Year: 1877

THE MYSTERIOUS USP0RTRAII


In small but handsomely furnished sit.
tng-room in London hotel, young lady
was sitting in an easy chair before a blazing
lire on dreary November afternoon. Her
hat and cloak lay upon the table beside her,
and from the eager, impatient glances She
turned to ward the door at every sound Of
a footstep on the staircase outside it was
evident that she expected visitor.


At last the door opened, aud a tall, aris-
tocratie-iookmg young man entered the
room.


Harry, what long time you have
been, She exclaimed, springing up from
her seat. What news have you brought?
What does your father say about our-our
marriage Z" hesitating with the shyness of


Read for yourself, HeIen," replied the
husband, handing her an open letter and
standing opposite her, leaning against the
marble mantelpieco, watching intently the
expression Of her fair young face as she
read:


In marrying as you have done. you have
acted in direct, deliberate opposition to my
wishes From this day you are no longer
my son, and | wash my hands of you for
ever"


Harry why did you not tell me of this
before!' exclaimed Helen, as she read the
hard cruel words, looking up through her
tears into her husbands face


My darling, what was there to tell ?
How could tell that my father would act
in this hard -heartcncd manner! | knew
that he wished me to marry the daughter
Of nobleman living near Marston Hall,
and so unite the two estate; but / had no
idea that he would cast me off for disobey-
ing his wishes. And even if | had known
it, he added, fondly claspiug his young
bride to his heart and kissing away the
tears from her eyes Il should not have
acted differently My Helen is worth fifty
.-t--.-s'-, aud as long as she loves me l shall
its fair acres. but my love- he continued
more seriously, "there is an end of your
promised shopping expedition into BOND
street You will have to do without
diamonds now that your husband is pen
niless outcast, instead of the heir Of the
fifteen thousand year"


"Hush Harry; Please don't talk like
that" she said in bitter tone. you
know it was not of diamonds and dresses |
was thinking. But what are you going to
do Harry? y she continued, laying her
hand upon his arm, and looking up sadly
into his pale, set face, you cannot
work for a living"


And why not work for living?" he
exclaimed in a determined voice Because
| happen to be a son of baronet, brought
up and educated without any idea or knowl-
edge of business But | will work for
living. and show my little 0ife that | am
not quite unworthy of the trust and conf
dencc she reposed in me when she placed
this little hand in mine" he added stoop-
ing to kiss the small white hand that rested
confdingly upon his arm.


1t was while pursuing his favorite study
Of oil paintings, among the famous galleries
of Rome, that Harry Marstou woocd and
won Helen Tracy, a governess III an Eng
lish family residing in Italy, and an orphan
daughter Of an officer in the army. Before
he had known her a month, Harry, who
had been in love-or fancied himself
in loye-with at least half dozen different
young ladies in as many months, felt that
he at last met his fate.


Delighted at the idea Of being loved for
himself alone, he had not told her of his
real position and it was not till after the
/ ceremony WIS over that Helen discovered
she had married the eldest son of baronet;
and the heir to an estate producing fifteen
thousand year


1t was not without some inward misgiv-
ings that Harry wrote to his father telling
him of his marriage, which were more than
realized BY the result, as we have seen by
the letter from Sir Philip Marston, which
awaited him at his club on his return tC
; England with his bride.


But, full of confidence in his ability t
maintain himself and his young wife, by
/ his own exertions, and thinking that surel,
/ his father would rclent and be reconcled t.
4 him after time. Harry troubled himsel
very little about his lost in heritance; an,
through their new home consisting of thrc
small poorly furnished rooms in a bacl
strcct-was very different from the gran
Gd faoR bsi lie e eof b WORK Re ed edes ssaga to t K
fayorItc art, and tried hard to earn hylht
by painting pictures and portraits.
But he soon found that it was not as cas-.
Z as he had thought.


1t was all very well when he was heir t
D Marston Hall, and studied painting morel
It from love of art, but picture dealers VIII
in those days had been all fattcrly an
obsequiousucss toward the young heir, no,
that he really wanted to sell his picture
n and sketches, shook their heads, and polite
5 y but firmly declined to purchase


At last one dreary afternoon, when Har
ry was sitting in the little room he calle


his staIiJ, trying 10 devise some ne