CHAPTER II. (Cntinued.)

Clutha Leader, Issue 210, 19 July 1878, Page 7

CHAPTER 11. (Cntinued.)

Naturally, proud and sensitive, and inflated hy sueeess and flatty .ry, Alfred Hardie had been torturing himself ever since he fled Edward's female relations, He was mortified to thec<>'**e. He confounded ' the . fools' ( his favourite synonym for his acquf intance) for going and calling Dodd's mother an elder sister, and so not giving him a •chance to divine her. And then that he, who prided himself on his discrimination, should take tbem for ladies of rank, or, at all events, ofthe highest fashion ; and, climax of humiliation, tliat so great a man. as be should go, and seem to court tbem by praising Dodd of Exeter, by enlarging upon Dodd of Exeter, by offering to grind Logic with Dodd of Exeter. Who would believe that this was a coincidence, a mere coincidence ? They cou ki not be expected to believe it; femjde vanity would not let them. He ting led, and was not far from hating the whole family ; so hitter a thing is that which I have ventured to dub "the Tenderest Passion." He itched to soothe his irritation by explaining to Edward. Dodd was a frank, goodh< urted fellow ; he would listen to facts, aiid convince the ladies in turn. Harclie learned where Dodd's party lodged, and waited about the door to catch him alone; Dodd must be in college by twelve, and would leave Henley before ten. He waited till he was tired of •Uniting*. But at last the door opened ; l.c stepped forward, and out tripped JVliss Dodd. ' Confound it !' muttered .'Bardic, and drew back. However, he Btood and admired her graceful figure and action, ber lady-like speed without bustling. Had she come back at tbe •same pace, he would never have ventured to stop her : on such a thread do things hang : but she returned very slowly, hanging her head ; her look at him and his headache recurred to him, a look brimful of goodness. She would do as well as Edward, perhaps better. He yielded to impulse, and addressed her, but with all the trepidation of a youth defying tbe giant Etiquette for tbe first time ih his life. Julia was a little surprised and fluttered, but did not betray it ; she had been taught self-command|by^example, if not by precept. 'Certainly, Mr Hardie,' said she, with a modest composure a youngcoquette might have envied under the circumstances. Hardie had now only to explain himself: but instead of that, he stood looking at her with silent concern ; the fair face she raised to him was wet with tears ; so were her eyes, and even the glorious eyelashes were fringed with that tender spray ; and ifc glistened in the moonlight. This sad and pretty sight drove the vain but generous youth's calamity clean out of his bead. ** Why ' you are crying ! Miss Dodd, what is the matter ? I hope nothing has happened.' Julia turned her head away a little fretfully, with a ' No, no !' But soon her natural candour and simplicity prevailed ; a simplicity not without dignity; she turned round to bim and louked him in the face. * Why should I deny it to you, sir, who have been good enough to sympathize with us ? We are mortified, sadly mortified, at •dear Edward's disgrace ; and it has cost us a struggle not to disobey you, and poison kis triumphal cup with sad looks. And mamma had to write to him, und console him against to-morrow : but I hope he will not feel it so severely as she does : and I have just posted it myself, and when I thqught of our dear mamma being driven to such expedients, I Oh !' And the pure young heart, having opened itself by words, must flow a little more. ' Oh, pray don't cry,' said young Hardie, tenderly ; ' don't take such a trifle to heart so ; you crying makes me feel guilty for letting it happen. It shall never occur again. If I had only known, it should never have happened at all.' * ' Once is enough/ sighed Julia. ' Indeed you take it too much to heart ; it is only out of Oxford a plough is thought much oi ; especially a single one ; that is so very common. You see, Miss Dodd, an university examination consists of several items : neglect but one, and Crichton himself would be ploughed : because brilliancy in your other papers is not allowed to count; that is how themost distinguished man of our day got ploughed for Smalls; I had a' narrow escape, I know, for one. But, Miss Dodd, if you knew how far your brother's performance on the river outweighs a mere slip in the schools, in university men's eyes, tbe dons' and all. you would not make this bright day end sadly to Oxford by crying*. Why, I could' find a thousand men who would be ploughed to-morrow witb glory aod delight to win one such race as your brother' has won two.' j Julia sighed again. But it sounded j now half like a sigh of relief; tbe final sigh, with which the fair consent to be consoled. And indeed this improvement in the music did not escape Hardie ; he felt he was on the right tack : he enumerated fluently, and by name, many good men, besides Dean Swift, who had heen ploughed, yet had cultivated tbe field of letters in their turn ; and, in short, he was -so -earnest .and plausible, : th*e t

something like a smile hovered about his bearer's lips, and she glanced askant at him with furtive gratitude from under her silky lashes. But it soon recurred to her that this was rather a long interview to accord to ' a stranger,' and iinder tbe moon ; so she said a little stiffly, ' And was this what you were good enough to wish to say to me, Mr Hardie V '

'JNo, Miss Dodd, to be frank, it was not. My motive in addressing you, without the right to take such a freedom, was egotistical. I came here to clear myself; I — l was afraid you must think me a humbug, you know.' ' I do not understand you, indeed. ' Well, I feared you and Mrs Dodd might think f praised Dodd so, and did what little 1 did for him, knowing who you were, and wishing to -curry favour with you by all that; and that is so underband^and paltry a way of going to work, I should despise myself.' ' Oh, Mr Hardie,' said 'the yount-r lady, smiling, •* how foolish : why, of course we knew you had no idea.' •Indeed I had not; but how could you know it V

' Why, we saw it. Do yoa think we have no eyes? ah, and much keener ones than gentlemen have. It is mamma and I who are to blame, if anybody ; we ought to have declared ourselves : it would Lave been more generous, more — manly. But we can not all be gentlemen, you know. It was so sweet to hear Edward praised by one who did not know us ; it was like stolen friiit ; and by one whom others praise : so, if you can forgive us our slyness, there is an end of the matter.' ' Forgive yon ? you have taken, a thorn out of my sou].' 'Then I am so glud you summoned courage to speak to me without ceremony. Mamma would have done better though ; but after all, do not I know her? nay mamma is all goodness and intelligence,- and be assured, sir, she does you justice,- and is quite sensible of your disinterested kindness to dear Edward.' With this she was about to retire. 'Ah! But you, Miss Dodd? with whom T have taken this unwarrantable liberty ?' said Hardie, imploringly. 'Me, Mr Hardie ? you do me the honour to require my opinion of your performances; including of course this self-mtroduction T Hardie bung his bead; there was a touch of satire in the lady's voice, be thought. Her soft eyes rested demurely on bim a moment; she saw he was a little abashed. ' My opinion is that you have been very kind to us ; in being most kind to our dear Edward. I never saw, nor read of anything more generous, more manly. And then so thoughtful, so considerate, so delicate ! So instead of criticising you, as you seem to expect, bis sister only blesses you, and thanks you from the very bottom of ber heart.' B bc bad begun with a polite composure borrowed from mamma; but, once launched, ber ardent nature got the better : her colour rose and rose, and her voice sank and sank, and tbe last words came almost in a whisper ; a gurgle from tbe heart : and, as she concluded, ber delicate band came sweeping out with a heaven-taught gesture of large and sovereign cordiality, that made even tbe honest, words and tbe divine tones more eloquent. It was too much : the young man, ardent as herself, and not, in reality, half so timorous, caught fire ; and seeing* a white, eloquent hand rather near bim, caught it, and pressed his warm lips on it in mute adoration and gratitude. At tbis she was scared and offended. ' Ob ! keep tbat for the Queen !' cried she, turning scarlet, and tossing ber fair head into the air, like a startled stag, and sho drew ber hand away quickly, and decidedly, though not roughly. He stammered a lowly apology ; in the very middle of it she said quietly, 'Good-bye, Mr Hardie,' and swept, with a gracious little curtsey through tbe doorway, leaving bim spell-bound. And so the virginal instinct of selfdefence carried- her off swiftly and cleverly. But none too soon ; for, on i entering tbe house, that external composure her two mothers Mesdames Doad | and Nature bad taught her, fell from ber like a veil, and she fluttered up tbe stairs to her own room with hot cheeks, and panted there like some wild thing that has been grasped at and grazed. She felt young Bardie's lips upon the palm of her hand plainly ; they seemed to linger there still ; it was like light but live velvet. Tbis, and the ardent look he had poured into ber eyes, set the young creature quivering. Nobody bad looked at her so before, and ho young gentleman had imprinted living velvet on ber band. She was alarmed, and uneasy. What right had he to look at her like that ? What shadow ot a right to and kiss ber hand ] He could not pretend to think she had put it out to be kissed ; ladies put forth tbe back of the band for tbat, not tbe palm. The truth was he was an impudent fellow, and she hated him now. and herself too for being so simple as to let bim talk to her : mamma would not have been so impudent when she was a girl.

"" She would not go down, for she felt there must be something of this kind legibly branded on her face : ' 0 ! O ! just look at this youDg lady ! She

has been letting a young gentleman kiss the palm of her hand; and the feel has not gone off yet . you may see that by her cheeks.'

But, then, poor Edward ! she must go down.

So she put a wet towel to her tell-tale cheeks, and dried them by artistic dabs, avoiding friction, and came down stairs like a mouse, and turned the doorhandle noiselessly, and glided into tbe sitting-room looking so transparent, conscious, and all on fire wit'i beauty and animation, tbat even Edward was startled, and, in a whisper, bade bis mother observe what a pretty girl she was ; •* beats all tbe country girls in a canter.' Mrs Dodd did look; and consequently, as soon as.ever Edward was gone lo Oxford, she said to Julia, ' You are feverish, love ; you have been excited with all this. You had better go to bed.' Julia complied willingly ; for she wanted to be alone and tbirik. She retired to her own room, and went the whole day over again ; and was happy and sorry, exalted and uneasy, by turns; and ended by excusing Mr Hardies escapade, and throwing tbe blame on herself. She ought to have been more distant ; gentlemen were not expected, nor indeed much wanted, to be modest. t A little assurance did not misbecome them. ' Really 1 think it sets them off,' said she to herself. ■ Grand total : ' What must he think of me V Time gallops in reverie : the town clock struck twelve, and with its iron tongue remorse entered her youthful i conscience. - Was tbis obeying mamma? Mamma had said, ** Go to bed :' not, 'Go up-stairs and meditate : upon young gentlemen.' She gave an expressive shake of her fair shoulders, like a swan flapping the water off its downy wings, and so dismissed the subject from ber mind. Then she said her prayers. Then she rose from her knees, and in tones of honey said, ' Puss.! puss ! pretty puss !' and awaited a result. Thieves and ghosts she did not believe in, yet credited cats under beds, and thought them neither ' harmless' nor ' necesssary' there. After tenderly evoking tbe dreaded and chimerical quadruped, she proceeded none the less to careful research, especially of cupboards. The door of one resisted, and then yielded with a crack, and blew out tbe candle. ' There now/ said she. It was her only ligbr, except her beauty. Tbey allotted each Hebe but one candle, in that ancient burgh. ' Weil/ she thought, ' there is moonlight enough to «?jdress by.' She went to draw hack one of the curtains ;, but in the act she started back with a little scream. There was a tall figure over the way watching the bouse. The moon shone from her side ofthe street full on him, and in that instant her quick eve recognized Mr Hardie. ' Well !' said she aloud, and with an indescribable inflexion ; and hid herself swiftly in impenetrable gloom. But, after a While, Eve's daughter must have a peep. She stole with infinite caution to one side ofthe curtain, and made an aperture -just big enough ior one bright eye. Yes, there be was, motionless. Til tell mamma,' said she to him, malignantly, as if the sound could reach him

Unconscious of the direful threat, he did not budge. She was unaffectedly puzzled at this phenomenon ; and, not being the least vain, fell to wondering- whether he played tbe nightly sentinel opposite every lady's window, who exchanged civilities with him. ' Because, if he does, he is a fool,' said she, promptly. But on reflection, she felt sure he did nothing of the kind habitually, for he bad too high an opinion of himself; she had noted that trait in him at a very early stage. She satisfied herself, by cautions examination, that be did not know ber room. He was making a temple of the whole lodging. ' How ridiculous of him !' Yet he appeared to be happy over it ; there was an exalted look in his moonlit face ; she seemed now first to see his soul there. She studied his countenance like an inscription, and decipher each rapt expression that crossed it ; and stored them in ber memory.

Twice she left her ambuscade to go to bed : and twice Curiosity, or Something, drew her back. At last having looked, peered, and peeped, till her feet were cold and her face the reverse, she informed herself that the foolish Thing had tired her out.

'Good-night, Mr policeman,' said she, pretending to bawl .to him, ' Ancl, 0, do rain ! As hard as ever you can/ With this benevolent aspiration, a little too violent to be sincere, she laid her cheek on her pillow doughtily. But her sentinel, when out of sight, had more power to disturb her. She lay and wondered whether be was still there, and what it all meant, and whatever mamma would say ; and which of the two, she or he, was the head culprit in this strange performance, to which Earth, she conceived, had seen no paralle; and, above all, what he would do next. Her pulse galloped, and her sleep was broken; and she came down in the mornig a little pale. Mrs Dodd saw it at once, with tbe quick maternal eye ; and moralized : 'It is curious ; youth is so fond of pleasure ; yet pleasure seldom agrees with youth ; this little excitement : has done your mother good, who is no

longer young : but it has been too much for you. I shall be glad to have you back to our quiet home.' Ab ! Will that home be as tranquil now ?