LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume VI, Issue 602, 24 May 1876, Page 3

LITERATURE.

LOCHVIEW. A TALE IN THREE PABTS. Part 11. {Continued ) The next morning found me true to my purpose of beginning work in earnest, and I rose early, that no time might be lost. I had visions of spending the long hours of the day in bending over columns of figures and adding up vast sums and totals. I longed to herd with rich merchants in the Exchange, and hear them talk of stocks aud dividends, of speculations and profits, and all the yet unknown mysteries of vigorous, heartstirring business. No racehorse, kept back by rider and barrier, ever panted more eageriy to set forth on its course than I did. I longed to run side by side with those who were trying for high prizes. So it was rather a disappointment to find the breakfast-room empty when I entered it. I believe I expected to find Mr Forbes and his son Dick there, snatching at an early breakfast, ere they set off for the office, hardly giving themselves time to swallow a decent meal. But nothing was to be seen of either of them. The table-cloth was laid, however, and there seemed some signs of preparation, so I stepped out of the low window into the garden, to pass away the time till all was ready. Like most other town gardens, this one was prim and formal in the extreme. A square grass-plot filled up the middle —smooth and well kept—and croquet wires at even distances, shewed that the game was sometimes played there. Round the sides were standing rose trees, and here and there white statues held up their burdens of terra-cotta vases, filled with blue lobelia and scarlet geraniums. At the low-r end of the garden, a vigorous attempt had evidently been made to form a fruit inclosure. Some pear-trees of a pyramidal training put forth puny branches, with a scanty display of unlovely looking fruit, and a tew espalier apple and plum trees gave promise of a meagre future harvest. I examined all this in my ramble, and contrasted it mentally with the rich, over-abundant crop that was even then ripening in the sunshine in our Lochview gardens. The flowers and fruit there seemed altogether of a different nature to this puny growth in a town garden. When I grew tired of rambling about, I walked up round by the sidepath to the low window, and looked in to see if breakfast was ready. Hester Carew was in the room; I recognised her petite, slender figure at once, with the well-shaped head and graceful outline. Her side face was towards me, and she was bending over the table, putting some finishing touches to its arrangements. Perhaps it was wrong of me thus to gaze unobserved through the rose branches, but the girl had strangely attracted me as I have said befors, and I wished to see if daylight confirmed my first impressions. Even while I was making up my mind on the subject, Mr Forbes entered the room, and Hester met him with a ' good-morning' kiss. I walked into the room then. ' Ah ! Mr Alec, you are an early riser, I see. 1} wish I could say as much for the rest of my household ; they are still finishing their morning naps, I daresay. You know Hesler already, don't you ?' ' I have not been introduced, though I saw Miss Carew at the dinner table last evening,' said I, bowing. ' Now, Hester, pour out the coffee—You Jl take bveakfast with us, won't you, Mr A'ec ? I suppose you will give yourself a holiday this week, and look about the town a bit before you settle down to work ?' ' 0 no ; I wish to put on harness at once. I long to take up the pen and handle the ledger,' I said laughingly. ' I daresay work will have charms for you at first, as any other novelty would; but you'll soon tire of it, my dear sir—tire of it, mind and body.' Mr Forbes sipped his coffee with a sigh, as though he meant what he said ; and I have since found out he had good reason for the assertion as far as he was concerned. I would fain linger on the recollections of that pleasant meal. Hester handled the breakfast things with a grace peculiar to herself, and handed me my cup with such a pleasant smile, that I turned to her again and again for a fresh supply. She did not smile often ; her face in repose was rather a sad one, with a kept down, thoughtful expression, a patient look, as though the full brightness of her nature was held in cheok. Nor did she talk much. From the very first she was a little timid, a little shy, but her words came out pleasantly and wisely, gaming infinite expression from the sympathising glance of her eyes and the magic tone 3 of her voice. All was in harmony ; when she spoke, her whole nature seemed to respond to her words; they were not mere empty, vapid forms of speech with her. The simplest thing she did seemed gilded by the glamour of boyish romance. Mr Forbes talked a good deal at breakfast. He had many memories of my Uncle Hans to recount that I would much sooner he had kept to himself, and he finished up by saying, as he rose from the table : 'A tall, handsome man Sir Han? wan, and no mistake. A man who fared for nothing, and stopped at nothing : it was all spend, spend, scatter, scatter with him. Mr Alee, you don't resemble him a bit. 'No; and I am thankful for it. Where he spent, I hope to save, aud where he scat-

tered, I hope to gather together again. -X will never rest till our glorious Xiochview is free from the hideous load of dehts he heaped up over it. I mean to be a great business man some day.' • Sir Hans would have scouted the veryidea of business, Mr Alec.' ' But I, his descendant, don't follow his example. I hope to win my way into the very heart of the world's traffic. —Won't yon wish me success, Miss Carew ?' ' 0 yes ; I wish you success, indeed I do ; aail I think you will win it.' ' Thank you for that encouragement. I shall begin with fresh hope now,' replied I, returning her smile, and trying hard for one more glance of her eyes, which I did not get. Mr Forbes was prolix enough as we walked along the streets, and 1 listened with patience while he unfolded various anecdotes of my venerable ancestors—still not much to their credit ; but all the while I was longing to ask some questions about H ester Carew. At the first pause I ventured: 'la Miss Carew a relative of yours V ' Well, yes, a distant one. Poor child ! hers is a sad history.' ' Sad ? She looks very young to know much sadness.

'She was cradled in sadness, Mr Alec. Htr father, Captain Carew, was a cousin of mine ; he was sent out to India just after our marriage, and died there of sun stroke. He never set eyes on poor Hester.'

' Is her mother living ?' ' No ; poor Fanny died ten years ago, just after I married Mrs Merritt, and Hester has lived with us ever since.'

• That must be very pleasant for her.' • I don't know about that. Mrs Forbes and Hester don't seem to get on well together, and the girls are a bit jealous. I'm afraid they're rather hard on Hester sometimes; but there, I've stood out to it from the first, that while I have a roof over my bead, poor Tom Carew's daughter shall be welcome to share it.' I looked round at Mr Forbes with more respect, and with a greater regard than I ever expected to feel for him. He went on musingly : 1 Her mother, poor Fanny Stewart, was once quite a belle among the county folk—she used even to visit at Lochview sometimes—so it was a great surprise when she married Tom, who had nothing but a handsome face and a good heart to recommend him. Her friends gave her the cold shoulder in consequence ; and when her father died, her name was never mentioned in his will But stop ; I want to call at this bank: will you come in, or wait for a minute outside ?', I waited for many minutes outside the bank; and when Sandy Forbes came out again, I saw he was rather more flushed in the face, and rather more depressed in his spirits, than when he went in. • * » * *

I was soon installed in the office, and placed in rather a responsible position' at once—somewhat to the envy of several of the clerks, but they had their revenge by seeing how little I knew about my duiies. I had grand though hazy theories of business in my mind, and ambitious plans and purposes enough for one ; but with regard to the detail, or the practical working, I was utterly at fault. However, I gave myself no airs, but set myself humbly to learn all I could ; and with timely help, had already begun to master some of my duties, when Dick Merritt lounged in. He was foppishly dressed still; his face was haggard, his eyes blood-shot, and there was an air of out-of-sortishness about him that did not add to his attractiveness.

* I'm rather done up to-day, for I never got to bed till three o'clock this morning,' drawled he.

' What kept you up so late ? I'm sure everybody went away before eleven,' said I.

1 1 went to a supper-party after that. We had some capital play too, and I lost no end of money. Wouldn't the gov'nor open his eyes if he knew how much ! Ah, well; I'll have my revenge to night, I hope, and win it all back again. I say, Allen, some of the fellows were angry with me because I didn't ask you to join us—will you come tonight ?' ' Thank you; I'd much rather not.' ' You'd better; there'll be some fun, a jolly good supper, and lots of play.' ' I detest suppers, and I detest gambling still more. Now, Merritt, if these are your kind of invitations, I shan't be in the least offended if you leave me altogether out of them in future —I shall always refuse them.'

* Everybody to his taste, I say; but what's the good of life if one doesn't enjoy it ?' sneered Dick, with a kind of contemptuous laugh, as he drew off his delicate lavender gloves

He thought me very narrow-minded, straightlaced, and prejudiced, I dare say, but t did'nt much care for his opinion:

My time soon became fully occupied, for I spent all the day at the office, and in the evenings Alice Merritt was good enough to cater for my amusement. Once we went to a stylish dinner at the Cornishes, a costly set-out indeed, that, in its piled-up profusion and gaudy display, would have made our sleek footmen at Lochview turn up their noses, and pronounce the affair ' overdone,' ' plebeian,' 'bourgeois.' Alice, in a rich apple-green dress and lace flounces, sat beside me at the table, devoting herself to my special entertainment, and keeping up a strain of lively badinage which must have impressed the company with the idea that we were very good friends indeed. Again, we went to the Philharmonic concert. But ee long I discovered the custom of the house was, in all these amusements, decidedly to ignore the very existence of Hester Carew. Now and then she came into the drawing-room in the evenings, when Miss Merritt was thundering out some brillient piece on the piano, all execution and sound, but with no more real feeling in her touch than an automaton would have had; or Hester would walk quietly in and seat herself away in some far-off nook, while Carrie was gushing out some of her sentimental songs. But I seldom had the chance of speaking to her; some impediment was sure to come in the way. Though no look or word of hers was unobserved by me, I did nob venture to make either her or myself conspicuous. The only times when my restraint nearly exploded were when Dick Merritt would flutter round the pensive little figure, and overwhelm her with attentions, evidently unwelcome. Then I had more than once felt inclined to thrust him out of the room, as he deserved. (To be continued.)