Year: 1879

CHAPTER XI. . I..


Claire was too desirous of retaining her
godmother's favor to lose it by impudent be-
havior; and thenceforward nothing could
exceed the propriety with which she conduct
ed herself, so long as she was under the old
lady's eye, or Nanon's; for the old servant,
who had enjoyed her mistress entire conf
dence, and had no love for the young girl,
never scrupled to tell when she saw the latter
act in manner that she disapproved Of. Ma
non believed that Claire had designs upon
Armstrong, of whom she was very fond, and
nothing made her more irate than to contem-
plate the possibility of their proving success
full. .-a. p. ..'s.


But Armstrong had no intention of ever
marrying Claire. He simply amused himself
with her as it suited his convenience. As for
the girl herself, she liked him quite well
enough, personally, to have been willing for
such an arrangement; but then she knew he
was not wealthy, and her ambition scared to
higher sphere than that which she could
occupy as his wife, with only modest in
come. Still, failing to secure the position she
longed for, she felt that this one was not to
be despised, and, therefore, judged it prudent
to play her cards in such a manner as to
leave it at her disposal whether she would &C
cept it or not She really believed that she
had complete influence over Armstrong; ;
though. even had she not labored under this
delusion, her love of admiration and innate
coquetry would have led her to exert all her
powers of fascination upon him, as she did,
in fact, whenever she had chance, upon all
of the sterner sex who came within her reach.


As the reader may be curious to know who
this young LADY really was, upon whom l
have, perhaps, bestowed longer description
than was necessary, it may as we'll be briefly
stated that she was the daughter Of person
who had once been school companion Of
Madame d. Alembert, but who, in marrying
very much beneath her, and relinquishing all
former associations, had cut herself of from
her family and the greater number of her
friends. But Madame d Alembert, from the
force of past acquaintanceship, never quite
lost sight of her; and when finally she died
in poverty and obscurity, deserted by her
husband, and leaving little girl to the cold
charity of the world, her old schoolmate,
compassionating the child, took her under her
protection, stood sponsor for her, (although
eight years old, she had not yet been bap-
tized), placed her at school, and charged her
self with her expenses. Subsequently, some
relatives of the father to make amends for
his unworthy conduct, came forward and vol
unteered to assist in the care Of the little Or
phan, who, after leaving the school where she
was first placed, divided her time between the
home of an aunt, who made her a sort of
drudge, and Bellevue, the residence of Mad
anne d. Alembert, who continued to ill the
position of her chief benefactress and friend.
Claire very we'll knsw that if she behaved
herself properly, she was likely to come in
for good share of the old lady's fortune,
which was considerable. She, therefore, al
ways endeavored to please her, and though
incapable of any deep or lasting sentiment
of affection, she liked her sufficiently we'll to
be willing to comply with her requirements,
when they did not seriously affect her own
enjoyment. BY a judicious course of con.
duct, she had 50 far ingratiated herself in her
godmothers good opinion as to have acquired
some influence over her, and partially blind
ed her to her faults. Still, Madame kept a
vigilant eye upon her, and especially where
her nephew was concerned, did she watch her
proceedings and bend her endeavors to keep
proper check upon them. She did not like
to have the two staying at the same time be-
meath her roof, but it sometimes happened, as
in the present case, that the contingency ar
rived unexpectedly and she was unable to
prevent it.


One pleasant afternoon, some two or three
days after Frank and Armstrong had come
to Bellevue, the three young people went to
take walk, Claire having behaved with
such exceeding circumspection, that her god
mother thought it reasonable to allow her to
join the expedition. They had rambled on
for some time, talking nonsense as usual, when
suddenly Claire stopped, discovering that her
handkerchief was lost, and declared that she
must 60 back and find it They accordingly
retraced their steps for some distance, looking
along the road and among the bushes on eth
er side, but without success.


"It is too bad,' exclaimed Claire, with an
noyance, partly real, partly assumed. 81 do
not see how could have been so careless as
to let it drop"


"It isnot worth while making fuss about"
said Armstrong calmly. Haven't you plenty
more handkerchiefs at home?"


eyes, of course; but don't value any of
them as l do this particular one. 1t has a
story attached to it, was her reply.


"Ah! I suppose some lover once picked it
up, or pressed it to his lips, or scented it with
,onoo Ertrn;t 1e ,neLeHeurs for Won remark ed