CHAPTER XVIII.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1607, 21 October 1882, Page 1 (Supplement)

CHAPTER XVIII.

Cintra was a moderately sized house of the villa order, standing in somewhat extensive grounds, and situated in the outskirts of St. Kilda. The house itself occupied the summit of a rise, and had thus a clear view over the thick belt of plantation which secluded it from tho road. Entrance to the back was given by a narrowlano, which, diverging from this road, made a loop round the premises and rejoined the main thoroughfare about a quarter of a mile further on. In front of the house was a broad terrace, and on this terrace I was pacing up and down a few days after our arrival, when I saw Walter coming up the drive. The Count and his daughter, as it happened, wero.both from home, and in Walter's face, as I told him this, I could detect that contradictory mixture of relief and disappointment, which most j>eople have experienced at the postponement of an anxious crisis in their laffaijs. "JptSiteiTTJSP 16 *° af>k *ne Count for his $sPi?lr a i> I saM to myself; and so it was. \vithout 7 turns v «P and down the terrace 1 my arm peaking, Walter laid his hand on I ' " Tound stopped-jne. > lie said-are the Count' 3 intimate friend," \ what c•• I want you to tell me candidly **> Paola ince you think I have of gaining The^my wife?" ; Lstronblue eyes veie very troubled; the Jtig voice flboo 1 as he put the question, ' was with r'keen feeling of regret that •"..answered— . ' >" Very littleo rear > mv «ear fellow ! You Member w l'^- told you about the Count's /r^ve to n any connection with your f^r!" UK ren-> mber!" he answered, letting his lflnd dr<P from my arm; " but I thought that pfhap bis irritation on that point would h&e subsided by this time." 'fou mistake the Count much," I said. 111> is incapab/e of irritation in tho sense in whh you usrf the word. His dislike to your fatlr is f/unded on the calm conviction thahe is a bad man, and an undesirable connecun. You will excuse my plain speaking; but, is beat that you should understand tho posi on." " (ertainly it is best," said Walter; " but I thinliCount Giustiuiani judges too harshly of my fcther, or, rather, of me on my father's accouit."' " No Walter I —the Count does not judge harshly V you ; he likes you much, and has said so in\o many woids; but as he does not hastily forn\ a judgment, so ho does not hastily alter one, an^ I fear you will find him in the same mind as he was when he spoke to me. But come I —l do not wish to discourage you; you can but try. I need hardly ask how you stand with the lady herself." " No," said Walter—" I am all right with her 1 But she would never run counter to her father's wishes!" " I am much mistaken in her if she would," I replied. _ " Then there is the question of religious opinions !" " Why, surely, from what I know of the Count, he would make no difficulty on that score 1" , " Tho Count —no! But I meant the young lady herself! Walter remained silent for a few moments. " I have something to say on that point, " he answered then, "which may probably excite your ridioule." " Say on, and let me judge 1" " I know," he went on, " that men of your school of thought —or at least of the Count's —would scout the idea of a man's beliefs being influenced through his affections, but the fact remains that my opinions on religious matters have latterly undergone a great change. "Am I^to understand, then, that you attribute this change to the influence of Signorina Giustiniani ? Well, I .see nothing in that to ridicule; though I think you would be more correct in attributing the alteration to the lady's arguments than to her fascinations." " I have always envied her pure, lofty, untroubled faith," said Walter, " and I seem to have unconsciously imbibed a portion of it." "Do you call yourself a Christian, then?" " I do not know what to call myself; but I do know that I believe now in many things which I questioned when you first knew me." " All the better for you," I said. " You may remember that I told you at the time that any state of belief was preferable, for the sake of mental quietude, to a mental attitude of universal scepticism. But here come tho Count and the sigiwrina." With a heightened color and a less composed air than usual Paola greeted Walter. " I have had such trouble with the padre !" she said, laughing. "Coming out of the Public Library, he picked up another person's hat instead of his own, and we had got to the front gates before the owner arrived in hot pursuit. Absurdly angry he was, too; I leally thought he would have given the Count in charge, though anybody could have seen that the exchange was far from being in the dear father's favor. Eeally he grows more absent-minded every day." > '.'Only at times, figlia miaV said the Count—'/only now and then I You have something to say to me," he added, to Walter, swift, keen eye perused the young m^nVingenuous countenance. " Yes, Count-; if you can spare me a fey/ iflinutes." s•' Thi3 way, then. Perdona, Eaymond; ,Paola will keep you company!" , JBut Paola, who guessed what was coming, fok& fled ere he spoke, and so, pacing the ter?ace alone,' I awaited the result of the inter■"view; i "' ■> In about a quarter of an hour the Count sent'for me, and, going to his study', I found him twisting Wattong grey moustache in much perplexity.f ";^m%'^, od by the window, and near the ddjSfc-i^ Bgited,Paola, with a sparkle in her eye ana&flpkujson her cheek which betokened an empiadnj^iußUal with her. " I have sent foxjrou&xij friend," said the Count!, "to have a matter that nearly concerns iiw'da^gft v ter f'«f( happme^s. In a word —Mr. ■Addisonf^e,-^|b[eB to t marry hey ! You arc already aw^^oj¥^pl^Qary objection to such a match,l^^^^^^^]ny daughter's affections are morU|||||gffly engaged than I had imagined. Pe^^^p am to' folame for not interfering sooner||p put.an end to the acquaintance; but let that J§i|Pff|

i 10 hanu i& dune, and I with now to hear ii you can put the matter in any now light which would weaken my objections. Ido not deny, you see," lie added with a gmile, " that I am willing to be persuaded, any more than I have concealed from Walter that I have a great personal liking for him. But there still remains — his father 1" "But, sir," cried Walter eagerly, — "my father is not what you think him ! and, even if he were, I do not see that he need make so much difference. It may sound unfilial on my part to acknowledge that his habits are such as to make him an undesirable acquaintance for a lady, but by his own choice we should see but little of him." " My dear boy," said the Count, " you forget that you are still dependent on him! Your profession would not enable you, for years to come, to support a wife." " I can wait," said Walter. " I am no friend to long engagements," was the reply ; " and my daughter shall not form one with my consent." Paola came swiftly forward and clasped the Count's hand. " You loved my mother 1" she said — " take pity on us 1" " Cam mia," was the dry reply, "it is just because I tako pity on you that I wish to secure you bread to eat, and so forth. Now, Eaymond," he added, turning to me with something like a twinkle in his eye, — "you lia\e not given your opinion yet." "My opinion, Count, is all in favour of Uie.se young lovers ; though I must admit . that the want of means is a serious objection. But perhaps you and I could" " Htay, my friend 1" interrupted the Count ; " I know what you would say, but that is not to be thought of for a moment — as far as you are concerned, at anyrate. Listen to me, Walter ! Should you marry my daughter, I am able and billing to support you both until you are in a position to dispense with my assistance ; but I tell you plainly that I shall think the worse of you if you accept the proposal!" " Then you shall not think the worse of me on that account, at all events ! " returned Walter warmly. " I could not think of such a plan for a moment ! But you forget — my father is rich ! It will be easy for him to give us the necessary income." The Count took a few turns in silence. " Your father," he said then, " would certainly not approve of your marriage with my daughter. How that would affect his relations with yourself, you ought to be the best judge." " Believe me, sir," returned Walter — " whatever he may appear to others, he has always been a most kind and indulgent father to me. Give us your consen, tand I am confident of his !" "And you really love this young man so much?" said the Count, turning to his daughter. " With all my heart ! " she said ; and then, with a noble simplicity in no way akin to unmaidenly forwardness, she went up to Walter and took hi 3 hand in hers. A lemarkable-looking couple they made, as they stood side ly side, gazing eagerly at the Count's inscrutable face. The girl— of equal height with her lover — appeared the taller of the two, and her lofty southern beauty contrasted strongly with the square, sturdy, Saxon aspect of Walter, whose bright blue eye alone seemed to denote anything of a kindred spirit with Paola's. " Tall and short 1 " muttered the Count, meditating aloud as he looked at them. " This predilection of tall women for short men — but I forget, ! This is what I decide, Walter. If, as you expect, your father be willing to make a sufficient provision for you, I will consent to the marriage ; but it is only fair to tell you, at the same time, that I make this concession in the full belief that I shall not be called upon to fulfil it. You think differently? Very well; go and talk the matter over by yourselves, but remember that I will not relax the conditions I have fixed 1" " What were you saying just now, Count, about tall women and short men ?" I asked, when the lovers had left the room. " You interrupted yourself, you remember." " Ah, yes ! You must have remarked, yourself, that persons whose stature is much above or much below the average generally select from the other sex a partner who possesses the opposite characteristics." " Yes ; it is a matter of common observation." " .How do you account for it ? " " I suppose it is the attraction of opposites." "It is more than that 1 It is a provision of Nature for the maintenance of her average standard of growth. If over and undersized men and women preferred mates of corresponding stature, the human race would gradually run to giants, on the one hand, and pigmies on the other 1 " " That is a new view of the subject to me," I replied, " but it certainly seems to rest on a reasonable basis." " Yes ; you will find the same force at work all through Nature. Any divergence from her normal types inevitably contains within it the seeds of reversion to those types." . "You appear to think, then, that the promptings of Nature will not be carried out in this particular instance." "With regard 'to Walter and Paola, you mean ? No— l am as ceitain as that I stand hero that Addison will refuse his consent to the match. As you heard me say to Walter, it is in that conviction that I make the marriage contingent on his father's approval. Had I the least fear of that approval being obtained, I would not make the conditions I do, for my detestation of the elder Addison remains undiminished ; though, as Walter might begin to think I was indulging in an unreasonable degree of animus, I have chosen to make the monetary objection the ostensible one." " But in a few years," I remarked, " Walter's profession will make him independent of his father, and thus dispose of the monetary objections." The Count smiled his caustic smile. "Is your hair thin and your beard grey, friend Baymond, he said, as he tapped me on the shoulder, " and do you calculate like a boy upon what may happen in a few years ?"