THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 Oh! mast you, Auntie ? " wailed Lydia. 
 
 Wanted A Chaperon.
 
 Wanted A Chaperon 
 
 PAUL LEICESTER FORD 
 
 With Six Illustrations in Colors 
 8y HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 DoddjVYe&d&Co 
 Copyriohf
 
 WANTED: 
 A CHAPERON 
 
 o 
 
 F all the millions who at one 
 time or another have been 
 compelled to burden their 
 memories with any of the initials and 
 figures used in naming the streets of 
 New York, Lydia Greenough is probably 
 the only mortal who thoroughly approves 
 of the system. Question any one else 
 as to its wherefore, and he or she, with 
 either a moan or a curse (dependent, it is 
 to be hoped, on the speaker's sex), would 
 explain that, in a year now fading from
 
 the recollection of even its oldest inhabi- 
 tants, a stupid surveyor and a foolish 
 board of aldermen fastened upon the city 
 of New York a method of street-number- 
 ing of surpassing inconvenience, which, 
 with other moans and curses, its resi- 
 dents and its transients have since been 
 forced to endure. But Lydia maintains 
 that the system is admirable, and if the 
 opportunity to plead its merits were but 
 granted her, she would undoubtedly 
 ./ convince at least the masculine half of 
 the metropolis that she is right, however 
 wrong the system ; which is merely one 
 way of saying that Lydia is young and 
 charming. 
 
 It was by the veriest chance indeed, 
 veriest of chances that the much ma-
 
 
 ligned method gained this powerful ad- 
 vocate. Lydia, if now asked, would 
 doubtless assert and believe that it was 
 all preordained, and never could have 
 been otherwise. Yet, as a matter of fact, 
 if on that Christmas eve a wild snow- 
 storm had not been driving and drifting 
 through the misnumbered streets, it never 
 would have been. Or, if Mrs. Travers's 
 maid had not taken to her bed with a 
 quinsy sore throat, it never would have 
 happened. Or, if the little country girl 
 had been more used to city ways, and 
 had stood less in awe of the liveried 
 servants, it could not have occurred. In 
 short, but for half a dozen contingencies, 
 Miss Greenough would have completed 
 her visit with her city relatives, and
 
 returned home to settle once more peace- 
 fully into the life of her native New 
 England village, with never a thought or 
 even a dream of the destiny that might 
 have been, and with not one word of 
 defense for the system which henceforth 
 commanded her warmest advocacy. 
 
 It must be acknowledged that Mrs. 
 Travers's arrangements for that evening 
 left a goodly chance for Dame Fortune 
 to intervene, and she is a lady who sel- 
 dom misses an opportunity, be it golden 
 or otherwise. 
 
 "It's snowing and blowing worse 
 than ever," she announced, not Dame 
 Fortune, but Mrs. Travers, sticking 
 her head into the room where Lydia was 
 dressing, " and it really seems to me I 'd
 
 better telephone Mrs. Curtis that you 
 can't come." 
 
 "Oh, must you, aunty?" wailed 
 Lydia, her mouth drawn with disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 " Do you truly want to go out in such 
 fearful weather, child ? " marveled Mrs. 
 Travers, giving a little shiver, though the 
 room was warm. " It 's only a dinner, 
 after all, and you '11 surely catch a fright- 
 ful cold, or worse." 
 
 " Why, aunty, if I were home, I 'd 
 probably be taking a sleigh-ride, or skat- 
 ing," eagerly asserted the girl, "and I 
 never catch cold. I don't believe I even 
 can. Oh, please, please let me go 1 " 
 
 " Well, if you really would rather, it 's 
 very much better, for there is hardly
 
 anything worse than to fail a hostess, 
 though I presume she'll have a lot of 
 gaps, anyway, in such a storm." Mrs. 
 Travers walked to the window, and pull- 
 ing aside the thick curtain and the shade, 
 looked out. "It's such a horrid night, 
 and the snow 's getting so deep, that I 
 think I '11 telephone Mrs. Curtis, after 
 all, and " 
 
 " Oh, aunty 1 " once more wailed 
 Lydia. 
 
 " Wait, child, till I finish ! Telephone 
 her, asking if you may not spend the 
 night. That will be much better for you, 
 and it will save the horses from being 
 kept waiting. I hate to have them out 
 such a night, and if Winwood only had 
 the common decency to keep well, I 'd
 
 have had a carriage from the livery-stable, 
 rather than expose " 
 
 "That will do just as well, aunty, 
 really it will," interjected Lydia. 
 
 "My dear! Do you think I'd trust 
 you with any one but our own coachman, 
 since I can't send my maid with you ? " 
 
 " I don't see why not." 
 
 "Gracious! my dear, how inexperi- 
 enced you are ! " sighed her aunt. " I 
 must go and telephone first, but then 
 I '11 explain to you why it would n't be 
 right or proper." 
 
 With this remark, Mrs. Travers de- 
 parted, leaving her niece to worry over 
 the extent of her ignorance of social 
 conventions while she went on with her 
 prinking.
 
 This most important and fascinating 
 employment was brought to a finish just 
 as Mrs. Travers returned. "Yes, child, 
 it 's all right," was her announcement as 
 she entered the room; "so put what 
 you '11 need for the night into a bag. 
 It's too bad Winwood is n't here to do 
 it for you. These modern servants! " 
 
 " She 'd only be in my way," declared 
 the girl, busy with the packing. " I 'd 
 much rather do it myself." 
 
 " And you look beautiful, my dear," 
 said Mrs. Travers. " How can you do 
 your hair so prettily without a maid ? " 
 
 "But I have a maid, aunty," laughed 
 Lydia, merrily, " and one, moreover, who 
 takes much greater pains to make me 
 look nice than any one else possibly
 
 she ended, holding up the bag. 
 
 " Winwood ! Why, Lydia, she simply 
 breathes idleness. If you only knew how 
 I am tried and but there, I mustn't 
 begin on that, for it would take hours, 
 and you must be starting, for it will 
 
 you say was the number ? 
 hurriedly putting 01
 
 mean East. Mrs. Curtis lives at 19 East 
 - no, no, child," she broke in, " don't 
 you carry the bag; of course Morland 
 must bring it down. Ring twice, as I 
 have told you." 
 
 " I 'm sorry, aunty, but it 's so hard to 
 get used to being waited on," apologized 
 the girl, as she obeyed Mrs. Travers's 
 instructions. "And it really takes more 
 time ; you know it does." 
 
 " But we must keep them busy, or 
 they are simply ruined. Take Miss 
 Greenough's bag to the carriage," she 
 ordered, once the servant arrived, and 
 then led the way downstairs. 
 
 "You didn't finish giving me Mrs. 
 Curtis's address, aunty," Lydia reminded 
 her, as they descended.
 
 
 
 
 "Oh, yes. 19 East Seventy now, 
 did 1 say Seventy-second or Seventy- 
 third when I read you her note this 
 morning?" 
 
 " I am certain you said Seventy-second, 
 because I remember thinking that four 
 times eighteen is seventy-two, and so I 
 only had to take my own age and mul- 
 tiply it by four." 
 
 " Yes, you are right, and I ought to 
 have known it, for Mrs. Washburn lives 
 at 19 West Seventy-third, so of course 
 it must be Seventy-second. Well, kiss 
 me good night, my dear. I hope the 
 first dinner will be everything that you 
 why, how you are shaking, child ! " 
 
 " It 's only excitement, aunty. Were n't 
 you frightened and nervous and eager
 
 and oh everything over your first 
 dinner-party ? " 
 
 Mrs. Travers smiled. "It's so long 
 ago I've even forgotten, Lydia. But 
 don't mention dinner-parties or any 
 other parties to-night. There are din- 
 ners and dances and receptions in New 
 York, but never parties. Every one will 
 know you are from the country if you 
 speak of parties." 
 
 " Oh, I 'm so glad you told me, and I 
 do hope I '11 remember," exclaimed the 
 girl, with an alarm in her voice sugges- 
 tive of murder or arson rather than a fear 
 of recognition of mere country breeding. 
 " Is there anything else I should n't do ? " 
 
 "Here's Morland to put you in the 
 carriage, and the horses must n't be kept 

 
 waiting," answered her aunt. "Don't 
 worry, my dear," she added in a whisper. 
 A girl can do nothing amiss if she only 
 " Mrs. Travers artfully paused to kiss 
 her niece twice, and then ended, " only 
 is as pretty as you are." 
 
 Preceded by the footman, and well- 
 nigh swept off her feet by the wind, 
 Lydia went down the steps as quickly as 
 possiJble, and entered the carriage. The 
 servant, after placing the bag beside her, 
 tucked the fur rug carefully about her 
 feet, and then asked: 
 
 " Where to, Miss Greenough ? " 
 
 " Oh, I forgot. Thank you, Morland. 
 To to 19 West Seventy-second, 
 please." 
 
 The door slammed, and with an effort
 
 that tested the goodness of the harness, 
 the horses started on their toilsome drag 
 through the drifts. Lydia, trembling 
 half with the cold and half with excite- 
 ment, tried to lean back, but the carriage 
 rocked and jounced to such an extent as 
 to make the position impossible, and so, 
 sitting well forward and holding the 
 arm-slings tightly, she steadied herself as 
 best she could. 
 
 " Let me see," she cogitated, " I must 
 not say ' Yes, sir/ or ' Yes, ma'am,' to any 
 one, and I must n't thank the servants 
 when they pass me things, but just say 
 1 Yes/ or ' Not any/ and I must n't speak 
 of parties, and oh, dear I I'm sure 
 aunty told me something else I was not 
 to do I Oh, yes ; I must always say ' a
 
 
 friend/ or ' a man,' or ' a woman/ or ' a 
 girl/ but never ' a lady friend ' or ' a gen- 
 tleman friend/ for that 's the way shop- 
 girls and servants talk." 
 
 With such thoughts and worries the 
 girl sped the slow drive, or rather jolt, 
 for such in truth it was. Twice the 
 halting of the carriage made her think the 
 destination was attained, but each time 
 one glance out of the window served to 
 show her that they were in the middle 
 of the street, and the pause was merely 
 to breathe the horses. At last, however, 
 after a third halt and then a series of 
 backings and advances, they brought 
 up close to the curb, with a final jar 
 that seemed to declare an intention of 
 never again departing from that spot.
 
 ,6 
 
 quickness born of both her 
 own impatience and her aunt's fear for 
 the horses, Lydia threw open the door 
 and alighted. Although the wiud had 
 swept the sidewalk in front of the house 
 fairly clean of snow, yet the suspicions 
 of a more experienced diner-out would 
 have been instantly awakened, for there 
 was no man awaiting the carriages, no 
 awning or even carpet, and, most telltale 
 of all, the flight of steps was but a smooth 
 slide of snow. But the country-bred 
 girl gave not one thought to any one of 
 these eloquent facts, and intent only on 
 pleasing Mrs. Travers by not keeping the 
 horses standing, she hurriedly closed the 
 door, and said, " That 's all, thank you, 
 Thomas."
 
 '7 
 
 An' what time shall I call for yez, 
 
 he coachman, 
 through his 1 
 
 the 
 
 miss?" questioned 
 words coming faint) 
 fur collar. 
 
 " You are not to come for me, Thomas, 
 for I'm to spend the night here with 
 Mrs. Curtis." 
 
 As the carriage turned out into the 
 middle of the street, Lydia crossed the 
 sidewalk, and not without a struggle, 
 for her gloves, fan, bag, and skirts 
 took both her hands, slowly waded, 
 more than climbed, the snow-laden 
 steps. 
 
 No response came to her first ring, or 
 to her second one, but her third proved 
 an open sesame, for the door was swung 
 back by a man-servant, who appeared 

 
 
 somewhat startled or surprised when 
 Lydia stepped into the hall. 
 
 His face and manner made this so 
 evident that it could not escape Lydia's 
 observation; but before she could de- 
 termine what it meant, she saw his eyes, 
 which were wandering over her, fasten 
 with real amazement on the bag in her 
 hand. 
 
 " Mrs. Curtis knows that my aunt 
 telephoned Mrs. Curtis, asking if I might 
 spend the night," she hurriedly explained. 
 
 The servant, who still held open the 
 door, blinked at her. " Whodishyou- 
 shay?" he asked, with a manner curiously 
 mixing an attempt at dignity and an 
 intense friendliness. 
 
 " My aunt, Mrs. Travers ; and Mrs.
 
 Curtis answered that I might," responded 
 Lydia, vaguely anxious. 
 
 Still with dignity, somewhat lessened 
 by an obvious leaning upon the handle, 
 the man slowly closed the door. The 
 difficult feat accomplished, he said, 
 "Shidown," accompanying the recom- 
 mendation with a sweeping motion of 
 his arm toward the hall settle, which 
 made him stagger. "Shidown, an' I'll 
 ashk Misher Murshon." 
 
 " Who is he ? " interrogated the girl, 
 frightened into a direct question. 
 
 " Misher Murshon ? Who 'sh Misher 
 Murshon ? " echoed the man, so incred- 
 ulously as to make Lydia fear she had 
 committed some unpardonable social slip 
 or was declaring her country origin.
 
 Then he smiled in fact, beamed 
 upon Lydia, as, answering his own ques- 
 tion, he continued, " Misher Murshon 's 
 fmesh of men." 
 
 "I don't understand there must be 
 some mistake. Is n't this Mrs. Curtis's ?" 
 
 " I shaid this Misher Murshon's." 
 
 " No, you did n't," denied Lydia, des- 
 perate with fright. " What number is 
 it?" 
 
 "Number?" repeated the man, fog- 
 gily, much as if the girl had propounded 
 a conundrum. 
 
 " Yes. What number is this house ? " 
 
 "Oh, yesh; number," he replied, 
 once more smiling. " Thish 19 Wesh 
 Sheventy-shecond." 
 
 "Oh," moaned Lydia, sinking back
 
 on the settle, "and I told Thomas 19 
 East Seventy-second ! And now I '11 be 
 late to the dinner, and aunty said there 
 was nothing worse 1 " As this thought 
 flashed into her mind, she sprang up, and 
 catching at the handle of the door, threw 
 it open, letting in a wild burst of wind, 
 which brought with it a flurry of snow- 
 flakes. " Oh, the carriage is gone 1 " she 
 cried despairingly. " What am I to do ? " 
 
 "Shidown, shidown," reiterated the 
 servant. " Misher Murshon '11 know 
 whatsh do. Ish all right." Turning, he 
 walked along the hallway, steadying him- 
 self, as he went, by a hand on the wall, 
 until he disappeared through a doorway. 
 
 Had Lydia been more versed in this 
 world, she would have seized this oppor-
 
 
 tunity to escape into the street, even 
 though her foot gear consisted of slippers 
 and worsted overshoes, and her gown 
 and wraps were absolutely unfitted for 
 the storm. As it was, she closed the 
 door, and stood waiting the return of 
 the man, with the courage of ignorance 
 and of necessity. 
 
 The first development was not of a 
 character to lessen her anxiety. 
 
 "What do you mean, Richards, by 
 getting into this state ? " demanded a 
 gruff masculine voice, angrily. 
 
 No reply reached the ears straining so 
 eagerly to hear, but one was evidently 
 essayed, for, after a slight pause, the 
 same voice continued: 
 
 "Nonsense! You are not in a fit
 
 condition to do your duties, and you 
 needn't try to hide it. You've taken 
 advantage of my helplessness, and my 
 having to trust the keys to you." 
 
 Once more the angry voice ceased, 
 and a moment's stillness ensued ; then it 
 began again : 
 
 " If you are not tipsy, why can't 
 you tell me what it is you are trying to 
 explain ? " 
 
 The longest time of apparent silence 
 followed, terminated finally by the same 
 speaker, who, in a far louder but no less 
 angry voice, called : 
 
 "Will who ever is out there please 
 come in here ? " 
 
 Lydia faltered and flushed and paled 
 before she could screw her courage to
 
 the acting-point ; but some proceeding 
 was necessary, and after an instant's hesi 
 tation she hurried along the hallway and 
 passed through the door. It was a som- 
 ber-looking room that she entered, un- 
 lighted save by a smoldering wood fire, 
 and by a single oil-lamp, so shaded as to 
 cast its rays only on a book in the hands 
 of some one lying on a lounge. 
 
 "Zish ish zhe young laish, Misher 
 Murshon," announced the servant, whose 
 figure the girl could just make out in the 
 gloom as she entered. 
 
 The recumbent person made a move- 
 ment, as, in the now familiar accents, he 
 said, " My fellow here has been drinking, 
 and I can't make out from him what the 
 matter is." 
 
 * ' *
 
 " I'm oh I'm so sorry to trouble 
 you; it's all a dreadful mistake, but 
 Thomas brought me to the wrong house, 
 and has gone away, and and what am 
 1 to do?" Lydia's closing wail was 
 dangerously near turning into tears, but 
 the last word was uttered with only a 
 break of the voice. 
 
 At the first sound of the girlish tone, 
 the man reached up and turned aside the 
 he room ; and
 
 suggestion of impatience, "can't you 
 walk there?" 
 
 "It's 19 East Seventy-second street, 
 and it 's storming terribly, and the car- 
 riage did n't stay, and I 've only slippers 
 on, and I '11 spoil my dress, and I don't 
 know the way," sobbed Lydia, giving 
 way to tears as she catalogued her 
 accumulation of difficulties. 
 
 "Now don't be silly and cry," pro- 
 tested the man, half gruffly and half 
 frightened. " Sit down there, and we '11 
 fix it all right." 
 
 " Oh, will you ? " cried Lydia, grate- 
 fully, even through her tears. " Thank 
 you, oh, thank you so much ! " 
 
 "I suppose you're not too drunk, 
 Richards, to run an errand," remarked the
 
 37 
 
 master, bitingly. " I do think you might 
 be trusted once without abusing my 
 confidence." 
 
 "Misher Murshon, yoush mosh un- 
 jush," responded the servant, in an 
 injured tone. " When you shen me for 
 champagne, acshident took plashe. Firsh 
 bosshle broke, and while I shelecks an- 
 osher one, I breashe fumesh. Perfeshly 
 shober, bush a lilly dizhey, zhash all." 
 
 " Then bring me that pad and a pencil 
 from my desk," ordered the master, and 
 when the two were in his hands, he 
 wrote a brief note, and held it out to 
 the servant, with the direction, " There, 
 take that to Burton's livery-stable at 
 once." 
 
 "Yesh, Misher Murshon; zish in-
 
 28 
 
 shant," meekly answered Richards, as 
 he hurried from the room with all the 
 haste consistent with his efforts to walk 
 steadily. 
 
 " Why don't you sit down ? " ques- 
 tioned the host, curtly, once more mo- 
 tioning toward a chair. 
 
 " Had n't I better go back to the hall ? " 
 suggested Lydia. "Then I sha'n't in- 
 terrupt your reading." 
 
 "Nonsense! Sit down!" he reiter- 
 ated. 
 
 Afraid to object further, the girl took 
 a chair, remarking, "Thank you very 
 much; and please don't mind me, but 
 go on with your book." 
 
 " I was reading only from sheer ennui,'* 
 growled the man. " I sprained my ankle
 
 last week, and have nearly perished of 
 boredom ever since." 
 
 " I 'm so sorry," said Lydia, with 
 genuine sympathy in her words. " Does 
 it hurt you much ? " 
 
 " Only when I try to walk. But for 
 that I 'd have gone for a carriage myself," 
 he had the grace to explain, softened a 
 little apparently by her manner, " instead 
 of sending that good-for-nothing beast." 
 
 " I 'm very glad that is, I mean I 
 should have been very sorry to have you 
 put yourself out for me." 
 
 " I 'm only afraid that fellow will take 
 longer than need be," was the muttered 
 explanation. 
 
 Absolute silence followed, the host 
 evidently having nothing more to say,
 
 and the guest being too timid to attempt 
 conversation. But presently the heat of 
 the room led her to open her fan, and 
 this small act served to vivify it anew. 
 
 " If you 're hot, why don't you take 
 off your cloak ? " he suggested. " At the 
 best, the carriage can't get here under 
 ten minutes." 
 
 " Thank you, I will, for I 'm very 
 warm," acceded Lydia, throwing back 
 her wrap with real relief. 
 
 " You were on your way to some 
 social frivolity," he remarked, more as- 
 sertion than question, as his glance took 
 in the dainty frock and the pretty bared 
 arms and throat. 
 
 " Yes ; to a dinner-party there, I 
 said it!" moaned Lydia.
 
 "Said what?" questioned her inter- 
 locutor, surprised at her consternation. 
 
 " I why, aunty told me," stammered 
 the girl, blushing, " that if I spoke of 
 dinner-parties, people every one would 
 know I was from the country." 
 
 " And are you from the country ? " 
 
 " Yes," acknowledged Lydia, straight- 
 forwardly, though coloring a little. 
 
 " And why are you ashamed of that ? " 
 
 " I 'm not ashamed of it," denied the 
 girl, warmly. 
 
 " Then why did you object to people 
 knowing that you were ? " persisted her 
 relentless interrogator, smiling. 
 
 It was a cruel question, and Lydia 
 faltered an instant, but, collecting her- 
 self, she replied quietly, yet with real
 
 dignity : " I feel no shame at living in 
 for it is nothing 
 
 to be 
 
 the country, 
 ashamed of ; but when I am in the city, 
 I wish to behave as it is customary, and 
 so I was mortified at speaking of parties 
 after my aunt had cautioned me not to 
 use the word." 
 
 " Bravo ! That 's the way to feel, no 
 matter what people say," exclaimed the 
 man, approvingly. " Pray tell a social 
 ignoramus why society objects to the 
 word ' parties.' " 
 
 " I don't know ; but aunty said that 
 people only speak of dinners and dances 
 and receptions, and never of parties, and 
 that they'd think me countrified if I 
 talked of them." 
 
 The man threw his head back and
 
 n 
 
 laughed heartily. "Isn't that just like 
 the collection of donkeys and geese and 
 parrots who make up ' society ' ? " he 
 said. "They do nothing but heehaw 
 and quack and gabble about house- 
 parties and coaching-parties and yacht- 
 ing-parties, but of course the word is 
 low, vulgar, plebeian, and countrified 
 when it is applied to the ordinary uses 
 given in the dictionary. However, I 'm 
 grateful to you for enlightening me, for 
 I 'm not very experienced, and it would 
 have been an awful mortification to me 
 had I made a slip in such a vital matter 
 as the latest edict concerning social 
 slang." 
 
 " But aunty told me no well-mannered 
 person ever used slang," objected his
 
 
 34 
 
 listener, very much mystified by the 
 irony. 
 
 " I 'm not much of an authority on the 
 subject, but I think good manners and 
 fashionable life have little intimacy. As 
 for the latter' s taboo on slang, it extends 
 only to the vernacular of other circles, for 
 its own lingo is as cheap and common 
 as any it forbids." 
 
 " Not really I " marveled the girl, in- 
 credulously. " Now what, for instance ?" 
 
 " Not being an expert, I can only reply 
 at random ; but take such words as 'bud/ 
 ' belle,' ' wallflower,' ' smart,' ' swell,' and 
 a lot of similar ruck, and you '11 see - " 
 
 The completion of the speech was cut 
 short by the entrance, without any 
 previous knock, of a very tall and stout
 
 woman, who announced her advent with 
 the demand : 
 
 "An' will yez be afther havin' yere 
 dinner now, Misther Murchison, or wait 
 till it's spiled intoirely?" 
 
 The question asked, she stuck her 
 arms, which were bared to the elbow, 
 akimbo, and stared fixedly at Miss 
 Greenough. 
 
 " Richards is n't back, is he?" 
 
 " Divil a bit." 
 
 " Then dinner must wait." 
 
 " All roight, sor ; but don't be blamin' 
 me, sure, if it 's burnt to a crisp," retorted 
 the cook, impertinently. 
 
 " Oh, it 's too bad for me to spoil youl 
 dinner. Please don't let me prevent 
 your having it," begged Lydia.
 
 "That's roight, miss," agreed the 
 cook, approvingly. " It 's sick Oi am 
 thryin' tocookfortheloikes av him, that 
 niver will ate his food whin it 's ready. 
 Toime an' toime ag'in he 's so took up 
 wid his chimicals or books " 
 
 " That 's enough, Monica," interrupted 
 the master, sharply. " You may go back 
 to the kitchen." 
 
 With a shake of her head and a mut- 
 tered something of disapproval, the ser- 
 vant obeyed, just as the clock on the 
 mantel began striking. 
 
 " You are witnessing some choice ex- 
 amples of a bachelor's housekeeping, are 
 you not ? " observed Mr. Murchison. 
 
 "I I beg your pardon," apologized 
 Lydia, with a start. " I was trying to
 
 count the time, and so what did you 
 ask me ? " 
 
 " It is just eight," he told her, after a 
 look at his watch. 
 
 " Is it really?" sighed the girl, forlornly. 
 " How long will it take to drive to East 
 Seventy-second ? " 
 
 "Usually about fifteen minutes, but 
 it will be nearer half an hour if the 
 snow is bad. What time was your 
 dinner?" 
 
 " Half-past seven." 
 
 " Well, if the carriage comes within ten 
 minutes, you '11 only be a little more than 
 fashionably late, so there 's no occasion 
 to look so funereal." Just as he finished, 
 a bell sounded, and he added : " There 's 
 Richards now, and from the time he 's
 
 been, he ought to have brought a carriage 
 with him." 
 
 Both listened so intently that they 
 could hear the distant footsteps of the 
 cook as she went to the basement door, 
 and the creak and the slam as it was 
 opened and closed, even the indistinct 
 murmur of voices, succeeded after a 
 time by the sound of footsteps coming 
 up the stairs; and Monica appeared in 
 the doorway. 
 
 " It 's Richards come back, sor," she 
 announced ; " an' he wint to two stables, 
 an' they both said they'd not sind no 
 carriage out in this blizzard for no 
 wan." 
 
 " And why does n't he come and tell 
 me so himself?"
 
 " Sure, an* I don't think he could git 
 upstairs." 
 
 " He 's been drinking again ? " 
 
 " An' he has that same," acceded the 
 servant. "Och, but the smell of the 
 whisky 'most knocked me over whin I 
 opened the door just now." 
 
 Something Mr. Murchison said under 
 his breath as, tossing the shawl aside, he 
 gingerly put his feet to the floor and sat 
 up. Then aloud, " Hand me my crutches 
 there- in the corner," he directed, 
 when the cook stood still. 
 
 " An' what do ye want wid thim ? " 
 she questioned, standing stolidly. " For 
 ye need n't think I '11 be afther bringin' 
 thim to ye, if ye 're goin' to do wan stip 
 more than walk to the dinin'-room."
 
 " Nonsense 1 Do as I tell you," ordered 
 her master. 
 
 "Nary crutch do I bring, unless ye 
 promise to moind the docthor." 
 
 " You will obey my order at once," he 
 reiterated, quietly but sternly. 
 
 " Och, for the love of the blissid saints ! 
 Misther Murchison, be good now!" 
 whimpered the woman, though she made 
 not the slightest motion of obedience. 
 
 The invalid turned to his visitor. 
 "Will you please bring me those 
 crutches over there in the corner?" 
 
 " Don't ye do it, miss," counseled the 
 Irish woman, "for he's that set an' 
 obstinate that " 
 
 " Be still, Monica," broke in the man, 
 really irritated. " You don't "
 
 " An* is it be still ye 'd have me ? " in- 
 dignantly retorted the maid. " Very well, 
 Oi'll be still, an' let ye go yere own 
 way, an* foine work 'twHl be." She 
 crossed the room and came back with 
 the crutches. "Theerl" she snapped, 
 as she held them out to him, "thry 
 walkin' the shtreets in this snow. Thry 
 if ye can so much as git down the front 
 stips in this wind. Listhen to it howl. 
 Och, foine sport ye '11 have of it! " 
 
 " Oh, she is quite right," urged Lydia, 
 joining her plea to that of the servant. 
 " It is blowing so that it is all one can 
 do to stand up, and the steps are a foot 
 deep with snow." 
 
 While she was speaking, the invalid 
 took the crutches, and by their help sue-
 
 cessfully struggled to his feet, and now 
 stood upright, propped upon them. The 
 joint protests, however, were sufficient 
 to give him pause, and his face showed 
 evident indecision for a brief space be- 
 fore he said, "Then will you go for a 
 carriage, Monica?" 
 
 " Av coorse Oi will, if that will satisfy 
 ye," assented the cook, "though Oi don't 
 see what use 't will be if they won't send 
 wan, an' the dinner 'ii be spoilt intoirely 
 by the toime Oi git back, if Oi 'm not 
 froze to death goin' or comin'." 
 
 " It 's dreadful to put you to so much 
 trouble," grieved Lydia, " and now it 
 it really is n't necessary. You said it 
 would take over ten minutes to get a 
 carriage here, and half an hour to drive 

 
 there, and now it 's quarter past eight, 
 so at the best I could n't get there till 
 nearly nine o'clock, and the dinner will 
 be over by that time. So please let 
 Monica give you your dinner before 
 she tries to get a carriage." 
 
 " That 's roight, miss, an* the sinse ye 
 have av it ; for it 's sure the policeman 
 will be in for a bit av a sup " Monica 
 caught herself up sharply, coughed, and 
 then went on hurriedly " that is, it 's 
 me cousin promised he 'd thry to bring 
 me word this evenin' av how me me. 
 niece was, that's sick wid a terrible 
 cold ; an' whin he comes, Oi '11 just 
 make him foind a carriage for ye, an' it 's 
 himself can do it." 
 
 "There, you see," joyfully cried the
 
 country girl, her brow clearing, 
 will save all the trouble." 
 
 " And what about you ? " questioned 
 Mr. Murchison. 
 
 "Me ? " Why I Ml just sit here and 
 read something until the carriage comes," 
 explained Lydia, guilelessly. 
 
 " And go without any dinner ?" 
 
 " Oh, that 's nothing/' she responded. 
 "I'll not mind a bit, really." 
 
 "But I can't have that," objected the 
 host. " Don't you see it 's impossible ? " 
 
 " Av coorse it is," chimed in Monica. 
 "It's sit down an' have a good dinner 
 along wid the masther ye will, sinsible 
 loike." 
 
 "But I'm not in the least hungry, 
 truly," lied Lydia, earnestly.
 
 without," asserted 
 
 " It f s impossible for 
 dinner, and yoi 
 Mr. Murchison. "Don't you see it 
 is?" 
 
 Lydia colored and looked doubtingly, 
 first at the woman and then at the 
 man. 
 
 " I 'm afraid it would it be 
 proper ? " she questioned, her face once 
 again wrinkled with anxiety. 
 
 " An* av coorse it would be, miss, an* 
 a good dinner ye '11 have; an' foine it 
 will be for the masther to have a bit av 
 company, afther his bein' so sick an' 
 solitiry," affirmed the cook, heartily. 
 
 " 1 I'm not used to to city ways," 
 faltered Lydia, " and oh, dear ! I don't 
 know what is right I What do you think
 
 I ought to do?" she appealed to Mr. 
 Murchison, throwing herself on his 
 honor. 
 
 Her question transferred some of the 
 wrinkles of her forehead to his and he 
 hesitated, frowningly, before he spoke. 
 "Look here," he replied, "I've got an 
 apology to make, and I want to make it 
 before I answer you. When you first 
 came in here, I thought you were one of 
 those silly New York society girls who 
 pretend to be innocent and helpless, be- 
 cause they think that 's the way to catch 
 the men, but who really know the world, 
 good and bad, about as well as those 
 twenty years their seniors. Believing 
 this, 1 thought you could take care of 
 yourself as well as need be, and so I was
 
 47 
 
 curt and rude, and I 'm sorry and mor- 
 tified." 
 
 " Please don't talk like that," broke in 
 the girl, " for you Ve for I know how 
 much trouble I've given you all, and 
 you Ve been most kind." 
 
 " I say this much as a preliminary be- 
 cause I wanted you to feel in advance 
 that you were n't being asked to dine by 
 an ogre. If, now, you were one of the 
 girls I mistook you for, I suppose you 
 would n't dine with me under the present 
 conditions. That 's because they import 
 their manners, as well as their gowns, 
 from France, and Johnnie Crapeau is 
 such a gentleman that convention or- 
 dains that a woman must never be left 
 alone with him an instant. But, as a
 
 fact, the American woman knows that 
 she 's absolutely safe with the American 
 man, and she does n't pay the least heed 
 to the decree, except this society woman, 
 who wouldn't either, if it weren't 
 French. Isn't that so?" 
 
 "I I don't quite know what you 
 mean," she replied. 
 
 " Where you came from was it wrong 
 for a girl to go off driving or sleighing 
 with a man, and to be alone with him 
 for several hours ? " 
 
 "No," acknowledged Lydia, a little 
 reluctantly. 
 
 " Then I don't see why you should n't 
 dine with me." 
 
 " But I knew them well and always 
 had known them," she objected.
 
 The man smiled as he said pleasantly : 
 " And I have n't even a family Bible to 
 vouch for me. Well, my name is Allan 
 Murchison, which is equivalent to saying 
 that I was born a Scotchman, and the 
 Standard Chemical Company would 
 give me a first-class recommendation, 
 if they thought I needed it, either as a 
 man or as a chemist Monica here will 
 go bail for my conduct as a domestic 
 animal, which " Mr. Murchison gave 
 a little laugh "is more than I can do 
 for either of my domestics. Now, don't 
 you think this information and her pres- 
 ence are guaranties enough ? " 
 
 " An* sure, miss," interrupted the cook, 
 once again putting in her tongue, " don't 
 ye fear wan minute to do it, for the
 
 masther 's a gintleman, if ever theer was 
 wan, or it 's not mesilf would desave ye 
 if he was n't." 
 
 Poor Lydia glanced about the room, 
 as if seeking further counsel from some- 
 thing before saying, " I 'm afraid I 'm 
 very foolish, but I really don't think I 
 ought. It it somehow does n't seem 
 right and something tells me thai 
 aunty would think it very wrong." 
 
 " Then of course you are not to do it," 
 Mr. Murchison told her, and taking the 
 crutches from under his arms, he resumed 
 his seat on the lounge. 
 
 " Oh, but won't you please have your 
 dinner, just as if I was n't here ? " be- 
 sought the girl. " I '11 just sit here and 
 read something."
 
 To prove the good faith of her c/fTer, 
 she caught up a magazine from the little 
 table. 
 
 Mr. Murchison laughed with real mer- 
 riment. " Hold on," he said ; " I '11 have 
 a forfeit with you. If you'll promise 
 honestly to read that, that is under- 
 stand it, why, I '11 eat my dinner alone ; 
 but if you don't read it, as you said 
 you would, why, then you must dine 
 with me. Is it a bargain ? " 
 
 " Why, yes. I '11 agree to that," con- 
 sented Lydia, welcoming any loophole 
 of escape, though a little puzzled to know 
 what he meant. 
 
 " Now light the reading-lamp and see 
 what you've promised to read," re- 
 quested the man, laughing once more.
 
 52 
 
 Obediently the girl turned on the 
 electric light on the table beside her f 
 and, raising the magazine, glanced at 
 the title. " ' Chemisch-Technisches 
 Repertorium, ' " she read out question- 
 ingly, with an admirable German 
 accent. 
 
 " Oh/' ejaculated the man, his laugh- 
 ter visibly waning, "you know German, 
 do you? Well, which of the articles 
 are you going to read ? " he questioned 
 quizzically. 
 
 Miss Greenough ran her eyes down 
 the table of contents, and then she 
 smiled, as she answered, with a touch 
 of archness, " I think this ' Darstellung 
 von substantiven Baumwollfarbst often 
 aus Derivaten der Dinitrooxydipheny*
 
 lamine,' by a man named Allan Murchi- 
 son, sounds interesting." 
 
 " And are you going to try to make 
 me believe you can understand that 
 rubbish/' demanded Mr. Murchison, the 
 smile all gone, " and so escape paying 
 the forfeit?" 
 
 Lydia gave a triumphant little laugh. 
 " My father is a doctor, Mr. Murchison, 
 and he's taught me all the chemistry 
 he knows, and I 'm very much interested 
 in it ; indeed, I could n't have found any- 
 thing that interests me more. So you 
 see you must pay the forfeit, and eat 
 your dinner, while I sit here and read." 
 
 "Oh!" was all the response the 
 chemist vouchsafed, thoroughly taken 
 aback and crestfallen. Then, man of his
 
 54 
 
 word, he turned to Monica. " You may 
 give me dinner as soon as it is ready." 
 
 "Ready," grunted the cook as she 
 started to leave the room. "Ready 
 some of it 's been this twinty minutes, 
 an' it's not mesilf is to blame if " 
 There her grumbles died away out of 
 the hearing of the two. 
 
 To emphasize the agreement, Lydia 
 slightly shifted her chair to bring the 
 light properly, and, opening the review, 
 began reading. 
 
 To this absorption Mr. Murchison 
 made no objection, but, settling back on 
 the lounge, he calmly examined his 
 unexpected visitor, who, thanks to the 
 newly lighted lamp, was now for the first 
 isibleto him. Inherdai; 

 
 frock, the gift of ner aunt, and far ex- 
 ceeding in fineness anything she had 
 hitherto even dreamed of, the girl made 
 a charming picture; but Mr. Murchison 
 scarcely noticed it, giving his whole 
 attention to her face. It was one most 
 people gave attention to, with its clear 
 eyes, studious rather than alert, and its 
 rather low and thoughtful forehead, all 
 suggesting in some way that they were 
 more interested in what was being 
 thought than in what was being seen, 
 and each in curious contradiction to, or 
 at least strange mates of, a very youthful- 
 looking mouth and chin, and a wilderness 
 of little curls, boldly standing forth or 
 timidly hiding themselves, flyaway or 
 nestling, single and in couples, decking
 
 the temples, or kissing the little ears and 
 the slender neck, and all seemingly utter- 
 ing a mute but most eloquent protest at 
 the tyranny o; combs and hair-pins. 
 The spectacle was a novel one to the 
 solitary bachelor, and was made all the 
 more unusual and interesting because 
 those eyes were reading an articl i of 
 his, and he noted each change of expres- 
 sion, however slight, and tried to divine 
 from it how far she had progressed 
 i and how much she was interested. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that Miss 
 Greenough could long remain unaware 
 of this fixed scrutiny, and as conscious- 
 ness grew she found it more and more 
 difficult to keep her attention fastened 
 upon what she was reading, and to
 
 57 
 
 keep from stealing a glance toward 
 the sofa to assure herself that she was 
 being watched This latter desire pres- 
 ently became so strong that only by a 
 distinct exertion of the will was she 
 able to resist it, and, try her best, her 
 thoughts would not keep themselves 
 centred in those strange German letters 
 and terrible technical words. She held 
 her eyes determinedly on the text, how- 
 ever, and turned the pages at what she 
 thought was the proper interval of time. 
 
 " Now, honestly, do you understand 
 it?" questioned her host suddenly. 
 
 Although the interruption was a relief 
 in that it allowed the girl to raise her 
 eyes, the inquiry was disconcerting, and 
 the temptation to fib was strong; but 

 
 after a moment's embarrassment Lydia 
 answered frankly : 
 
 " I have n't been able to comprehend 
 it." 
 
 " Then under our compact you will 
 have to dine with me, won't you?" 
 broke in Mr. Murchison. 
 
 "I was going to explain," went on 
 the girl, " that my mind won't concen- 
 trate on it at present ; but I believe, if 
 the conditions were different, I could 
 read it, abstruse as it is. And when I 
 am home again I shall write and get a 
 copy, that I may really read it." 
 
 " You need n't take that trouble, for 
 you are welcome to that copy, if you are 
 in earnest." 
 
 " But I really must n't rob you.'*
 
 59 
 
 The author laughed. " You need n't 
 fear that. One is n't paid anything for 
 that kind of stuff, but they give one all 
 the copies one wants. Anything to get 
 rid of them, is the way they look at it, 
 judging from the difficulty I have in get- 
 ting people to accept copies." 
 
 " If you are in earnest, of course I '11 
 take it gladly, and be very much obliged 
 indeed ; and I know papa will be glad 
 to see it, too, for he " 
 
 The thanks of the girl were cut short 
 here by the intermittent cook, who once 
 more entered. 
 
 "An' whativer shall we do, sor?" she 
 demanded crossly. " Here 's that baste 
 Richards lyin' on the intry flure, an' not 
 wan move can Oi git 'm to make, an*
 
 now Oi foind he hasn't aven set the 
 ta-able." 
 
 The man on the sofa laughed, half 
 amusedly and half disgustedly. "It's 
 lucky for me that you did n't accept my 
 invitation. The Fates are determined, 
 you see, that we are neither of us to 
 have any dinner." 
 
 "An' sure it's not as bad as that," 
 comforted the servant, "for it's mesilf 
 will set the ta-able in the dinin'-room 
 for ye, or this little wan in here, just as 
 ye desoide, Misther Murchison." 
 
 " Very well ; give it to me here." 
 
 " An' perhaps ye '11 be clearin' off that 
 ta-able, miss, whoile Oi 'm afther gittin' 
 the plates," calmly suggested the maid. 
 
 "I won't have such impertinence,
 
 Oh, Amelia," cried the girl, springing to her teet. 
 
 Wanted A Chaptron.
 
 Monica," began the master angrily, 
 
 and 
 
 gladly, 
 
 acquiesced Lydia, 
 rising. 
 
 " Nonsense ! 1 '11 not have you do any- 
 thing of the kind," indignantly asserted 
 the man. 
 
 "And how will you prevent me?" 
 laughed Lydia, saucily, busy in clearing 
 away the books and other things on the 
 table. 
 
 " I won't have you wait on me, or do 
 my servant's bidding," he protested. 
 
 " Why, I often set the table at home," 
 explained the girl, " and I really enjoy it, 
 for I make it look so much nicer than 
 Hannah ever does that even papa notices 
 the difference. And I always do it when
 
 fa 
 
 we are to have company. Shall I put 
 the table by the sofa or by the easy- 
 chair?" 
 
 " By the chair, please," requested Mr. 
 Alurchison, resignedly though amused. 
 " But pray don't let my wishes interfere 
 with any preference you may have. I 'm 
 well used to the position of submissive 
 mastership." 
 
 " In that case I 'm going to move them 
 both over here, nearer the fire or 
 what might be one if it were properly 
 mended," announced the girl, really 
 interested and on her mettle. She put 
 the furniture as indicated, and then with 
 the tongs changed the positions of the 
 smoldering, smoking logs, placed two 
 new ones artfully in exactly the right
 
 spots, and brushed up the hearth into 
 tidiness, just as the fire burst out into 
 flames that lighted up and cheered the 
 hitherto rather gloomy-looking room. 
 
 "That's delightful!" exclaimed Mr. 
 Murchison, admiringly. " I wish you'd 
 show my servants how to make a fire ; 
 for all they ever give is just an aggrava- 
 tion of one." 
 
 " It 's only a bed of embers, a good big 
 back log, and plenty of air oh, I forgot 
 I was instructing a chemist plenty of 
 O 2 . I always like to think of fire as the 
 ancients did, before you dreadful scien- 
 tists took all the poetry out of it, as a 
 god, or element, separate from but im- 
 prisoned in everything. Many and many 
 a night I can't go to sleep until my fire is
 
 64 
 
 all burned out, but just lie and watch the 
 flame or spirit escape from its prison. 
 And if I were a poet, my first endeavor 
 would be to try to write some great epic 
 on it, and so put the poetry back." 
 
 " And why so unjustly leave out the 
 scientist ? " responded Mr. Murchison. 
 "Surely he or his works could be in- 
 cluded. Let me see if I can 't suggest a 
 stanza or two. Yes : 
 
 " ' The Baltimore heater 
 Makes many lives sweeter.' " 
 
 "Oh, don't!" pleaded Lydia. 
 
 " Ah, ha ! So you must beg of the 
 poor scientists, after all ? But after your 
 base attack on them I '11 show no mercy. 
 Listen to this :
 
 " ' How dreary, cold, and strange 
 Is the home without a ' " 
 
 Crash! jingle! jingle! jingle! came a 
 succession of sounds, cutting short the 
 rhymester. 
 
 " Don't be alarmed," hastily said Mr. 
 Murchison, reassuringly, as Lydia jumped. 
 " That is merely the usual announcement 
 that a bachelor's dinner is approaching, 
 though I do think Monica might have 
 let me complete my jingle before so 
 utterly eclipsing it with hers." 
 
 " It is too bad ! " cried Lydia, regret- 
 fully. 
 
 " Which ? for I 'm afraid my doggerel 
 is the worse of the two. Well, Monica, 
 is there enough left for one meal?" 
 he asked, as the cook appeared, her
 
 arms laiden with napery, china, and 
 silver. 
 
 " Arrah, Misther Murchison, an' it 
 was just two plates an' some silver which 
 fell off the dresser av thimselves while 
 Oi was r'achin' for the glasses, an' it 
 freighted me so, bad cess to it! that Oi 
 dhropped two goblets, an' small blame 
 to me that Oi did n't dhrop more." She 
 set her burden on the table with an air 
 of conscious self-approval, and as she 
 retired said: "Theer, miss, whoile ye 
 spread the cloth, Oi '11 be bringin' in the 
 rest." 
 
 " You are now paying the penalty of 
 having sided with Monica against me a 
 moment ago, for she clearly considers 
 you as an ally, if not a minion. But it 's
 
 your own fault if you pay the least at- 
 tention to her bidding." 
 
 " It really amuses me," answered the 
 girl, gaily, as she deftly unfolded and 
 settled the cloth into place, and arranged 
 silver and china quickly and quietly in 
 their positions. 
 
 " You 'd better set two places while you 
 are about it," advised the man, " for I see 
 Monica has brought the china and silver 
 for it, so she evidently intends that you 
 shall dine with me." 
 
 " An' av coorse she will, an' not be 
 foolish," asserted the cook, reentering 
 with goblets and wine-glasses. " Sure, 
 don't be stiff and silly, miss, but do as 
 the masther bids ye." 
 
 With slightly heightened color, and
 
 68 
 
 with hands not quite so quick and dex- 
 terous as before, Lydia set another place 
 opposite the one completed, while the 
 maid deposited the glass upon the table. 
 
 " Oi think that 's all to begin wid," she 
 said, taking stock of the table. 
 
 " Can't you have n't you something 
 to ornament it with a centrepiece 
 flowers silver ? " asked Lydia. " It 
 looks so bare." 
 
 " I 'm afraid you are asking too 
 much of a bachelor's house. How is it, 
 Monica ? " 
 
 " Nary a cinterpace have we ; but 
 theer's a silver moog might do." 
 
 " Never mind ; this will answer," said 
 Lydia, taking a small vase from the 
 mantel and putting it on the table. This
 
 6 9 
 
 done she took from the front of her 
 gown a bunch of violets. " There, could 
 Richards have done that better?" she 
 asked, giving her hands a little clap of 
 triumph. 
 
 By the aid of the crutches the invalid 
 had once again got upon his feet, and 
 then across the space to the table. " That 
 is charming," he declared, " and I only 
 wish Richards had half your skill. If 
 ever a Good Samaritan deserved a din- 
 ner, I think you do." 
 
 " An' shall I dish up, sor ? " inquired 
 the cook. 
 
 " You will take your orders from Miss 
 excuse me, but I really think I ought 
 to know your name." 
 
 "Lydia Greenough."
 
 "Thank you. This is Miss Green- 
 ough's dinner, Monica, and you will 
 take your orders from her." 
 
 "Then you may serve dinner," di- 
 rected Lydia ; and as the cook departed 
 and the two took their seats at the little 
 table she went on naively : "Do you 
 know, I've always had such a longing 
 to be the mistress of a house, if only for 
 a week, and so you can't imagine what 
 fun this is to me." 
 
 "I should think a week would be 
 enough to cure you of the desire, and I 
 suspect one meal at this house will." 
 
 "On the contrary," replied Lydia, 
 smiling, " what I have seen has had the 
 directly opposite effect." 
 
 " I don't see why."
 
 " Because there is such a lot to do," 
 laughed Lydia. " I'm afraid that is 
 very rude under the circumstances," she 
 added, with a shade of contrition, " but 
 there are five of us girls, besides mama, 
 and it 's a tiny house, so there is never 
 enough work to go round ; and if there 's 
 anything particularly nice, such as buy- 
 ing something new, or rearranging a 
 room, or making jelly, why, it is n't 
 fair for me to have it, because I 'm the 
 youngest. You know, sometimes I'm 
 fairly desperate, I seem to be of so little 
 use." 
 
 "Except when you set the table," 
 suggested Mr. Murchison, smiling. 
 
 " Yes ; and papa lets me keep his dis- 
 pensary in order."
 
 Oh, so that's how you came to 
 study chemistry, is it ? " 
 
 " Yes ; and then I hope to use it later 
 on." 
 
 " And how will you do that ? " asked 
 her vis-a-vis, smiling indulgently. 
 
 " I want to get a position as teacher 
 in a school, and I thought that the more 
 things I knew the better my chance 
 would be." 
 
 The dialogue was broken here by the 
 arrival of Monica, bearing in each hand 
 which sh
 
 ' Really, Monica," protested the host, 
 '* I think you might give us our soup 
 warm enough to be eatable." 
 
 " An' wid nary a hot plate, an' me 
 carry in' it from the kitchen clear up 
 here," retorted the maid indignantly. 
 " Sick Oi am thryin' to plase yez, an' Oi 
 gives notice now that Oi " 
 
 " It 's very nicely flavored and not a 
 bit greasy," put in Lydia, soothingly ; 
 " and I don't wonder it is n't quite hot 
 enough, considering all the circum- 
 stances." 
 
 " Thank ye kindly, miss," replied the 
 cook, softening a little at the praise, 
 " an' it 's yeself knows how it is wid a 
 poor, lone woman workin' herself to 
 skin an' bones," Monica weighed two
 
 hundred if she weighed a pound 
 "thryin' to suit a lot of ungrateful, 
 
 comph 
 
 nothin' will satisfy 
 
 lamm men 
 but " 
 
 " You might get us some bread, now, 
 and also the champagne, Monica," inter- 
 jected Mr. Murchison, mildly. 
 
 "Nary step more " began the ser- 
 vant. 
 
 "Oh yes, Monica," broke in Lydia, 
 persuasively; "can't you get us some 
 bread ? " 
 
 " An' if Oi do, 't will be for ye, an' 
 not thim as spends their toime com- 
 plainin'," muttered the servant, still bel- 
 ligerent; but she departed on the sug- 
 gested errand. 
 
 " It is lucky for me that I told Monica
 
 75 
 
 this was your dinner, for I fear that 
 otherwise we should go hungry. I wish 
 you 'd tell me how you do it." 
 
 " Oh, servants are easy enough," re- 
 plied Lydia, speaking as if she were used 
 to a houseful of them. " You only want 
 to remember that they are children," she 
 explained, " and that they'll do anything 
 for you if they are fond of you, and noth- 
 ing if they aren't. It's a quality I ad- 
 mire in them; it's so honest." 
 
 " Evidently you are a born house- 
 keeper/' 
 
 " Yes, I believe I am," acknowledged 
 the girl simply ; " for I love everything 
 about a house, and my dream has always 
 been to have one of my own to take care 
 of and fuss over, and where everything
 
 would be just as I wanted it. I can't 
 imagine anything more interesting." 
 
 Mr. Murchison smiled at Lydia's en- 
 thusiasm. " It 's a pity we can't exchange 
 places, for I have the house and never 
 give it the least attention. Now, hon- 
 estly, do you think my lot enviable ? " 
 
 Lydia shook her head as she glanced 
 about the room. " You could n't have 
 arranged things worse," she said, " and I 
 don't see how you can stand it. Do 
 you know," she went on, dropping her 
 voice to a confidential pitch, " that ever 
 since I lighted the lamp I 've been try- 
 ing not to look at the mantel; yet / 
 can't keep my eyes away from it." 
 
 "Mantel? What's the matter with 
 the mantel ? "
 
 "Why, the magenta lambrequin and 
 (hat beautiful Pompeian red bowl." 
 
 " It is a beauty, is n't it ? " responded 
 the owner. "I bought it in Naples 
 of-" 
 
 " But, oh, would you mind if I moved 
 it somewhere else ? " begged Lydia. 
 
 "Do anything you want with it, if 
 the sight of it troubles you." 
 
 " I only want to get it away from that 
 particular color," explained Lydia, rising 
 and shifting the object of conversation 
 to the top of a book-shelf. "There, 
 that's such a relief, isn't it?" 
 
 " I suppose it is, since you say so," 
 acknowledged the man. "You see 
 well, this is only a rented house, and 
 most of the furniture is n't mine, and
 
 spend virtually all my time 
 tory or in 
 
 my laboratory 
 seem worth 
 
 p-stairs, 
 to 
 
 so 
 
 while 
 
 it didn't 
 much." 
 
 "But magenta and red!" sighed 
 Lydia, with a slight shiver. 
 
 " Probably it's wrong, and if I paid 
 more attention to the house no doubt it 
 would go better, for I confess everything 
 just messes along, and I 'm a fool to tol- 
 erate it. But I'm a busy man, and I 
 hate all the little details like poison, and 
 so 1 even put up with bad servants 
 rather than go through the trouble of - 
 There the householder checked himself 
 as Monica entered, bearing a plate of 
 bread and a champagne-cooler. 
 
 "I was looking forward to a lonely 

 
 and very dull Christmas Eve," said Mr. 
 Murchison, as he took the bottle from 
 its icy repository and began twisting the 
 cork, "and so I thought I'd try and 
 make it a little festive by this with 
 rather disastrous results, as you have 
 seen. It was an unlucky chance for 
 you, but I hope a glass of it will lessen 
 your disappointment over the * dinner- 
 party ' a little." As he talked, the cork 
 came out with a dear pop, and he poured 
 a few drops into his own glass. 
 
 "Do you know, I've never tasted 
 champagne, and I 've been very curious 
 to know what it 's like. It was one of 
 the things I was looking forward to at 
 the dinner." 
 
 Mr. Murchison had begun to fill
 
 8o 
 
 Lydia's glass, but he halted. " You 've 
 never drunk champagne before ? " he in- 
 quired. 
 
 " No. I suppose it 's very countrified, 
 but I never have." 
 
 " Then I 'm going to advise you not 
 to make a beginning this evening," he 
 counseled. 
 
 "Of course I won't, if you think 
 best," acceded the girl. 
 
 "It sounds rather inhospitable, the 
 more so that I can't give any reason 
 why I advise it ; but probably you '11 
 understand me when I put it in the fem- 
 inine form and say that it's a feeling 
 and not a reason," explained the host, 
 as he put the bottle back in the cooler 
 without even filling up his own glass.
 
 8i 
 
 " But that need n't prevent your hav- 
 ing some," said Lydia. 
 
 " Thank you, but the ' feeling ' in- 
 cludes me as well ; so you see that it is 
 at least impartial. The fact is, if I had 
 stopped to think, I'd never have told 
 Monica to bring it." 
 
 " But it makes me feel bad to think 
 that you are depriving yourself," said 
 Lydia ; " and it does n't keep, does it ? " 
 
 " Not over-well," answered Mr. Mur- 
 chison, biting his lip. 
 
 "Then please don't waste it on my 
 account," she urged. 
 
 " It can't be said to have been wasted, 
 because it has indirectly saved me from 
 a very solitary dinner, and has given me 
 my cheer in a pleasanter form. That 's
 
 
 82 
 
 rather a selfish way of speaking, I sup- 
 pose, but I 'm not going to pretend that 
 your loss has n't been my gain." 
 
 " It 's very kind of you to say such 
 nice things," responded the girl, bright- 
 ening, " and I only hope you really mean 
 them, and are not merely trying to make 
 me feel comfortable." 
 
 "I should imagine that my earlier 
 treatment would have convinced you 
 that, whatever else, I am not in the habit 
 of letting my feelings and my words 
 differ. Well, Monica," he went on, as 
 the maid reappeared, " what further deli- 
 cacy have you for us ? " 
 
 " This is a chicken-poy, sor, an' this 
 peraties," she catalogued, as she banged 
 them, one by one, on the table. Then
 
 she caught up the soup-plates, and with 
 an "Oi'll be bringin' ye war-rm plates 
 an' some cor-rn in wan minute," she 
 retired. 
 
 It must be confessed that the pie-crust 
 was dried to a state of hardness that 
 made its cutting difficult, and its eating 
 still more so, but the diners were too 
 hungry to be critical, and Lydia brought 
 smiles into the servant's face by warmly 
 praising each dish. 
 
 " T 'is yesilf knows what 's what," 
 said Monica, reciprocating the praise. 
 
 " I don't know what you 've done to 
 my cook," remarked Mr. Murchison in 
 one of her absences ; " I 've never seen 
 her so good-tempered and willing." 
 
 " One can do so much more in this
 
 world by praise than by criticism, and it 's 
 so much better for one's own nature, as 
 well as comfort," remarked the sage of 
 eighteen. 
 
 " I wish you 'd tell me why, since you 
 are so fond of housekeeping and are so 
 well fitted for it, you prefer to be a 
 teacher," inquired her host. 
 
 "I don't prefer," replied the girl, 
 frankly, " but I think it right. Our vil- 
 lage is so small that there is very little 
 practice, and there are such a lot of us 
 that I made up my mind I ought to try to 
 support myself." 
 
 "And have you ever taught ? " 
 
 "No. The school committee would 
 have given me the sixth district schoo) 
 this autumn, but papa thought I was too
 
 young, and made me wait till next spring 
 Of course I hope to get a better place 
 some day, where I can teach interesting 
 things ; but it 's awfully nice to begin 
 that way, because it 's only four miles 
 from Millersville, and so I can live at 
 home." 
 
 " I wonder if you '11 mind telling me 
 what your pay will be ? " 
 
 " Twenty dollars a month. Is n't it 
 splendid ? " 
 
 " And for that you walk eight miles 
 every day, as well as teach ? " 
 
 " Of course ; for eight miles is nothing, 
 and in good weather I '11 go on the bicy- 
 cle that is, whenever one of my sisters 
 does n't want to use it. And if it rains 
 or snows very badly, I 've agreed on a
 
 price with Mrs. Springer, who lives ver} 
 near the school, so that I may stay with 
 her whenever why do you look like 
 that ? " she broke in. 
 
 "Like what?" 
 
 " Why I don't know exactly but 
 you were well, if it had been in a car, 
 I should term it staring." 
 
 " Yes, I suppose I was," acknowledged 
 Mr. Murchison, " and I beg your pardon. 
 The truth is, I was making a discovery. 
 Indeed, I might say I was making two." 
 
 " And what were they ? " 
 
 " The first one was that I'm a fool ; 
 which resulted from my second one, 
 that for years I have been thinking that 
 a certain variety of the genus bomo was 
 extinct, merely because it was not to be
 
 
 87 
 
 met with in the city, while all the time 
 it was flourishing in its natural habitat." 
 " I 'm afraid I don't understand you." 
 Whether Mr. Murchison would have 
 explained was not to be known, for a 
 second time the down-stairs bell jangled, 
 and both became listeners, eager to know 
 what it might foretoken. Their ears 
 were first greeted, once the bell had been 
 answered, by the murmur of voices, and 
 then, as before, by the sound of footsteps 
 on the stairs, but this time far more 
 ponderous ones. 
 
 "That sounds like Monica's alleged 
 cousin," remarked the host, and his sur- 
 mise was quickly verified, for, preceded 
 by the cook, there presently appeared a 
 burly policeman, hat in hand, both that
 
 and his shoulders well covered with 
 snow. 
 
 " Good avenin' to ye," he said, with 
 a pleasant smile at the two diners, " an 
 Mrs. Mooney was tellin' me that ye were 
 afther wantin' a kerridge." 
 
 " Yes ; and if you can get us one, I '11 
 be very much obliged." 
 
 " Oi don't know as Oi can, for 't is a 
 bad noigt, but Oi '11 do me best ; an' aven 
 if they won't sind out no cab, 't is loikely 
 they won't moind sindin' a sleigh." 
 
 " It was foolish of me not to think 
 of that," exclaimed Mr. Murchison, 
 " though," he went on, checking himself, 
 " I 'm afraid you are hardly garbed for 
 that." 
 
 "Yes, I am," asserted Lydia. "My
 
 cloak is as warm as warm can be, and I 
 never take cold. Anything they 'II send 
 will do, really." 
 
 " An' wheer do ye want it to go to ? " 
 questioned the roundsman. 
 
 " To 4 West Fifty-sixth," spoke up 
 Lydia. 
 
 " Sure, 'tis not loikely they '11 moind 
 such a little trip," said the officer. 
 
 "Tell them I'll pay extra for it," 
 directed Mr. Murchison ; " and there '11 
 be something for you, if you can help 
 
 us. 
 
 "Thank 
 needed, 
 go 
 
 ye
 
 and a glass of champagne," continued 
 Mr. Murchison, pleasantly. " And, by 
 the by, how is Monica's niece?" he 
 inquired, smiling. 
 
 "Phwat niece?" asked the putative 
 relative. 
 
 "Sure, whose niece should it be," 
 broke in Monica, " but Mary, as ye 
 promised to bring me word av this 
 very avenin'? Is her cold betther?" 
 
 " Ah, go 'long wid yere jokin'," re- 
 torted the man. " Oi don't know what 
 ye 're pokin' at me, but Oi don't bite 
 on no rubber sandwich, not me." 
 
 " Go 'long wid yeself," snapped the 
 cook, crossly. "Go git the carriage, 
 an' don't shtand wastin' toime here." 
 
 Suiting her action to her advice, she
 
 9' 
 
 caught him by the arm and half shoved, 
 half led him through the doorway. 
 
 " Oh, do you think he can get it ? " 
 asked Lydia. 
 
 "For a certainty; so put yourself 
 quite at your ease." 
 
 " That 's such a relief," sighed the 
 girl. 
 
 " It is to me as well, for I was wor- 
 rying over what we should do, having 
 little hope that Monica would succeed 
 any better than Richards." 
 
 As if the uttering of the name had 
 exorcised some spell, the butler entered, 
 or rather sneaked into, the room, a spec- 
 tacle indeed, for from his head, which 
 was a mop of wet, bedraggled hair, were 
 dripping little streams of water, which
 
 
 " I beg pardon, sir, about dinner," he 
 said, still with a. thick utterance and 
 blinking confusedly, *' but I wash taken 
 bad and " 
 
 "What have you been doing to get 
 so wet?" demanded the master. 
 
 " Yes, sir I it I wash taken 
 faint, sir, an* an' when I recovershed, 
 the offish the offish " the man aban- 
 doned the difficult word " the poleesh 
 the poleesh " again he gave up the 
 attempt "a friend wash holdin' my 
 head under the fashet, an' then I re- 
 membered about dinner." 
 
 " Weil, we don't want you," said Mr. 
 Murchison, sternly, " and you will go to 
 

 
 your room at once, and not show your- 
 self again to-night. Understand ? " 
 " Yes, sir," meekly answered the ser- 
 o hasten from the 
 
 stant the sound of the opening of the 
 front door was heard. This was suc- 
 ceeded by a murmur of voices, and then 
 by a rustle of a woman's skirts, and 
 suddenly Mrs. Travers came to a halt in 
 the doorway. 
 
 " Lydia ! " was all she said, but the 
 tone and the horrified look in her face 
 told the rest.
 
 94 
 
 " Oh, aunty," cried the girl, springing 
 
 ' 
 
 ; : ; to her feet, " I 'm so glad ! How good 
 of you to come! But how did you 
 know?" 
 
 " Put on your cloak at once and come 
 with me," directed her aunt, sharply. 
 
 " Oh, aunty, won't you please let me 
 tell you how it all happened, and intro- 
 duce " 
 
 "Not a word, Lydia; but do as I tell 
 you," ordered Mrs. Travers. 
 
 With some difficulty, for the crutches 
 were out of reach, Mr. Murchison rose 
 to his feet, and said : 
 
 " I trust you will let me explain how 
 little Miss Greenough is in fault in what 
 I can see you both misjudge and blame." 
 
 " My niece, sir, can tell me all I wish
 
 95 
 
 to know," she replied as icily as could 
 be, " and I do not choose to stay here an " 
 instant longer than we must. Come, 
 Lydia," she said to the girl, who had 
 hastily thrown on her wrap, as she 
 moved away from the door. 
 
 " Yes, aunty," came a frightened ac- 
 quiescence. Then she held out to her 
 host a hand that trembled. "Thank 
 you, thank you, oh, so much, for being 
 so kind to me, and please don't think " 
 
 " Lydia," called her aunt impatiently 
 from the hall ; and leaving her sentence 
 unfinished, the girl added an " Oh, for- 
 give my not saying all I want to ! " even 
 as she ran after her aunt. 
 
 Finally getting to his crutches, Mr. 
 Murchison hobbled to the door, just in
 
 time to see the butler close the front 
 one. "Did you answer the bell just 
 now, Richards?" he asked quietly. 
 
 "Yes, sir; I wash jush goin' up- 
 shtairs when I hearsh it." 
 
 " And what did the lady say ? " 
 
 " She ashks for young lady, sir, an' I 
 tells her she dinin' wish you in back 
 room, an' then she hurrish down hall 
 wishout ashking permission." 
 
 " Very well. Go to bed." 
 
 The order given, Mr. Murchison 
 limped back to the center of the room, 
 and stood there leaning on his crutches. 
 The fire had died down, the unfinished 
 meal was on the table, the chairs were 
 askew, on the lounge was the shawl in 
 an untidy heap ; everything seemed dis- 

 
 
 
 ordered and uncomfortable. Yet only a 
 moment before it had all seemed pleas- 
 ant and cheery. He slowly looked 
 about, and the wall-paper, the carpet, the 
 furniture, even the colors, grated upon 
 him, though never before had he so 
 much as noticed any of them. 
 
 "Allan Murchison," he said aloud, 
 "you are a fool." 
 
 Having eased his mind, he did a like 
 service to his body, by a shrug of the 
 shoulders ; then he stumped to the table, 
 took up the little vase of violets, and 
 raised them to his face, but whether to 
 nose or lips was not clear, 
 
 " And having discovered it, it 's your 
 own fault if you remain one," he ended.
 
 
 AND Lydia ? 
 
 She had followed after her aunt, paus- 
 ing only to snatch up her bag, and with 
 it she staggered down the steps, regard- 
 less of dress or safety. 
 
 " Get in before me ! " she was or- 
 dered, and then the one word, " Home," 
 was called to the coachman as her aunt 
 entered the carriage and banged the 
 door. 
 
 " Oh, aunty, please, please don't speak 
 to me so 1 " begged the girl. " Do let 
 me explain how 
 
 " Explain ! " cried Mrs. Travers. " Ex- 
 plain your drinking champagne with a 
 strange man in a strange house ! " 
 
 " I did n't touch a drop," protested the 
 girl, "and neither "
 
 "Lydia, Lydia! It's all too terrible! 
 And to think what would have happened 
 if Mrs. Curtis had not telephoned me, 
 asking me where you were 1 That such 
 a horrible thing should " 
 
 "Oh, there was nothing wrong! It 
 was a dreadful mistake, my getting to 
 the wrong house, but 
 
 " And that you should stay there a 
 minute in such a place why, that 
 dreadful-looking, drunken brute at the 
 door should have prevented you from 
 even entering it. And then your ac- 
 tually sitting down to dinner with a 
 man " 
 
 " But I did n't, aunty, until I had found 
 he was a gentleman." 
 
 " Gentleman ! That creature in a
 
 smoking-jacket, who takes such advan- 
 tage of a young, ignorant, and silly girl 1 
 Gentleman, indeed 1 " 
 
 " He is, really he is, aunty, as you 'd 
 know if you 'd only let me tell you all 
 about it. And you must have seen 
 what a fine face he had." 
 
 "With his hair all rumpled and in 
 disorder." 
 
 " That was because he had been lying 
 down and " 
 
 " Hush, child ! Not another word, for 
 you only make it worse. Nobody 
 knows, for Thomas of course thinks he 
 brought you to the right house, and 
 I'll manage some explanation to Mrs. 
 Curtis ; but, oh, what can I say to your 
 father and mother?"
 
 blame 
 
 "I will teli 
 and they will 
 said Lydia, with quiet dignity. 
 
 "Child, child, how can you be so 
 blind! Don't you see what a dreadful 
 thing it has been ? No, no ! I don't want 
 to hear anything about it. The harm 's 
 done, and it can't be bettered by any- 
 thing that can be said." 
 
 And so her aunt talked until Lydia, 
 ceasing her attempts to justify herself, 
 broke down, and, her beautiful dress 
 forgotten, sobbed and sobbed until the 
 house was reached. There, at the com- 
 mand of her monitor, she hastily dried 
 her eyes, and with the hood of her cloak 
 held about her face to hide the tear- 
 stains from the footman, she fled past
 
 
 him, and up-stairs to her room. Long- 
 ing only for a chance really to vent her 
 grief, she closed and locked the door, 
 and then threw herself upon the bed and 
 wept and wept. 
 
 THE breakfast-hour at the Traverses', 
 Christmas morning, was at nine o'clock, 
 and Lydia brought to it a very pale face 
 and very red eyes, and she showed such 
 listlessness and want of appetite that Mr. 
 ' Travers, who at first was wholly absorbed 
 in narrating how the snow had impeded 
 his getting up-town to such an extent 
 that he was held in an elevated train over 
 four hours and did not reach home till 
 after eleven, finally forgot his own troubles 
 long enough to comment upon her.
 
 " Your first dinner seems to have 
 done you up pretty badly, little girl," he 
 said. " Ah, country folk can't stand up 
 to the racket that the city ones do. How- 
 ever, cheer up, for 1 Ve a nice present for 
 you in the library. And here 's another, 
 I '11 be bound," he added, as Morland ap- 
 peared and handed her a package. 
 
 "He's to wait for an answer," the 
 servant announced. 
 
 Slowly Lydia unknotted the string 
 and opened it. Within were two letters, 
 and she flushed suddenly as, lifting 
 them, she found underneath, the familiar 
 " Chemisch-Technisches Repertorium." 
 
 "Hello!" exclaimed her uncle. "What's 
 all this blushing about ? Let 's see your 
 printed valentine, Lydia."
 
 
 104 
 
 Without a word the girl handed him 
 the magazine, and then looked at her L/^ 
 two letters. One was without any in- 
 scription on the envelope; the second 
 was addressed to her. Breaking it open 
 she read as follows : 
 
 Christmas morning. 
 
 DEAR Miss GREENOUGH : I fear that unin- 
 tentionally I have been the cause of your being 
 blamed, and as I deserve any that is deserved, 1 
 have written in the enclosed envelop a full ex- 
 planation of the circumstances, which should save 
 you, at least, from all criticism. Will you kindly 
 hand it to your aunt, with an apology for the fact 
 that, not knowing her name, I cannot properly 
 direct it ? 
 
 I also send you the magazine, in the hope that 
 your leaving it behind was due to the suddenness 
 of your departure, and not to a desire of escaping 
 from it.
 
 
 
 '05 
 
 My doctor has been to see me this morning, and 
 ! told him that I would consent to be a " lounger " 
 no longer. My insistence has led him to put the 
 ankle in a plaster jacket, and I can now get about 
 with one crutch better than I could yesterday 
 with two, and so I write this to ask permission to 
 call upon you this afternoon, partly that I may 
 justify our conduct to your aunt, and partly in 
 the hope that I may renew an acquaintance I 
 should like to continue and strengthen. 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 ALLAN MURCHISON. 
 
 "Well, I can't say much for your 
 Christmas present, Lydia," laughed Mr. 
 Travers. " Who sent it to you ? " 
 
 " It is from Mr. Murchison," replied 
 the girl quietly. Then she turned to 
 her aunt. " Here is a letter from him 
 which he asks me to give to you, 
 and this is his letter to me. Will you
 
 please tell me what answer I ought to 
 make?" 
 
 " Not the Murchison who writes this 
 article ? " queried her uncle. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Pray how did you come to know 
 Allan Murchison?" 
 
 " I met him last night," said Lydia, 
 slightly shivering. 
 
 " And he sends you a letter and a 
 magazine before ten this morning ! Good. 
 You evidently made a conquest at your 
 first dinner, little girl, and a good one at 
 that. I 'm sure you liked him." 
 
 " Do you know anything about him, 
 Charles?" demanded Mrs. Travers, 
 looking up with surprise. 
 
 " Well, rather I He 's the consulting 
 
 Y.
 
 chemist of the Standard Chemical Com- 
 pany, and sometimes he 's called into 
 our board meetings." 
 
 "Indeed!" said the wife, showing 
 more interest. " And and what kind 
 of position is that ? " 
 
 " Oh, a very responsible and impor- 
 tant one." 
 
 " No. I mean, is it well paid ? " 
 
 Mr. Travers laughed. 
 
 " We pay him thirty thousand a year, 
 which our president says is n't enough, 
 and I Ve heard that he earns as much 
 more out of the royalties for some dis- 
 coveries he 's made. I know he 's one 
 of our large stockholders, and that 
 doesn't tend to poverty." 
 
 " Dear me ! " exclaimed Mrs. Travers,
 
 io8 
 
 with a most eloquent intonation. She 
 looked at the pale girl, and seemed to 
 hunt for something adequate to say; 
 not finding it, she settled back in her 
 chair, and very deliberately read, first 
 the letter to Lydia, and then the one 
 to herself. Evidently they gave her the 
 means of retreat, for, once they were 
 finished, she again looked at the girl 
 with a smile that had a world of sunshine
 
 ! 
 
 >*
 
 Mrs. Travers hesitated. 
 " Write him your thanks, child ; noth- 
 more." 
 
 :hat because I shall 
 letter by the same messenger, 
 to eat his Christmas dinner 
 
 AND to this day Allan Murchison often 
 speaks of his wife as "My Christmas 
 Present."
 
 Copyright, 1901 
 BY SMAIA, MAYNARD & CO.
 
 LOVE FINDS THE 
 WAY 
 
 I 
 
 WANT you all to look at that pic- 
 ture closely, and though the flicker 
 of the firelight makes it difficult to 
 see, I think you can detect a curious 
 roughness about the outline of the 
 figure, much as if the cobbler-artist who 
 painted it, finding his technique insuffi- 
 cient to make it project itself from the 
 background, had endeavoured to obtain 
 such an effect by actual layers of paint. 
 Look at the right shoulder, above the 
 epaulette, and you will perceive what
 
 "4 
 
 I mean. See how lumpily the paint is 
 laid on?" 
 
 "I can't say that I see anything 
 unusual," remarked some one. 
 
 "Then the light comes wrong for 
 you. I 'm sure that some of you sit so 
 that you can see to what I refer ? " 
 
 "Yes, yes, it's very noticeable," ac- 
 ceded a girl to whom the appeal was 
 made. 
 
 " As it will be to you all, when I tell 
 you its real nature. Imagine that once 
 that figure was cut from the surrounding 
 canvas by a knife, and that later, when 
 it was restored, the injury was painted 
 out, as well as could be, but inevitably 
 with a thickening of the paint at that 
 point almost into ridges." 

 
 
 
 "Yes. I see now what you mean," 
 assented a listener. 
 
 " Certainly. It 's as plain as can be," 
 agreed a second one. 
 
 " Well, my story has to do with that 
 particular fact, and I am going to leave 
 it to each of you to decide whether the 
 picture was the evil genius or the guard- 
 ian angel of the gentleman it represents. 
 It was painted by an unknown artist in 
 New York during the summer of 1 776, 
 and was intended to depict one Lieuten- 
 ant Richard Goddard, whose regiment 
 formed part of the forces with which 
 Washington was holding the city. Why 
 he chose the particular moment of war's 
 alarms to have himself painted, I cannot 
 say, but there are two horns to the
 
 n6 
 
 dilemma, and you are welcome to either, 
 or both. The first explanation is that 
 he had but just received his commission, 
 and doubtless was so proud of his new 
 uniform that the temptation to have a 
 counterfeit presentment of himself made 
 was irresistible. The second is that be- 
 tween guard duty and intrenching he 
 found time, or, perhaps, as better befitted 
 his calling, killed it, by becoming deeply 
 enamoured with his cousin, Phillis Goelet, 
 and it may have been that it was painted 
 at her behest, or, at least, in the hope 
 that it would find a favour in her eyes, 
 which, if family tradition is to be trusted, 
 the original was slow to achieve. We 
 know for certain that the actual sittings 
 took place at Fairview, her father's home.
 
 "7 
 
 overlooking the East River, and about 
 two miles from New York that is, 
 from Wall Street though the city then 
 straggled almost a mile farther north. 
 The Captain had been asked by his kins- 
 people to make his home with them, and 
 he and, I suspect, all the other young 
 officers were with them as much as their 
 military duties allowed ; and here on the 
 lawn the portrait was limned, with the 
 old house as a background. One can pic- 
 ture the scene as he posed and the artist 
 painted, and, to judge from his expression, 
 Miss Phillis is either saying something 
 teasing to him, or else some one of the 
 officers is uttering some piece of gallantry 
 to her. Or do you think it was merely 
 too early in the season for melons ? "
 
 "Harold, how absurd! Grandfather 
 was always very careful what he ate." 
 
 "At seventy-nine, yes, but that was 
 because he had n't been at twenty-two, 
 cousin. A man who doesn't learn the 
 lesson of green melons at twenty will 
 surely do so at seventy. However, we '11 
 say that he left the melon patch well 
 alone, probably because the rank and file 
 had already stripped it bare, and that the 
 expression is due to Miss Phillis's coquet- 
 ting with " 
 
 " Harold, you ought to be ashamed to 
 say such things. From the way you 
 talk, every one will think her a flirt." 
 
 " Did n't you tell me that she had six- 
 teen proposals of marriage, not counting 
 nibbles?"
 
 
 it g 
 
 "Yes. And it's true, for Mamma 
 told me." 
 
 " And what would you call a modern 
 girl who had sixteen offers ? " 
 
 "Oh, but that's different, Harold. 
 That would be horribly vulgar, of course, 
 but all the girls of that time had lots of 
 proposals. It was the way things were 
 then." 
 
 "Then why make boast of it in her 
 case ? " 
 
 "Why, you see Pshaw! I don't 
 boast of it, Harold; I only tell of it to 
 prove how beautiful and attractive she 
 was." 
 
 " Just as every girl of that generation 
 was, if you '11 believe their descendants. 
 But how about the men? "
 
 "Men? What do you mean?" de- 
 manded Mrs. Goddard. 
 
 "Why, if every girl had a baker's 
 dozen or so of lovers, what an awful 
 disgrace rests on our grandfathers." 
 
 "I don't understand what you mean, 
 Harold." 
 
 " That each one was in love a dozen 
 times before he could get a girl to have 
 him. They must have been awful 
 chumps. Really, Lieutenant Dick, I 
 don't wonder that you have the woe- 
 begone look to your mouth, which a 
 moment ago I ascribed to melons. Think 
 of being rejected that often I No wonder 
 they were six and eight bottle men; 
 nothing short of a hogshead would do 
 for me under such a series of disappoint-
 
 ments. Their hearts must have looked 
 as if they had been through a stone- 
 breaker set to make top-dressing for 
 macadam roads." 
 
 " Harold, you are perfectly unbearable. 
 She was his first and only love." 
 
 "Then I suppose eleven other girls 
 were short one proposal each, by his 
 being so ungallant, as well as unfashion- 
 able. How the dear creatures must have 
 hated him." 
 
 " Nothing of the kind. Mamma assured 
 me he was a great beau." 
 
 " Possibly because they liked a vari- 
 ation from the other kind. I should 
 think that what we may term the ' rapid- 
 fire ' lovers of that time must have been 
 rather a nuisance. As they usually
 
 married before they were much over 
 twenty, they must have proposed at 
 least three or four times a year. Probably 
 once at each solstice and equinox." 
 
 "If you don't stop being silly, and 
 tell your story, I'll begin one in your 
 stead." 
 
 " Excuse me, all, for the discursiveness. 
 To resume, Captain Dick sat for his 
 portrait and courted Miss Phillis until 
 early in August, when his regiment was 
 ordered to Brooklyn. There he shared 
 in the drubbing the Continental army 
 got, but, fortunately, having, as you will 
 see by the portrait, a good pair of legs, 
 he was not taken prisoner, and, having 
 successfully run away, he ' lived to fight 
 another day/ "
 
 
 123 
 
 " He was promoted for his conduct, 
 and you know it, Harold." 
 
 "Only because his superior officer 
 couldn't run fast enough and so was 
 captured. Clearly a company without 
 a captain would n't do, and so Dick was 
 given his colours. Well. Here he was 
 back again, and once more vainly sighing 
 at the pretty feet of Miss Phillis, none 
 the better, I presume, in her eyes, because 
 of his masterly retreat. He was not per- 
 mitted to sigh for long, however, for the 
 British effected a landing on Manhattan, 
 and once more good legs were at a pre- 
 mium. It is needless to relate the part 
 he bore in the retreat, first to the north 
 end of the island, and then to White 
 Plains, the one fact of importance to our 

 
 124 
 
 tale being that he left behind him at Fair- 
 view not merely the girl of his heart, but 
 the portrait, a full-length canvas not 
 being exactly equipage for a soldier in 
 an active campaign. It is to be hoped 
 that he paid the poor artist that is, 
 sign painter before departing." 
 
 "It's horrid for you to say such 
 things, Harold, and I don't see how you 
 can do it. I 'm sure he paid for it." 
 
 "Then he unquestionably did, though 
 ^ \ have known the masculine two and 
 twenty sometimes a trifle neglectful of 
 such little forms and conventions. And 
 now that one thinks of it, may not that 
 droop to the mouth be due to his worry- 
 ing over where on earth he was to get 
 the money to pay for the likeness?
 
 Passing that by, however, as irrelevant, 
 here we have Dick himself in Westchester 
 and Dick's portrait at Fairview, both 
 unhung, however deserving thereof the 
 former was in " 
 
 "Harold!" 
 
 "You should let me complete my 
 sentence however deserving thereof 
 the former was in the eyes of King 
 George's cohorts. Well, these same 
 British myrmidons pursued the retreating 
 Continentals into Westchester, intent 
 upon putting an end to resistance, an 
 intention persisted in until they came in 
 sight of the position Washington had 
 occupied. Not liking the look of it, and 
 wi 4 h a recollection of Bunker's Hill akin 
 t-i that of the child who has discovered
 
 
 by contact how a hot stove feels, they 
 took counsel and decided that there was 
 an opportunity for the brave Hessians 
 and Anspachers to cover themselves with 
 undying glory and a foot of top-soil. 
 Accordingly, the German regiments were 
 ordered to assault and carry the American 
 lines, and with alacrity and courage they 
 declined to rob the British grenadiers of 
 such an occasion for achieving fame. 
 As this prudent declaration did not tend 
 to increase the British liking for the task, 
 it was abandoned, and their forces fell 
 back to Manhattan, giving out in expla- 
 nation that those particular native grapes 
 were sour, and that they never had 
 wanted them any way. It is a story in 
 the family that when one of the British 

 
 127 
 
 officers who was quartered at Fairview 
 bitingly remarked that he 'd like to see 
 the face of Captain Goddard, Miss Phillis 
 replied that he might have gratified his 
 wish if he had taken the time to look 
 behind him in the retreat, a retort tending 
 to prove that though her ladyship might 
 not be willing to surrender to Captain 
 Dick herself, she did not propose to see 
 him the butt of any one else. There is 
 a curious distinction between a man's 
 and a woman's love, in that he knows 
 himself to be stricken with the first 
 symptoms of the fever, but she can have 
 the disease for months before she dis- 
 covers what it is." 
 
 " Sort of walking typhoid, eh ? " sug- 
 gested one of the listeners.
 
 128 
 
 "Much worse. Fewer recoveries," 
 muttered the old bachelor. 
 
 "Meantime, while Miss Phillis was 
 making the mouths of the British officers 
 alternately water and droop, as once she 
 had made Dick's " 
 
 "Then you acknowledge that he did 
 pay the poor artist," demanded the host- 
 ess, triumphantly. 
 
 "Is it kind to call the painter that, 
 cousin? Remember he is dead." 
 
 "You know perfectly well that I 
 did n't mean any criticism on the quality 
 of his work." 
 
 " Then you must have meant that he 
 was poor in a worldly sense ; ergo, it is 
 clear that Grandfather Richard had not 
 paid him ? " questioned the narrator.
 
 " Do finish your story, Harold," was 
 her only retort. 
 
 "I should have long since, but for 
 interruptions. Howe and his forces 
 having done their share of retreating, 
 it became a question in the Continental 
 camp whether the British were going 
 into winter quarters at New York, or 
 whether they were planning a descent 
 into New Jersey. Accurate knowledge 
 on this point was of enormous impor- 
 tance, and the little that was obtainable 
 was of the most conflicting nature. 
 Under these circumstances Captain Dick 
 offered to go into the city to see if he 
 could not get the needed information, 
 and his proposition was eagerly accepted. 
 The American cause still had friends in
 
 
 1)0 
 
 
 the town who could aid in the quest, 
 three of whom were named to the young 
 volunteer, and as the British could 
 scarcely guard the whole water front 
 of the city, it did not appear a difficult 
 task to effect a landing and a communi- 
 cation with them. 
 
 "As time was everything, Dick secured 
 the garb of a farmer, and rode some 
 twelve miles that afternoon to Morrisania. 
 One of the family after whom that place 
 was named, being in camp, had recom- 
 mended to the Captain a boatman who 
 could be relied upon, and, as soon as the 
 darkness permitted, they rowed out of 
 the Harlem into the East River, and 
 pulled for New York, expecting to reach 
 it some time before midnight. To their
 
 disappointment, they soon discovered 
 that a number of British frigates and 
 patrol boats were in the river, forcing 
 them to proceed with the utmost caution, 
 and thus long before their destination 
 was reached, the tide turned, which 
 meant more delay. Upon this the boat- 
 man refused to go farther, fearing that 
 he could not make good his own return 
 before daylight, and gave his companion 
 the choice of either being landed where 
 they were, or of returning with him. It 
 is needless to say which alternative he 
 took, and, accordingly, a little after three 
 o'clock the Captain found himself on 
 the shores of Manhattan, with but little 
 farther knowledge as to his whereabouts. 
 "Fortunately, the barking of a dog
 
 gave him a little guidance, and by this 
 clue he groped his way through a field 
 or two, until at last he came upon a 
 farm house, to which, because of the 
 dog and the unknown sympathies of its 
 occupants, he gave a wide berth, but by 
 its means was quickly upon the King's 
 Bridge road, and therefore upon familiar 
 ground. Turning southward upon it, 
 he took as rapid a pace as he dared, for, 
 not knowing where an outpost might be 
 placed, some prudence was necessary. 
 The wisdom of his precaution was soon 
 shown by his coming in sight of a picket 
 fire at the junction with the Middle Road. 
 Frequent strolls during the previous 
 summer with let us say, his fellow 
 officers had made all this well known
 
 country to him, and he turned off into a 
 lane, and then into one branching from 
 it, which brought him, just as the sky 
 was beginning to redden, behind the 
 barn of Fairview." 
 
 "Oh, ho!" exclaimed one of the 
 masculine listeners. 
 
 " That 's what I Ve been hoping he 'd 
 do," eagerly cried a feminine one. 
 
 "Proceeding cautiously, he stole around 
 the barn, and, wishing to make sure of 
 the place of quick retreat before venturing 
 to the house, he softly rolled back one 
 of the barn doors until there was space 
 enough for him to enter. What the 
 growing light revealed to him led to a 
 hasty retreat, for on piles of hay spread 
 on the floor lay three red-coated troopers,
 
 '34 
 
 and even as he drew back one of them 
 suddenly sat up, and looked about to see 
 what had disturbed him. A large chest- 
 nut tree stood within a few feet of the 
 barn, and Dick jumped quietly behind 
 it, not a moment too soon, for the cavalry- 
 man appeared at the door and looked 
 out, while he tried to rub the sleep from 
 his eyes. Seeing nothing, and too stupid 
 still to draw any inference from the 
 change in the door, he muttered a curse, 
 and went back to his hay. Waiting a 
 little for safety, the Captain left his con- 
 cealment, and keeping out of the range 
 of the crack, and using every bit of cover 
 that he could, he sneaked his way to the 
 house. It was now almost daylight and 
 every moment was making his situation
 
 more perilous. Hoping to gain aid from 
 within, and knowing that the servants 
 would be first stirring, he went to the 
 kitchen, and peeped in at one of the 
 windows. Here, again, he was doomed 
 to disappointment, for he could see by 
 the light of the mouldering logs in the 
 fireplace more sleeping figures stretched 
 on the floor. 
 
 "Oftentimes our luckiest actions are 
 forced upon us, and so it proved in this 
 case. While Goddard momentarily de- 
 bated what it was best to do, the sound 
 of the barn doors being rolled open at- 
 tracted his attention, and there issued 
 forth one of the troopers, leading a horse. 
 He was followed by a second and then a 
 third one, each with a horse, and then
 
 all took their way to the watering trough, 
 which was in plain view of the house. 
 Our Captain at the first warning had 
 placed himself behind the vines growing 
 about the kitchen porch, this being the 
 only cover at hand, and here he stood, 
 though wishing that he had sought con- 
 cealment in the orchards or elsewhere, 
 and trusting that they would presently 
 return to the barn and give him a chance 
 to escape. Even this hope was quickly 
 killed, for, as the horses drank, one of 
 
 can t get 'em up in the morning.
 
 '37 
 
 I can't get 'em up, 
 
 I can't get 'em up, 
 
 I can't get 'em up at all.' 
 " As if echoing a disproof, the Captain 
 heard sounds which indicated that those 
 within were stirring, and he knew that 
 the protecting vines, which the autumn 
 frosts had almost stripped of their leaves, 
 would be no concealment from any one 
 coming on to the porch. For an instant 
 he balanced either a run for it or boldly 
 joining the men at the trough ; then as 
 the best, he put his foot on the lattice 
 and as quickly as he could climbed to 
 the roof of the porch. Here, by lying 
 down, he could almost conceal himself 
 from view. This he effected, and none 
 too soon, for barely was he placed, when
 
 he heard the kitchen door open, and 
 footsteps below him, sounds which 
 turned the eyes of those at the trough 
 towards the house, and, as he could see 
 them plainly, he realised that if their 
 attention was not fixed on their fellow 
 troopers, a little lifting of their eyes 
 would reveal him to them. Fortunately 
 for him, the two groups began to gird 
 at each other, as those below left the 
 porch and walked toward their fellows. 
 The newcomers after a moment's pause 
 with their fellows continued on to the 
 barn, evidently to get their own chargers, 
 and those at the trough faced about to 
 continue the vocal sparring. 
 
 "It was the Captain's one chance, 
 and, getting on his knees, he tried the
 
 window, which, to his relief, he found 
 was unfastened. Not losing an instant, 
 he raised it enough to gain entrance, and 
 crawled in. Turning, he closed the 
 window, at the same time looking to 
 see if the dragoons had discovered 
 him, and he breathed easier when he 
 saw them still intent on their various 
 occupations. 
 
 " Safe for the time being, or at least 
 out of his worst peril, Captain Dick 
 turned about. A big four-post bedstead, 
 with the curtains still buttoned together, 
 warned him that the bed was probably 
 still occupied, and two pairs of heavy 
 riding boots on the floor, and sundry 
 parts of uniforms thrown on chairs, only 
 served to assure him that he had but
 
 140 
 
 changed, and not escaped the dangers 
 that beset him. 
 
 "'Is that you, McCoy?' asked a 
 sleepy voice from behind the curtains. 
 
 "Close to the window by which he 
 had entered was a door, and, as his one 
 chance, Dick softly opened it and slipped 
 through, to find himself in a closet 
 redolent of lavender. 
 
 "'Is that you, McCoy?' again de- 
 manded the voice. 
 
 a second voice ; 
 "'I thought 
 room, man.'
 
 '4' 
 
 there was no going to bed and no 
 getting up.' 
 
 " Well. More grumbling followed, and 
 the two finally set on to dressing, no 
 detail of which is worth mention save 
 the circumstance that in pulling on his 
 boots one of the officers, by ill luck, 
 chose to lean against the closet door, 
 which promptly closed tight, and latched 
 itself. At the moment Captain Dick 
 gave the tell-tale click no thought, but 
 when the men finally left the room, and 
 he ran his hand up and down the door, 
 to find only a smooth surface, he realised 
 that by that small accident he had been 
 made a prisoner. It is true that probably 
 he could, by bracing himself, force the 
 latch, but on consideration he preferred 

 
 143 
 
 not to risk the noise of it, preferring to 
 wait the coming of one of the servants, 
 knowing for certain that he could trust 
 any of them to release him quietly, and 
 to aid him in every possible way. So 
 like a philosopher he settled himself on 
 the floor in the most restful attitude he 
 could compass, and waited. 
 
 " It seemed to him ages elapsed before 
 any one entered the room, and, when at 
 last some one did, it brought only dis- 
 appointment to the prisoner, for the 
 heavy stride bespoke a man. He was 
 followed presently by one of the maids, 
 and the poor Captain was forced to listen 
 to a half-bantering, half-gallant conver- 
 sation as one made the beds and tidied 
 the room and the other polished the
 
 '43 
 
 swords and buckles; and apparently 
 this semi-flirtation greatly lengthened 
 the dual tasks. Finally the maid com- 
 pleted her duties and departed to another 
 room, and then all the sounds that came 
 to the hungry, sleepy, and tired man 
 was the faint rubbing of brushes or 
 chamois. 
 
 " Suddenly he sat up from his recum- 
 bent position against the wall, with a 
 consciousness that he had been asleep, 
 but for how long he had not the slightest 
 idea. For a moment he was too dazed 
 to remember his whereabouts, but in a 
 flash it came back, and he listened. 
 
 "'Capotted, by George/ he heard a 
 man say. 
 
 " ' Damn the luck,' muttered another,
 
 '44 
 
 and then followed the clink of coins. 
 1 For heaven's sake, man, do deal faster.' 
 
 " A pause ensued, and then : 
 
 " ' Seven in suit/ 
 
 "'Good.' 
 
 " ' And a sixieme.' 
 
 " ' Good, curse it.' 
 
 " ' And three aces.' 
 
 " ' Not good.' 
 
 " ' Seven and sixteen are twenty-three, 
 and nine cards and a card played are 
 thirty-three Forty-three I score, and 
 Hallo ! What brings you, Howgate ? ' 
 
 "'Orders from headquarters,' replied 
 a new voice. ' The regiment is to mus- 
 ter to-morrow morning before daylight.' 
 
 "'What 'sin the wind?' 
 
 "'Headquarters don't tell, but as
 
 '45 
 
 similar orders have been issued to seven 
 other regiments, and as we are to embark 
 our horses, 't is evident the Jerseys are 
 to be invaded.' 
 
 " ' Ten guineas that we eat our Christ- 
 mas dinner in Philadelphia,' offered one 
 of the card players. 
 
 "'If we don't meet with a second 
 White Plains.' 
 
 ""Tis on that very fact I base my 
 offer. With Washington in Westchester 
 we can be well across the Delaware be- 
 fore he so much as knows we Ve started.' 
 
 "As can be imagined, this was news 
 to the Captain, which set him to alter- 
 nately blessing his stars that he should 
 have been in a position to hear it and 
 to cursing them that that same posi-
 
 , 4 6 
 
 tion allowed him to put his knowledge 
 to such little use. After some more talk, 
 needless here to repeat, the officer who 
 had brought the order departed, and the 
 two resumed their card playing, to the 
 disgust of the prisoner, who fretted and 
 fumed as he was forced to listen to the 
 monotonous declarations and countings, 
 varied only by the chink of coin or the 
 exclamation of joy or anger at some par- 
 ticular piece of luck, either good or bad. 
 Having no idea how long he had slept, 
 he could form no conclusion as to the 
 probable time, save by the fact that the 
 air of the closet was becoming well-nigh 
 insupportable. Yet there was nothing 
 to do but submit to the enforced im- 
 prisonment and suffocating atmosphere,
 
 147 
 
 for a discovery was certain but to make 
 the former more serious, and probably 
 only terminated by a suffocation abso- 
 lutely fatal. 
 
 "At last a bell, which the Captain 
 recognised as that rung for meals, 
 sounded, putting a finish to the cards 
 and drawing the players downstairs. 
 Ere the tramp of their boots had sounded 
 through the lower hall, Goddard had his 
 back braced against the wall, and one 
 foot on the door, but then faltered and 
 waited, for he knew that he could not 
 force his way out without noise, so he 
 concluded to let them get well started in 
 their eating and drinking before he made 
 the attempt, knowing full well that few 
 things are so engrossing to human kind.
 
 " To make sure that his own eagerness 
 should not get the better of his prudence, 
 he slowly counted two hundred, then 
 braced himself and pushed on the door, 
 slowly increasing the pressure. One 
 foot proving unequal to the purpose, he 
 added the second one. This proved too 
 much for the stout ash, and, though the 
 heavy latch and hinges held firm, the 
 whole centre of the door, both cross and 
 panels, suddenly gave way with a crash, 
 which to Dick sounded as if the whole 
 house were coming down about his ears. 
 
 "As the wood caved outward, the 
 Captain went to the floor none too 
 lightly. Without stopping to pick him- 
 self up, he crawled through the outlet. 
 In the closet he had planned out exactly
 
 what course to pursue. If a glance out 
 of the window showed him a clear field, 
 he intended to descend as he had come, 
 and to trust to the fleetness of his legs 
 and the nearness of the orchards and 
 woods in making a run for it ; but if he 
 saw that the dragoons still blocked that 
 road to liberty, then he hoped to conceal, 
 but not imprison himself in one of the 
 adjoining rooms, and to bide a chance 
 for actual escape, either with or without 
 the aid of his relations. 
 
 " In these carefully thought out plans, 
 the Captain had failed to take one possi- 
 bility into account, and so he was very 
 much taken back to find that he had 
 crawled into an absolutely dark room, 
 and that out of doors was equally dark. 

 
 '50 
 
 He had slept during the noon-tide meal 
 and that now being discussed was 
 supper. 
 
 " Few minds act to advantage when 
 suddenly surprised, and that of the Cap- 
 tain led him to do what was probably 
 the poorest thing he could do. Quite 
 ignoring the fact that if the darkness 
 would conceal him, it would also con- 
 ceal whatever danger there might be, he 
 carried out his first intention, and raising 
 the window, he stepped out on the roof 
 of the porch. He had barely done so 
 when he became conscious of men's 
 voices below him, and he realised that 
 an unknown number of people were 
 standing or sitting on the porch. Barely 
 was he assured of this, when his ears
 
 were greeted with the demand from 
 below : 
 
 "'Hello! Who's above there?' 
 "As quietly as was possible with 
 quickness, Dick stepped back through 
 the window, and went groping his way 
 across the room. He had lost precious 
 time, however, for as he put his hand on 
 the latch of the door, he heard steps out- 
 side in the hall. None the less he opened 
 it just enough to look out. What first 
 caught his eye was the flickering light 
 of a candle, carried by one of the negro 
 servants of his uncle, but its light also 
 served to reveal the unwelcome presence 
 of two troopers, one standing at the head 
 of the stairs, and the second close behind 
 the negress.
 
 " ' What is it, Boggs ? ' enquired some 
 one on the floor below. 
 
 " ' Devil burn me, if I know what it 
 was, Captain,' one of the men replied, 
 ' but it sounded for all the world like 
 a twelve-pound shot tearing its way 
 through a partition.' 
 
 "'Never mind what it sounded like. 
 Look about and see what 't was.' 
 
 " ' Very good, sir/ 
 
 " ' Oh, Massa Soldier, you don't tink it 
 was no sperit ? ' questioned the negress, 
 while she glanced about apprehen- 
 sively. 
 
 ""Twas a mighty solid one, if it 
 was,' laughed the dragoon. ' We '11 look 
 in here first,' he suggested, making a 
 motion toward the door of a room
 
 opposite the one in which they stood. 
 1 Give me the candle.' 
 
 " ' For the lub of Heaben, don't take 
 de light away. Dey say de debil dun 
 fly off with folks sometimes/ whimpered 
 the woman. 
 
 " ' Nonsense I ' growled the man, and 
 catching the candle from her hand, he 
 disappeared through the doorway, leav- 
 ing the hall in almost total darkness. 
 
 "It was the condition for which 
 Goddard had been hoping, and he stole 
 through the doorway and on tip-toe 
 groped his way towards the stairs, 
 intending to take the soldier who stood 
 at its head by surprise, and then to make 
 a dash for it. Unfortunately, the negress, 
 in terror of the darkness, was seeking to
 
 escape from the upper hall, and so the 
 two came into violent collision. This 
 drew from her a series of ear-splitting 
 shrieks, and a clutch at the Captain's 
 arm so desperate that it took all his 
 strength to free himself. Just as he 
 broke loose from it, the hall was lighted 
 up by the return of the trooper, with the 
 candle, from the bedroom, which revealed 
 the dragoon still standing at the head of 
 the stairs. 
 
 "'We have him/ he called, and the 
 second shouted, ' Here 's the thief.' 
 
 " Quick as a flash the Captain sprang 
 back towards the man with the light, and 
 with a sweep of his arm sent the candle- 
 stick flying from his hand ; this done, he 
 dodged sideways as far as the wall would
 
 let him, and then pressing as flat against 
 it as he could, he edged along it till he 
 reached the end of the baluster. Guided 
 by this, he moved rapidly to the head of 
 the stairs, where he was forced to halt a 
 moment to find out the position of the 
 trooper. 
 
 " He who had held the candle was 
 expressing his opinion in unmeasured 
 Anglo-Saxon, and warning his com- 
 panion to look sharp. 
 
 " ' Look sharp ! ' replied the soldier, 
 so near the fugitive that it made him 
 jump. ' Nice advice after you letting 
 the rogue ' 
 
 " There Goddard's fist, full in the face, 
 cut short the speech, and sent the fellow 
 rolling downstairs; and his assailant
 
 followed almost as rapidly. Before the 
 bottom was reached candles lighted the 
 lower hall, and Dick saw that if he con- 
 tinued it would only be to rush into the 
 arms of three officers. Turning, with 
 the intention of retracing his steps, he 
 found the soldier awaiting him above. 
 One glance showed him the cause was 
 up, and with coolness and good sense 
 he calmly sat down on a step. 
 
 "'What is it? What is it?' Phillis's 
 voice asked, and at the same instant she 
 and her father appeared beside the officers. 
 
 " His moment to collect himself served 
 the Captain in good stead, for he had 
 gathered his wits together, and now, 
 before either of his relatives had so much 
 as seen, much more recognized him, he
 
 said, 'Oh, please, sir, Squire Goelet, 
 things look agin me, but 1 swow I did n't 
 come to thieve, but only to ask a favour 
 of you, an' as you wuz at supper, Fanny 
 told me to go right up and get what I 
 wanted, and I hope, sir, that I did n't do 
 wrong, sir, and that if I did, you '11 for- 
 give me, for really, Squire, I did n't in- 
 tend no offence.' Goddard purposely 
 kept on talking, first to cover the very 
 natural exclamations of surprise which 
 both Mr. Goelet and his daughter uttered 
 at hearing his voice, and then to give 
 them time to recover themselves. And 
 as he spoke, he rose and slowly descended 
 the stairs. ' Don't you know me 
 Josh Riley Squire?' he ended, as he 
 reached the bottom of the flight.
 
 "'Whoever you are,' growled the 
 soldier, holding his jaw with one hand 
 and feeling his shoulder with the other, 
 ' What do you mean by' 
 
 " ' Silence ! ' ordered one of the officers. 
 ' Do you know this fellow ? ' he asked 
 of Mr. Goelet. 
 
 " ' Yes, yes/ broke in Phillis, with her 
 hand on her father's arm. ' It 's just as 
 he says. He 's Josh Riley.' 
 
 " 'And what were you doing upstairs ? ' 
 demanded the officer. 
 
 " ' I own it wuz n't with permission,' 
 said Dick, with a cringing manner, ' but 
 fmdin' the Squire wuz at supper, I put 
 it to Fanny if I should disturb him, and 
 she said to go right up.' 
 
 " ' What for ? ' persisted the questioner.
 
 " ' Why for the medicine, Kunel,' ex- 
 plained Dick, finding an explanation just 
 as he needed it. 
 
 " ' And did you get it, Joshua ? ' asked 
 Phillis. 
 
 " ' No, Miss Phillis. It wuz dark, an' 
 I went kerplump into suthin, and made 
 such a tarnel racket I thought the house 
 wuz comin' down. An' then I heard 
 folks a comin', an' thought I 'd made too 
 free perhaps, and so I tried to sneak out, 
 and then I ran into Dinah, and she set 
 up sech a screechin' that I clean went 
 off my head, and in tryin' to get away I 
 knocked the light out of the snoger's 
 hand and hit this one a clip in the jaw. 
 'Deed, I 'm sorry, Squire, and Mr. Officers, 
 and I hope you won't hold it up agin me.'
 
 
 i6o 
 
 "'Of course, you won't, will you, 
 Father!' remarked Phillis. 
 
 " ' Why, certainly not, Joshua. Come 
 with me, and ye shall drink a glass of 
 Madeira, and then ye shall have any 
 medicine I can give ye.' 
 
 " A general move to the dining room 
 followed, Dick fairly hugging himself 
 over the success of his finesse. Once 
 there, as the officers resumed their seats, 
 the host filled a glass from the decanter, 
 and presented it to Goddard. 
 
 "'I'll get the medicine while you 
 drink,' offered Phillis. 'I hope your 
 little brother isn't any worse?' 
 
 "' Thank 'ee, Miss, and may you be 
 rewarded as you deserve. He's about 
 the same/
 
 "While they were exchanging these 
 remarks, one of the officers rose, and 
 went to the hall door. From that coign 
 of vantage he said : ' I believe I am not 
 mistaken in thinking we are honoured 
 with the presence of Captain Goddard.' 
 
 "'What the deuce do you mean?' 
 demanded a fellow officer. 
 
 " ' If you '11 compare the portrait in the 
 next room with Mr. Joshua Riley, I don't 
 think you '11 remain in doubt.' 
 
 "'What? Ho! A good matching of 
 the cards, Lieutenant.' 
 
 " Goddard drew a long breath. ' Well, 
 gentlemen,' he said, 'as you will have 
 me an officer, pray treat me as one. I 
 have not tasted food or drink since yes- 
 terday at four. May I satisfy nature a
 
 little, now that the game is up? I 
 pledge you my word to make no attempt 
 to escape while I eat/ 
 
 " ' Aye, sit down, man, and eat your 
 fill/ cried the commander, ' and sorry I 
 am for you/ 
 
 " Dick turned and took Miss Phillis's 
 hand and kissed it. ' I 'm glad that you 
 are at the end of it/ he said. 
 
 "'What end?' enquired the girl, 
 innocently. 
 
 " ' Of my capture/ replied Dick, with 
 a slight choke. Then he took his seat, 
 only to find that the thirst and hunger 
 which had so tormented him in the 
 closet were things of the past. He tried 
 to eat, but each mouthful nearly strangled 
 him.
 
 " A strange quiet, full of significance, 
 had come over every one, finally broken 
 by Mr. Goelet whispering a couple of 
 questions to the man on his right. 
 
 " ' Nothing,' the latter said aloud, after 
 a shake of the head. 
 
 "'Not even Sir William?' 
 
 " ' No. It 's too plain a case/ 
 
 "'Case of what? 'asked Phillis, sus- 
 piciously. 
 
 " 'Nothing, my dear,' replied her father, 
 gently, but she saw the tears in his eyes. 
 
 "'Father, what is it?' she cried. 
 ' Dick, you will tell me,' she appealed. 
 
 "Twice the Captain tried to speak, 
 and twice he failed ; finally he turned to 
 Mr. Goelet. ' For God's sake, uncle, tell 
 her,' he begged.
 
 ,64 
 
 '"Come with me, Phillis,' said her 
 father, rising and going to the door 
 which opened into the parlour. 
 
 " As Phillis was about to follow, she 
 halted, and spoke, 'You will not take 
 my cousin away to prison before I 
 return, will you, Major Sutherland?' 
 
 "'Certainly not, Miss Goelet. I'll 
 promise that you have speech with him 
 before sending him to the Provost.' 
 
 " After the two were gone, the Major 
 whispered some orders to one of the 
 officers, and he, too, left the room. 
 Before long he returned with two 
 troopers and reported that horses were 
 saddled and an escort waiting. 
 
 " That is all, Lieutenant. I shall ride 
 to the Provost myself, and then report
 
 
 the capture to Sir William. Will you tell 
 Miss Goelet that we must be moving ? ' 
 
 "Even as he spoke, Mr. Goelet re- 
 entered the room, and the Major repeated 
 his request to him. 
 
 " ' My daughter, sir, is naturally very 
 much upset by the terrible news I was 
 compelled to break to her, and she begs 
 you to give her a few moments to re- 
 cover herself. Surely five minutes is 
 little to ask for in such a matter?' 
 
 "'True, Mr. Goelet, and I would I 
 might grant more than that. Tell her 
 that her wish is a command to me.' 
 
 " Once more Mr. Goelet returned to 
 the parlour, and once more the men in 
 the dining room relapsed into moody 
 silence. It was a woman's that is, a
 
 i66 
 
 long five minutes they had to wait, 
 but at last, the girl, looking very white, 
 but also contained, opened the door of 
 the parlour. She came no farther, but 
 from that point she said, 
 
 " 'Major Sutherland, I have one more 
 request to make, and one that I implore 
 you to grant.' 
 
 " ' But name it, Miss Goelet.' 
 
 " ' There was more between my cousin 
 Richard and myself than the world had 
 knowledge of, and I pray of you that we 
 may say a farewell to each other in this 
 room, out of hearing of all but ourselves.' 
 
 "'It is granted,' assented the com- 
 mander, 'but I must first place a man 
 outside the window and door that ' 
 
 " ' T is needless, sir, for we will not
 
 close the door, and will stand in clear 
 sight during the whole interview,' cried 
 Phillis. ' Oh, sir, do not prolong my 
 misery.' 
 
 " ' Forgive me, but I must take pre- 
 cautions, Miss Goelet. However, this 
 will do, if you go not out of our 
 observation,' he added, as, entering the 
 parlour, he bolted the window, and lock- 
 ing the door into the hall, put the key 
 into his pocket. Leaving her, he returned 
 to the dining room, and said to Dick, 
 ' You must take your farewell now, sir,' 
 and then took a place at the table from 
 which he could watch the girl, who was 
 now standing beside the mantel. 
 
 " The Captain bowed his thanks, too 
 deeply moved to speak, and went to his
 
 i68 
 
 love. The Major saw him fake her hand, 
 and so they stood for a moment ; then 
 the girl's head dropped on Dick's 
 shoulder, and he put his arms about 
 her. Ashamed to watch, the Major 
 raised his glass and, as he drank, looked 
 at the ceiling. When his head and eyes 
 resumed their normal position, he saw 
 that the only change that had taken 
 place in their position was that now 
 Miss Goelet's back was turned to him, 
 though her head still lay on Goddard's 
 shoulder. With an imprecation on the 
 duties of soldiering, the officer reached 
 out and refilled his glass from the 
 decanter. 
 
 "An ear-rending scream from the 
 kitchen, followed by loud voices, broke
 
 ,69 
 
 on the quiet, and there appeared in the 
 doorway one of the negro servants. 
 
 " * Massa Goelet, woon youse tell dese 
 wuthless dragoons ter behave? Massa 
 Officer, dey jes drive poor Dinah mos 
 'stracted.' 
 
 "'What's the matter?' questioned 
 Sutherland. 
 
 " ' Mattah ? Deyse jis all over every- 
 ting Deyse ' 
 
 " ' Look to it, Lieutenant,' ordered the 
 Major, 'and see that the men behave 
 themselves.' Suddenly realizing that he 
 was looking towards the kitchen, he 
 turned and glanced into the parlour, to 
 find the lovers still standing as they had 
 been before the interruption. Coming 
 back to his first intention, he drank off
 
 /TO 
 
 his wine, and setting the glass down 
 rose as he did so. ' I don't wish to be 
 cruel, Captain Goddard,' he said, 'but 
 time presses, and ' 
 
 "'Just a minute more,' broke in 
 Phillis's voice, and the Major settled 
 back into his seat, and once again filled 
 and slowly emptied his glass. 
 
 " ' I '11 have up another bottle, Major/ 
 suggested Mr. Goelet. 
 
 " ' Not for me, thank you, for I must 
 be in the saddle and attending to this 
 wretched business,' replied the officer as 
 he pushed his chair back, and walked to 
 the parlour doorway. ' I must ask you 
 to come now, Captain,' he said. 
 
 "The pair remained motionless, and 
 again Sutherland started to repeat his
 
 request. Before it was half uttered, he 
 sprang forward, only to find Phillis with 
 her arms about the picture of the Cap- 
 tain, which had been hastily cut from its 
 frame, while the open window, hitherto 
 concealed from him by the chimney 
 breast, told an equally plain story. The 
 whole thing had been planned out before 
 her return to the dining room, the pic- 
 ture cut from its background with a 
 knife, rolled up and put on the mantel, 
 and Dinah instructed to create the 
 diversion she so successfully did, during 
 which, of course, Master Dick was 
 whisked behind the chimney breast 
 where he could unbolt and raise the 
 window, while Miss Phillis raised his 
 canvas simulation to her heart. And so
 
 now you have the story of those humpy 
 lines in the portrait, and my only won- 
 der is that they don't show more." 
 
 "And did he escape?" asked some 
 one of the house party. 
 
 " ' Did he escape ? ' What a question 
 to ask! Do you suppose he could be 
 recaptured after all that ? No, he safely 
 reached Washington's camp with his 
 information, of course. The Continental 
 army was shifted at once to New Jersey, 
 held the British in check as long as it 
 could, and finally, at Trenton and Prince- 
 ton, saved our nation." 
 
 "And did Phillis and he marry?" 
 asked a feminine listener. 
 
 " Of course, again ! Don't you know 
 that her saving him in that way, accord-
 
 '73 
 
 to all the rules of 
 
 romance, was the 
 next thing to a clergyman and a ring ? ? ' 
 
 " How delightful to have a portrait 
 with such a history!" sighed a senti- 
 mental maiden of nameless years. "I 
 should think you 'd be so proud of your 
 ancestor, Mrs. Goddard." 
 
 "I always have been," acceded the 
 hostess. 
 
 " And from to-night I think my cousin 
 will be prouder than ever, I predict," 
 asserted the story teller, " because much 
 of this was new to her, and I think she 
 ought to thank me for grubbing it out 
 of musty old papers." 
 
 " But I say," remarked one of the 
 older men, " that English major was five 
 kinds of a fool, it seems to me."
 
 '74 
 
 " 1 think he was fairly typical of the 
 British officer," agreed the story teller. 
 
 "And do you mean to say that he 
 could mistake the portrait for the pris- 
 oner, with the one in full uniform and 
 three-cornered hat, and the other in farm- 
 er's clothes, and I presume, from what 
 he had gone through, bareheaded?" 
 demanded an objector. 
 
 " You are one of the fellows whom it 
 is impossible to please," protested Mr. 
 Goddard. " I 've told you the story ; 
 now why do you want to pick holes 
 in it?" 
 
 "But it's impossible to believe that 
 he" 
 
 " Oh, dear, here 's another one. You 
 wanted a story, and I've done my best.
 
 '75 
 
 If you had asked for history, I'd have 
 taken down one of the reports of the 
 Historical Manuscripts Commission, over 
 there, and read aloud to you a series of 
 documents. But that isn't what you, 
 or the public want, and you know it. 
 An ox team could n't drag either of you 
 to spend an hour on such a book. * Tell 
 us a story/ you beg, 'in which the daring 
 hero gets idiotically into the most des- 
 perate of dangers, and just as everything 
 is lost, let the brave and beautiful heroine 
 save him by some wonderful device, and 
 let him save the country, and when the 
 dove of peace appears with the olive 
 branch, which but for these twain would 
 never have been, let them be married, 
 under the stars and stripes, and roses."

 
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