Year: 1870

=
- than his real age. Both were prou
IS men III their way, but the baronC
Is was the least GnbenliHg of the two.
u The guest commenced the CONVEX
d satinn:


Il "Sir John Barton, until Yesterday
= thought a i'll of you IS you have, II
Ia doubt, thought Of me. / have learn
3 my error; II X for me 70 convince yo
II OF yours. ! come to you frankly
II Our ranks in life are different, but i
n our grandchild we have the one grea
s aim and object in common.u


$ Up to this time both men had bee
e standing; but here, in complianc
:, with gesture from the barOnet, eacl
g took his seat, facing the other acrOs
: the hearthrug. The guest then con
d tinued:


y ~ will tell you my story first sir.
n was the son of an irOnmOnger in ;
}, large way of business in Nottingham
!. and was intended by my father L
= succeed to his business. He gave M
I a fair education at the grammar
= school of the place, but, like mos
e boys, had taste for adventure, ant
8 when / was seventeen / had an alter
4 cation with my father about the shop
!, ran away and enlisted in the Tent
D Foot. My father found out what
, had done, and wrote to offer to pur
chase my discharge, but refused, anC
l went out to India with my regiment


l was a steady well conducted man
and soon obtained my sergeant.
stripes. When in India, heard o
; the death of my father-my mother


had died many years beforehand also
that when his business was wound up
the surplus remaining was very


small, few hundred pounds, which
: were placed to my credit in England
After came back l fell in love and
married. My wife was the daughter
of French enligre, with nothing but
her good looks and her kind heart. ]
purchased my discharge, and with my
little property bought and furnished a
house at Deal, where we let lodgings.
My wife managed the house, and /
gave lessons in fencing and drill to


the few schools eheTe and to casual


visitors. We had one child. When


she was ten years old lost my wife,


and after that ali my feelings centered


in my child. / watched over her and
i loved her as only man can love his


only child. So things went Oh until


your son came as a lOdger to us.


knew nothing of him-was ignorant


that he was the only son of baronet


and heir to a large estate. | knew


nothing of it until one day | came


home and found my child was gone,


and letter from herr saying that she


was secretly married and tellingme the


rank and position Of her husband. /


was rs proud, sir, of my good name as


you could be of yours. l. shrink from


the idea that it should be said that /


had been a party to my child taking
in-I knew how the world would put
1.-THE heir of a rich and ancient fam


lily, and wrote to say that until you


Acknowledged the marriage and ap-


proved of it, / would not do so. My
pride, sir, was less deeply grounded


than yours was. Kate wrote to me
from the south of France, where they


had taken up their residence, to say


that you would not Telent, and that


they were penniless. Now, sir, my


pride urged me to do the thing which


it had before prevented my doing. /
sold my house and furniture-sent
every penny to them, and set to work
with my own hands to support my
self


"Hush, Sir John Barton-there are
no thanks, no acknowledgements due.
did what 1 conceived to be my duty;
you did what you believed TO beyOurs.


Months after, letter reached me
from my dear child. Her husband


was attacked with cholera. She had
little girl, and had no friend but
myself. She implored me to come
out. Fortunately had few pounds
by me and / hurried to Marseilles. 1
fOund-Kate dying, and that her hus-
band had expired three days before.
| She tod me you had been written for
at the same time with myself. /
have since heard that you did not re-
ceive that letter until a week after. 1
closed my dear child's eyes, / laid her
by the side of her husband in the
strangers cemetery at Marseilles, and
then finding you did not come, ,andsup-
posing you would not forgive, 1 took
the baby and came home to England.
Since then, sir, have kept her-have
brought her up, / trust, kindly and
well. AT first the nOmad life / led
could do her no harm, but as she grew
up / saw that it was for her good that
she should regain her lost place in the
world. / thought you might grant
the forgiveness to the grandchild be-
lieved you had refused to the son.
came down here and found that had
mistaken yOu-that it was only an
unfortunate accident which kept you
from standing beside your sons grave;
and then / was able to resign Kitty to
you, secure, at least, of her future"


The barOnet had listened deeply
moved; once or twice he had tried to
interfere, but the speaker had stopped
him with q aperemptOry gesture. When
he ceased, Sir John Barton rose and
took both the hands of the other:


81 have, as you supposed, long mis-
taken you, as you have, with greatly
more reason, mistaken me. Yours now
is the triumph. Be generous, sir.
child whom, much as | already love,
you must love far more. AT least,
share her with me. Make this your
home. My whole hope, my whole
aim in life, now is in this child and
her happiness. Stop and aid me to
bring her up"


"I thank you, sir" the ex-sergeant
said; ~ thank you from my heart,
for feel that your invitation is no
idle compliment; but it is out of the
question. Your rank in life is inf
nitely above mine; and Yes, / am
only too proud to accept position
like this"


"YOur pride, then, is worse than
mine," the barOnet said warmly. "I
am, I acknowledge, proud man; but
am not too proud to feel without
bitterness that my son was supported
by your generosity, that your hand
laid him in the grave, that you have
brought up his child. Think you that
/, rich man with no means of spend
ing my wealth, can ever repay such
obligations as these? Do you think
that sharing tliis home with you
could ever make me feel that my debt
was cancelled? Will you go away
from her, and take from her the friend
who has heretofore been n father to
her? Sir, you have thought me
proud what is my pride TO yOurs?"


The old soldier was evidently NOV
ed with the address and at the extreme
earnestness and sincerity with which
it was spoken. The baronet saw his
advantage and rang the bell:


"Send Miss Barton here"


There was silence until Kitty enter
ed. With a cry of joy she ran up to
the old soldier.


"Oh, grandpa, grandpa! I am so
gladI Kiss KittyI l am so happy
New grandpa so kind to Kitty; but
me want old grandpa, too"


'He won't stay with you Kitty"
the barOnet said; che wants to go
away, instead of living here with US.
Come, sir" he said, "give way, for
the sake of our dear child. This house
is large enough for us both. You
shall have your own apartments,
where Kitty can spend a part of the
day with you. You can live the life
of hermit there, if you like. Moth
ing / can do for you can ever make
me otherwise than deeply your debt
or. Surely the house is large enough
to hold Kftty's two grandpas, eh, Kit
ty? Tell him So"


Kitty, who was nestled in her old
grandpa's arms now whispered to
him.


Naughty grandpa, why you want
to go away and make me cry? Me
love you; why you go away from
Kitty ?"