The storyteller.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7836, 31 May 1905, Page 4

The storyteller.

p??*?***' -PBISCItLA'S LUCK. L?\ jfrriscfllaVluck Was proverbial. $-- iS'oui, and Arthur, ajnd EUIioJL niaut*. j - >M joke, for somehow ev- £*.-■ 'SOthing bail always turned out all i ' Jpt for Priscalla. ' jvC -ffJFaith and Minnie said to one anL".' jjjner 1 rivately that it was not even £ ''aqTf Friwqjla deserved ft. • Vtittoe s,. vh «jff t ' me tbat Jane had rescued 'her' l-j- jgjjiaond ring out of the coal-house , Ik tsEwre Frissie had even passed It;. I SB l|f-~tiuvt other* day, when' Griffiths' ! By ...axj found Grandmaraiua'sj Christ- j E mae cheque in .the ash-pit,' all te>- ] J&ue Prl«sie was too careless to R' , -ok after her letters and' pipers andj &■ .ouM leave all her things lying TCi ' a'wut. ; Hf; It had always been' the same. H' VTicn the others got the measies, Bf- jioy had them at the'vtry beginjg: _. 'Bti of the surumej- holidays, but, E&> ~ X com be. Priscilla- must take thcin |fe . .iat wh'.-n school began again-, and & ,Jlvc an extra half term's holiday. ■££ Bd as it' that *ere not enough, it m. as the very lime whig the Princo II .- 'Wales cam*' down to open the K/ jw chi.dren'a hospital at Jtoleiniake, M:X[ nd Priscafla was in for all the fun. j£> I rettlty wa« a, curious thing, but 33L jltehow _it never- rained (or PriscilGWg.' Vs burtbday picnic";' and it, was &JL, ■ *ith nheeot the claret down her |p* " ow white'"Silk at Betty's wMding ; |g,' ._. was Minnie's canary who tell a jjgA victim to the cat, and so on *d in-. gC' urcum. Gj.;.- Qut it seemed as though Nemesis fe;-' Jad overtttken bonny, carries* Prisffii- ■ -.ilia, «$. last. when, after refusing £r, Joba Morrison three times and sendW* *£-B>m finally away, she suddenly 'pi .isbovercd that he was the only man gKrf 4w hod ever cared for, or could jj»/£ possiUy marry. W< _ ?*•. position was exceedingly »wl»- £&•* - ward, for John had given hw every fe' • .Suite, and after two verbal refus-

'-"., cJs, had waited three months, and ;.' -.hen written* her the kindest, most «■ *, -jjatghtlornjard tetter, tta-jffag her : .-.o* think it over once more, .fi her .... -nswer.was "yes" this timo. would f |he writ* him. on Christmas Eve ? S, - , .Jut if it were still "bo" he would

%£_>. vatfier hear nothiafe, and could go fe * 4*»y • fo «" *: tune to try and get ov[ir it. "'_ •■ declared 'pettishly to her father, that .she did. not : wish : v to marry and she let the _, time slip by. , ; , .-" Well, my dear," said Mr Ruther- - lord, looking'up from his accounts, ■■( en the morning of the24th, "what L . about Morrison ? Are' you going to «-.write to Mm?- -, But rrJscilla shook her head, &.:J?' *'•"»*-:'« the use. papa ?; i: am ™re I don't want t« marry him." Pp. „" Very w«%" said her father reKp sfajnedly. "I'km sure I don't want &,- tt» force my daughters into uncbnEj. " genial, marriages. But I wiaa you Eh:- could hare fancied Morrison all the jpr same." • fe. Priscila was anxious te change Rsj?., the subject. ifr.. '•' Shall I post those letters for |pj£, you. papa ? lam going* down the 9g¥"-towo." K: '" u y° n w ' u . niy dear, and-, talkK, h S. <rf Morrison, reminds me you |F--mSBBt address one of those cards I 6. • saw you busy with to my old friend V Jim Morrison, of Dublin. I have not) h heard of him for a lon'gv tiaie, 1 j K should like to know whether he is % ' stfll alive. "- i»- •■'*. AH right, papa.''- ••-•• fe , HhJf a* Uour isitjr, In the Highj£ •ireet, Priscalla met her frieud, Marf. garet Graham. *u "Oh, Prisctlla, the ice on the jr , Vaily Pool is simply grand. I was jj- juet on my way up to ask you to U come skating. Do ;it will be such *.* ' fun." f

j - "I should have to go home -for &» -my skates," said PriscJHa, hesitatrh,- - in 6 '' a «»u there amifgdod many t-. things to see to to*tay; stitt. 1 $F - think I'll come for an hour cr two, . ." the jobs can wait till this afters''; -Boon. Just post my letters, will £ - you ? And I'll be as quick as 1 rk-> .§? Margaret sauntered, down the £*f -auipt, and posted the letters, » and C P™!* Priscilhi appeared hgain tj, wsjk her skates. She shook off all tj- 4Mgreeable ssrupka about the ' bedropm- that had not been dusted? and |p ' .the. silver she was expected to ' rub JET, "P. and enjoyed her morning, thor--9|-V.oUgh]y. £- *,tff hen John Morrison received* no s-. letter from .Priscilla next day, he , St;-set his lips firmly, and tried to' reK.' concile himsell to "his disappointt&.ment. tie went for a twenty mile Kfe *?". *hen sat down to his Ifcjely SB' dhßner. - &--- _ "Tk™, .1. , ...

g v " *rtiey say these to nothing ; like S* travelling to make ene target things. |- X think .ru . try it," re rejnArked £. «ond. with a grim laugh, rtperj- • taps Haynes and Wallingford ; will %&'??*. "" out °* Australian |r !"•» 14 • » week's time he had; said Kj eWatfbfje to Boteadale. K-.- He was not parUeularly sorry to the place, as Priscilla rcmains£■ ed unattainable ; but Kotendale' was * -rsery sorry to lose him, and hfc couspL;in» Margaret Graham, a* she yd farewell, had hard wwk toikeep _*■-> back her tears. She tried vainly to ;-« make him promise to come back" r jßome day. j Si T " u Ko ,'" he wH f "I don't suppose iv 1 "**" co»9 back, Jtoggic ; 1 Imve the last twelve months,;and jj" .J, want lo forget them. But I must f£ see you again, dear," he added/ his ? ."Part softening towands his piietty g- Cousin. "We have been good frieWs, p. yoa and I, and we must not lose I* §*' °? one • HOt,,er - When I come #* pick to England I will let you &< "Wow." j -And with that Margaret had "pert force lo be content. John had not been gone a week ,j- Wore Pnscilla began to -miss him, | and,he had not been gone.a month r. rWtfore she bitterly regretted her decxmra.

f&- _J fteEa P asseo V months passed, and, p _,of course, John toads no sign. R ■ OT Poor PHsWUa, her lock dM! r * **'?*" scela to hare deserted her for fe SSS moßths P"*"* l by without h«r £«■ S^W 1 * hcr ""«* in the least a r -j- thflpe was still nothing sh % wanteS so much as John Morrison, andnogn thing the seemed more unlikely to *•-.'* got- •■(**''lf g He wrote to no one, and no oao C ""W IGrabJrm, nnd now Hirfcb.r----5 et had gone-away to keep house'for fc her brother in London, so that the W n f 1 ! 1 W wilkl * was brok- 1 »-, en. But luck,is a queer thing. r.. 'After feurteen months' absence,

John found himself in London again feeling rather lonely, and not ifuite cifred. lie remembered his promise to Marg-arct, and wrote to her at Hotendalc, receiving in reply a crotlijal invitation from her and her brother, from Cromwell-road, .Kensitijglon. Ho answered the letter m person tho same a'i'teraoou, auJ found Manguret alone. It was good to sec her bright merry face once more'; good to feel the friendly pressure of her hanil, and meet tho kindly glanco of her grey eyes ; and as they sat at tea j together, it was not so-difficult as Ihe thought to enquire casually after PrisciHa.. "■ Priscilla ? She is lopclier than , ever, and very well and very sweet; though, you know, 1 have not seen her for three months. Hut she seems altered somehow, this last year. I •' Priscilla ? She is lovelier then •be. Do. you h»ow. I have sometimes thought " Margaret hesitated, for tho ice was thin. John looked up, interested : "You thought " " I have wondered sometimes whether she did not care for you." John smiled and shook his head. "I am afraid not, Margaret i; you see, I happen to know." Her .sweet eyes were looking very sympathetically, into his, for Margaret had guessed long ago. She waited for him to speak. . "I'J asked-her three times, and tho last time I said if she would' have me she. was to write to>- me 0 n Christmas Eve—and she never did. see, there is no possibility of a mistake, I wish there were." Margaret's face ciimsooed, and her . voice trembled a littde as she leaned forward in her chair. '' Oh 1. John, 1 wisß sou had told me /before. She did write to you ; 1 saw the letter." " You saw the letter ! What do you mean ? " i " She had a pilo of letters in Rcr hand, an'd 1 met her and asked her to go skating ; she ran home to get her skates, and gave.mo the lcUeis. lo po9t-. Of course, I did not look at them intentionally, but f distinctly remember, as I slipped them in the box, that I caught sight of ' J. Morrison, Esq.,' in her writing. I am quite sure about it, because I recollect that I wondered whether she was sending you a letter or a card."- •' Oh, Priscilla's tuck. " But I never had it Margaret J you mtfst have made a mistake." "I am quite certain that I did hot make a mistake; I saw your name plainly. The letter must have been lost. You see, it was Christmas time.'-' '•• Margaret ! If I could only think so !. This makes all the difference ! What a-brute she must have thought me ! I will go down to Botendale and see whether it Is too fate to put things right. Margaret/'you are —an—angel. Good-bye dear.*' Margaret's lips parted in a jstraight smile, but she could not speak. • » . . Pritcilla was coming down the stairs "as the bell rang, and' she opened the door herself. " John ! " " Priscilla !, " Explanations are never satisfactory they take tho glamour away from things. I» this case, too, when the mystery, was cleared up, tho fa<»s ■ seemed almost ridiculous. Hut John and Ppiscjlla were perfectly satisfied. !Y>m, Elliot, and Arthur, when they heard about it, however, -declared it was : " Priscilla's luck" again."