The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-09

and angry as he was at the raillery, could hardly help laughing. Ever after that the face of the young girl who had spoken to him first had haunted Alton. Vast depths separated him and her--he knew that. But still the vision haunted him. He told all to Sandy in a burst of passionate tears. and Sandy made him write more workingma Is poetry.
 In the rooms of his cousin at Cam bridge Alton met the young Lord Lynedale, for whom George was to cor rect some manuscripts. George was busy and turned the work over to All ton. This manuscript was to come be- fore Dean Winnstay, and the dean was attracted by the work of Alton He sent for the young man to come to see him. Alton went, and what was his aston ishment to find in the dean that very clergyman. whose daughters face had so long haunted him, that clergyman whom he had first met in the Dulwich art gallery, And Alton met his vision, Lillian, the younger daughter of the dean. He also met in the house of the dean the other daughter, Eleanor. The flame of his love leaped up afresh in Alton when he saw Lillian.
 The child of 16 whom Alton had first met in the Dulwich art gallery had bos- somed into a woman of 20 The ivory and vermillion of the complexion had been toned down together into still richer hues. The dark, hazel eyes shone with more liquid lustre. The figure had become more rounded without losing a line of it's fairy lightness. The dean, after a long talk with Alton, not only praised the poems which the young man had written. but offered to get him a pub lshed if from the collection which Alton submitted to him the more radical poems were eliminated Alton sagreed-he was ready to agree with almost anything that the father of Lillian might propose. Elea- nor the elder sister, seemed not pleased at this concession on the part of Alton. But what did Alton care for her? He had, in fact, taken dislike to Eleanor, and fancied that she was doing all she could to turn Lillian against him.
 So, after a season of dreams and ambi- tions, a season in which books and art were thrown open to him to revel in, weeks in which he thought that he saw the gulf fixed between himself and the object of his adoration ,essening' and closing. Alton, Locke returned to the hard and cruel realities of London life. When his book of poems was published he would be rich and famous-might as- pire to the hand of anybody's daughter, But in the meantime he must live and as tailoring was out of the question with him hereafter, he turned newspaper man to put bread and butter into his stom- ach.
 At the house of the Scottish bookseller he found a letter awaiting him which was two days old. I informed him of the death of his mother. The next few days were days of agony for Alton. But even this passed and he bent himself to his employment. Besides his living eX- penses he had a debt to pay-a big one for his means. While at Cambridge his cousin had insisted that he live and dress better than he had done before. Alton had done so thoughtlessly and willingly But he had left Cambridge in debt. He owed his cousin money which he found it impossible to pay, toll and struggle as he would.
 When George came up to London and he and Alton met the debt became on intolerable burden. For Alton found out that George was suitor for the hand of Lillian The cousins had long talk, and Alton frankly said that he, too, was a suitor and would be his cousins rival When he confessed to Mackaye that he was owing money to his cousin the old bookseller took from his desk a receipt in full for the money which All ton had forrowed of George. The let ter inclosing the receipt was written in woman's hand apparently and the amount forwarded was several pounds | in excess of the debt, Sandy declared | that he did not know who had sent it he had been requested to cancel the debt and hand the balance over to Al ! ton
 The letter had arrived soon after Al