The Washington times., 1920-04-04


chinery OF our domestic life, and
II any point came up for decision
on which did not suppose that he
would take particular interest, i
would more often than not settle
IL without troubling him about II.
so In some ways, young though 1
was, my position came TO be some
thing not unlike that OF the mis-
tress OF the home, and ! always
gave the orders about dinner and
so on and the rooms that visiting
guests were 10 occupy and the like.
Then the greatest sorrow OF my
life came, when was not yet quite
twenty-one-for ] had been too
young when my mother died to
feel her loss In any real and en-
during sense. But my father and
had been rather like elder brother
and sister, / think, to each other,
than the ordinary relation between
father and daughter, or perhaps |
may say that there was between
us all that was most dear in both
relationships.
And then, coming in from hunt
ing on q cold, wet, miserable day,
he had sat down before the library
fire and gone fast asleep. He awoke
feeling chilled and wretched; the,
next morning he had a fearful cold,
which grew worse as the day went
on. In the evening he was In bed
with high temperature and In
less than a fortnight, after three
days fight with death, his heart
gave out, and / was left one OF the
most unhappy beings In the world.
Uncle Ralph was a major In a
Highland regiment, though 1t was
on his mothers side only that he
was a Scot, when my fathers
death made him baronet and the
owner Of our not very opulent or
extensive acres. He had been look
Ing forward to the command Of the
regiment, and would far rather
have remained a soldier than have
returned home to take possession
of his patrimony, but he realized
that he owed duty to the place
and to the tenants.
OF course, I had been quite un-
certain what was to become OF
me, whether / should be given Or
ders to quit, or what would hap
pen, until Uncle Ralph, in the kind
est way In the world, implored me
to stay on with him, directing the
house as l had done for my father.
was only too thankful to &C.
cept, both because my love Of Scot
ney itself and of Uncle Ralph, and
also because II was not very OBJ
vious that there was anywhere else
for me to go. And, really, ! exer-
icised rather more authority under
my, uncle's reign than under my
fathers, because the former came
into his kingdom and ! was already
queening 1t there.
But, Of course, had every ex-
pectation that my queenship would
be at an end as soon as ever Uncle
Ralph surprised US all by coming
home from hunting trip in Cash.
mere with a young bride whom he
had picked up at Simla. Somehow
none Of us had ever expected that
Uncle Ralph would marry, although
1t was SO obviously the right thing
for him to do-just as the obvious
ly right thing for me to have done
would have been to be born boy.
The house of Carlton needed heirs.
But Uncle Ralph had always
been SO shy with girls-we all had
chaffed him about 1t often-that
we could not imagine his plucking
up courage to propose to anyone.
Perhaps, after all, that was not
exactly the way in which it did
happen In the end; but, however
1t was done, about two or three
years before that dreadful night he
had arrived with his young bride,
a blonde and most beautiful crea-
ture. 1t was no wonder that Uncle
Ralph had been fascinated.
And then, of course, prepared,
with the best grace might, to lay
the reins definitely down, but to
my surprise, so soon as / made a
move to do so my new Aunt Enid,
as had to call this girl who was
certainly by years younger than I
and by looks many years younger,
begged that things might be al
lowed to go on just as they had be-
fore. She had no idea how to man.
age house; indeed, 1t would bore
her immensely to have to do so,
and Ralph told her that I was such
wonderful manager-so on and
so forth.
The end was that, as before, l
consented to remain. OF course,
1t would not be quite the same. In
a measure it was a little as IL I
were the queen dowager and she
the reigning sovereign.
CHAPTER iii.
The Cnrps> in fh> C,,r,c,-r- Hous>