Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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~i^ewis m. grist, Proprietor, j $nltejjcttbent Jfamiljj ftetospaper: |for % ^tmnotimt if fp| |plitkal, Social, ^gritrftnral anir dmtmerral Interests of t|e Swt|. * ???- {terms?$3.00 a teas, in a&tasce. vat,. 17. . yoekyille, s. c., tht^sday, january 5, 1871. ^to. 1^ . . - i ',;*. r-:' / ?tigiHid ffletrg. CARRIER'S ADDRKS8 TO THE PATRONS OK THEYOREVILLE ENQUIRER, JANUARY 1,1871. To-day beheld a new year's earliest gleam, How rapidly the changing seasons flee, Chasing each other over Time's swift stream As billow follows billow on the heaving sea. Drifting us with them to eternity ! We are]ust mounting on the new wave's crest, Others, who with ns rode the old in glee, Beneath the current's flow have snnk to rest, 'again the winds and tides of life to breast. Some among those whose voyage hours are fled Left names that bright will glitter on the scroll Which beara the list of earth's illustrious dead, And shlntf with growing lustre as the ages roll. ? One must be mentioned?Lee whose noble soul Alike in battle, whether lost or won, [bowl, And when the Southland drained affliction's Displayed a greatness second unto none And gained a glory twin with that of Washington. Strange is the picture which the passing years Print on the memories of all our race? ?^-A-mingled retrospect of smiles and tears; All are alike, as face resembles face, jt "On* rn. avanfn which historv will trace. : Which will along all time their shadows cast, The year expired will hold a leading plaoe ? And loom conspicuous in the vanished, past, As one of revolution^ strife and changes vast. The Roman pope has lost his temporal reign, Which for twelve centuries has been his'dojver; A new-born dynasty holds rule in Spain; Old Italy resumes her national power; And he who In fair France restored the tower Of greatness founded on Napoleon's name Has seen Iiis empire wither as a flower, His armies melt like wax before the flame, Himself a captive and eclipsed liiscountry's fame. The feud of ages has blazed forth again And lit the torch of war along the Rhine, Dyeing that often devastated plain With richer vintage than its native wine. The storm blew westward?its red fires now shine Around devoted Paris, where extend The oonquering legions of the German line. Mighty events the old world's pains porteud? Perhaps the prophesied beginning of the end. & But the now world shows nothing grand or charming. In our own State the most conspicuous figure In politics, religion, law and farming, Ir, as of yore, the everlasting nigger. [bigger Who, far from lessening his high port, grows And tinges our horizon a dark blue. As omnipresent as a summer jigger, Ho has that insect's power of torment too, And where hegets his nippers in ho sticks like glue. In Carolina he's Hyperion", Whose hyacinthian curls are made the test Of loyalty and worth's criterion. "His candidate, although he be possossed Of nothing but a carpet-bag, is blest. For did he not last fall, by self or proxies, Help many a hungry chap to some fat nest, Aided by a slight juggling with the boxes ? [es. For which, by order, wegavo thanks like pious foxBut let us drop this nightmare of our dreams, And turn from things that interest the nation ; The little world of York will furnish themes Which must be briefly glanced at in narration, Though worthy ofa longer contemplation, [out First came the Air-Line humbug, which brought Full many an essay and oration ; But lime and taxes sent it up the spout, [route. And Buford all the time had York scratched off the And then sprang up the Morganton extension, W&ich stirred our pulses up to double-quick ; All that is .necessary here to mention Is that it runs on paper very slick. Then thebigflre, which burned likecandle-wiok, That was a night of toil and noise, by jabers; For many nice young men in town got sick, Exhausted by their strenuous shouts and labors In striving to protect the houses of their neighbors. Then the militia and the late election? But these recall the darkey, our dread fate; So we dismiss them from reflection, And will but one more great event narrate. * i 1 v nnrvnx of tlift cmto a new nup iou?ci3 j \jui [nipi? ...? a? A chap just one size bigger than a crow, Who makes his bow to-day in all due state And, with great deference, begs to let you know That you should promptly pay the devil what you owe. Jin ?rigiufll fri^e Jdotg. Written for the Yorkville Enquirer. A TIi ON A. BY MRS. M. A. EWART RIPLEY. CHAPTER I. THE SIGNATURE. About twelve years ago, the "Mountain House," at the sign of the "Stag" was considered the very best hotel in a modest village in one of the upper districts* of South Carolina. It was there that travelers from the southern and southeastern parts of the State usually took up their abode when en route for the , mountains of her sister States. In the month j of November, however, such guests were un- j usual, and the "Stag" was at present favored with but one stranger besides its customary occupants. A lthough fqf a week or ten days the undisturbed possessor of one of the most j comfortable rooms in the house, and the petted guest of the motherly landlady, yet he seemed thoroughly dissatisfied with himself, trltli bis HnrroundinM. lounged listlessly w* " ..." a , a about, yawned wearily, and finally, with evident effort, sat down to complete a letter he had previously been writing? "My health is improving?in evidence of which I have not had a chill since I left you. But you would pity my loneliness, my list lessuetSa/iiiy"enfttff could .you see me. The journal which I promised to make so interesting, and to transmit to you regularly has never gotten beyond?'Btose at six?breakfasted at seven?took a stroll?dined at one? walked to the office on the arrival of the mail?supped at seven?and to bed at ten." This, varied by my daily horse-back exercise, an occasional day of gunning or coursing, an "evening at tlfe office of the physician or lawyer?who, by the way are both clever, intelligent young fellows, though rather professional?an informal visit from the village school-master?a mild, pedantic, benevolent ' epitome of the classics, whose oracular judgments are pronounced ex-cathedra, and from whose decisions there can be no appeal?comprise the daily routine of my life. Tell Mary, my bonnie, winsome Mary, I have not seen a r?* r\r>r\ T 1 oft li At* Oiw) 1 All CT "f A T ft pretty ?ni oiuw x .wv ?..v. sight of her sweet blue eyed, and a touch of her soft white hand once more. Tell my father I make daily excursions to the farm, or the plantation, as they call it up here. Contrast our broad and teeming rice fields with their hundreds of slaves?our acres of Sea Island cotton, tall, luxuriant, living with active labor, with the compact little farm of Brookland, with its miniature crop of upland, and half dozen families, and you will smile with me as I mentally contrast the plantations. "Tell my tnother, maum Rose sends her especial 'howdy' and says she knows she will have at least five hundred chickens for home consumption next summer. Daddy George is taking admirable care of the sheep, and can promise her some fine Southdown mutton. They are very anxious for me to come out and stay with them on the farm, but father's foresight prevented the inertness consequent upon domiciling myself there, by his " r requiring the location of my headquarters in the village ; being compelled by my part of the contract, in visiting the farm, to take my five miles ride every day. 'Black Beauty' is in sjfleudid order, and takes me in a sweeping gallop there and back, and I accomplish my ten miles in an incredibly short space of time. July is a long time to look forward to before I can see you all. Sometimes I almost repent the promise made to my father to remain here this winter. But though his notions may be old-fashioned, they are affectionate, and if his indulgence gave me a five year's sojourn in foreign lands, I ought, with some degree of grace to yield to his desire that I spend one year in my own ; and as these unfortunate chills forbid my superintendence of rice fields, and long staple, I will be patient in supervising hog, hominy, and upland. I shall look for you all about the , middle of Julv. Do not disappoint me, for I j cannot well bear a longer separation from you, my sweet sister, nor from niv charming J cousin Mary, the dearest, the loveliest, ana the best to my mind of womankind. I wonder 1 if I shall ever know one fairer, or dearer ? i Ever, youjt; brother, Arthur Lee." With a i&jghter look aud happier manner,'! , tbeydung man folded, his letter, sealed it, and ( prepared to take it to the office. He deso^ip the emirs, whistling low and* merrily, ampls he was about leaving the j piazza of the hotel a rustic-looking lad met him with an awkward bow, handed him a , note, and saying he was hurried, left him. It was directed to "Mr. A. Lee." He hastily opened the tiny billet and read: . j "We have just heard you are in the village. } Can you come out this afternoon and see us? Mr. Grey is not at home, but he desired me to say, if you should come during his ab- i sence, that you must make hie house your home while you remain in our vicinity. We I are sorry to hear you are so unwell?which we i heard through a letter from your father to j Mr. Grey, and in which he desired us to show you some attention. We will lie very happy to do so; and as proof of it will look i for you at 'Hillside' about five this afternoon. ] The bearer of my note does not return, so I j will nut. he able to receive a reply except in ] person. Aunt Lucy sends a great many kind messages, and cheats herself into the belief that she will see the same curly-headed little boy she knew five years ago. She regrets your sister Alice is not with you, but hopes to see her during the Bummer. But if I transcribe all their messages, I will scarcely find room on my sheet to write Avlona." Looking up from a second perusal of the fair and beautiful lines, he found the lad was neither in sight nor hearing. "The Greys!" he mentally ejaculated, "I do not recollect ray father speaking of the family. But aware of ray ill-health, the allusion to ray sister Alice, it surely is intended for rae." Again he examined the note?the firm yet graceful penmanship attacted his attention. "A lady's writiug, surely, and surely a lady's name?Avlona? Never heard of it before. What if some dunce of a man has written it, and what if it is not intended for rae ? How provoking!" said he, as he folded it with an air of infinite vexation. "The letter is addressed to Mr. A. Lee," he said, again examining the direction, "and if the writer intended it for Alexander, or Andrew, or Aristophanes, I can't help it. A stands Jor Arthur as well, and I'll go and see these 'Hillside' people, and find out to what order of the genus homo this dainty writer, Avlona, belongs." Walking rapidly on to the office, he enquired of the post master the direction of 'Hillside,' and learned it was but a short distance from the village, the residence of a farmer in comfortable circumstances, who had moved there from the low country, with his , family within the past twelve months, and was nnnl-tm nf HQ an ihfpllitrftnt. tllOllph unDreten ding man. "Moreover," the post-master continued, "he has three very pretty daughters, besides some sons." Strolling down the street, lie found the office of Mr. Henry, the lawyer, closed ; but seeing the horse of Dr. Hall bridled at his door, he concluded to go on and ask him some questions relative to the family. In answer, he was directed in a totally different direction, and told that the family were residents of the country from time immemorial, and that their family consisted of a half-score or more sons. "Humph!" muttered Lee, "under these circumstances, my journey will not be very progressive." Returning to his hotel to partake of an early dinner, he asked his landlady if she knew anything of a family of Greys liv, ing in the vicinity. "Q|R! yes, she knew all about them ; they lived up the road a piece; the father brought ! in turkeys and chickens to sell, and the girls often came with baskets of eggs and butter. Their mother was one of the best weavers in ; the country, and many a hank of yarn she j and the girls spun for her." "Are Greys indigeuous to the soil ?" men- i tally inquired Lee, "that every one gives me an account of a different family." "So there are girls in the family ?" he asked. "Oh ! yes; all girls, and right smart ones, too. They can do a man's work in the field, as well as a woman's in the house," she re- j plied. "That's enough," muttered Lee, "romance j quashed again. It's a fault of my education I that I am not savage, or Asiatic enough to j admire women accustomed to such menial and slavish labor. Heigho!" said he," strolling j out on the long piazza, "I had hoped this would furnish a chapter in my uneventful J life." Tipping a chair to the most comforta- j hie position, elevating his limbs to the height i gentlemen find the due quu non of ease, and ; failing of other occupation, he again drew the note from his pocket. "What a dunce I am !" he said, as his eyes fell on the fair Italian hand, "to suppose that j 1 such a billet could be written by other than a i refined and elegant woman. I'll prove it be- j fore I am three hours older, and to do so I'll j visit every Grey in the district," and ringing, i he ordered his servant to have his horse in j readiness in the course of an hour. Spring- j ing up stairs to his room, he devoted some little time to a toilette, naturally correct, yet easy and graceful, and well suited to a hand- j some youth of twenty-three. He was standing on the steps of the hotel, ( leisurely drawing on his gloves?his servant holding his horse in readiness?when Henry i j rode up. "Going to ride this afternoon, Lee? ] 1 I thought your equestrian exercise was taken j I in the morning. Where do you ride, if I may \ be so bold ? Wherever it be, I see you wish j to make a favorable impression," said he, glancing over his dress. "A purely Quixotic expedition," replied | Lee, laughing; "I am in quest of adventure, i Will you accept the position of squire to my knightship?" ''j "It will depend entirely upon the direction of your quest and the profit of your adventure," replied Henry, dismounting. "When I give you the facts of the case, if you are lawyer enough to tell me where I am going, and whom I am goiug to see, I promise you my first case in court, with a fee worthy to present to a lord chief justice," replied Lee. "Done!" said Henry; "but you are to furnish me with facts." "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," replied Lee. "Well, in the first place, according to valid testimony, I am going in a northeasterly direction to visit a well-to-do farmer lately settled in the neighborhood with a goo'dly family of sons and daughters. According to testimony equally valid, I am going in a southrli?w>fcinn to visit a familv who are heirs of the soil, and who boast as many sons, more or less, as old Priam, or one of the patriarchs. Again, testimony not to be controverted, declares I am going to visit a family 1 who live due north, where- boys are unknown, and where women emulate the Chinese in every vocation of Jabor except the trifling one 1 of being yoked to- the plow. Now will yo.u ' please to give me my direction, and whom I j am going to see ?" "Give me more facts," laughed Henry; 'you have only given me localities; give me : names." "Are Greys the spontaneous growth of the soil, or can you individualize the species ?" replied Lee. "Grey ?" said Henry, quickly. "What do you know of the Greys ?" i "Ah!" said Lee, "then there is a variety of die species; perhaps you can direct me to the ivriter of tliat billet," and he placed the note < n 1118 nana. Henry read with a face flushing in evident jffort to contain his risible faculties, and then i returned it, saying: "I have seen the writer; i she is at present at Edmund Grey's, and they live in the direction you first indicated. Folow the road till it forks, and take the left, >ialf a mile will bring you to the old Jones < place, which is now 'Hillside,' the residence of i ;lie Greys. But how is it, you never mention- ] ;d an acquaintance with them ?" asked Henry. ' "Simply from the fact that I have none," re- i plied Lee ; "but they are evidently some < friends of my father's, though it is strange he never mentioned them," he continued as he i scanned the open note, "and having nothing j better to do, I will amuse myself in that di- ] rectiou awhile. But tell me something of them ; are the girls pretty, intelligent, or does 1 aur Americanism 'clever,' express their excellence ?" . j "Sit down awhile," replied Henry, "you ; bave yet a half hour to your appointment, md I will tell you all I know of them. Last spring, while you and your father's family ivere in Europe, the Greys moved into the neighborhood. The sale of the Jones place < nad been effected before they came, and I was ( lalljed upon to transact legal business respectng the titles. Mr. Grey, who is a plain, in- j ;elligent, quiet farmer, requested me, also, to i|iperinteud some surveying, oF, which I have iome knowledge, and it was while on his place, ittending to this business, that I was invited ;o his house. His wife is a good, kind-heart- , ;d country woman, and gave me as good a meal as I ever wish to sit down to. She has two clever children." He paused. "Well," said Lee, "Girls?and pretty ?" "No," replied Henry, laughing, "boys?and as uncivilized as young Indians." "Pshaw!" said Lee. "Bill, put up my horse." "Stop!" cried Henry, still laughing, "I have not Gnished yet. She has two step-daughters there, who are as pretty as women get to be." "And one is Avlona?" said Lee, rising. "Wrong again," replied Henry, quizzically; "one is Jennie, and the other Katie Grey, but Avlona is there, and if you wish to see her? ?> "You have seen her ?" enquired Lee. "Yes," replied Henry, quivering in suppressed laughter. "Well! out with it, who is she, and what is she?" said Lee. "I had only a glimpse," said Henry, giving way to an irresistibly comic recollection ; "but I shall not soon forget the impression made upon me. Old, wrinkled, yellow, toothless and grizzled?you could scarcely find a more ludicrous antitype to the picture I perceive you have sketched in your imagination. She came into the room where I was, dressed in the style of the past century, her head enveloped in a piece of black silk, and leaning upon a stick, screeched out some unintelligible ^ v v TT* J1 _ _ jargon, whether ttyriac, L'haiuee, or mnuostanee, I am not able to say, but of which the only words I could understand were 'eausucre,' by which I suppose she meant sweetened water ; for she was handed a dish of sugar and a pitcher of water. All the good breeding I had was powerless to control me, as she peered at me with her little, keen, bullet-looking eyes, and as I turned to conceal the laughter that was convulsing me, I heard her question with querulous emphasis, accompanied by some ejaculation in her jargon?'Avlona,' I judged, from her manner?for I could not understand her?and that she was surprised and indignant that I did not act with due reverence toward her ancient ladyship." "But this writer calls Mrs. Grey, Aunt Lucy," replied Lee, evidently unwilling to resign his mental picture. "Oh! that is nothing," replied Henry; "everybody calls Mrs. Grey, Aunt Lucy. You'll do it, yourself, before you have known her a fortnight." "Jennie and Katie Grey?what are they like?" questioned Lee as he slowly tore the little note to shreds. "Jennie is a coy, blushing girl of about eighteen, and Katie is a little black-eyeu vixen a year younger, but I would not advise you to go," lie continued, 11s Lee slowly drew 011 his gloves again. "You will scarcely see the girls; they are as shy as lawns, and the note may not be for you any way ; you would j surely know something of them had they been, as you suppose, friends of your father's." "I believe I will go," replied Lee decidedly, a faint suspicion dawning upon his mind that Henry wished to prevent his going. "Which of the girls do you say is the prettiest ? j ; Let me take your respects to her." Henry flushed a little, declined sending any message, and watching Lee as he rode off muttered, "I could have wished him to stay j away?girls are such fools." Lee rode in the direction indicated, and afj ter awhile came to a pleasant-looking farmI house, old and rambling in its structure, set back a little distance from the road. A few 1 trees of natural growth surrounded it, and m vines partially concealed the posts support^,] ing a long, low piazza. There was an of peace, rusticity, and happy poverty in thtf neat and becoming surroundings, although! a nearer approach gave evidence of a per, finement for which he was unprepared. Fa? tening his horse, he opened the little gate? and leisurely walked up the broad, gravel; walk. A few late roses were yet blooming^ though the hedge had already rliiifve&Jte! fall trimming; but the stately dahlias, .fere yet flaunting their gay colors, and^diyefg; ing paths led to violet-bordered beds tered chry&nthemuins, phlox, and other aur tumnal flowers. Two noble oaks Btretched out their broad limbs on each side of the,' piazza, and rustic seats encircled their giants' trunks. The piazza was a broad, covertd: pavement, floored with brick and scrupulciflh ly clean. A rampant lamarque festooned the Knee, and a few pale flowers were om among its foliage. The 'vivi|\~j^j i^as a set of half dozen steps, painted a dark green; on these were several varieties of geraniums, japonicas, a few rare antf gorgeous tropical plants, and several singular specimens of cacti and orchis. An Orpheus polyglotus, or grey mockingbird, swung from a hook among the rosebranches, and an arriero hung amid the lower branches of the oak,.its rapid cackling, as it ran along the perches of the long cage, answered by the plaintive notes of a tocororo, whose beautiful scarlet and dark green plumage glistened on' the opposite side in the declining rays of the sun. Lee's keen sense of beauty and artistic taste, took in these various items at a glance, and his knock, quick and 3harp, indicated a determination that though unable to identify himself with the curlyheaded boy of five years ago, yet he was prepared to make the acquaintance on his ownresponsibility. The knock not being immediately answered, he again rapped, in slight impatience, as he stepped into a wide passage, raised a step above the brick-paved piazza. There were rooms opening on either side of the passage, and a flight of steps, of easy as cent, conducted from it to those above. *&is second knock was answered by a step from the back room opening on the passage, and a laughing voice cried, "Don't you take (lira to Avlona, till I see him." Lee, who had an embarrassing habit of blushing, felt his face flush most painfully, as he stood iu the presence of a tall and exceedingly pretty girl, who, instead of speaking, looked a blushing amazement, even more embarrassing than his. "Mr. Grey at home?" he asked. "No, sir," was the blushing reply. Provoked at himself for his embarrassment, as well as at the girl, whose blushes were increasing it, he stammered, "I received a note . requesting m^to call this afternoon, and thijikr i ing it probable?possible?that Avlona, tl^e J writer, was a friend ?" , . "A fcote ?" i^ijuireJ the girl, evidently startled out of her embarrassment. "A note^- \ from whom ?" Then hastily saying?"I will call mother," ran away, evidently, to avoid laughing in his face. Returning to the room from which she had appeared, Lee could hear excited whispering, accompanied by subdued laughter. "While still standing in no very enviable frame of mind, the whispering ceased and he heard steps scampering away in the direction of the kitchen. Still standing, and seriously debating with himself whether he should mount his horse and be off, he descried a dark, curly head cautiously peeping from the door, by which the girl had disappeared. "Humph!" he mentally ejaculated, "Jennie and Katie ;" and becoming struck with -i - .M I. i..j; tne irresisuuie iuuiuruu?ut?a ui ma diujuliuu, possessing an Jhtensely humorous sense, he was actually debating with himself whether he should step forward and bring matters to a climax by laughing at his own position, when he heard a genial, hearty voice exclaiming, "Why, girls! you are too bad. Why did you not ask the young man in ?" A good-natured, motherly-looking woman made her appearance, saying as she did so, "walk in, sir, walk in; my girls see so little company here, they hardly know how to behave toward strangers." Lee entered a very tidily-arranged little parlor, which, although scrupulously clean, showed no marks of the refinement he had discovered about the exterior of the house. An old-fashioned set of drawers, with a glass case above, containing mementoes of china, glass, etc., a settee covered with moreen, a few cane-bottomed chairs, a square table in the centre of the room, completed the furniture. On this table lay a Bible, Rouse's version of Psalms, a worn Shakspeare, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Baxter's Saint's Rest, and a beautifully illustrated copy of Don Quixote, in the original, with a lady's glove lying as a mark between the leaves. -The bustling little woman' handJ^Ufogggf chair, and as he accepted it hp said, s-~p?esume I am speaking to Mrs. Grrey." She nodded her head in a good humoured, pleasant way, and evidently waited for him to explain further. "I had the pleasure of receiving a note this morning, containing an invitation to visit you at Hillside," and again he paused. The giggling in the next room, into which the parlor opened, became very distiuct, and he hurriedly repeated in answer to her puzzled expression : "Receiving a note this morning requesting me to call upon you, and alluding to your acquaintance with my father, I have come in answer to it; though I must acknowledge that my recollection is traitorous to me in this instance, and I am totally at a loss to account for my father's silence 011 the subject." Mrs. Grey's face took an expression of blank amazement as he proceeded. "A note to visit me!" j and the good lady shook her head as if in doubt of his sanity. "There must be some mistake?I wrote no note." "No!" he hurriedly replied, "the note contained a request to visit Hillside, at five this afternoou, and the signature was Avlona." "Avlona!" repeated the lady in unmitigated j astonishment. "Pray, sir, who are you ?" | The gigglers iu the next room, here gave i way to uncontrolled laughter, and although j the door was hurriedly and violently closed, | yet he could still hear the spasmodic and illj suppressed cachinations. j "My name is Lee, madam," he replied, rij sing in assumed dignity, "Arthur Lee, and it was to Mr. A. Lee your note, or the note was directed. It seems there has been a mistake; |4ou will, pardon my troubling you; I wish ^*aU good evening." ff"Stay!" Mrs. Grey cried ; "Lee! not little *Alec Lea, for whom I sent this morning V | "No, madam," replied Lee, loftily, "not Alec but Arthur Lee; but your allusion to itiy sister Alice, and to my own indisposition, misled me. It appears, however, there has feeu some unnstake. I will not detain you Iper." fOh!" sir, don't, be fn a hurry," said the Tdnd. woman, seeing his evident annoyance." . Jfcjyas no fault of yours. It was little Alec tiee we sent for. His father is sending him to i ome college in Virginia, and he was to stop ,1 while, on his way, with us. La! Alec is but child; and how should I ever suppose that 1 k^outd get the note intended for the boy! fc-Will tBe crirls sav ? Well, there^ no ^rra done. I'll have your horse put up, and fou.ti&n jftay the evening, any way." tht ace, whose equable temper was more yb ruffled, thanking her, declined, ^ fP^^HKTthe good woman's excuses and [' P^e^^viiations might, at another time, nave had their effect, yet the continued whispering and laughingnot being very conducive in allaying his annoyance, he persisted in leaving. Following him to the door, and even to the ' gate^Mrs. Grey, who seemed almost as much < annoyetT at themistake as he was, insisted up- 1 on his returning at some future time, and 1 would not permit him to leave till she had extorted a premise from him to that effect. i His ride back to the village was accom- < plished in a much shorter space of time than < tisc ride from it, and his quick glance around as he sprang from his horse at the door of the 1 hotel, betrayed hie fear of Henry's bantering, i He, however, saw no one, and as he sprang up I stairs and locked his door, it was with the re$olve"~to lock out the recollection of the pro- I voking events of the evening. He flung him- < jfelf in^r chair, and took up the first book that ; presented. It was a Latin copy of Juvenal, < hut. homer in no mood for caustic sarcasm on folly, he flung it aside. The next one he took up was Hudibras, and opening it at haphazard he read aloud : "For women first were made for men, Not men for them ; it follows then, That men have right to every ono, And they no freedom of their own, And therefore men have power to choose?" "A morality, equalling Falstaff's," he muttered, still reading, unconscious after these few lines, that he was perfectly oblivious to the sense, until he was startled by the book falling from his hand. "What a fool I am !" he exclaimed ; "here I am wondering, and dreaming like a woman, striving to reconcile the inconsistencies of my experience this afternoon. Well, it presents some mocking birds and Cuban pets on the oue hand, and barn yard fowls and bucolics on the other; tropical plants and hot house flowers in jutaxposition with marigolds, four I'clpcks and prince's feathers. A Scotch ^nan^r's edition of psalms, lyijg in peacebeside a rollicking, grinning CerThevellow and we|l. wqjd . pages of.. in dbntradistinclion to the brilliantly isugff'ated Spanish Don Quixote 1 And a. gfove, a lady's glove, forsooth, marking the pagej Who is the reader ? that is the question. Good Mrs. Grey? The Baxter and the psalms, perhaps, but not the Knight and his Panza. Could it be that pretty blondefaced girl that met me at the door ? Pretty and sweet, as a woman would say, but thought has chiselled no lines on her face. It must have been that head of laughing curls that ' peeped at me so roguishly through the half- . - 1 Till .1-- j.\ 1 J opened door, i n wiae me uiu wuiuun uu uu word, and go back sometime?sometime when I am not quite so sore" he laughed, "and settle for myself this vexed question. How Henry will laugh ! Let him laugh ; the play is not ended yet, and this little episode will form the opening chapter for many a tale by a winter's fire, when I return home to talk about my year in the country. ' And now to steep! Ah I Panza, how many poor, weary, worried souls can say with you, 'Blessed is the man that invented sleep,' it covereth one all over like a garment. Confound it! Why wijl that Cervantes still run in my head! 5tow 'if ignorance is bliss,' what blessed ignorance equals this?to sleep and not to know It*!" CHAPTER II. A MOONLIGHT WALK AND A OHOST. Lee was in the saddle and at Brookland, next morning, before Henry was out of bed. It was late when he returned to the village, and many days found him busily occupied on the farm. A choice little library there, the ^lyjerhitendence of the place, and the supervision of the potting of several of his sister's plants for the green-house?the cool mornings making it no longer safe for them to be exjjgscd to the open air?gave him ample employment. - Naturally energetic and enthusiastic, he fqupA^bandgnce of active and pleasant work his father was improving to Pie soon became both intei^OTvl and delighted in his labors; resolve and execution being almost synonymous terms in his active mind. He designed several rustic summer houses, improved the orchard, both by planting and ** * * l grafting, set out deciduous auo evergreen trees, sketched au architectural design for bay windows at each end of the house, and which he knew would gratify his mother; rode indefatigably in order to purchase building material; directed the preparation of the soil for the coming crop, and, in short, seemed perfectly cured of English listlessness and French ennui. : The old couple, George and Rose, who had a most exalted opinion of the excellencies of young rnassa, seconded him most warmly in | all his improvements, hoping by this means to | win -bfm to make his home on the property I which had been intended for him from childhood, and which was too valuable to be sacrificed by neglect. A protracted residence on the continent had given him foreign tastes as well as foreign habits; and his father, a practical southern planter, drawing his patent of nobility in direct line from English peers and revolutionary ancestors?though his merit required no pedigree, from which to trace the uncompromising sense of justice and honor inborn in j his character?fearing that a longer sojourn I would obliterate the characteristics belonging j so eminently to the southern gentleman, had, I rather peremptorily, required his company on their passage home from Europe, late in the summer, previous to the fall of which we are | writing. Arthur's ready acquiescence and deference to his wishes, both pleased and surprised the elder Mr. Lee,wid he was almost persuaded that Alice was right, when she said that her brother cared very little where he was, provided he was enjoying himself; and she believed anyway, that if he did not find the enjoyment, he generally furnished it for himself. Returning too soon to the malarious atmosphere of Oakwood, he contracted a fever which left him with chills, and his father urged him to spend the winter at Brookland, believing the pure atmosphere there would be more con lucive to health than all the drugs in the materia medica. For awhile, as we have seen, Lee found the change both irksome and unpleasant; but though probablyj|ed at first to his present active life by a view to avoid Henry's tantalizing remarks, his naturally vigorous and [esthetic mind found scope and pleasure in the beauty, and improvement which sprung up under his cultivated taste, and superior judgment. So, as toe have Baid, several days passed: . It was after one of no ordinary labor that he prepared to return to the hotel. "You better stay all night, Mass Arthur; I can fix up one of the rooms directly," said Rose. "There's Miss Alice's room, or your own, or old Master's?any oueyou please ; and you know I would like to do it?its wh^t we all want, you to stay right here with us." "Yes," chimed in George, "you better stay; it is almost dark now, and its a long ride. I can kindle up a fire and have the room aired directly." "No, thank you, George, I'll ride back to 1 the village. Black Beauty can take me there 1 in thirty minutes; she has been doing nothing but getting ready for the ride since morning." "I wish, Mass Arthur, you'd get a wife, f then I know you'd stay with us," said the in- i iulged Rose. "Don't see no sense no how in I pour running off every-night Mass Arthur, ] Jo get a wife and live here." "Not a bit of chance to gratify you, Rose," laughed Arthur, "though I am entertaining serious notions of taking possession of Brookand, and making a bachelor's den out of it. [ would do it at once were it not for a promise x> my father to take this ten miles ride daily. But the wisdom and prudence of the arrangenent ensured me the exercise when too inert ? take it voluntarily, and although the nejessity no longer exists, yet I must still ac- . <nowledge its wisdom, for my ride, even after ny day's labor, both rests and invigorates me." "Well, if you will go. Mass Arthur," said jeorge, "as its getting so late, why don't you ride through the upper field ? There is a road * ;here will take you just above the fork. You pass Mr. Grey's house, and will be in the open , oad directly. It takes near about a mile and i half off the road." > b." . "Pass Mr. Grey's?Edmund Grey's ?" said . Lee. "I never heard of the road before." "No!" replied George, "you always seemed . X) enjoy the ride, and I never thought of tellincr voil The road is a good one, a little Ja& through tie wood8;but Hrb goqd liioon-f' light" " "Thank you, George, I will find it. Goodnight." He rode along pretty rapidly, thinking of bis day's work and planning new improvements. Although the middle of November, the night was warm and the starlight glanced brightly through the trees. Enjoying the evening and his ride, he involuntarily sir V ened his bridle rein and rode more leisurely. Unconscious of localities, his mind engrossed by his business, he was suddenly startled into attention by hearing the soft notes of a guitar played by a most skillful hand. He stopped his horse, in amazement, to listen; the prelude ceasing, a gush of melody floated to him, the tones, so full and rich, so impassioned, yet so sweet as perfectly to entrance him. -It was like the warble of a bird that sings out of very wantonness. On and on it sounded, making its clear, radiant sweetness heard, till the very air seemed vibrating with melody. The flexible Italian was admirably suited to the clear, soprano notes, and Lee did not lose a word until the passion of the last line died into silence, t He waited for some time, listening. A few lingering notes were struck at intervals, as if by a hand reluctant to quit the strings, and then altogether ceased. After some time, he slowly rode along, watching intently and listening eagerly. Leaving the shadow of the woods he passed in front of the house, which he had visited a few weeks ago. Everything was quiet and dark, except a faint light glimmering through a curtain in an upper chamber. "The envious screen!" he exclaimed; "what would I not give to draw it aside for just one moment." ? ' - L- - ii.J iMI Riding into shadow again, ne wuueu mi the light was withdrawn or extinguished, and then went slowly on. Reaching the hotel, instead of going directly up to his room, as he bad lately been in the habit of doing, he took a seat on the piazza, at a little distance from a group of loungers. It was not long before Henry joined him. "What have you been doing with yourself for the last fortnight?" he asked; "I have scarcely had a sight of you." "I have taken a spell of farming on the braiu," replied Lee, "and am working to profit while the influence of the fever is on me." "You have not had time then for a second Quixotic expedition?" asked Henry, quizzically. "No," replied Lee, flushing in spite of himself, "but I propose a holiday soon, and will don my armor and venture again." "Ha, ha!" laughed Henry, "Mrs. Grey thought you were a little touched in the upper story," he said, tapping his head, "but the girls thought you were only foolish?'a gawky, x? ?..il_ ) ? - T^aaIIa^ tmn T 1 a 11 nrh. country yuuui, us xvnuc uuncu jvu. ed at her account of your introduction till ray sides ached. She said she got a peep at you, and your face was as red as one of her prince's feathers, but when you attempted to convince her mother that you had been especially sent for?for had she not written for a youth?one in ill health, with a sister Alice, and a father ??she fairly gave way, and laughed uncontrollably. She said her mother scolded her, but she only laughed the more, and told her she did not think you had sense enough to know when you were laughed at. I must do the old woman the justice to say, however, that she took up for you warmly, and said that you were a good enough looking fellow, but shy, evidently had not seen much of the world, and were entirely unused to lady's society. Think of it. The European tourist, the denizen of cities, the frequenter of courts!? "O, wad some power the giftie gie us," etc. " Go on," said Lee, joining in the laugh, "I am enjoying it. Run up the score against Miss Katie, and if I don't make her settle with interest my name is not Lee I" "Well, she says the old woman pursued you to the door, and she thought for a time she would have laid violent hands on yoa to detain you; evidently fearing that in the strong excitement under which you were laboring, you might ride off the bridge, instead of over it, or take the wrong fork and plunge into the mill-pond; but madly striving to extricate yourself, with a frightened look at the house, and a still more convulsive effort to free yourBelf from the detaining grasp of Mrs. Grey, you sprang upon your horse, and rode at a Jehu pace in the direction of the village. ""VVhile under the influence of this excitement, Katie says ther mother extorted from you a promise to retarfijjmtyou had never since been heard of, anifslre was nowgMfcusly looking the columns of the districfl^iaper for 'fearfbl accident,' Vhiocking suicide,' or 'lamanfaKIn fate of a verv vouncr. but Drom w" * J J ' O' A ising man,?one whom "None knew him bat to shun him, None named him but to laugh !'" "Confound the girl I" muttered Lee; "if I don't make her answer for this folly!" "She says," continued Henry, "she has prepared a nice little advertisement which run? on this wise: 'Lost.?On an evening about the middle of November a very young, (for she will persist in imagining you to be but a boy, about her own age,; and innocent youth, afflicted with so much sensibility as left him incapable of becoming sensible. He will be easily recognized by his complexion, which is bright scarlet, very much resembling the reddest side of a June apple, and a peculiarity of which is, that it increases in intensity till there is danger of internal combustion. Any one giving intelligence of the fate of the above individual will be rewarded by a scarlet poppy, or a crimson bachelor's button, raised on the farm of Mr. Grey.' Here Henry fliirew himself back, and laughed immoderately. Lee, good humoredly, joined in the laugh, and told Henry the next time he saw Miss Katie to present his respects, and tell her that his excitement having abated, he would again present himself to her and prosecute an acquaintance he was satisfied would prove as highly entertaining on one side as it would be agreeable upon the other. Henry looked at him enquiringly. "You are a more determined man than I thought pou, if you would venture again, after such jxperience." Lee laughed lightly, "I am going to make Katie play for me on the guitar." "Play on the guitar 1" echoed Henry; "more likely on the spinning wheel. She would hardly know what a guitar is." "You have never heard either of the ytjung ladies play?" asked Lee, looking athira keenly. "Play 1" again asked Henry, evidently at a loss to know what he meant "They have nothing to play on,.'except Mn Grey's "fiddle. I have seen a wheel there, which I think Jennie uses, but I do not think Katie is capable of playing at anything but mischief." "So," replied Lee, musingly, "you have never heard an instrument there, excepting the violin ; never a guitar, have you ?" "Certainly not," replied Henry, positively, "the girls are pleasant and intelligent enough, but lay no claim to accomplishments." "When did you say your acquaintance with them began ?" asked Lee. "Immediately after their removal here, a year ago," replied Henry. "And there has been no additions to the family since? I suppose," he asked, unconcernedly. "No boarders from the low country ? Sometimes you have boarders up here who prefer spending their summer in a country house to the village; have you not?" "Yes," answered Henry, "occasionally, but there are none of that sort there now, if I except that charmjng Avlona from whom you received your dainty epistle. She is still there, and presents a fine subject for romance. I see her rarely, however, for these chill November days we have had recently, seem to have dried her up to a mummy. She goes akrmt spanned fpnm head to font like a black bean pole, the only thing about her indicating life being her sharp little black eyes, aud occasionally a querulous, shuddering 'ugh !' as a breath of air strikes her." "When did she become an inmate of the family ?" asked Lee. "It .was in the latter part of the summer sometime," replied Henry; "I don't exactly remember when." "Who is she, and where did she come from?" asked Lee again. "That I can't tell you," replied Henry; "the family, communicative enough upon every other point, do not seem to care to speak about her. Mrs. Grey lets her-come and go at pleasure about the house; the girls shun her, she is so cross, and Mr. Grey, to whom I spoke of her once, replied she was a relative of his, and would probably spend the winter with them." Lee, satisfied that he could gain no further information, changed the conversation to indifferent subjects. The next morning, and for several successive mornings, Lee took the road which led past Mr. Grey's house?returning in the same way; but if he wished to gain further infor mation respecting the mysterious guitar-player, he failed most signally. He noticed that the flowers, which to him had indicated taste and refinement, had been removed, the cool November days making it necessary for their protection; the birds had also disappeared, except on warm summer mornings, he saw the mocking bird hanging from its hook at the curtained window of the upper chamber. Once he saw a head of black curls peeping at him through the rose-bush on the piazza, and again he heard a merry laugh as he rode slowly past the house. The road not being a very good one, and w^rying of its want of adventure, he finally desisted from such reconnoitering excursions, and returned to the village by the direct route. Brookland was now the scene of active labor, and evidenced a cultivated taste, as well as a master's care. The carpenters were at work, and one improvement led to another, engrossing not only Lee's time, but his attention. Henry bantered him occasionally on the subject of his visit, but Lee was too much pre-occupied to pay him much attention. On the grounds of Brookland there was a picturesque dell, with a gurgling brook run ning through. Lee thought it admirably suited for a grotto, and determined upon some | rock work as entrance. There was a pretty ! waterfall, also, which, by judicious management, might lie made into a miniature cascade, and he determined to improve the natural features.- One morning he reached Brdbkland earlier than usual, and finding his laborers not quite I'eady for the work which he, had designed for them that day, he walked out to the dell to make some observations. . It was a warm sonny morning, and Lee's rapid step soon brought him to the entrance. He stood for some time arranging in his imagination a rustic bridge to span the brook, and a pebbly pavement as entrance to the. : j grotto. The many-colored pebbles suggested a mosaic flooring, and the moss around, panel-. ed papering and cornice. Walking slowly on, as the suggestive features increased, hit: step falling lightly on the mossy surface, he- : suddenly came in view of a picture which caused him to step surprise. over the brook, and industriously employed in gathering sn&R diflferent colored stones, and throwing them into*a basket near her. Her hat, which she had appeared to have thrown off in her excitement, was lying near, ! and her hair, wound in classic braids around tl.c small and beautifully-formed bead, bad | partially escaped from its confinement One long coil was banging in jetty waves, occasionally dipping in the water, causing it .to curl wherever the dampness reached it,and as t she dashed it, in her impatience, from her, separating the clustering mass, each dash formed' new rings as it fell. Her work was nearly finished, and Lee, nothing loth to study the picture, remained standing quietly, till rising, and turning from him, she called, "Come^ Katie, it is timaio go home." ' -j / "Yes," answejtd a voice, "I have just filled my basket, and^such pretty-colored ones as I have found! Go on?I will catch up." The girl turned, and slowly advanced1 io-" ward Lee. He also advanced, when suddenly meeting, she bowed haughtily in answer to his polite inclination as she passed him. His eager, rapid scrutiny discovered a wild dark eye; a beautiful, proud lip, and rich black hair rolling in glossy waves down her neck from under the gipsy hat She wore a scarf over a closely-fitting vest, and there was a free, lofty spirit in her countenance which: indicated pride, though he was fain to believe it was a noble one. Katie at this moment came running along, but stopping in embarrassment, exclaimed? "Oh.! Mr. Lee." "Good morning, Miss Katie," said Lee, touching his hat; you walk early, and what a pretty collection of stones you havd!" "Yes," stammered Katie, "Senora is going moi/o kswa ? rAplr-knusc. and I thought \AJ uianw vnv i/wjm * -v?? ....? ? ^ we could get some?I thought you would not object?" "Certainly not," Lee hastened to say; "come as often as you please, and stay as long as you please?you cannot come too often, nor Monrin too loug," he said, as he looked at th* bright, happy face, flushed with exercise, looking shyly up to his. A very grateful and earnest "thank you," was the response. "Is that your sister?" asked Lee, nodding toward the girl he had first seen, and who had, in the meantime, kept steadily in advance. He knew perfectly well the answer would be in the negative. "No," replied Katie, laughing, now perfectly at ease under Lee's unconstrained manner; "that is Senora." "Senora ?" echoed Lee. "Avlona ?" he asked, inquiringly. "Yes!" replied Katie. "Will she not stop and let me speak to her ?' "I suspect not," said Katie, still laughing. "She is vexed with me now, because- we have met you." "Are you to be blamed because you meet the owner of the grounds upon his own prem-. ises ?" asked Lee, a little haughtily. "Oh! she don't know that?she thinks it is rt '1 9 uaiaw iiams my iatner s j wo erusseu mio iwvc uuu? Uv.v, and she thinks that it is another field." - ' "Ah !" said Lee, looking curiously at her. "Please don't tell her," whispered Katie. She looked up so pleadingly, as if averting his displeasure, that Lee laughed as he said, "Upon whom must I not tell ? You have not given me your name." "Katie," said she, slyly. "Katie! a very innocent name," he said, a merry twinkle in his eyes. "May I call you Katie?" "If you wish," she answered, coyly. "Well, Katie, we'll make a bargain ; I won't tell on you, and you'll give me the privilege of calling you, Katie." . "Well," replied Katie, looking very much relieved. The girl in advance hod now come to a pause. There was a rail fence enclosing woodland just before her, and she glanced around for the first time to see if Lee was still foUjar^ ing. He was walking on very leisurely, chatting with Katie. "Come along, Katie," she cried impatiently ; and then as Lee advanced, continued, "we know the way home, sir^ and are obliged to you. Good morning!" Lee looked at her without reply, and carelessly leaned his arm on the fence. She stood a moment, her eyes flashing, then with much more iorce man wiu uacmrj, w gan to throw the rails of the fence down. "Stop, Senora," said Katie, looking timidly at Lee; "we can get over." She gave one quick look at Katie, and then an indignant one at Lee, and continued to throw the rails. Lee now stepped forward, saying as he took the rail from her hand and drew her to one side, "Permit me," he laid the fence down to the very last rail, and standing out side of it said, "Good-bye Katie, I ?hall look for you tomorrow," and shook her hand in passing. As her companion stepped through, she looked up half shyly, as if repenting of her brusqueness. As Lee caught the glance he made an obeisance so profound that it amounted to mockery. As such she felt it. The color mounted to the very roots of her hair, she dashed the escaping coil back from her face, as if her indignation must find vent in something, and hashing a look upon him, she passed without speaking. Lee heard her as she joined Katie, say, "Impudence 1" "The haughty beauty!" he muttered, in reply, as he turned and walked slowly back. [to be continued next week.] > . t