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.,- l t I a K .,._//.1 \ upon their shining leaves. -â€"-‘. a...â€" + H +++++++++++++++++ ++ CHAPTER III. Edward Annesley, finding ‘no trace of :his cousin at Arden Cross, took the path indicated to him over the next link in the chain of downs, dismissing Gervase Rickman from his mind with a dim momentary remembrance of having seen and disliked him before. Thus every day we pass men and " women whose hearts leap and ache like your own, taking no more count. of them than of the stones along our path, though any one of these may turn the current of our destiny and alter our very nature. Perhaps this sturdy pedestrian did not think of anything; most. likely he re- joiccd unconsciously in the keen live air of the downs, the sense of the infinite which moving on a height affords, the splendor of the shifting clouds, through which the setting sun was now breakâ€" ingâ€"~touching Alice Lingard‘s face with a fresh glamour, as she walked un- known to Anneslcy by the side of the man whose pulses her presence so deep- ly stirredâ€"and in the once-familiar but half-forgotten landscape, with its limits of hill and sea, its lakeâ€"like sheet of slate roofs down in the hollow where the ‘onuence of two slow streams formed he River Mode. The lake of blue roofs, btrooded over by a dim_cloud of misty spoke, out of which, slim and spirit- lik‘e, rose the tall white church tower, its tweslem face touched by the sun‘s fleeting glow, was Medington. the old familiar town in which he had passed many a school-boy's holiday. All was now familiar: the tune in which he and Paul once killed snakes and looked for rabbit-holes; the copses where they gathered nuts and black- berries; the heathy waste renowned for whortleberries, and the hamlet with the stone bridge over its mirror-like stream, widening into a pond at the foot of the down, which felt there in an abrupt steep, down which the cousins ‘ had made many a rapid descent, fobogâ€" ganing in primitive fashion. There stood -#+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ r Face to Face OR, GERVASE RICKMAN’S AMBITION. t ++++++++++++++++++++++ _.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ “Welcome, dear nephew. welcome to our dwelling. l‘aul should have been here to receive you, but his medical duties have doubtless detained him. You know what martyrs to duty medi‘ cal men are. You may remember your dear uncle‘s life with its constant inter- ruptlons." “Yes. I remember," returned Edward, not dreaming that his cousin's medical duties at that moment consisted in drinking tea in the fire-light. amt talking to a most attractive young woman. “I suppose you never know when to expect Paul." “Never.” she said, taking Edward's arm, and walking with a slow step and rustling dress into the drawing-room, which was darkened by heavy curtains in the windows, and was only lighted by the filful gleam of the fire. “Indeed, my life would be very sad and solitary but for the happiness it gives me to think that my dearest child is of so much use to his fellow-creatures. That, dear Edward. is my greatest consola- tion," and Mrs. Anncsley sunk with the air of a saintly empress or imperial s'aint upon her throne-like arm-chair by the fire, and sighed softly and smiled sweetly as she arranged the white satin strnigs of her delicate cap, which bore but. a traditional resemblance to the widow‘s cap which she had long since discarded as unbecoming. Having dutifully placed a footslool for her, he took his seat on the opposite side of the fire, and began losing himself in admiration and wonder of his scra- phic and dignified aunt just as he had done in his boyhood; indeed, something of his boyhood‘s awe returned to him in the fascination of the presence. She still sat as upright as in those days; neither arm-chair nor footstool were needed. save as adjuncts to her dignity. ’Every little detail of her dress showed the exactitude and finish that only women conscious of a power to charm bestow on such trifles: there was old rich lace in her cap and about her the mill with its undershot wheel; the neck; a few costly jewels. 01d friends Of plaintive cry of the moor-hen issuedl from the dry sedge rustling in the March wind; all sorts of longâ€"forgotten objects appeared and claimed old ac- quaintance with him. The chimes of the church clock came floating through the "dim gray air, like a friendly voice from far-off boyhood, and, after a little musi- cal melancholy prelude, struck six deep notes. Without thinking, he took the old ac- customed footpath through the fields by the stream, and began singing some snatch of old song, forgotten for years. “Dear old Paull” he mused. “Is he as nchanged as these fields?" Ile knew at was impossible; for the lads had saent a couple of years together at a F nch school, and had met several ti es in their manhood. I was pleasant to find himself in the clean, wind-swept streets of the little town, where the lamps were every mo- ment‘showing tiny points of yellow fire in the dusk, and the shopâ€"windows were casting pale and scant radiance upon the almost deserted pavement; for even in the High Street the quiet town showed few passengers at this hour, and little was heard save the cries of chil- dren at play, and the occasional rumble \of a cart and still more occasional roll f a carriage. No one knows what he- éomes of the inhabitants of small coun- t y towns when they are not going to church or to market; the houses stand along the streets. but rarely give any sign of life; the shops offn‘r their mer- chandise apparently in vain. He stopped before. a large red-brick house, draped with graceful hangings of Virginia. creeper, now a mag of bare t l t l f l Edward's, were in her dress; there was a ring on her hand, the diamonds in which caught the fire-light and broke it. into a thousand tiny fierce flames; when she smiled, her well-formed lips showed a row of perfect pearls. She was an imposing, as well as a handsome figure. ller nephew gazed earnestly at her for some time, while she went on in her smooth and gentle tones, asking after his mother and sisters, and telling him various little items of family news; while the fire-light played upon the soft rich- ness of her dress, and drew- sparkles from her eyes and her jewels, and threw her shadow, as if in impish mockery, distorted into the changing shapes of old witchâ€"like women, on to the wall be- hind her. “Well, aunt," he said, at last, “I need not ask if you are well. You don‘t look a day older than you used to. I have done nothing but admire you for the last ten minutes." “So, sir," she returned, smiling. “you have. already learned the arts of your profession, and know how to flatter. I’ye on you, to practice on your old aunt! And pray, how many young ladies have you bereaved of their hearts in this manner?” “None,” he replied, laughing. not a lady-killer. ' slow fellow.” “Nay, my dear klnsman; I cannot be- lieve that the ladies of these (lays have such bad taste. You have grown into such a tall fellow, you remind me of my sainted husband.” “My mother thinks me much like uncle Walter,” he replied, wondering by what process his lamented uncle had “I am I am put down as a brown, branches rattling drny in the been canonilcd after death. SiHCe during wind; as if in aristocratic exclusiveness, some yards back from the line of houses ris- ‘ing flush on the street. and was fenced from intruders in a high iron railing, behind which a. few evergreens grrw half stifled by the thick coating of dust There were \ three doors, one on each side. and one \ \h‘niroaehed by a flight of steps in the middle; on one of the side doors the word “Surgery,” was painted. and upon the railings was a brass plate, with “Paul Anncslcy, Surgeon, ctc.,” en- gravcd upon it. [to was admitted by the central door into a large ball occupying the whole depth of the house, and having a glass \gardenâ€"door on its opposite side. Ile "had scarcely set foot within it when a floor on his right opened. and from its cmnparalive darkness there issued into the radiance of the Ian ‘-ilglilrd hall a tall and stately we I. with Snow- white hair and large b ght blue eyes. Save her snowy hair. she showed no sign of age; her step was c-lastzc. her figure erect as a dart. “flow do you do. Aunt. Eleanor?’ said I est face. a house which withdrew jjse]f’ his life his injured wife accounted him the greatest of sinners; “an ueg like- ness, she tells me \viteri'ucl candor. Here comes a carriage.. Is it Paul‘s?" he. added: going to the window and looking into the dinin lighted street. \\hat a capital cob !” The Admiral, as the cob was called. brought his rapid trot to a sudden end by citing down on his haunchos before the door, and in the same instant Paul leaped to the pavement and sprune up the steps with a rapidity which in some men would have been undignificd, but in him only gave assurance of boundless vitality. » Edward went to meet him. and led him into the room and with him a breath of the fresh night air and a surfâ€" gcstion of healthy manhood and out-of door life. They fuel with less of the savage in- difference which Englishmen uguallv think ill to assume to welcome their best friends: they shook hands more than once. and smiled. Paul even said that he was delighted to see his dear Ted that a felt like old aim-s to see his hon: and that he hoped he would Eduard, going 11p to her and kissing be able to extend the brief visit be pur- the still blooming checks offered for his salute. “I missed Paul. as you see. [low well you are looking!" Mrs. Anncslcy held looked into his face. with a smite. while she replied to his saint;- his hands and} the old fellow looking so jolt); sei‘aphlc} they tions. and said, with formal cordiallty; tures posed making: while Edward avowed that it did him good to see his dear old Paul. and that he was glad to find Then shook hands again, and the fireâ€" fight. danced upon Paul‘s irregular fea- and dark, fiery-blue eyes, and brought into unusual prominence a white scar beneath his left eye. Edward 'remembered how Paul got that scar, and felt cold chills running Over him. After one more mighty grasp of his cousins hand, Paul turned to his mo- ther, who presented each cheek to him as she had done to Edward. and solemn- ly blessed him, as if he had been absent for months, or was at least a Spartan son returning with his shield rather than upon it. Then Paul inquired with an air of deep soticilnde about various evil symptoms with which she appeared to have been afflicted in the morning. and was informed that all had happily yielded to treatment. save one. “I still have that dreadful feeling of constriction across my eyes," she said, in a tone of niournful resignation. “Have you. indeed?" returned Paul. earnestly. “Perhaps a little wine and your dinner may remove it. If not, I will give you a draught. I will take Nrd at once to his room, and then we can dine with..it delay." Edward's surprise at finding his blooming aunt the victim of so ‘many dreadful pains was forgotten in the live- ly chat of the dinner-table, as well as hr the great satisfaction that meat afforded him after his long walk. “Your renown has already preceded you, Edward," l‘aul observed. “Arden is already full of your arrival." "Arden? Why I saw no soul there!" “No? Have you forgotten the sign- post?" “What! was that squint-eyed fellow an acquaintance of yours?" he asked. “What do you think of that, mother, as a description of honest Gcrvasc Rick- man‘?" said Paul. ' “You don't mean to say that was Ger- vase Rickiuan?” exclulmrd Edward. “I thought I had some faint remembrance of him. llcaven only knows what I said about his father! If he recognized me, why on earth couldn‘t. he say so?" “Ile was not sure till he described you to me. Ry the way, mother, I forgot to say why I was late. I met. Rickman, and had to turn in at Arden.” It is thus that Love demoralizes: no- thing else would have mhde Paul An- nesley invent lies, especially useless ones. Ills mother looked amused at his demure face, then she glanced at Edward and laughed. “And how was dear Sibyl?" she asked, with satirical gravity. “Sibyl? oh! I believe she was very well. She was out. You remember little Sibbic, Ned?" Paul said. tranquilly. “A little mischievous imp who was al- ways tcaslng us? Oh! yes, I dare say I should scarcely recognize her now. Is she grown into a beauty?“ “Are not all ladies beautiful?" reâ€" turned Paul. “You shall go over and judge for yourself before long. I heard a sad piece of news at Arden," he con- tinued; “Captain Annesley is dead." “Who was he?” asked Edward, in- differently. “There was an Annesley in the 100th IIussars; I never met him." Mrs. Anneslcy flushed deeply and said nothing for a few minutes. l'aul looked at her, and the unspok'ri thought flash- ed from one to the other, “This brings us very near the Glcdcsworth inhert lance." “flow very sad!" she said at last, in rather a hard voice, while Paul bit his lips and then drank some wine, half ashamed at the interpretation of the swift glance. “It is important that you should know who Captain Anncsley was, Edward," he said, after a minute, “because, after me. you are the next heir to the infant son he leaves." “This is ghastly; the idea of my being your heir!" replied Edward, who was speedily enlightened as to the exact re- lationship, and properly refreshed on the subject of the half-forgotten legend, in which he apparently took but a lan- guid interest, and the conversation presently drifted to other topics. After dinner Mrs. Annesley played some sonatas. and Edward sung some songs to her accompaniment till Paul, who had been up the night before, and in the open air all day, sunk into a sweet slumber. The other two sat chat- ting in low tones, Edward describing his life as an artillery officer in a seaport town not far off, discussing his chances of promotion and his next brother's pro- gress at Woolwich, and hearing of Paul's pesitlon. which was not a happy one. Dr. Walter Annesley’s partner, who had carried on the business since his death, unluckin died soon after Paul began to practice with him, thus leaving Paul to make his way single- handed. Patients distrusted his youth and went to older men, so that things were not going as smoothly as could be wished, and the business scarcely paid Paul's personal expenses. So they chatâ€" tcd till the servants appeared, and Mrs. Anncslcy read prayers, first asking t’aul if he felt equal to performing the task himself after his labors, which he did not. “Come along and have a smoke,” said Paul. with alacrity, when his mother had bidden them good-night. “I smoke in the consultingâ€"room.” “Why there?" asked Edward, doubt- fully. “\\'e‘.ll you see it is the only place. I dare not smoke anywhere else. I tell the patients it insures them against in- ’Icction. and receive the old ladies in the dininga‘oom. I was nervous about her reception of you. But I see you are in high favor." “She seems perfectly angelic,” replied Edward. selecting a cigar from the box offered him. “by the way. I had no idea she was in delicate health." Paul laughed. “I doubt if any woman in the three kingdoms enjoys such bril- liant health as my dear mother," he re- plied, “but she is never happy without some fancied ailment. I give her a little colored water and a few bread-pills from time to time." He did not add that Mrs. Annesley's ailments were in an inverSe ratio to her amiahillty, and formed a good domestic barometer. Just then there was a tap on the door, and a soft voice said, “May I come in?" “Certainly,” replied Paul, in some tre- pidation. and his mother entered. “I will not intrude, dear children,‘ she said; “I merely come to tell Edward on no account to rise for our early break~ fast unlcss he feels quite rested, and to bring him this little gift of my working." She vanished with a “God bless you, dear boys," before her nephew had time t) thank her, after which both young men breathed more freely, and Edward took an embroidered velvet cap from his parcel. “Poke the fire. Ned." Paul said. cheer- fully, when lhc door closed after her. Then he opened a closet where stood a skeleton partially draped in a dressing- gown. which the. fleshlcss arm. extended as if in declamation, threw back from tho ghastly figure, and crowned by a smoking-cap raktshly tipped on one side of its skull. “Let‘s be jolly for once. ‘have a rouse before the morn!” Ile transferred the dressing-gown from the bare bones to his own strong young shoulders, and the cap from the grin- ning skull to his dark-curled brow, beâ€" neath which the cruel scar showed. Pei-haps it was Edward‘s fancy, excited by the suggestive revelation of the skele- ton, which madc the secar appear un- usually distinct and livid; perhaps it was only the light. “My aunt has made me a. howling swell," he said, looking at the embroiâ€" dered cap before he put it on. “Awfully kind of her.” “She is kind," commented Paul, his temporary gayety vanishing as quickly as it came; “no woman has a more heavenly disposition than my dear mo- ther when free from those attacks, which are probably the result of some cerebral lesion.” "Perhaps," Edward suggested, hope- fully, “she may grow out of them with advancing years." “Perhaps,” sighed Paul. “But all the Mowbrays are the same, you know. It i; in the blood. My uncle Ralph Mow- bray was offended with my father once, v and he laid awake at night for six weeks concocling the most stinghig phrases he could think of for a letter he wrote him. I‘ll show you that letter some day." “Weill I hope it will'never break out in you, Paul," said Edward incau- tiously. “I, my dear fellow?" replied Paul, with his goodtemperod smile; “there is no fear for me. I am a pure-bred Annesâ€" Icy." “Ah!” said Edward, and looking re- flectively at the fire. “There has not been a serious explo- sion since New-year's-eve," Continued Paul, clasping his hands above his head, and looking at the chimney-piece, which was adorned with a centre-piece of a skull and cross-bones,flanked by sev- eral stethoscopcs and other mysterious and wicked-looking instruments, and above which was the smiling portrait of a lovely little girl, with a strong like- ness to Mrs. Annesley. “You know how I valued the Parian Psyche of Thor waldsen’s you gave me? She knew it, for she took it in both hands and dashed it on the hearth.” Edward again felt cold chills creeping over him. and his gaze followed Paul's to the dimple'l child-face he had loved, Paul’s only sister Nelly, whose end had been so tragic. “And what did you do?" he asked. “Oh! I just sent the'Crown Derby fea- service after it,” replied Paul, “so pray don‘t notice the absence of either.” “She valued the tea-service," said Ed- ward, inwardly thanklul that the fiery Mowbray blood did not flow in his veins.. “Imagine the smash," said Paul, pen- sivcly. “And the deed was scarcely done when, with a tap at the door, in walks the vicar and stares aghast at the [arcs and Pennies shattered on the drawing-room hearth. My mother turns to him with the, most heavenly smile and wishes him a Happy New-year. ‘And just see what that clumsy boy of mine has done,’ she adds, quietly, point- ing to the fragments. ‘Qulfe a genius to: upsetting things, dear child.’ “‘I [thought I heard something fall,’ replied the innocent vicar, quoting the lines about. ‘mistress of herself though China fall,’ and congratulating me on having a mother with such 11 chet temper." Edward mused for some time on the misery of his cousin‘s life, a misery rare- ly alluded to by Paul himself. and any allusion to which on Edward‘s part he would have deeply resented. Ile knew that the chain must be pressing heavily for him thus to disburdcn himself. and he suggested that he should marry and have a quiet home of his own; to which Paul replied. mournfully, that he was not yet in a poeition to set up house- keeping. “Though, indeed,â€" suddcnly stopped. “Well?” “It seems so brutal to build on a baby‘s death," he replied; “and yetâ€"“ “It alters your position, Paul," said Edward, “and being sentimental about it won‘t keep the baby alive.” “True.” “I think I may assume that the ‘unex- pressive She‘ has already been found.” Edward said, remembering the dark hints during dinner, and Paul smiled mysteriously. “Perhaps I may meet her at Arden?‘ “Who knows? But I have never yet spoken. I am not entitled by my pros-_ pects to do so. I don‘t know if I have the smallest chance. And when you see her, Ned." he added, with some hesita- tion, “perhaps you will rememberâ€"” Edward burst out laughing and grasp- ed his cousin’s hand. “Don’t be afraid," he replied, “I am not a. lady’s man; and if _I were, Aphroâ€" ” he added, and â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"-â€"mâ€".â€"_â€"â€"â€" (life herself would not. tempt me to spoil other ople‘s little games." “Remember your promise." said Paul; solemnly, and they separated for that night, Edward wishing his cousin suc- cess, and thinking he took his way- upstairs that whatever Miss Sibyl Rickv man's character might be, the Hickman. blood was reputed to be an eminently mild and tranquil fluid, well calculated to temper the fire of such of the terrible Mowbray strain as might have been transmitted to Paul. (To be continued). ___+_ PERSONAL WINTERS. Interesting Gossip About Some of the. “'orld‘s Prominent People. It is said that, apart‘from Royalty, the only man who figures on the active list both of Army and Navy is the Hon. Rupert Guinness, who is Lord lveagh's heir, and well known in the athletic world for his prowess with the scutls. Ile is a captain of the London Rifle Bri« gade, and also commander of the new force of Royal Naval Volunteers. Mr. W. W. Duffield, who is known as the “Grand Old Man" of Chelmsford, England, is a wonderful person in many ways. Although nearly eightyâ€"six years of age, he does physical exercises night and morningâ€"he learned them at the grammar school three-quarters of a century agoâ€"walks at least five miles every day, and fills numerous public ap~ pointinents. - If Edison be the wizard of the New World, then certainly Jan Szecepanik holds a similar position in Europe. Al- though still but thirty-two years of age, his name is already immortal as the in- ventor ofa loom which does in a few‘ hours What by old methods took years! Ile presented to the Emperor of Austria a piece of tapestry containing 200,000,000 crossings of silk thread, which was be- gun and finished within five hours. By old methods this would have taken four years to make. Sir Douglas Fox, who is preparing the new Channel tunnel plans, is one of the greatest living engineers. Ile is best known in the north of England as the man who engineered the Mersey tunnel.’ The construction of bridges is another form of his engineering genius. and he will always be remembered by the great bridge across the Yictoria Falls on the Zambcsi River. But perhaps the work that will make him live as one of the greatest engineering intellects of the day is the Cape to Cairo railway, which he transformed from a Cecil Rhodes dream into an actuality. Lord Lonsdale is a boxer of no mean skill, and on one occasion displayed his pugilistlc powers in public. I‘Iis lordship was riding home from a fox-hunt one day, when he encountered a wagon- driver who insolently refused to make way for a lady driving a trap. The noble lord got off his horse and. without throw- ing off his coat, ordered the wagoner to “put up his bands," which he did promptly, being an expert in the “noble art” and confident. It was a sanguinary fight for both combatants, but the wa- goner was made to “bite earth" and acknowledge defeat. King Ilaakon. when he first joined the Danish Navy, though he was the King of Denmark‘s grandson, was treated exactly like any other boy. The chief purscr issued his mess gear, consisting of an iron knife and fork, a tin spoon, two tin plates, and a zinc mug. On his way back to quarters the lad stumbled while going up a ladder, and all these things went flying over the deck, waking the chief gunner from a nap and bringing down on himself a valley of abuse. Ile then acted as messboy for the other appren- tices, and had to fetch their soup, wash the plates. and clean up generally. Dr. F. Il.Cowen, the famous composer, was a young man of only twenty-five when he wrote the music of “The Better Land“; he is now over fifty. During the intervening years he has written much beautiful music, but nothing from his pen has obtained the world-wide renown of this simple ballad. It was written in an hour or two on the suggestion of the late Mme. Antoinette Sterling. Dr. Cowcn was calling one ’day upon the popular vocalist. when she read Mrs. l-lenians‘s poem to him, saying she thought it would make a beautiful song for tier. When the score was sent to her next morning, Mme. Sterling liked it so much that she offered to buy the copy- right- from the composerâ€"an unusual course for a singer to take; but to this Dr. Cowen. fortunately for himself, would not agree. The Duke of Connaught is a soldier first and last. and no member of the Royal Family has a greater dislike of unnecessary fuss or ceremonial. Walk- ing one night after sundown along the road through camp a sentry recognized him and promptly turned out the guard. The Duke acknowledged the solute. and then walked up to fth sentry. “Why did you turn the grard out after Retreat had sounded?" he inquired. “Orders is, turn out the guard at all hours to inem~ brrs of the llilc l-‘um'ly, sir." “Then kindly remember that. I‘m only a general at Aldcrshol. v-.'h:iiev~"r I am at \Ylnd- 901'," was the quick l'i'fll)’. One of the inest remarkable and mest interesting men in the British peerage is the liarl of Crawford. lie is the head of the house of Lindsay and Premier Earl of Scotland, and one of his fitEes is Baron \Vigan. Ile owns extensive coal- iields in the neighborhOod of \\'igsn, as well as many acres of land in Scotland. He is a keen ph'hitelist. Irving a COHCC< tion of stamps valued of axon. and he is also a great scientist and traveller. Many museums have been enriched by his gifts of rare birds. etc., and recently he presented to the Zoo a small family of elephantine tortoises which he had found in the Aldabra Islands. and some leaf insects from the Seychelles.