The Pembroke County Guardian and Cardigan Reporter

'=_- fALL RIGHTS REQZRTED. MY WIFE OR HIS. B7 i CLEMENTINE MONTAGU. ikilor of The Lady of the Holm," Ropes of Sana; i! Lift or Honour,$c.,$c, » CIIAPTER XXIII. HOMK. "TVraiestip Harmniess, tion only t rj Of Paradise that has surviv'd the fall —Cotcper. "WHO is tb.it njan, darlinq- Lor:l Helston ;;sked the question of h's bride, as thev drove away from the church. Hp h.td seen the stare and loo* of with -,vhi,-h the ii-an favoured INIiunie, and her sudden paleness at the Bight of him. Whieh rr.an ?" "The one who look, d at yon so strangely in the church. He seemed bent on getting a look from you. You did not sive him one." Xo I wish I had ne- er seen him- It seems like an evil omen. Stephen, that he should have come on this day of all others. I thought he was gone away 1'or ever." I wish he was with all nv henrt,, my darling it you do; b;:t that does not 'ell me who he is. I hardly know myself.'7 .Minnie replied. "The sight of him brings bac-r all sorts of miserablerecol- lections, lie is a man that poor Arthur knew; he would never introduce me to him, or take me to his fcouse, but he went there himself. They lived over on the other s:de of the liver, he and his wife, and Arthur was the most intimate friend they had, I f;ney. I never heard of them from in one else. nr. 1 ;o one seein^d to -now them. I am nervous, I tin". for the siglst of him frightened me, Steve." darling, nothing should frighten you now. 3h- love shall shelter you from all annovan1 o: j try and think that, and put ail disagreeable thoughts out of your head you shall see no unpleasant fa. es at be siir(, of tl,.at." He lno'er.l at me as if he were threatening me," Minnie said. "She could not get the thonght of him out of her head but her husband drew her to him with a kiss ard re-assu ed her. The wedding breakfast was but a Tcpet'tion of the other banquet, when Arthur Clifford drank to 1 ui good friend i'anqro, whom we miss." fan quo was there this time with no terrible secret to divulsre by his appearance, 1 ut in the "r est of health and spirits, and winning p- )'den opin ons from everybody present. It was he who iirst addressed Minnie as Lady IM-tcn, making he" start and blush at tho sudden silence that, awaited h"r reply to his words and the d<i\vrt<»- r ladv hn: at her Pl" tty confusion, v.-hen she recollected that it was she to whom he was ta king. J can't 1 eace in it yet," Minnie said, when she had recovered herself. T am afraid I shall make dreadful mistakes sometimes." Lord Helston's mother was quite atisfied now. Minnie had won her eom: leteiy by her gentle loveli- ness and her perfect training. Whatever her origin might have been, or whatever family the bankei miht be descended from, his daughter was a lad ty instinct: and her mother-in-law was already cal- culating what a sensation she would ma1;A when she was presented, as she would be as soon as she re- turned from her honeymoon. Somehow this second wedding day of Minnie Grayson's was a contrast to the o- e that seemed so long ago now. The anker told his sister, after it was all over, that it appeared as if Arthur Clifford and his residence with them were a thing of some other generation, and he were giving away h's child l'or the i.rst time. It was really giving h'^r away now-there would be no corner of Kinnoull House made ready for her occupation this time. She was going way to rule in one of the finest mansions in England, nd to make a home for he-self amongst s—'Tigers a home in which those who loved her lest would have no part—where he, who bad been au ii ail to her for o-a many years, would hold only the second place.* He tried to tell himsTf that it wns for this that futbers renrel treir daughters—that yonng birds must -rov. up and leave the parent nest—but the parting was very painful, and when the time came at and he tool: :nni. in hi.-» arms to kiss and her ie her new li;'o, he rairiy broke down. "Take her away, Steve." Lady Helton said. u l-y-'jry it she st;;vs now will only muUo matters worse." Iter tone w- s k'nd and gentle, and the loving cla«p into ".vhi.-h she tc-k$1innie ibr a moment, before ;.h in her in the carriage, told her more eloquently than words that -he had found a s< cond in the hen-isome arlstocr 'tic woman whose ]-r iuiii rs henl all eiven way before the magic of h >r sweef "ace and gentle tongue. Lay Heiston aside that Mr. Grayson and Aunt Esther might hnve th,. last sight of their darling, and somehow the sight of tli,- three standing together with Cecil I.ei.fhton behind them, and a background of kindly triends filling up the steps, made a bright OTTH n of happiness for the beginning o her wedded life. U1 love to thnk of them altogether like that," psaii. when they were ut of sight, and the last shoe had been thrown and the last handful of r;ee flung to the winds, and Minnie's burst of tearful sorrow for the pavt'ng was over. And I was so of your mother at firs'. St-ve." ("-I., people are, at first," Lord Helston replied. But in eases where my mother is herself pleased, the terror does not last ion?. She is tolerablv harmless is my dear old mother, though she w ould not like to he-r me call her an old woman, But £ '•> ir fancies, and she wanted me to marry a d .eAfc-vs er something equally unattainable, there being only one in the peerage eligible." I'. t suppose she hid not liked me, Steve—what then:" "I am a"raid I should have married you all the same, my darling was the quiet reply. "I a:n my own master, and Flit shond have I-,c.,r, miserable if I hod "brought discord between you she might never have learned to like me:' would have waited for some troub'e to bring it about, I expect," he repl ed. "r know my mother's ways—she woul i have stood aloof till we wanted her, and then you would have found your- self taken straight to her heart with all the love she knew how to show, and never turned ut again except by your own fiu.t. ^he will spoil you to your heart's content when she gets you ba k at Helston" Ladv Heston was to reside with them for the pres. nt. just to give Minnie an -nsight into the w ivs of a great hou-e, an I set her going, as it 1 were, in the new society she would mix with as her son's wife Her daughter-in-law had begged e0 that there might be no alterations made in the existing arrangements, but the elder lady would no h, ar of it, Chan 'S> "As your guest as often as you like" she said, "and I shall feel none the less at home for nowing that I am a guest, i ut every wife should be misl tro.?s in her husband's house, and I have be n that so long here, that I should do things unconsciously 071 ;is Not by me, dear Lady Helston," Alinnie said, eagerly. '• Xo. dear, l.ut by the servants. Yoil will lian-e qu:'(' enough of me, I expo-t, in time to come. 1 shall not be able to keep awav long unless my daughter says she does not >«antine." Her face was the fr-t they aw as the carriage drove up the splendid avenue at Helston after their briet tour.. They had agreed not to stay awa" long, and they had rh. sen -cot and for their tour. Lord Helston though' that the • ontinent would perhaps remind .Minnie'too forcibly of that, other wedding tour which had not been altogether brisrht or happy, and he -tou-:d she had never seen the r :nd seenery no th of the Tweed, so they had taken what he called a scamper through the best parts of Scotland, and made one or two uncere- monious calls on fri"n is in the Highlands, and had come home delighted with everything they had seen, and looking brown and healthy as if they bad gained new li:e on their journey. And what a home-i oming it was 1 What ringing of bells, and waving of tlags, and shou:ing of ex- cited people a they drove along the 10 id to Helston It almost took Minnie's breath away, as flowers fell up -n her from all sides, and people hustled and pushed each other in their cagtmerS to get a sight of her. I' ,is YO!, tllex' walit to see, not me," her husband 1, as he sat hack in the carriage that she might be more in sisrht they know me by heart we are o.J A-QUHintaneo.«." "Unt why should they make such a fuss over rr, Minnie a-ked. "They don't kno. me yet. They couldn't do more if I were the Que- n." You are th.ir titzc(-,Ti. my darling-their liege ]a !y and sovereign mistress; they know no other. You will tmd it out before you have been here long. See how the sun is shining on the old tower, and look at the group on the steps. Not all £ 'ran vers, eli, darling? You will ieel at home at Chap 23 At hom, Yes, surely, with h^r father's farli imiiing at her through a mist of happy tears, and Aunt Esther by his Bide, with Lady Helston, dl uniting to give her web ome to her splendid new heme. There was a delightful hubbuS and con- fusion of greetings •. and then they passed threugh the delighted servants, and Stephen Ycreker drew fcis wife into a tiny room of tiie great hall, and took her to his heart, with words of broken welcome to Uelsion. Chap The beginning of nnnv happy years, darling," he said; n ie,s agitation and over-excitemen found rent in a gush of tears. He held her to b'-i breast, and 1, t her weep it all out, and then kissed her and summoned her maid, a,quiet, responsible woman, whom Ladv Helston had engaged, and who lijl been of»Tik greatest service alreadv to the yonug wife. T he girl who had been Minnie's niaid before she was married was hardly 'enough, the dowager lady said, for the mistress of Helston and J Muinie had toe;; sorely afraid of 'he new attendant, who seemed, truth to tell, a very grand Jady indeed 1'1. It was all ou'.wird.v. Lady Helston had chosen judiciously, and W est on, as she was called, was arl"ir¡" ¡itterl fr. a I) a e aùu¡;t the YI)ung- lady o the house. "Make her rest a few minutes, Weston," was Loru He1st<Jll's command "no one is to come near b2r, mind I want her to look her best for the people outside and she must show herself before ehe takes her hat off, remember." "011, no Minnie exclaimed, in a fright: and her husband laughed, and patted her on the cheek. ()It. v,,s, lady Helston," ho said. Do you think these assembled row is are gaping up at the windows for the sake of seeing mp ? They expect to ee ady Helston and she must not appear with a red nose and splotches on her forehead." Uh, dear, and I do make mys If such a fright when I cry," Minnie said, ruefully, but laughing, nevertheless "I'm not fit to be seen, I know." I can alter all that, my lady," Weston said, re- spectfully, if you will rest a few minutes." Minnie never quite knew what IVeston did to her: bat she made her take her hat off. and brought her a glass of wine and arranged her hair, talking pleasantly all the time, so that Minnie's nervousness vanished, somehow, and the splotches too and at the end of the quarter of an hour, when her husband came to fetch her, she was loo ing her best, and ready to greet her :¡¡<t1:llblt.d subjects on the lawn with a pleasant smile and no trace of tears. A shout of welcome went up from the crowd as Lord Helston led his wifeo ut on to the balcony an appreciat;ve shout, for they took to her pretty facs at once, and they cheered till they were tired, and began again after the few brief woids in which her husband thanhed them for their welcome, and told them what he was going to do in honour of his mar- riage. Tht-re was to be a reduction of the rents for the current half year, so that they would all find themselves better off when settling day came round. Then there were to be substant:al gifts to the poor amongst them, and a dinner for the farmer? and better class tenants in the gn at hall, a magni- fi cent apartment, all carved oak and stained glass and another banquet for the working folks and 'heir wives and children in a huge tent in the park, and refreshments everywhere for all comers. Lord Heiston's homecoming would be a thing to be rernem-Gere i, and it was all for Minnie's sake, as he told his people, with his hand laid lovingly on her shoulder, and as he spoke the words she shivered, Amongst the crowd underneath the window looking her straight in the face, was the man she had seen in the church on her wedding day—Arthur Clifford's tr end. It was noth'ng -he had never been an ac- qU'1intance of hers even—she knew him by sight, and that was all; but it seemed a shadow of the miserable past—a blot uoon the brightness of the happy day of triumph and delight. Darling, don't think of it," Stephen said to her, wlun she told hiai of it: put the fellow out of your head altogether. He has nothing to do with your new life." It seems i&ke a lad o-npn," Fjhe said; "there is something in his fa-e that frightens me. Why should he be here r "Why should he be anywhere in partifiilar Lord Helston said, with a smile. "I suspect from what I have heard that he is a bird of nas-age-a fellow with no fixed home. Curiosity would natur- ally bring him here if he were in the neighbourhood at all. L don't think he is likely to annoy you. He shall not—he sure of th:it." I don't sup]'OS" he wants anything, unless he is very poor, and thinks he i an beg of us. He might th nk that tli7tt Tint what, dear ? I hardlv know. It struck me, perhaps, that he might iancy there was something to be made out of any knowledge that he may have of what happened be ore Arthur die l. and so I ATli. so tn to levy black mail. Well, let him; lie wi 1 be di>agre 'abiy surprised to find that there is nothing to be told as ar as I am concerned." he was reassured and told herself that she had been foolish that the man's look had been aeci- dental, and his presence there accidental, too: but she cou d not quite shake off tho jany that had taken possession of her that there was more in his presence than mere chance, and that his eyes spoke with a meaning meant for her alone. She made the tour of the different tables leaning on her husband's arm, and speaking now and then a word of gentle thanks to the visitors, and out in the grounds she ctme upon the man again. It was no ftney of hers. He wa< there seemingly very much interes'ed in all the proceed- ings—an observant of everything. He saluted her in a marked manner a- she pa-sed him, and said d few word* of congratulation to her, to which she only returned a bow, and went on with her husband The man loolo dafter her with a malicious scowl, "I was goed enough for the other husband." he eaid to himself. suppose this one is a step beyond me We shall see, my lady Helston. We shall II" Minnie saw nothing but the smile with whii h she had been greete I, but hoc husband turned his head as they walked away, and caught the expression that came after it and m> ed t he moving lips. Hastily bestowing his wins in her father's charge, he bee.euied to his own in '11, who was standing not far 0,1. Excuse me ft moment, darling," he said, I b tve a message to send a way, I had forgotten it ti l now." Mr. M ray son ard Minnie moved a little awav imler the shade of a big tree and Lord Helston turned towards the groups on the grass. Who is thai man, IL;nliT\?" lie asked,pointing to where th'-1 st;. "11,r st jn stood. Whieh mall, mv lo'd r" That one in the grey coat, rather gentlemanly in appear mee, there talking to Farmer Biaize." Farmer Liai e was w II known, and Harding nn.iers.tood who it was his master was speak- ing 0:, Chan 2;) n-now, my lord," he pa'd, lie has been about hero a urood bit lately, 1 hear." About beie. What do you mean r" About the park and that, my lord," Harding replied. I heard them wondering who he was only yesterday. He see; as if he knew her lady- sl.i;), hu- he was in the hark when Mr. Grayson came frftm the stntion, and he never spoke to him. Eayliss told me that much," l'ayliss was the coachman who had feLehed the banker arul Uis 5i,.t r from the Nation, and had seen the person on two or three occasions. He had asked a great many questions of workpeople and idlers about the park wkilte the preparations for tke recep- tion of the bride and bridegroom had been going on, but no one knew who lie [was, or where he came from. J-ind out for me. Harding, Lord Helston said; "even thing that there is to he found out. I don't ch oose to have her ladyship annoyed, and he seems d to be imooitinent." He went ba k to Minnie, nnd Harding proceeded to make iniuiries about the stronger who had van'shed by this timp. Before evening he was "able to tell his master all there was to be told about the man in the light suit. He was lodging in Leamington with a man who sonetiines came to help in the stable yard, and was supposed to be ery poor, a though he dressed like a gentleman. t is name was Stcry, and his landlord, though he actually knew nothing about him, had a notion he was a 1 etting man. He seemed to know all about horses, but how he earned his living there was nothing else to show. "If he comes here any more asking questions, send him to me," Lied Helston said: 1 will answer him once.for all. I did not care to speak to him to-day in the pare. It was free to all, but I must understand his 1 usiness there for the future. I suspect he is a bet-gar in some shape or form, and I cajsnot have her ladyship imposed upon. An end came to the man's presence and annoy- BC -e in a mllh m:>re speedy fashion than Lord Helston anticipated. The very next day he was told that a detective from London had suddenly made his appearance at the lodging he occupied, and taken him away. What for was not so clear, and many lift-rent stories were afloat, but swindling of some sore the reason most generally accepted. I am afraid I am very wick,d," Minnie said whn her husband told her; "but I am very glad, He was like a bad dream to me, and yet I did not ki.o w him, except by aihgt." Chap '23 CHAPTER XXIV. JOY 1IKLLS. "What a world of happiness their harmony foretells Thro'isfli the bill "y ai' of nig-ht How tliev riujr out Mieir delight I rorn the moiton gúldfn n > es, > lid liB iu tuue WTiat a liquid dittv fl sits To the tur 1 tlove that i.stens as she '()'lt3 On the nioou • -t.li'r. A. "IT sterns all like a dre-tin now, So spoke Lady Helston when nearly a year had passed s nee her h <f.pv wed :ing day, and -he was established at Heston liS though tdm had Ii 1J,1 there her life. Everybody declared that it hid turned out a very happy marri me for bis lordsh o. All his friends of high degiee who bat cavilled at the admission of a I tanker's daughter into the r select ranks bad been won over l)v Minniu's sienLla ways and enticing l.eaufy. There was i,o o < a>ion to compassion -to tho Dowager Lady He ston, as mmv we«e at lir-t in- clined to do, r:,1' hUIIl" su]> 1a1l;(,(ll.. hor r. in law. Nothing o. the sort, had happened, and tdi > j was :is much at home in hor .on's llou4e as "he iiad been in her days of < om i an i t ere She was not 1 mistress r,o,v, iii,l her depo-ition in a sensible fash on, and was a kind mother to tho daughter he hid given to her. '■Mother'' came a* naturally from Jiienie's lip' a no one couid have done a daughter's duty more c->rd» ly than she did. As Laiy Helston pro- j .Jid..dl the 1,ri,le'" PJ'I"I;II'fj!iOTl wade a 'Tl,ttioll 'n the i'.isiiicnable world. Not n ;■ .so b.ve.v )iad i.»i Been for many a s a.-on, and si.); ni ght have m- t,th d i 0.0 n a* <lice as a queen of iety, and irade or t.¡, !II',S!. ';¡,i¡iolJal,]e ill London, h ,¡[ ,ltJ so wil ed. i of tl e most ercdusivo seels strngglt d for infiMdijetions to h r, a rid schemed 'or j in !t. ;i"iis to t!.e re a pt:011s s u; vave under her 1.e.,ih r-iu-law's ausj,icn-. And Mr. <!rayson sud- d-e.ly found hiu.svif 'amous in ihe gre it w..rld, and !n danger ,.t being o er whelmed with business, j.i'onta' le :m unjiro.'itable, through his dauulit r's y pu ar.ty. li s si.-tor was almo-t frightened at the ».id.it-u h mge that .Minnie's eI6\;¡'.i"il to the ranks of tie.1 upper ten thousand u ade in the r quiet life. Sue was leted and car. sand as she had never been 1 tn(l. i-alf iii,-I;jie,i to think that she was in SOME «viid dream of cast-HI maguiheence when she was tak'-n away in her mo -t-'s carriage to all the gaieties that she had considered rathor out ot' her j reach t 1: now. She did not know in her simrilicity of heart that Of -"I)flt rl- was liked'and r .-pected lor her own sake— th .1 le.r ouaint oh!-worhl ways an 1 trim dress of a by-i-m fashion took the f.in -y ot the novelty loving Li l; -s of Miuaie s new worid. As her ox.juisite neatness and da n:v habits plea-od everyone who UliJiÐ in (ontaet with Iter, she Was thoroughly happy, and so was her biother, though he said very litt.e. lie had mourned the mistake of his child's first marriage deeply, and blamed himself for yielded to her wishes, with silent self- reproa h. But her happiness now refle ted itself back upon him, and people told him that he was ;oo,ir<g younger and brighter than he had done f jr years. A stop had come to the gaieties of the season, Before it was mor" than bait over the family physician had warned the elder Lady Helston that it was not advisable tor her daughter- in law to keep late ho lire, or unlego much excitement just at present. And Afhwi'j J laughed and declared she was quite well, a¿¡d 'here was no need lor any :uss, and she was enjoying herself very much but Lord Helston had taken fright, and begged of her-in such terror to listen to the warning that she had consented to forego any more gaiety, and go to Helston to await quietly the birth of the hoped-for h ir. She was walking with her husband in the pretty garden that was hisunother's special pride, loolcng lovingly up isto his e veg, when she suddenly made the observa- tion recorded above. All what, darling ?" he asked. All the old life 'and my seeing that man here when we came home it was a funny co.ncidence, wasn't it, his having been at the church when we were married, and then here 11 We were well rid of him, I think," Lord Helston replied "he was evidently an unscrupu- lous vagabond. I fancy lie was hanging about in the hope of making something out of his knowledge of what had happened in your life before you came here, and was battled by discovering there was nothing to beto'd. Forget atl about lum. my own. That page in your life's history is turned and for- gotten now." "Turned, but not forgotten, Steve." Hut you are happy now, my darling ?" "Happy! ah, too happy I sometimes think. Who is it that says that- Th re is e'en a happiness That makes the heart afraid." "I am afraid sometimes, >teve, my life seems too like heaven with you, and all that you have given me." Heaven," he said, drawing her close to his side, and bending down to kiss her. "rOil are mv heaven, darling. I was out in the cold till I met you." I wonderyou never married before, Steve," Ladv Helston said meditatively And he laughed and said he was not to the taste of the ladies he sup- posed. Nonsense, Steve no one could know you and not love you," she replied eagerly. "A good many women have known meand not loved me, little flatterer," Lord Helsiou said with a loving Smile. You see I had not tried what pug dogs could do in the way of wooing tW1 came to you. "1 oko was my ambassador. L don'c believe you would have given me a second look but for that little monstrosity." Poor i oko, I do hope they will be good to him tflhilel am away, and not "tarve him quite The Japanese dog had been left behind in town .to recruit a ter a course of overeating, in which he had been indulged, and his mistress was naturally anxious about h.m. "They will keep him on a diot of cold water, I expect," his lordship sa d, "and he will come to you quite slim and genteel, and ready to eat the driest crust that can be presented to him. Never nrnd Yoko. Look at that starling yonder,—sh<:> is ing to lift that great young one of heis :.e nest again; it has tumbled out. JJ.i. b iua matter, darling, are you ill j" Minnie was looking in the direction of his point- ing finger, and had suddenly turned very white, and was trembling all over. No," she replied I am quite well." But you are pale-trembling; what is it ?" The man, Steve. Why does he haunt me ? I have never done him any harm." Chap 24 What man, dear r There is no one there.' "The man weha\e i een tal in about. Ah! I know it was no dream, now. What brings him here in our garden ? He is just behind the tree." She was certainly ill, or attacked in some way with a nervous tit, for there was no man there. Lord Helston hunted everywhere, and crept under all the bushes in the direction of the tree they had been looking at; but he cou-d find no one, and he tried in vain to reassure her. She seemed to get over her lirst fright, but th-: co our d d not come back to hpr cheeks, nor the smiles to her lips; and she presently rose to .-o into the house, for they had been sitting on a rustic en.-h, under a bower of climbing ro-e", wlun she fancied she saw the man, saying t-he w s co d, though the evening was warm and guiltless of wind. 1 suppose I am tired nnd fanciful," she said u but I wish that aunt e was here. Don't look so ft ighteatd, teve. 1 only feel as ifl siioul,l like i.o shut myseif up, and talk to nobody forever so long. The sight of that man has made me feel as if some- thing dreadful was going to happen—and he was there, dear, and looking so maii. iously at me." Lord Hels on was frighteno 1, and carried her straight o;t to h's mother, whom he implored to send for the doctor immediately at which .-he smiled and bade him be of good cneer. There was nothing the matter but a little nervous attrn-k, which would quite pass away if Minnie rested quietly in her dressing-room till dinner-time; bur. she telegraphed to Miss Grayson for all that, and bade her lorne at once, saying nothing to her dausj hter-in-law. me too soon. Before midnight the's- rvants were roused by the tidings ihat their lady was ill, and Lord Hel- ston was walking iii) and down the library with anxiousstrides, eagerly waiting f)r whatever tidings might come down to hun from his wi.e's room. Every minute seemed an hour, and when at length the doctor came down to him he could h nal y speak to him for the trembling of his lips and the huski- ness of his throat. "otyet, the man of medicine replied, in answer ta his half put question, and Stephen Yereker wondered how he could be so calm and cool i and look as if there was nothing the matter, when every nerve of bis was on the quiver. "All is wad &t present, and in a few hours A few honrs It seemed to the anxious husband as if he had said a few wee £ s. But the doctor ■mded at h s impatience, and sipped a cup of coffee as coolly as if babies and their mothers were of small consequence in his eyes. Chau 2-1 I would not ''eceir? you for a momo"t, rar lord,* he said. "If all we not well I would tell you. Lady Helston is veiy well, very patient, and very bra'e and hopeful, and the next time I see you All I am wanted, I see," as a servant came to the door with a message. "When I come again, my lord, may it be with good news." Chan 4 J t. seemed Lice an eternity to Lord Helton before he did come. His mother had come in and out and tried to cheer him by telling him all was well, II., almost ret used to believe it in his impatience, for the dreary hours to slip away. an the day had come, and the sun risen, and the birds \vaked fo make melody for the blight young day, before the doctor reappe u ed. I told you 1 sh- uld bring good news, my lord," he said, rubbing his hands with real pleasure that everything was over. "Allow me to congratulate you -a son and heir, my lord — as a little fellow as I ever introduced to the world." Lord Helston hard'y seemed to hear, so anxious was he for Jwwsof Minnie. Lady Helston," he said, how is she ?" Ac well as can be—no, t-, yet." as Lord Helston would have rushed from the room. not iin-ii she has slept. She will be quite rotdv for you in a little while and your son also. lie added, with a smile. By the time \ou have had some break- fast the introduction can come of:" It was with a very thankful heart that Stephen Yereker crossed the darkened ro.un where hs wife lav and bent over her with tears standing m his eye I am quite we'l,Steve," she aid; "so well, and 80 is baby. See hero And she showed him a tiny head lying upon her arm all envelop: d in soft tiann- l, a proceeding that gave Lord He ston hut an imperfect not on of his tirst born till the stately nurse came up and lifted the little creature into its father's arms. Very pink and h-nder was the coveted sen and heir at pre -ent, and be was not allowed many minutes* contemplation of his new ti-, asure, but was baicshed jn a SlllllllJarV fashion that amused hun, all unused as he was to and their ways. The midday brought Annt lv-t! er, fearful and joyous, and presently Mr. Grtyson, to whom the glad tidings had conn- over his lire kfast alter he had seen his sister otf 1>\ an early train. I could not w"it for an invititi n," he said. U I had to (orne. My carling, our d.ul.ug, Steve; is she safe and well. "As well as can be," Lord IM-on returnel, but guarded by a dragon to whom the notable gentle- man of the Hosperidos was as nothing. "I a in allowed to look at her now and then, nothing more. As for handling my own sou, 1 \erily believe it would be looke I upon as a sort of sa r lege but I have a son, thank liod, and both lie and his mother are safe." He told Ilr. ( Ira vson of Minnie's fancy about the man looking th i o t. o t i, and they both j agreed it must ho fancy. She had ill-,t been spetii- IDg- of him, and had conjured him up; doabtle-s. It had been no fancy. There had been a man there-a wrdehed-lco ing creature; a tramp one of the under-gardeners thought when he saw him pre- sently sitting OIl the ground in the pans, and spoke to him. Fine morning, ŒrI' 0:' Yes. What's u;>nder;" He pointed with his ti-iml MI the d:rection of the house, and yawned fearfin.v ;1. if lie were only just awa e, and, indeed, he had l'a len asleep in the dark- ness of thf: night, and wilke I feeiing stiff and tired as the sun rose. A son end b""r; fhat"3 what's the matter," the man repli"d. l'<n o;T to tell the ringers. You 11 hear th« bells shout it out very soon, 1 can ten you. There'll be a diink ot a.e to • yon up at the house, I j daresay, if you bOo '1 hey'11 treat every oU: to- day." Thank yo I am go ng the other way," the the otl-ier way," the tramp said, and shook himself as he rose like a man who does not o ten go through the ceremony of undressing. A son and heir, eh ho said to himself. Well, that's news worth carrying, that is." The bells pealed out joyou-ly as he spoke, clang- 1 ing out the tidings to all the country side, and biddhig every cne rojoiee with the happy parents and the delighted grandparents of the unonscioua 1 banthr.g. Aye. call it out," he said laughing, savagely. Shout it out all over the land. He's a happy ba by. born a lord, in the of the purple; son and heir! son and heir: How the ^din seems to force the words down one's throat 1 What is it Iago says ? I will set down the pegs that make this music!' Wait till I have the handling of the pegs that are making this; I shall spoil the har- mony I am afraid." lie was not fond of bells, evidently, this shabby wayfarer, for he anathematised them more than once as he walked along, and turned round and shook hIS fat at Lord Helston's mansion before he shook the dust of the neighbourhood off his feet, and departed for more congenial haunts. > Nobody missed him nobody knew him. He came and went like the birds of the air-not always with the same feathers. About a week afterwards a man marvellously like him was lounging about Paris seemingly bent on enjoying himself. He was dressed as a gentleman—some- what shabby, perhaps; but in the well-cut clothes and finer stuffs that well-to-do men ean wear. Day after day ho drank his cotlee outside the caffs, and remarked on the passers-by in French, that made the good people he mixed with take him for a countryman, and gossip with him accordingly. His favourite place was the outside of a cafe close to the 1'alais loy-il-a pretty spot, all plash- ing fountains and green plants, and busy with life at the same time. He like I the bust'e of the streets, this man, and was interested in everything that was going on. Building was in progress at the upper end of the splendid but dreary Avenue L'op&rs,, ancl gangs of y-orkmen passed and re- passed'half-a-do en times a day. Either the work was hurried or labour was scarce, for amongst the workmen was a gang of convicts—miserable look- ing creatures who were duly marched backwards and forwards to their daily toil, doing the work of hod men and bricklayer s labourers. Mr. I-terry watched them coming down the street one evening from their daily work, and scanned them with a good deal of interest. l'oor devils," he said to an Englishman who was sitting next to him, a clergyman as it seemed from his dress. How hot they look, and how like brutes Chap 24 Yes," was the reply, they can hardly look like anything else, and yet there is great individuality ot face and character amongst them. Some of them look as if they might have been men once with friends and homw." Yes, there's one for instance," Mr. Sterry said, dexterously indicating the: man he meant by aiming a pellet of either bread or paper at him, which the man caught, and, as quick as thought, transferred to his mouth. A lightning look of intelligence came into his face as lie saw from whence the little missile came: but he did not seem disturbed by being made a target ot. The animal-brute look which characterised them all came back to him directly, and he marched on with his fellows in no way different from the rest of the gang. t." Do you know :hirn" asked Mr. -Sterry's com- panion, whose face was very pale. and whose hand shoo^ as he lifted his cup to his lips. Know him, no. Hin face struck me at the moment as an example of what I was stating, that was all. Have you ever -kn him before ? ) Whore now, I wonder," Sterry said to himself, as the clergyman rose and walked away. "He's a queer acquaintance for a man jf his cloth. Who is he, I should like to know He soon found out, for the clergyman had drop ed the cover of an English newspaptr which he had been reading, and it was written-" The Lev. Co il Leighton," and an address, part of which was torn off. Ah, I hava hesrd of him before," Mr. Sterrv Raid, as he. too, went away. "It is odd that I should meet him in Paris." Even the throwing of a bit of paper or bread is enough to make an event in so monotonous a life as that of a prisoner in a French prison, and tho convict at whom the missive had been aimed kept it till he was shut up in his cell, and then proceeded to unfold it carefully. It was only a scrap of th newspaper Mr. Sterry had been reading, torn I and crushed into a tiny ball; but there w;.8 amnaement in it, for No. 20 was reprimanded tv,"(-e during the night for laughing in a tierce fashion in the solitude of his cell, and stamping up aid down when he ought to have been asleep and prepiriu* for the fatigues of the morrow. Chap 1: (To be continued.)