The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-06-29

l ligious. Now, however, all was diff | ferent. While under the influence of whisky he had made a wager that he would win this woman's consent to be his wife, and now that they had met face to face he had a strange feeling. The first was feeling of shame. He would not have admitted it even to himself, but he knew the feeling was in his heart. For an- other thing, he doubted himself. Be- fore a word was spoken he knew that this woman was no shallow creature to be carried away by high-sounding phrases. Neither could she mistake cynical opinion, cleverly expressed, for truth. He almost felt afraid of the large brown eyes which were lifted so fearlessly to his.
 When he entered the house he, like MT. Lowry, had felt the quiet dignity and the atmosphere of cultured re- fienment which prevailed.
 "Who has created this" he asked himself, "'the father or the daugh- ter?"
 "It is not the father" he concluded before John Castlemaine had spoken a dozen words. It was true that John Castlemaine bore an untarnish- ed reputation for honor and upright ness, but he was not cultured man; he would never give the house its tone. There were a hundred things which suggested the artists feeling. the Scholars taste. When he saw Olive Castlemaine, he had no further doubt.
 And he felt ashamed. Not that his opinion about women in general were altered. His experiences had been too bitter He simply felt that his conversation in the club in London week or so before was, to say the least of it, in bad taste. He did not mean to go back on his words; that was not his habit. Besides, the diffi- culties which presented themselves made him determined to carry his plans into effect.
 As for Olive, she felt that her friend had estimated this man right ly-at least in part He was a strik- ing-looking man; he was clever man. The forid merchant by his side looked mean and common compared with him. The quiet mas terfulness of Leicester impressed her. He suggested a reserve of strength and knowledge which she had never before felt when brought into con tract with other political aspirants. She knew the general type of Parlia- mentary candidates. Some had made money and wanted to have the honor associated with the British House of Legislature; others, again, were brought up with the idea of adopting the political life as a career. Neither in the one case nor in the other were they men of note, they would be simply voting machines, even if they entered the house of Commons-just dull, uninteresting men, who had never grasped the principles which govern a nations life.
 But this man was different. The strong chin, the well-shaped head, the large grey eyes, could only mean a man of more than ordinary note.
 They sat near each other at din- ner, and all the time Radford Leices- ter was seeking to weigh Olive Cas- tlemaine in the balance of his own opinions.
 'I hope none of these fellows will let the wager leaL out" he said to himself. "The girl makes me angry. What business has a rich City mans daughter a religious woman-a Non conformist-to look with searching eyes like that? I must be careful"
 "You are an admirer of Tolstoi, Miss Castlemaine," he said glancing towards a picture on the wall.
 "You say that because of his pic- ture," she replied. "An artist friend of ours knows the family. He paid a visit to Tolstoi's home, and the Count consented to sit for his pie ture. I believe it is very good"
 "But you admire him?'
 "Why do you think sop
 Because you allow his picture to hang on your wall"
 "You forget that my father would naturally govern such matters
 T should not imagine that your father would elect to give honor to a man of Tolstofs views
 My father greatly admires the artists work"
 "But not this one. You are right, MT. Leicester" said MT. Castlemaine who had overheard their conversa- tion. 'I am not an admirer of this Russians revolutionary ideas. My daughter and I had quite an argu- ment about this picture.'
 And Miss Castlemaine had the best of it."
 What man was ever equal to a woman in argument?" said MT. Cas- t!emaine spontaneously. "Yes, what were you saying MT. Lowry?"
 ''Why do you admire him ?" asked