LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2303, 20 August 1881, Page 4

LITERATURE.

A MIDNIGHT SKA.TE. ["London Society."] [Concluded.) 'li's me, if you ploase,' said the voioo o her maid North. Florence opened tho door. 'X'ho maid could not repress a start of surprise. 'Yon are 111,' she said, plancing at tho bod, which had obviously been slept on, and not In. * You look drea If ally pale. Eiorenco did indeod feel ill, and (it last consented to undress and roiurn to bed, but begged Notth not to alarm the house, •Say I have a head.cho; and bring me some strong tea.' While North went to got tho tea she tried (o think over|the apparition she had sear,; but ojuld not understand it. One tbicg only was clear—it must be kept secret. 'Goodness, mis 5 ",' cried the maid, bursting In, in utter opposition to her usually quiet manner, ' the house havo been robbed ! Sir Williaoi he be frantic—tho two thousand pounds 1b gone !' Florence sat up, 'How extraordinary I' said.

'Not at all ex'raordinary.mhs.' said a stern voice, and Sir William entered the room. 'Yon can go,' (addreseirg the mnirl, and bolting the door after her). ' Now wh?ro were yon last night ?' ' Florence flushed scarlet, and ;-.ftarwarda turned pale as death, hut made no answer. ' I will tell you, 'said Sir William,' in a hard uncompromising tono, ' You visitei my bureau and stole tho £2OOO : no denials—tho butler Baw you as you leffc my study. And why did you steal it ? I can tell you that a'sc: you dropped theso Ic'-.trrs. Florence uttered a ory of alarm, as she saw two of Charley's notes, which aho thought safe In her desk. ' They exphin the reason —your paramour wanted the money. Hush ! Do not add lying to thieving. You havo not got the notea, indeed ! I shall Eoarch your room. He did so, Florence protesting, but quite borne down by his violence, and unable to prove that she was not ncarthobur.au at that that time by calling Charley as a witness. He left the room, threatening to s=nd the police after that scoundrel Mattel, who had no doubt got the nates. What waa the poor girl to do ? 111, frightened, exhausted, she lay still while endeavoring to shape a course. In half an hour Sir William returned.

• You may thank your cousin Ida,' he aaid; ' she has persuaded me net to traso the notea. I shall send you to-morrow to Edinburgh, to your aunts. As for Mr Lieutenant, I will make his mess too hot to hold him.*

Her very maid, to whom she had been so kind, would not beliove her most earnest declaration of innocence : had she not fuund her still undressed in the moroi-g. p.-lo and ill—conclusive proofs of guilt ? Lady Greystone visited her once in the oourse of the day, and left her tract. Bhe rose towards the afternoon, and hsr dinner was brought to her in her boudoir. Doubtless it was foolish in the extreme, but Florence's one hope was in Charley's coming that night npon the ice. A little snow fell, and she dreaded lest it should be thick ; but the wind rose, and It cleared again. The maid wished to stay with her, but this she refused.

At half-past eleven she displayed the well-known signal, and in a few minutes it was responded to. Sobbing upon hia strong shoulder in that dark archway, she told him an incoherent tale of harsh usage and cruel wrong. Hardly knowing how, she felt skates upon her feet—Charley had said the night previous that he woul 1 bring th> m, and they could have a race round the lake before the moon rose ; and, leaning npon his arm, she glided out into the starlit night. It was very foolish and very wrong of Charley, doubtless ; bat consider his tierce love, and still fiercer indignation. To do him justioe, had he thorougly understood the shameful suspicions <hat bad been cast upon him, he would have faced Sir William, and insisted up->n the matter being sifted to the bottom. But all he knew wss'hat his darling had been wronged, and that the was in his arms. The very physical strength of the man seemed to me np within and bear him forward. Florence was a skilful skater—she had learnt npon the rinks—and they were speedily some distance from the mansion, and at tho opposite bank of the lake. Charley lifted her in his arms, carried her up the bank, and s.-t her on her feet again on a broad frozen canal, which the lake partly fed. Her nature, her whole will succumbed to the Bense of power which ehe frit in his presence. Swiftly, nnder the Aurora boreal!)*, they sped eastward upon the ringing skates. On the left, the bright white steamers shot up almost to the zenith; in front, a low bank of clouds was lighting up with the rising moon. The wild fowl whistled over them ; tho calm planet Jupiter looked down in serene splendour. The exerc so sent the warm blood coursing through her veins ; the wild scene, their racing speed, roused up the innate love of adventure In her heart. When she she placed her feet together, and he drew her along almost as quickly. In little more than an hour they had covered twelve miles; the locks retarded them, but the wind assisted. At a bridge Charley took off her skates; the lights of a large town glittered close at hand, and tbe red signal lamps showed a railway. Charley had timed himself well for the midnight mail to London; he fce'd the guard, and they had a compartment to themselves. Excited as she was tired nature could not be resisted—towards the gray dawn Florence slept in hia arms, and only woke up ct I ondon. As they stepped from the train and looked round for a oab, a knot of three gentlemenly men quietly approached and tapped Charley on the shoulder. Tho telegraph had anticipated them : they were arrested by detectives. So well had the thing been managed, that actually an apartment at an hotel had been reserved i)i Florence; Charley was marched off and placed in durance vile. Calling at Greyatone naxt morning about eleven, Arthur Hyde found everything i 3 disorder. Sir William had left by the first train for London ; and he had to hear the history of the stolen £2OOO, and the elopement upon the ice, which North, the maid, being suspicious and watchful, had diao >vered—the thin snow bore the tracks of tho ekates. While he listened in amazement came a telegram : 'I am getting a warrant for Martel; tonight he will be in Newgate. He stubbornly denies. Florence ill.' At this Ida left the room, apparently agitated. 'Follow her,' said Lady Greyatone ; ' she feels deeply for poor Florry.' Arthur overtook her in tho librsry ; perhaps It was the excitement of the moment strung up Mb courage—the words to ask her if ahe could love him trembled on hia lips, when suddenly she threw herself at his foot, and grasping his knees begged him to forgive and aid her. Utterly confounded, Arthur listened to her confession. Wild with love for Martel and jealousy of Florence, whom she knew he worshipped, Ida had herself stolen the bank notes, in the character of Florence, contriving so that tho butler should sea her returning. A clever actress in amateur theatricals, and not unlike Florence, all she had to do was to hide her dark hair with false golden tressses, and keep her eyeß half closed. Aware of Florry's secret meetings with Charley, ehe had seized that moment to enter the boudoir and take Florry's letters, assisted by skeleton keys whioh had been used in an acting charade.

As a proof of what she stated she placed the bank notes ia Arthur's hands. When the matter [had blown over she intended to have cleared Martel's little property with the money. She had never anticipated the turn thingß would take, and that he would be suspected of aborting the theft. Her Idea had been to separate the lovers, not to drive them away together, by the appearance of Florry'a guilt. Arthur lifted her from the carpet. Hurt aß|he was,the.-e was a noblejgraiu of knightly chivalry and love In hia oharacter. 'I forgive you,' he said ; and in a lower voice, 'I love you still.' Ida burßt into a flood of tears. " He left her to telegraph to Sir William ; and afterwards went to London by a special train, sparing no expense. That evening Charley was released, and Florence relieved from the saspioion which had been cast npon her.

Sir William was all penitence to Florence and Charley.

'lt was my fault,' he said; ' I drove yon to —to—well, to run away. I will make amends, if yon will forgive me, Mr Martel, yon will como with U 3 as my ni'jce'a affi ancod husband. Aa for that bad wicked hussy—' ' Hush,' said Arthur Hyde. ' Hnsh, sir, for my sake. .After all she loved deeply' (with a gulp) ; ' for my sake say no more.' It is easy now to foresee the end. By St Valentino's Day Charley and Florenca were martiod, and sho had her dowry. Oharloy has not resigned, but bids fair to rise high in his profession.

And Ida? Ida cannot bnt foel the generouß warmth of a love like Arthur Hyde's, which, true and loyal under tho modt trying circumstances, is more hera now than ever. There are signs that befoio the Mty blossoms again a merry peal of bells will welcome a mistress to Arthur's home at Olero Park.