POETRY

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 374, 9 July 1903, Page 2

POETRY

WHEN THE HEART SINGH*; Every day's a holiday—. T.-i Every winter golden May . \ jf % When the heart singß on th e way. Not one flower in bitter sweet: "Where the lights and shadowa meet There are lilies at Life'B feet. Faith in all the prayers ti pray— Truth in all we dream and eay When the heart sings on the way. —Atlanta Constitution. HIS MOTHER'S COOKING. He [eaves the dinner table there, 90 . .. With a discontentsd frown*- •**■>■*» The potatoes and steak were underdone,

* .- ivThe viect<i§ iour, the 8 y^^ .IfM | W| 'V j?Tne ebnyeo greasy ! 'Twasfiardly fit for r cat. • I wish you could taste the br*njl and pSst I have seen my mother make, t-^ They were something like, and 'twould do you good Just to look at a slice of her cake. Said, the smuiiig /wife,,' I'll, improve with UiJsK&uFiIJM iiilih »IJJI Just how I'm bu' a beginner, .... And I got her to cook the dinner! I

Truth

lovey

published

Conscience of Gilbert Po%rd By Adeline 5 -SAiGEAN^*--"——''-COPYBIGHT.. ,= ~. s .-:'

X —(Continued ) • me back the __yeara d>gaHs&x?Tm wffi. aoC t%)i&* wbat I -."- .l|imlWrSi|^^^^' > 'c«iHEse him a geod?' ' A. kind meEsage, Htdworth, pit a=e!' Ha meditated for a moment or two i tejkbia #3*n iapjEngland. M fi will in my name to attend >fae meeting at Sirode the i*&d *Tledworth quietly,' teil him that Levi Moss and Co. —be wiU know the merely the <■ -representativea of Hedwtfrth Pollard in ij^f obßcernic g matter r. informationi that he williaibjio coxae.' ' La,' j«u axe ciueli jfjyou ruin gn)beit out of mers"Mvengß,"l 'can never % you, I eball never speak to you old glint came at once into fie dwoxth s blue eyes. j' I shall be Ftrry for that.' he!answered simply, ' but I cannot change my plan of action eveii for you.' ' No, not for me, but for a higher reason,- : .., - Hedwoith. We wfeb all heed forgiveness " for ourselves, bow dare we be hard on one another? ~ Have ,jou never done "". wrong, that you set yourself up aa your -** brother's judge t Forgive me, dear coutis, dear Hedworth, if I speak too freely; but I cannot see you lose your own soul for the. sake of a mean revenge! Have we not wronged..;our Heavenly Father by our own sine F and can we ask V for His forgiveness if ws cannot forgive" l r the wrongs our brothers have done to us ?' tv ., /Yen, plead well, Effie;, tut I would rather that you* Baid no mpre. Give my |ll message to Gilbert; give it, if possible; • tonight' ' Good-bye, then,' said Erne in a law, depressed tore.' ;Perfcap=—l may never e. aee-yk.u'agairi—if—if-*—' -•" 'Oh, yee-ycu wilJ,' said Htdworth, bend- . ing over her, and -speaking soothingly as if to a petted child. 'You will see me often, and you will hear of me often too. ** ! Good-night, Euphrasia. ' I never knew a before that you were named-after your own bright eyes.' And he/would Bay no more.

as those of a blacksmith, whoße hair was apt to be tumbled, whose hands" were hard and brown, and so big that Effiafflncjrfd that gloves Would have to be mide especially for him. The (xmtrasthardened her heart a little: although she had pleaded Gilberts cause with Hedworth, and she bad scant sympathy for the man wholad chosen to live Juxor'.' usly at the cost 0/ a «I have Mtf&Wh&i ts%i&&U I have not Eeen them/ she said. • I have been talking to Hedwortb/ ii| A I M * 1 J.^ew^ m and ean.e a Itef %mtßmW hfr£hSiyes greTwidd with a ghastly terror,. hi 3 very \ipa tu:ned pals,' !'.?■'.:;•: & ' Where is Hedworth,?' he a stem emphasis on ihe'wbrdB 3 .' 1 ' '■'-■' * He was at the Red House when I saw him; Ith nk he has gone away;' r 1 -' The Legeea shall- torn out to-morrow/ said Gilbert, in. a .low, tone o£ fierce exasperation. 'They are always insub, ordinate.* '-- : 's '• •I think you hid better not send them away jusfrtfeS* ialdlEap¥rasfe;,wi«i*a gentle aloofness of 3natanor; whjbh caused him to look, Afehieti euspioionsly. • There will be : otfiei'things to think of first.' I have a mfssage for you from Hed'wp*th.' • From Hedworth ?' : The* in his tone was plain, v■• .UvA&GI ./<■ <I was to tell you,' said Effier looking down, but feeling almost as if her cousin's burning eyes were piercing /fo tie very name to attend the meeting 'at StJrode, where John Sigerson is going to-speak! the day after to-;»mwdw.nHe r said/.'Tell him I shall be there.'' Gilbert sfcropk, the. mantelpiecesharj ly with his clenched hand. 'The insolence of the fellow! As if I were to be at his beck and call! I shall, of course do nothing,„pfjhe, kjad, to flaunt his poverty and his vagabond life *s*££&£*& before all the people of the ttp^^^he-thißk-T--face.-' what; he "read there silenced him. For it seemed as if this girl Euphrasia—little Effie,: whom he had known from childhood—knew what was worst in -his life, and silently-; pitied him,» He sat down suddenly,, as" if abeßse "of weakness had come upon him, and for a moment of two there, was silence, in the} room/' f ' ' ' I shall not go/ he said at last, but hoarsely this time, and witlicut a trace of -the anger that he had assumed. ' 'Hedworth said that if you hesitated '*' Euphrasia's, voice, was grave-and clear—- ; * I was to tell you something, else. I was to. Bay Imi Moss and Co. are only the representatives of Hedworth Pollard in a business matter thafcyou know of. I do not understand the message,-but he said that you would know the name/ It was very evident indeed that Gilbert knew the name. Blank dismay, a pallor as of death, a sharp a groan from his white lips—by these, tokens Euphrasia' knew that the last message from Hedworth had been < factual indeed. He half tobo from hiß seat, then fell back again, aad put bis Jiand across his eyes. It was not ih'EfßVe nature to ' feel anything but profoundest pity for her kinsman when she saw him in this state of distress. 'Hedworth in kind and generous a* heart, Gilbert. I am sure—l hope at least—that he will liaten if you—if you - toll him everything/ She dared not particularize. Gilbert toik his hand away from his eyes and stared at her with a sort of dull disdain. *-I suppose you have spared m-i the trouble cf doing that?' he said. «I am not going to cringe to Hedworth, whatever ho chooses to do or siy AY to his kindness and generosity, his message means ruin to me; do you know that P Moss and Co. are money lendtrs; fchey have lately been pressing for payment. They hold a mortgage on the house W6 are in; and Hedworth, of all people, is behind them all the time. That means that he is going to foreclose, that I shall be utterly ruined, and that when lam in the workhouse, Hedwerth will coolly occupy tMs house—the house that bis father built and meant to give to Jjis elder-son. Well, Hedworth has fckaw)i how. to avenge his wrongs !' Eflie had seldom heard Gilbert f rankJy, or with so mnch ex2itement..,-3g»J was usually reticent and self-possessed! This Eudden passionate outpouring meant that the bslmce of his judgment was momentarily disturbed. He hardly knew what he said or what he ought to Bay. Euphrasia looked towards the door; she longed to go, and y<t was almost 4fraid to leave her cousin alone. - He saw the diubt in her eye, and laughed at it. * I am not mad, and I can do without your companionship, thank you, my dear. We wili go to the meeting on Thursday and meet your , have believed him guilty of robbery all these years, have you not ? Let me tell yen for your comfort thai I believed it too when I to'd you that story down in my t in' .e. But the theft was of fifty pounds only, not five thousand; and not a week later I found that he waa perfectly innocent. Ton, like the rest of the world,

"'" CHAPTER XI—THE TURN OP THE SCALES. t I waa nearly, eleven o'clock when Effia is a back !o the Emirs from the Bed House, conscious of having committed something of sn indiscretion in remaining there eo long. She hoped trat Bhe might., escape to her room unseen, and find her If cousin Gilbert safely -ensconced ■ in the smoking-room when she went to give her .. messagej but she was not so fortunate, d As she opened tbe clde door by which she , cculd obtain admittance froia the garden, she found Gilbert pacing up and down the hali, his watch in his hand, his face and movements expressive of anxiety and agitation. '.Euphrasia I Where have yen been ?' - - ' I have been out, Gilbert,' aaid Erne, not knov. ing what else to say, and'. pausing to rem \e the "lace.frcm her head —MI oecupa on whfch waß useful beca»e r ifr4bie ded her flushed face from V her cousin's ey a. | .".) '".'• •' 'I see you '.p.ve beeneut The house and the giou: ds have been searched for jcu ltishaflly proper for you. to be walking about at night—alone, in an - evening drees, with a bit of ffmsy lace on your ht ad! Is this the sortcf thing you * do at Boulogne ?' 'I was at tlo Bod Hcute,' said Effi.,-, recovering ie- Eelf-possession. -'And I have a mesugi for y<u cousin Gilbert, if yiuwiJlcome into u>b drawing-zoem or somewhere. .- Ferbape your study would be best, for it is rather an important message.' * ■"■ 'What important metsige can the Leg/es have to cend to me?' said Gilbert, ' : rather sharply. But he led the way into his aody, nevertheless, it* was a small rocwa at tbe bm k of the house ; a den in w. which he kept a few bcokF, a fhhing tod or two, and t'at vast assembly of odds axd ends whict a man always accumulates - 'against his wil . But there were two or three solid ana c mfortable chairs, and in f | winter a good tire, so that tie reom looked cheery enough when Gilbert turned up the electric light, and fac*d his young ccruin rn the hearthrug. Euphrasia did not ait down. In her soit, a earn laces, of the corsage, the looked to fair and sweet ■ that Gilbert reproached himatlf in his ,' heart because he could not love' her more. Bat he bad Lever been fond of Effie since the day wt.. n he fiist dreaded and thtn deceived her. He glanced once at her, and then looked away. - i musl say,' he continued, in sn irritable tear, 'That I hope you are not going to tall into the habit of spending your e tnings with Mrs Lgte. She is a very w_itby woman, but the proceeding would be out of place oh $ oar part. Kffifl looked np at birr. Hj.wae immaculately dressed and faultlessly nett; bis * hair aad moustache and little pointed I : beard were perfectly arranged; tbe hand with which he toyed with an evening paper was white and soit Bne could not but an'rait him with his step-brotLer, who always conveyed the suggestion of a little roughness, an out-of-door impression, so tctj-eai; whose shoulders were massive

i thought him guilty, •so for my own ends—that is alh ''raprorc tell Hedworth this When you seeshJßfcl With my compliments. And now I wsa wish you good-night, 'fled' '%k ! ' Sftf t£The white hand pointed %&h such to the dared not disobey. Shßf£utßed:|ad fleds|: : : heard afterwards- that Doris had' n waked and waited for him all the Bight ' in vain. "He had forgotten her. He had , a battle to fight in those solemn midnight . hours, ar battle with the worst temptation J of hJaJiffe and all ihingß else were aside* "'£' V ~:>j> S. gk<f* Ol "Th'e* rage IbaEne had at first expe?i- \ enced waß succeeded by profound despair. ( The message which Hedworth hsd : aent j could "bear only one meaning; it>signified ] revenge. Gilbert attached little import- , •nce-to-the request" tbafheshotfld'nicflt'• his brother at the Strode meeting j pro- , bably this was only lone of Hedwortai's wild pranks, designed with fisndjjhmjs-, o'lief to produtfe'sOme o' their relationship. It was an awkward ; . request only in one point, namely, that if; ■ Gilbert Pollard were seen among the audience he would be pressed to cme upon"the platform, as of j the lecal committee for' ;|he "furtherance i of'-public leettrnfe in OtSoeKr guished men. Probably Hedworth knew. . t'r.at, and meant to disgrace him in the eyes of the town by appearing in scandalously poverty-stricken guise. Gilbert had never once dreamrd of his brother as a prosperous man; he had always classed him with the outcasts of-the world; and shuddered again and again in fear T of .recognising,-him in the person cf some drunken tramp, some filthy and disreputable criminal. Yes. no doubt Hedworth wanted to get' hjj a row in public, and he meant to do it on Borne occasion when the chief members of the Ssxcde and Fareham worlds were present; but reaDy, as Gilbert reflected, with his head -between his hand?, that did not matter very much. If Hedworth bad discovered everything and meant to punish him, the weapons lay vary easy to his hand. He had only to tell the story of his father's deatb.-bed, for one thing; Effie was there to hack him up—she had always been H-uJwbrkh'a friend—and she ctuld swear to what she had heard, and to what Gilbert had promised to do. The best man in town and village and county had only to hear that at >ry and they would turn their backs on him for ever. Thet he had been -under no legal obligation to j give Hedworth anything would not count Tdrmubnin the (yes of honourable men. The suspicion of Hedworth's honesty, which Gilbert might have cleared up at ?ny- :monJen| after?; his|i fijMH|ig of the "fiEty-lpcrtiEd agie;*was: excite any amount of moral indignation. He would get no sympathy from *ny one, but be branded as a man who had done things which were worse than crimes in the eyeß of the world, because they were so . absontely mean.. ■._■■■< • ->•: . - , :- , And now Hedworth meant to pnnish him. Ha had come back, and no doubt j Effi} and the Legges together had made him acquainted with the 'whole i story. He began to call them treacherous before he thought what he was doing, and then stopped short toask whether the treachery had not been all on his side f His meanness; his love of money, his lying and his - dishonesty—for he was in the mood when , a man calls things by their right names— ? would sow,be made known.to the world. But this was not a'l. Hedworth was a<? " the back of Messrs. Moss and Co., was he P<;, That meant : that they' would press for*. money, which it was quite impossible for' Gilbert to Were was that sumijf' five thousand pounds as well In a few weeks, "a few days even, G lbert knew that he would, be in the Bankruptcy... Court. And this was all that had cine from his plotting, and ..planning; hie desire to reap advantages that were not rightfu'lyhis own ; his insane dislike to. 1 giving money to that prodigal brother who was now coming to trmmph over him, and to take what" the very first to have been bis own. It occurred to Gilbert forthe.fi rot time that Hedworth- mWt have 'made some rjmney the pa|,t ten -y'mca. How cpuld'She of himself plain enough; ;«>u bud beßn lucky and tor had come to ru'nT So Hedworth. would come.and gloat over bis failure. Ruin and ill-repute were nothing in comparison with this humiliation.; [Gilbert said to himself that lie could hot! bear it. There were some things that ought not to ba borne Alf he were dead—a long .pause followed the suggestion; even in h's own mind he could fcr some time get no farther—if he wore dead, people would bo kinder to his memory than to his living self. They would be kind to his widow and to his children. Hedworth was generous., enough Jto make them an allowance, if nojtlpbr could be saved from the ;w?eck. He might even perhaps think wi^i^flgrißt^"-the brother; who had wronged him so deeply, kbo wing that his paid for his 'misdeeds by his life ! v : iSrflber"thacflately" maintained that gQod : deal to be said in favour of buuS^ 1 V < lgs* (To -be. Continued)