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

young bride approach the home Of
| 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 it, 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 Cunder the direction of
! the tall, salloW man who had been my
| husbands guardian in former days,
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 s "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.
found the inside correspondad
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 a 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
l felt as if no woman could have
hundred years, and thought the gem
eral atmosphere of the house was that
of the days when spendthrift noble
men, making the island a refuge from
debt, spent their days in gambling
and their nights in drinking bumpers
: from bowls of whisky punch TO the
) nameless beauties they had left lin
; 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 tbs
: rafters still, and as l went up to my
rooms the broad oaken staircase
, seemed to be creaking under theil
, 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
, kind Of pleated chintz, and a bou,
t doir with a stone balcony that had
: flight Of steps going down to a ter
race of the garden, which overlooked
| glen and had a far view of the sea
On the opposite side of the landinj
outside (Which was not immediatel
off the great staircase though opeI
: to the view of it) there was a simila
, suite of rooms which | thought nigh
, be my husbands, but | was told the,
+ were kept for guest.
On the Balcony.
z Being left alone | had taken off m,
outer things and was standing on tn
balcony, listening to the dull hum @
5 the water in the glen. the rustic 0
the trees above it, the surge of tn
sea on he rocks below the creakin.
of a rusty weathercoCk and the strik
ing of a courtyard clock, when | ais,
heard the toot and throb of anothe
motor car, and as soon as ii came III
| saw that it cntained Aunt Bridge
in he half-moon bonnet and Betsy
Beauty who was looking more thar
ever like a country belle
When | went down to the drawing
room Lady Margaret was pouring GU
tea for them, and at sight of then
Aunt Bridget cried
"Sakes alive, here she is herself
But how pale and pinched anC
thin said Betsy Beauty.
Nonsense girl, that's only nat
ural," said my Aunt Bridget, will
something like a wink; and then sh,
went on to say that she had jus
been telling her ladyship that If fel
lonely and a little helpless on frs
coming home Betsy would be pleased
to visit me.
Before l could reply my husband
came in followed shortly by Alma
, who was presented as before. a.
"Mary's old schol fellow" and then
while Betsy talked to Alma and m,
husband to his kinswoman, Aun
Bridget, in an undertone, addressed
herself to me
You're that way, aren't you
No? Goodness me, girl, you
father will be disappointed!
Just then a third motor car CAM
throbbing up to the house, and Bet
sy, who was standing by the window
cried
IT'S Uncle Daniel with Mr. Curle,
and Messy"
Messy of course" said Aun
Bridget grumpily, and then she tolC
me in a confidential whisper that sh,
was much-injured woman in re
gard to that ungrateful stepdaugh
ter who was making her understand
the words of Scripture about the PAM
that was sharper than a serpent,
z tooth
AS the newcomers entered I saw
Messy had developed an old maid
idea Of smartness, and that my ia
theirs lawyer was more than ever Tx
an over fatted Ash; but my fathe
himself Except that his hair wa
whiter) was the same man still, will
the same heavy step, the same lout
voice and the same tempestuou
gayety.
"Ali here? Good, Glad to b,
! home | CHESS Strong and we'll am