Rensselaer Standard, Volume 1, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 October 1879 — A PLEASANT LOVE. [ARTICLE]

A PLEASANT LOVE.

“I have some news foryou, Maggie/' he naitl one tlav, about eighteen month* after hegainetl bin coin mission, “Gues* what it in.” vghev were walking along the green jßies of perloek, listening to thet-eaHe- ‘ le&s murmur of the sea, as, at intervals, they hatl walked ami listened 'ever since they'could rememlier, at any rate, for she was six years younger than her former playfellow, “You are going to be promoted,” she said. < 3 “Promoted, you little goose! No one ever gets promoted in the British army. Hues* again.” “You are going to marry an heiress.” There was a lump in iter throat as she said It. “Wrong again. No inestimable young person, with green eyes, a turnup nose, susceptible heart, and fifty thousand a year, has turned pp yet. f Bat it's something uearly as good. I’m ordered to China.” “Oh, Alic!” she gasped, aud burst into tears. It was very foolish of her, but then she was only 16, and had not yet acquired Uie praiseworthy art of concealing her feelings. “Why, whatever are you crying for?” he asked, and kissed away her tears. He’d kissed her ever since she was 5, and thought no more of it than if she bad been his sister, of- tb- cat, ; excepting jierhaps that it was nicer—which irwas no doubt. “I shall only be away five years, at moat, ami when I come back I’ll biingyoua pig-tail * and an Ivory tooth pick, and a whole lotof tilings, ami—” “Yes?’! she said, listening atlen r tively. * “But then you’ll be a young woman —I forgot—and ‘out’ ami all that sort of tiling, aud won’t condescend to speak to a poor lieutenant; you will have all the squires and fox-liunters about the place at your feet,” “Oh, no! indted I shan’t, Alic,” she said, eagerly. “But I tell you, you will. I Ixdieve you are a bom little flirt, aud I shall ootiie bock aud find —” * But she burst into tears again, and

put up her pretty little band as if to stop his teasing, which she could not bear just then - . It seemed so cruel of him to laugh and joke, when he was going away for.five years. He did not seem to care a bit, aud she could have broken her heart on the spot, and would have gladly done so, ami thrown the pieces away so as never to lie bothered with it again. Then, seeiug her mournful blue eyes, he was merciful. “I believe I shall come liack ami find you just as great a little darling as you are now, and if we’ve got any money we’ll get married and live happy ever after, and iff we haven’t we’ll get married aud starve ever after—unless, of axnirse, the heiress turns up.” “Oh, X bone she won’t!” said Maggie like a truthful little idiot. “Shall you ever write to me, Alic, dear?” “Yes, of course I shall, and I shall expect you to write back six pages crossed, and all that sort of thing, you know. Ho Alic Granger went to China, aud Maggie waited hopefully enough for a letter, but six months passed and none came. “Perhaps it hikes longer for a letter to get here from China,” she thought, knowing as little about the the means of transit and the time it took as if th ? celestial city had been in the moon. But a year passed aud no letter came. “Perhaps he’s ill. or its miscarried,” she said, tearfully, naif wondering if it could be possible that a Chinese heiress had turned up, and that was the real reason of A lie’s sllenoe. “Two years passed,aud never a word. It’s too bad,” she said bitterly, and wondered ruefully if he had married wjlli a pig-tail. Aud the days aud the months went by and Maggie grew into womanhood, but no word or sign came from AUc Granger, and at length she gave him wp ' altogether. • Maggie wo* 20 years old ■’ hither died, aud the creditors did ' pounce down, and she and her mother were sold out. Mrs. Dunlop was offered a home in London, by a sister who was well off and bad tempered, and it was thaukfully accepted. Maggie was iuformed that she must get her own living, which, being precisely Maggie’s owu opinion, as well as intention, she advertised for a situation as governess. Now, Maggie had a very modest idea of her own merits, and therefore only asked for £26 a yesr and a comfortable home, so no less than five answers came to her announcement that she - could teach English, French, music and the rudiments of drawing. One of these answers pame from Woolwich, and stated that Mrs. Marshall required a governess for her three little girls. Mrs. Marshall was a stiff necked sort of a woman, and stared at poor little Maggie (who locked almost

?U child-like and twice m PKrtty m ever) through double gold glasses. Col, Marshall, her husband, was a nice old man with a gray head and an lrontrray moustache, and there was a grown up daughter, a Miss Patterson, Mrs. Marshall's daughter by her first husband, who was really the mistress of tbe establishment, for Maria Patterson had a strong will, and she was an heiress. “A very nasty heiress, too/* poor Maggie thought, and she was right, tor Maria was skinny, and thought herself sarcastic, and always H&id naety thiogn to people who did not dare to say them back again. One eveuing, when Maggie had been about a year at Woolwich, and she was sitting alone in her school room as usual, for her pupils had just said good uight, and been delivered to the tender mercies of their purse, Miss Patterson walked in very much dressed, and rather flushed aud excited. “Miss Dunlop/' she said, “we shall have a few friends this evening, and I know one or two of them like an impromptu dance; will you be ready to come into the drawing room and play, if we should want you?” “I fear I -“cannot play dance music very well; I never keep time," said M^le I feared so, and thought I

would come and tell you, so that you might practice tor an hour or two till after dinner," and she sallied out of the room, evideutlv considering the matter settled, and Maggie meeklv proceeded to. practice tbe “Mabel Waltz" and tbe “Flick and Flock Galop.” Then she put on' her shabby black evening gown, and stuck a spray of white flowers into her golden hair, and waited patiently for a summons, hoping she would wait In vain. It very soon came, and with a roll of music under her arm, a flush on her innoeent frightened face, and a scared, almost hunted expression in her eyes, she decended ami timidly opened the drawing room door, and there stoodstill for a moment, staring in astonishment at the scene before her. There sat the heiress, with an eager, pleased expression on her face, and leaning over her, talking and laughing, and more handsome than ever, and sunburnt and sol-dierly-looking was Alic Granger. There was nomi-Lakiug him. The color rushed to Maggie’s face as if to sav a iiurried good-bye, ams then left together. She recovered ,#elf-posses-sion, however, and walked with what she flatterer! herself was great dignity towards the piano. She felt rather than saw him raise his lead and look at her, and tiie next ipoment he was by her side.

“Maggie—my dear Maggie! Why, fancy you being here; where did you come from? I have been trying to find you out for months." “I thought you’?—aud then she did uoi know how to go on, so added, almost piteously, “I am the governi-ss here." , “Are you! Oh, I see, that Is the reason I have not seen you liefore, I suppose.’? “Do you really know Miss Dunlop?” the heiress asked, coining up and sjieaking in her coolest manner. . i Maggie wished sincerely she could sink into her »hoes and hury herself. “Why, of course I do; we iiave been playfellows ever since we were born—haven’t we, Maggie?" Aud Maggie, feeling she was liaeked up, answered bravely: “Yes ” “Oh, Indeed! How interesting!" Then turned to Maggie: “Will you be so good as to begin a waltz, Miss Dunlop? This was tn be our dance, I think;" to Alic, and she glides off with him triumphantly. He came to her directly after the dance was over.

“I went down to Perloek to try and find out where you had gone to,” he said, “but nobody knew.” “It didn’t matter,” she said, huskily, letting, her Augers wailder vaguely over the keys to make believe she wasn’t very much interested in what she said. “Yes, it diil —It mattered a great deal. Why, I’ve got a box foil of curiosities for you —clubs to fight with, a little heathen god or two, and a statue of Boddah and all sorts of things. I told you I should bring them home. Do you live here—l mean in this house:” He said the last words under his breath, for the heiress came up, and the next minute he w r as carried off to dance with Mrs. Somebody, and the other end of the room, but *ot before Maggie had nodded a reply to him. Soon after this Miss Patterson came up to the piano, aud saying she wished to play herself, and that Maggie looked tired, dismissed her without being able to get even another look at Alic. The next morning, to Maggie’s very great surprise, Miss Patterson came into the sehool room before the children had assembled.

“Miss Dunlop,” she said, stiffly, “I should like to know where you say you met Mr. Granger.” “At Perloek. His uncle lived next door to my mother. He is a very old fiiend, indeed—- “ Thank you. I merely wished to inquire because, of course, you must be aw’are that it is not usual for any one in your position to make herself remarkable by having long confidence talks with any gentleman who may visit the house.” “I don’t know what you mean, Miss Patterson!” Maggie said, indignantly. But Miss Patterson had swept out of the room without deigning a reply. Then Maggie went into ber owu little room, the one place she had in the world entirely to herself, and cried till ber eyes were red and her heat! ached. The lesson did not progress that morning. Maggie was thinking of Alic,* who was no doubt strolling about tho common, listening to the band and making love to the heiress. The children were more than usually stupid, too, aud all the world seemed upside down, and all its ways turned crooked. Suddenly,at About 12 o’clock, ust when Maggie was in the middle of expounding asbest she could thejecoentricities of the French grammar, there was a knock at the school-room door.

“Come in,” she said. The door opened and there stood before her astonished eyes the form of Alic Granger, and behind him was a man—evidently his servant—with a box on his shoulders. “All Tiui, put it down that’s right; now be off. There, I’ve brought the curiosities round, Maggie I thought you’d like to see them.” “Oh! what will Mrs. Marshal and Miss Patterson say?” said Maggie In consternation.

f “Nothing to you, tor the next half hour or ao, tor I have lust seen than safely on their way to Woolwich, and thought I should just get a quiet chat with you. My dear*,” he said turning to Maggie's wide opened-mouthed pupils.“l'm quite sure you'll like to be let off your lessons, so I’ll let you off for an nour; run along my little dears," and he opened the door lor them, aud shut it after them. ‘•Oh, Alic!” she said, In fear and trembling, -a “Oh, Maggie!" he answered, mimicking. ‘“What did you mean by going away Perlock, and not leaving any mJtl p »ks “I couldn’t help it. and you never wrote,” she answered helplessly. “No, I never write letters; don’t know how to spell well enough. But I have been hunting for you all over the place, and never dreamed of finding you here. Now we’ll unpack the box; I bad it opened before I came, so it is only fastened by a lock,” “But Alic, they’ll never forgive me.’ 1 “Never mind, it dosen’t matter, because if you are good I'll take you away next week. Besides they’ll forgive me anything. I saved the Colonel’s life when he was in Hong Kong—at least so he says. There now, vhat do you think of these for fighting with? Got them at Java on you,” and he held up a pair of heathenish looking clubs and brandished them over his head, and then proceeded to pull out the contents of the box and to decorate the school-room with them “There is Mr. Buddha, and there’s—why what’s tbe matter Maggie?" “Nothing, only you’ll get me in dreadful trouble —you will indeed. Miss Patterson came in this morning and scolded me for talking tayou last night."

“Never mind, she was only jealous, he laughed. “Now tell me now soon you can leave here?" “What for?" she asked innocently. “Why, you haven’t forgotten that we agreed to get married when I came back, have you, you little coquette?" and he put bis arm around her waist just as of old, and was not reproved. It was very comfortable, sbe thought. “Nd, but you are engaged, are you not?" * “Yes, of course I am—to you." “Oh! but, Alie—" “Ob, but Maggie— ’’ and then he stooped aud kissed her, and notbiug more could be said, for the door opened, and there stood the Colonel, and there stood Maria Patterson. “Miss punlop!” said Mrs. Marshall, iu astonishment. “Hoity-toity!” exclaimed the Colonel, “what docs all this mean?" “Hhe must leave tbe house at once," said the heiress. “Of course, she must,” Mrs. Marshall said. “I never beard of such a thing in my life." “My dear Mrs Marshall/’ said Alic, looking as if he were beginning a speech, “it is all my fault. You told me, and so did the Colonel, to consider your house my house, and I have done so. Miss Dunlop here was a playfellow of mine once, and when I went away we were engaged, but somehow we lost sight of each other when there were a few thousand miles between us, and it was the happiest moment of my life to meet her again lost night; and so I took the liberty of calling on her this morning, aud we were just arranging to get married next week when you interrupted us." “Quite right, quite right, my dear Granger,” said the old colonel, heartily ; “you shall be married from here—" “Oh, please let me go to mamma—do let me at once,” pleaded Maggie, finding her little tongue at last.

“I think it would be much more satisfactory if Miss Dunlop went back to her relations,” said the heiress, sourly. Bo thej all agreed, and that very afternoon Maggie packed up her modest belongings and all the curosities and went to the well-off and bad-tem-pered aunt. The bad-tempered aunt received her neice very graciously when she found she was going to marry well the following week. It is amazing how fond people are of rich relations, even though the riches concern them little personalty. As for poor Mrs. Dunlop, she could have jumped for joy only sue was too old for such violent exercise. “Pray, miss, what are you laughing to yourself about?” asked Alic, the evening before their wedding day. “Nothing Alic, only when you were away I used to think sometimes that, perhaps, you’d marry a Chinese heiress with a pigtail.” “The sort of thing you would think,” he said, grandly; “as it is, you see, I am going to marry a little girl wiihout a pig-tail, and I am very happy, my darling—are you?” “Very, very,” she said. And she w-as. . ?