The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-05


 baronet's widow her daughter. when the coup had been accomplished. had no mora desire to enjoy the presence of her mother at Lovers charming little country place at Putney than she had to have the honor of calls from the odious Mir. Batch elor. MT. Batchelor took the hint and kept away, Lovel entertaining him at clubs and hotels with as expensive diH- ners as he could devise, but never insist ing upon his coming down to Putney. Both knew the reason why. though they never mentioned it. Lady Baker took no hints. and after having borrowed money from all of her son-in-laN servants. found the gates of her daughters house shut against her upon her return from an ill-advised excursion to Brighton. At first Lady Baker declared that she would ungrateful daughter; but the porter inti- mating to her that before she expired she might just as well render up the sS she had borrowed from This missus," her ladyship went away In huff to her son in Ireland. Mrs Bennington also found the house of her son rather thorny place and went there as little as possible.
 Cecilia played the harp and every day after dinner used to render the pathetic ballad of Tara's Halls. She also present. ed Lovel with two children, Popham, named after his grandfather. Sir Popham Baker, and Cecilia These children were in charge of certain Miss Prior; none other than the Bessie Bellenden who once danced at the theatre. Batchelor had got her the place. Poor relations when they come into the family in any capacity are never personae gratae, and Elizabeths life at Oxbridge had not been one the paths of which were strewn with roses. So Batchelor wrote to Lovel and Miss Elizabeth got job Her mother, old. Mrs. Prior, tried to follow her birding to the new nest and pick up some of the good things there to be found. But the stern Cecilia soon put an end to that It may well be supposed that the constant wig lance necessary to keep her own and her 1IiCnOb anu ACAdllFcS O1 Ltic premises and daily diet of '"rhe Harp That Once" etc., would rather wear upon even the enough constitution of Cecilia She needed a vacation and took one by trip to Italy, where typhoid fever found her, and MT. Batchelor was scared to read in the Times one day the following notice: "At Naples, on the 18th ult., Ce- cilia, wife of Frederick Lovel. Esq, and daughter of the late Sir Popham Baker. Bart"
 Soon after that MT. Batch received a letter from the newly-made widower tell ing of his irreparabie loss and asking Batchelor to Putney. When Batchelor arrived at the pleasing little suburban place he found Miss Elizabeth wearing blue spectacles and still acting as gov erness He found Dick Bedford officiating as butler and he found Lady Baker and Mrs. Bennington in full sway of the household. Lady Baker was a permanent fixture, apparently, but Mrs. Bennington used simply to drive over every day with her family and enjoy the good things. "Oh, I see you are surprised to see rne here," was Lady Bakers greeting to the inoffensive Batchelor, Out it was my duty, sir; my <nty to that departed saint" And her Ladyship rolled up her eyes at the picture of Cecilia which hung upon the dining room wall. T am sure when mama was here you were always quarreling," says little Popham. "Silence sir" says Lovel. That is the way my grandchildren have been taught to re- gard me- cries Lady Baker. Mrs. Bon nington made some remark about chil- dren who had not ''been brought up at alp and were always fighting with her own two darlings. She had presented two they did fight with their uncle and niece, Popham and Cecilia, shamefully.
 When the ladies had left the table after dinner Lovel cried out to Dick the but Ter: "Give us another bottle of that Sau- terne which MT. Batchelor used to like. By the way, Bedford. why was not the carriage sent for me today?" "She had it," replied Bedford, nodding his head toward the door through which Lady Baker had disappeared. Then why was not the phaeton sentY" continues the de-
 
 ford with another nod. and his "she' this time meant Mrs. Bennington. "Oh, very well," says Lovel. It will be seen from all this that Lovel, having been henpecked by the sainted Cecilia was now "doublebanked," as 1t were, by the saints mother and his own.
 Batchelor managed to get a quiet inter- view with Elizabeth. ''why wear those glasses?' he asked. you know you don't need, them" Tt is better" she replied, with a sigh. Aforetime in the old days of Beak street. Batch and Bessie had had many long condolences together, for both had been in love. Bessie with . young man belonging to the Bombay serv- ice, who was on leave and occupied the second floor front, and Batchelor with a beautiful Irish maiden named Glorvina, who married a man named O'Dowd. The young man of the Bombay service hay ing returned to his post and Glorvina having gone out to India, also. with her husband, the major, there was little else left for the desolate ones in Beak street to do but to confide to each other their mutual woes of the smitten heart
 And now, as Bstchelor saw Elizabeth in the household of his friend Lovel, oppressed. as the master of the house was, by the women who had determined to run it for him, the idea came into his mind that perhaps the memory of his lost Clorvina might be made more sweet if he had with him always the gentle Ellz- absth In fact. he thought he could see