Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-12

/ q
her husband with less curiosity, but
as our motor car toiled up the drive
| | could not help seeing the neglected
condition Of the hand. with boughs Of
! trees lying where they had fallen in
the storms, as well as broken gates
half off their hinges and swinging to
! the wind
The house itself, when we came IN
| sight of 1t, was a large Castellated
! building with many lesser turrets and
one lofty octagonal tower. covered en-
tirely with ivy, which, being appar-
emily unshorn for years, hung in long
! trailers down the walls, and gave the
whole pile the appearance of huge
moss covered rock of the sea planted
on promontory of the land.
Neglect and Decay.
AS our car went numbering UP TO
| the great hall door nearly the whole
of the servants and some of the ten
ant farmers (under the direction Of
the tall, sallow man who had been my
husbands guardian in former days
J and was now his steward) were walt
ing to welcome us, as well as Lady
| Margaret Anselm, who was still re-
served and naughty in her manner
though pleasant enough with me.
My husband nodded to all, shook
hands with some, presented Alma to
his aunt as "one of Mary's old school
friends" Ga designation which, as l
could see, had gone ahead of herr. and
then we passed into the house.
I found the inside sponded
with the outside in its appearance Of
neglect and decay, the big square hall
having rusty and disjointed armor
on its wainsoted walls and the mark
of water on the floor, which had come
from glass dome over the well of
the stairs for it had rained while we
on the sea.
The drawing room had faded cur
tains over the windows, faded vel
vet on the square sofa and stiff
chairs, faded carpets faded samplers
and faded embroidery on faded
screens.
The dining room (the sedate origi-
nal of my fathers rather garish copy)
was a paneled chamber, hung round
with rubicund portraits of the male
O'Neills from the early ones OF the
family who had been lords of ELAN
down to the bad Lord Raa,' who
had sworn at my grandmother on the
high road.
| felt as if no woman could have
! made her home here for at least a
hundred years, and | thought the gem
eral atmosphere of the house was that
of the days when spendthrift noble
men, making the island refuge from
7 debt. spent their DAYS in gambling
and their nights in drinking bumpers
: from bowls of whisky punch TO the
5 nameless beauties they had left in
2 town"
! They were all gone, all dead as the
: wood of the worm eaten wainscot-
ing, but the sound of their noisy
merrymaking seemed to cling to the
r rafters still, and as | went up to my
rooms the broad oaken staircase
} seemed to be creaking under their
: drunken footsteps.
My own apartments, to which Lady
: Margaret conducted me, were on the
[ southern side of the house-a rather
t stuffy bedroom with walls covered by
E a kind of pleated chintZ, and a bou-
t doir with a stone balcony that had a
e flight of steps going down to a ter
. race of the garden, which overlooked
| glen and had far view of the sea.
on the opposite side of the landing
outside (Which was not Immediately
off the great staircase though oper
I to the view Of IT'D there was a similar
, suite of rooms which l thought might
, be my husbands, but | was told they
r were kept for a guest.
On Jne balcony.
' Being left alone l had taken off my
,. outer things and was standing on the
balcony listening to the dull hum OF
s the water in the glen, the rustic OF
the trees above it, the surge of the
p sea on he rocks below, the creaking
of a rusty weathercock and the strik-
Ing of a courtyard clock, when l also
heard the toot and throb of another
motor car, and as soon as it came up
| saw that 1t cntained Aunt Bridget
in he half-moon bonnet and Betsy
Beauty, who was looking more than
ever Ike a country belle.
When | went down to the drawing
room Lady Margaret was pouring out
tea for them, and at sight of them
Aunt Bridget cried
"Sakes alive, here she is herself"
"But how pale and pinched and
thin" said Betsy Beauty.
Nonsense girl, that's only nat
ural' said my Aunt Bridget. with
something like a wink; and then she
went on to say that she had just
been telling her ladyshlp that If felt
lonely and little helpless on first
coming home Betsy would be pleased
to visit me.
Before ! could reply my husband
came in, followed shortly by Alma,
, who was presented as before, as
"Mary's old schol fellow" and then,
while Betsy talked to Alma and my
husband to his kinswoman Aunt
Bridget in an undertone, addressed
herself 20 me.
you're that way, aren't you?
No? Goodness me, girl, your
father will be disappointed
Just then a third motor car came
throbbing up to the house, and Bet
sy, who was standing by the window,
cried:
ITS Uncle Daniel with Mr. Curley
and Messy"
Messy, OF course" said Aunt
Bridget grumpily and then she told
me in a confidential whisper that she
was much-ipjured woman in re-
gard to that lungrateful stepdaugh-
ter who was making her understand
the words of Scripture about the pang
that was sharper than a serpent's
B tooth.
Az the newcomers entered I cav
Messy had developed an old maids
} idea Of smartness and that my ia
: theirs lawyer was more than ever like
an over-fatted fish; but my father
himself (eXcept that his hair was
whiter) was the same man still, with
the same heavy step. the same loud
voice and the same tempestuous
gayety
"All here? Good, Glad to be
/ homo o,t,aegt Gfv,po aud ,,..lI ar1