anything, and so ha