Year: 1873

ward his daughter. He was inces-
sanity asking her how she liked
this dish or that, would she prefer
some other seat, would she not have
some wine, and so on. The at
tention he paid her was not like
that which devoted father COM
monty offers to a pet daughter
There was something of anxiety
about it, something like distrust or
fear, or an uneasy wish to make
atonement. 1t reminded me some
times Of the kind of officious, over
eager attention man who is con-
scious of having offended, offers to
wife who begins to suspect. 1t
was curious, and not agreeable to
note this, and one could not help
noting it.


At first thought the girl was
probably consumptive, as SO many
English girls are, and that the fa-
theirs watchfulness only sprang
from his sad knowledge of her crit
ical condition. But though she was
pale and somewhat wasted in face,
there was not, so far as could
judge, any indication of i'll health
about her. Indeed, l had observed
with some admiration, when first /
saw the pair, the givorous, elastic,
graceful rapidity Of her step as she
came across the lawn. She was a
handsome girl of the characteristic
Anglo-Saxon mould, with bright
hair, and plenty of it, fine form, and
general appearance of spirit and
energy, even now that there cer-
tainly was something of paleness
on her cheek, and that she sat ST.
lent and melancholy.


"No," l thought, "the young lady
is not an invalid. More likely the
young lady is sulky. She is just
the sort of girl a fond father
would be sure to spoil, and the very
eagerness of his attention is only
calculated to keep her out of hu-
NOR"


Yet whenever she did speak she
looked up to her father with quiel
genial and affectionate expression
and one or two occasions, when
had a chance of speaking to her,
she answered with a sweetness of
look and tone which showed that
at least she was not sulky with me.


After dinner the young lady re-
tired to her room, and the father
proposed to me a quiet stroll in the
grounds and cigar. gladly as
sented, and we rambled down thro'
the groves and paths till We stood
on the margin of the lake. The
sun was just setting, and the sides
and crests of the Savoy Alps were
suffused with rose color and purple
and gold. We stood moment or
two in silence, and looked at the
exquisit scene before us.


81 wish my daughter were here"
my friend broke out at last, with
something like a sigh. "But she
preferred not to come he added |;
and there was tone of irritation
or impatience in his voice.


"Your daughter ID not an anvalid,
surelyp


"Oh no; not at all. Did she
seem to you like ali invalid I"


"By no means. l only thought,
perhaps, as she did not wish to
come out this beautiful evening"
and rather broke down here, not
quite knowing how to get on any
farther without saying something
which perhaps / ought not to say.


"No, sir, she is not an invalid,
thank God. She is my only child,
and things are bad enough without
that"


1t seemed to me that my new
friend would have explained the
whole condition of things to me if
l had invited any such explanation.
But / did not venture and we
soon began, after the fashion of
English people who meet in for
eign country, to talk of acquaint-
ances at home, and find out whoth-
er any of our friends were common
to both. 1t so happened that was
very well acquainted with two or
three families In London, who were
also known to my new acquaint-
ance, and had even received a let
ter from a member of one of the
families, day or two before, tell
ing me some news about her broth
er, who was in New leland with a
regiment in which he was an officer,
and mentioned the fact to my |