The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

nv'rF>T?r?riVl'PPFiV^'?'^'^'^nM,l.r,i.Vi;fr^iM.i.j,i.r.l,l.i.ll;,l-.. Tp r.i;i.i,r.M,T,i.r.l.l.r7r;T. l.r,r.l,i,i.l.-i.-Tinri A Girl's Caprice OR, THE RESULT OF A FANCY DRESS BALL -l! CHAPTER HI. |1 dare say she cxpctted a ring, poor Now Hilary had gone down thcso Kir' '" ,, •talrn Rvc minutes before with her "Hilary, what do«s this mean? partn«--a inagniftcent cow-boyâ€" to "ays Riana. turning to her sister, get an ice, and is standing near the i "Oh < mean !" says CliHord. buffet enjoving it, and loolting prot- , "That's the ^M' "^o"' f*" »^- -'^ tier than usual (which is soyiig a Paltry florin! r%ouldn't stand it if great deal) in her cap and gowu, jl were you, Hilary. I'd fling him when she feels a touch on her arm. rover. By-tJi<r-bye, you have it with LookinB round slie sees Jim. jyou, I suppose?' 'You can show the "Our dance. I think," says l-.c. tak- melancholy coin to Di, can't you?" Ing advantage of the fact'ihat the' "Don't mind him," says Hilary, cow-boy is a stranger from ihi- Tar- who is choking with laughter. "But racks at Clonl)re<'. whereupon the oh, such a thing has happened '. He cow-boy bows to Hilary, and retires, came down the stairs to get a glass from the scene. " 'of water for some one " Jim regards her with a reproicMul ! "That wretched lUake girl," gaE:i-. Hje. I Diana, who now anticipates a cat;!.^ "Stfll urging on your wild career!" Ilropbe. Bay» he, "with Nemesis at hand^and i "And .seeing me in cap and C'wn, th« sword of Damocics about to fall | thought I was an altendiirt. 1 I couldn't resist the situation â€" I ftit I indeed as if I were in a sif.iation. he took me so entirely bor.it fi-ie. Called him â€" and all the rest of it." "What do you mean, Jim?" "He's come !" "He?" "YoTir future Lord I" rsays Clifford with the biggest L on record. "Oh, no!" Not really!" "My good girl, I've been staring at : florin, "into my hand !' him for the past two minutes. He | "Good gracious, what is to was talking to Diana, and evidently ; done ?" says Diana, cross-examining her about you. At ( "You think I ought to return it?" least I hone it was that. To me it Hilary mistakes her. "I shan't, seemed as if he was cross-examining however. 1 shall keep it as a pre- Diana about herself. I'll have a cious relic: but wasn't it a great land I answered him 1 'Sir,' and got him the glass of wa- ter, whereupon he kindly pressed ithis," holding up the mem.i>rable be cross-examination of my own her later on." "You won't toll him I'm here ? with • deal to give for a glass of water, I Di ? Wasn't it very extrava.^ant of him ? Do vou think it would be safe eays Hilarj-, iu a tone of frightened ; to marry such a spendthrift as he cntrcat\ . â- Not I. But Diana will. .\nd has proved himself to be?" "Oh. I'm not thinking of that at after all. Hilarj-, why shouldn't you all," saj-s Diana, in a voice of an- get it over at once? It isn't as if ; guish. ".\ud how you can make a you vrere bound to marry him." "I can't. 1." defiantly, "won't.; I'd rather die than see him. I " l C'iltlord makes a quick movement, j His evos are on the stairs above | jest of it â€" I am only remembering that I have asked him to lanch to- morrow, and that he is coming ! When he .sees you " "Sees me ! Never !" cries Hilary, him. -now thoroughly frightened. "Do you "I expect you'll have to die," says | think I would face him after this? ! What on earth did vou ask him for?" says Diana he. "For here he comes ! "Oh, no !" says Hilary. In fact Ker is running down stairs at the top of his speed, find that glass of water for fainting Swiss peasant. Hilary has to-morrow barely time to stand back from Jim. ; "But you will and give him a glance that warns sooner or later." him that eternal infamy will brand ; "Then it shall be later, when he him if he now by one word betrays ; has forgotten all about â€" the glass of ! "Why, for you the 'â-  her solemn way. to I "Tlieu it is useless. Nothing in the the world would tempt me to meet him have to see him her, when Ker is in their midst Seeing a smart-looking maid (even at this hurried moment he notices water. "Taht wouldn't take him long," says Clifford. "I expect it has fad- that "beauty lies within her eyes") led rom his memory by this; what he with an empty ice plate in her hand, 'may remember is."' with evidently that apparently she is just taking gloomy forebodings as to the mis- oway from somebody, he rushes up to erliness of Ker's disposition, "the Hilary, and says in a breathless 'loss of his two-shilling piece!" tone ; "Nonsense ! I son't believe he'd "A glass of water, please." ever think of that again," says Hilary, after a second's shock, is | Diana, who is highly incensed with •qual to the occasion. j her husband for even pretending to "A glass of water, sir?" .'show up Ker to Hilary in a merccn- "Yes. .\nd in a hurry, my good | ^ry light; girls are so troublesome IP"'' â- " [sometimes over the vaguest things. "You shall have It, sir." | "That's what I sa.v." saj-s Hilai->-, She goes over to the buffet, pro- who is rather enjoying herself. '''I cures the glass of water in ijuestion, and brings it back to Ker. "Oh. thanks. A thousand thanks" says he. in a hurried way. him a born told .vou I thought spendthrift." "Well." says Diana boldly. "I'd , rather marry a spendthrift than a He seizes the glass, squeezes a fior- miser any day !" in into Hilary's hand, and is gone, i â- Which" am I?" asks CHDord aD- -xiously. "Oh, you ! Y'ou'rc nothing !" says his wile, who is a little indignant with hiiu. .\t this, Clifl'ord passes his arm her Hilary stands still for a moment then subsides into the dark recess of a closed doorway, her brother-in-law following her. "A nice beginning." says he wrath- fully. "How do you think you aro | suddeniv round her, and brings going to meet him after »his ?" | „|, ^-igj^ j^ jjjj^ "He won't remember," says Hil- ary. "Won't he ? Don't you think somebody will tell him ?" "Tell him '^hat ?" "That you were dressed as a par- lormaid tonight ? .\nd when he sees you, as he will put "Perhaps he has no head for math- ematics," says Hilarj'. but even she feels that this is frivolous. However, the discussion is brought to an end suddenly by Diana, who comes down the stairs to them with he must, don't you think he ^j^jj emphasis, two and two toijelher ?" "Poor old girl ! Look at her ! Married to a hopeless nonentity !" says he. whereon they all laugh to- gether, and peace is restored. "Hilary, darling, you will appear at luncheon !" entreats Diana softly. "No I No ! Never ! " siiys Hilary, "Iâ€" 1 couldn't! CIIAPTEK IV. Miss Kinsella is in the dhrawn- room. ma'am. " says the cook. It is next morning, and very early loo. considering the dissipations of I'eler Kinsella, and having dismissed ^ the night beiore. Pinna and Hilary thi.t florid young Romeo, warns Hil- have only just got downstairs, and arj that if they don't go home at • to be told, in their languid state, once they will probably be mi.xed up J that that old gossip-monger is wait- with the rank and file at the end. j ing to see them, seems more than This awful suggestion has its effect, jean be endurod. Mrs. Clifford stares Soon they arc on their homeward j at the cook. Way, and "At last.'" as Diana says, "can talk." ClilTord leads olT the convcisjxt ion- ' tone. "Why on earth didn't you say wo Were in bed ? " says she. in an irate al ball in a light and airy fashion. "Ker has just given Hilary two Bhillint;s," says he. •'What ?•' I didn't "I don't know, ma'am know what you'd wish." And of course she didn't, being pressed into upstairs service for the Di«nn peers at him through the ' first time. The parlor-maid had fast-growiim brightness of the com- | been in the lowest spirits since the ing dawn. If he were not the most ! post at eight o'clock came in, and abstemious of men she would have j had been quite incapable of doing told herself that perhaps there had ! an.vthing ever since. 'Vhe news the been a last glase of chnmiMigue. | letter contained was that her aunt but I was a little bilious (the aunt lived "Yes. I assure you." says ClilTord. In Tialcc, and she had never seen "I saw him do it. I don't think hor). and that there was to be a much of him. do you ? Most fel- ; very big "pattern" held this even- lows give the girl they arc going .ing in her'own place, about five miles to marrj- a ring or a bracelet, or a j from her present situation. (.\ trally-wag of some .sort, but 1 never j "pattern" means a dance on the heard of a two-shilling piece liefore. ! highway where four roads meet, and Tcrhaps it's fashionable! We're | where the peasants congref^ate on rather out of it down here, you ; stated occasions to foot it gaylj to know, .so we mightn't know. Dut [and fro. with the astiistance of some old piper â€" generally, and by prefer- ence, blind.) It had occurred. to me it sounds shabby." "You must be mad," says Diana. "It'i Hi.'rry wno ought to be mad. 1 therefore, to her simple mind, that I if she cried a great deal over h«r I aunt, she migh'^ find a way to go jaiul CAJoy horaalf ai the "psttera. " "Viherc is iiridget ?" asks ii.:iia, alluding to the parlor-maid. "She's crying, ma'am. tjhe's had bad r.ewg. .she sa^s." "Bad news?" ".^bout her aunt, ma'am. She's very had, she says." "Oh, I'm aijrry to hear that. And how is Uridgot noW" "The san'.e way. ma'am. But she says she'F sure her aunt is wtirsci " ! "How can she know that? " asks j Hitarj'. ; "I dcn't know, miss." Mrs. Cliflord, who has served a ;long appreticcship to Irish servar.ts, land who has heard of the "pattern, " irises abruptly, and turns to Hilar\. ! "Come, let us .s<;c Miss Kinsella. ! Let us get it over," .says she . To- jgether they enter the drawing-room. I "You're surprised to sec me, my ^rtear." Old Miss Kinsella comes to i meet them with a beaming face. I "An' so early â- ^oo. But you know I that your Bridget's nunt :s also a 'cousin of my charwoman, an' she ^says she is very bad to-day." I '"TliK charwoman ?" 1 "Oh, no. Miss Burroughs, dear â€" .vour Bridget's aunt. .\nd I hear that she wants Bridget very badly; ,and I knew you would want Bridget j very little to-day, being so tired â€" " "I think that is why we should want her," says Hilarj-, turning to the old "busjbody thankless," with la rather severe air. I "But when her aunt is dying, says I Mi.ss Kinsella. her old maid's curls swaying backward and forward in an angry fashion. Her fare takes a lugubsioiis turn. ".\nd when you have two other servants too. and when death is in question " '"I'he cook and the nursery-maid hardly count," sajs Mrs. CliiTord, "and, as a tact. 1 want a parlor- maid very much to-daj". I have people to luncheon." "No. ye don't say so !" says Miss Kinsella, leaning forward, all dc- I light and anxiety. She has forgot- ; ten her present crusade in her burn- I ing desire for go.wfip. "An' who arc j they?" j "It doesn't matter." sa.vs Diana I calmly. "What does matter is the going of Bridget." I "1 should think," sajs Miss Kin- i sella, enraged at the refusal to grat- ify her cariosilj-. "that a luncheon party should not count with the dj-- icg of an ancestral relative !" She doesn't know herself what this means, but it sounds splendid. "W'hen «e'ro djing. we don't think of '.'â- nchcons," sajs she. which certainly !;â-  an incontrovertible fact. "Well, but you see we're not dj- ing," sajs Hilary. "Of course if Bridget's aunt is dj'- ing." says Mrs. CliHord, "she must go to her. However, I hope she will not lose her waj' there, and go to this 'pattern' instead. " "Oh ! Mrs. Clifford, me dear, we shoiildn't misjudge the poor. Of course I know very little about anj- thing that's goin' on meself (there isn't a thing going on in the neigh- borhood, touching poor or rich, great or simple. that she doesn't knpw), "bein' "only a poor, desolato 615 maid." "Oh ! not so desolate. Miss Kinsel- la." says Hilarj-, with mild irony. "You have got Sir. Peter, you know. " "Weli. I h;.-.vc. me dear," says the old maid, brightening. "And it must be confessed bj" all that me nephew. Pcther Kinsella. is a host in himself. Hut even Pether says I know nothini;. You're not 'up to- day.' he saj's to me. An' surely, Mrs. Clifford, that's a most extraor- dinarj- remark to make to me. who am out o' me bed at seven sharp everj- morning' o' me life. But that's what he's always teUin' me. Yov'rc not "up tc-daj' he saj-a. I suppose it has some meanin', but faith I can't find it out." Hilary is shaking with laughter; Mrs. Clifford comes to the rescue. "It is slaug." says she. "A silly expression. You must tell Mr. Kin- I sella not to talk slang to you. And ("date." perhaps, is the word. Don't j you think." with a view to changing i the conversation, "that Mrs. Brawue looked Very well last night!" "And her dress, " says Hilary. "Oh! charming!" "No such great thing," snaps Miss Kinsella. "Did yc look at her 'sleeves? t'hincse silk â€" 8d. a jard!" ! "It looked all right." siiys Mrs. Clifford, wondering what Miss Kin- sella is going to sa.v of her orets at the next house she goes to. â-  ".\nd Mrs. IHson-Moorc ? " asks Tlilarj-. mischievously. "What. did I vou think of her dress?" I "Faith. there was nothing to [think of." savs Miss Kinsella prom- Iptlj-. "I couldn't sev it." < "Oh! fie. Miss Kinsella !" says 'Hilarj-. "What an insinuation!" I "I thought she looked very pretty" ' says Mrs. ClilTord vaguelj", who is now wondering how to get rid of her "So did Mecjor Blackburn. that big dragoon from the barracks. Me dear Mrs. Clifford, I must tell you." leaning forward, and lowering her voice, and giving a glance over her shoulders at the door to see If it was firmly closed. "I'm the last one in the world to prj- uiHjn any- one, as you know, me dear. But I went into one of the conservatories, just to see if the Chinese lanlvrns j were burr>iug' all right, and sure enough, there .she was. she an' the Meejor, lookin' bigger than ever. ai»' her hand claspetl in his. behind her fan. Thoy do say that is why she hujs them big fans; just to hide be- hind~ with ineejors" "I don't think there is au.v real harm la b«r," saS'S Mr*. Cliflord. I who had made several ineSectual at- fempt.s to .slop this revelation, and (Who is now feeiinf; very unconifort- able. "f am afraid. Miss Eiaseli&, ,Dervous!j-, we are keeping you â€" jand^^''" i "Nat at all. Not at all, me «lear. I The day is young." Hilary cornea forward a step or jtwo. ! "Did you hear," says she impre»- 'sively, "that Lady Bolton had a lit- tle daughter la.st night ?" "No "> ye don't tay so '." This is Misa Kinseila's formula. She i ises [instantly. "Poor dear joung crea- jture. 1 must flj to her.' '5ood-by. .fJood-by." She hurries awaj-, all sails set. i "Hilary." begins Mrs. Clifford. f who told jou V I thought it wasn't I expected until " â-  "Nobody told me. " sajs Hilary. "I merely a.sked her if she had heard jt. I should have been surprist^i if • she had. Because certainlj- I hadn't. But she's gone, anj'waj." "Thank Heaven!"" 'Mrs. Clifford sinks into a seat. "What is to be idone about Bridget?" i "I know," says Hilarj-. .stopping in •the middle of the pas de quatre she has been dancing up and down tha room with an imaginary partner. "I thought it all out while that old lady was gossiping with you." "You know?" I "Yes. I'll I)e Jour parlormaid for jthis occasion onlj." (To be Continued.) » 'IN MERRY OLD EUeLAND ITE'WS BY MAH. ABOUT JOHN B-UXI. AND HIS PEOBLE. Occurrences in the Laiid That Reigns Suprerae in the Com- mercial WorM. â-  It is manj- jears since trade was so bad in Leeds as now. Bumlej- Weavers' Association has a membership of 12,000. an income of £206 weekly, and is worth H'iO,- 833. I The front at St. Mary s church. Torquay, is supposed to be l.OOO years old. and its restoration is bo- â- ing discussed. I I'he birth of a baby in a family at i Y'eadon, Leeds, estaSlisfaes the re- 1 cord of five living generations in a [direct line. j The new White Star liner Baltic, which is to can-y 3,000 passengers, will leave Liverpool on her first voj- I age on June 2iith. I Mr. Wm. Barrett, who was buried iat Finmcre, near Biickingham. the j other daj-, had lived for over 80 years in the same house- Prof. -â- Vtkinson. the great special- I ist in bone-setting, and founder of the Animals Institute, died on the :l4th ult. at his London house. \ It is proposed to inaugurate a movement in StaSordshore for a county memorial to the late Sir ! Thos. Salt to commemorate his pub- lic work. ' A hall erected at Bradford in mem- orj- of Dr. Cartwright, inventor of the power loom, was opened on the ; 20th ult., and handed over bj- Lord I Masham to the public of the city. JThe hall cost £55.000, of which I £4.500 was given by Lord Masham. ; It is stated that the late Duke of ; Cambridge has left his baton, uni- i form and metials and decorations to !the Whitehall Museum. It is tit that these relics of the old soldier should : he sent there. for there are few buildings in London with which he [was more familiar. I The Kids' Chronicle is the title of a new Liverpool journal. It is pub- ' lished by the Street .\rabs' Institute. I By a Khedivial decree just issued, the'number of British officers on the ! strength of the Egyptian army will I l)« considerably increased. j Lady churchwardens are quite the voguo' in Buc'iiinghamshire. There ' are no less than five of them holding i this oflico in the county. ! Congregational music as rendered in these islands is hideous, says Mr, Moodv. organist of Ripon Cathedral. He is prepared, according to the Yorkshire Post, to hold rehearsals of the congregation in the luive of the cathedral, .\t a wedding in Burlej-m-Wharfe- idale. a Yorkshire village, the bride- ' groom tailed to apiiear. .V search was made for him. and he was I found sitting oji the river bank cry- ing bitterly. He refused to go to church , and the ceremony was aban- doned. M, Favre. principal station master at Calais. France, received from Kins; Edward the Cross of the Vic- torian Order in recognition oi" his servictK during many jears to mem- bers of the 'English rojal family passiug through Calais. DESERTS OFJflE QCEiS SEAS WHICH Ah£ SEVXl SAILED. -♦â€" M>strea9â€" • To you lo-ve babit^" y^ijj_'-Xot at threv dollars a week, mum. " Tramp No. 1. â€" "Do you know, Mick, that the old duffer who has just gone up the street had the im- IMidence to tell me that if I hadn't spent my money for beer I mi^t be ownin- a brick house?" Trainfi No. 2â€" "What did you s*iy? " Tramp No 1â€" "I reaninded him with gr»»at sair- casticnefR that \-er carn't drinX brick houses. Pro-jd Motherâ€" "You will be five years old to-morrow, Willie, and I want to five you a real birthd«ij- treat. Tell me what you would like t>etter then anjrthing else." Willie (after thinking enmertlv- for Pve minutee'i â€" "Bring iiie a whole bo.x of chocolate creams, mother, and ask Tccnrnv Smith to come in and watch mc i»at tkem." Disappearance of Sailiaf Crafi Eas Increased Their Area. Oceans, Hke continent*. hav» cfaeil idcscrt.s. t>n the hj^j'n soea tlfcj-e art jvast a(>:M:es whose waves have nevei jbeen 'Parted by the prow of a sailini I vessel cr lashed by the propt'lior of i sii^^uiiPr; hnirente soUtudeB wfawe thi 'flap o: a sail is never heard nor th4 ; stridi;nr cry of a siren; veritable de» arts whoee silence is broken ^^ ^ thL- h'.wling of the wind and Se roai â- of th.- waves which have been vadnlj ipursuiDi on-? another since the day* jof creaticn. Thifiie dec-rts !> forgotten betwixt the narrow ocean higliways travelled 'by vcsa^ls. In such waste places ol the sea a disaijlcd ship, driven out I of it^; course bj' a h'-JJ"ricane. may drii' for months, tossed bj- the cease- less groUTKl swell, wjtboBt being able to hail aeei-'tano-; her only chance of escaj.'C is the poawtoility ; that some oceanic current may drag • her into a more fnHjuented regi'jfi . I FOLLOW BEATEN TRACK. 'â-  It is generally suptoaed that bj rea- son of the universal iricreose of raari- I time traffic the sea is everywhere fur- I rowed by vessels. This is a miB- ta'Kc Hcean comiEorce' has grown enormously daring the last hili cen- tury, but that development is due to the substitution of steam, naviga- tion for the old fashioned emplovTuent ,of the sailing vessel. When the f.rst steamer began to churn the water with its pad-ale wheels, the sailing fii.-.>t ceased to iucrrasi': with the ad- vent of the screw pro;>Iior they be- gan to decrease. The gradual but constant disapijearance of aail'ng siii'js ina^e the ocean more of a des- ert than before. .Sailinir veseols had thoir established routes in acconJAtica i with winds, currents and eeasocB; ; till.' gars between the route's taAea by louitward bound and hotiie'warii bound ships were often considerable; more- over, tho capricious elements not ia- freviuently played the mis>chiet with nautical instructions, and j» a. result tho Held of operations for ocean s<iJi>- 'ping was va;stly expanded. j OCKAN HIGHWAYS. ; This is no lor^er true to-da.r Tha i liner goes straight ahead, in do .-icu ; of wind and wave; tSe norts bet.'ivn which she plies arc great inJi-s;;-ial or commercial centres, whitix-r come numberless railways, servtmj bs pro- longations of the Hues o-f na,-. :gat:on. Freight cars carry Uieir loads of mer- chandise to the lecter j orts and the I cities of the interior. The railway has killed c«astw-isc navig-ation. The ocean highwajs are iliercfore ' anything but numerous. The uicst 'ft-eqmnted of CK>?arj3 is the .\tlautic. j Apart from, the Folur seas, we sl-c I that in its northtni part thi-re is on- ly one desert zoneâ€" a drtary- waste of â-  waters between tho ro^rtos ironx 1 Eurofo to the United States or Can- ' adit, and those from Europe to the ' Antilles. In the south, between the i routes from South Amerio,a on the Western .American coast and the roules fro.li South Africa, oxtend.s a dt.>sert occasionall.v travc«-si-d bj- the steamei-s of the linos from Ca^e Town and ifozanvbique . which, when the coffee season is at its height in Bra- zil, cress the .\tlatJtic for cargt)«i at Rio Janerio or Santos. P.\TITLF:S« DEt^EUTS. The Indian Ocean is freiiuonied only in the north, b,v- lines oi;t of India and Imlo-China. and a little I way in tho west by liners from Oce- anica. whnh call at Colombo and then make straight for Australia. T>vo linos, each with a steamer a month. follow a shn'lor V.me froai -Australia jto Cape Town. The Pacilic i.s the Sahara of great seas. Saving only the steamships from the F:\r l-^ast to : California and Briti.* Coluii-Jjia. a line from Svuney to San >"raiicisi:o. and a cnohorso line (wiUi aiilinucs four or five tiir.es a j-ea!) bv-tween I Tahiti and the United ScatL**â€" ai.e for thes' mere ribbon like strtv.ts the Pacitie is a des<»rt. Only- a Jbw na- ; five canoes pl.v darinaily from island ; to island in archipelagoes, girt around with ccx-al reefs â€" veritable oi.-e- an graveyards, the terror of seafaring , nien.^ How manv- s':vi5.V!. of which we ha\e received no tidings ana of which not so much as a drittiag pjar h».s e'-or been pic'ked up, Iiavo ixvn dr.ig- ged bv irresistible winSs into those solitud»>s of the South Pacii'.c. no one iwill ever know, for th.- ocean gvards lits prey full well. Sometiit'.e?. how- ever, a little part c' Us secrot Iwks o'lt. and then we divine the shocking jtrastediiTS of which U has tio»'n th? i theatre. The average man siviv.te too much time making monoy and too little en- joying it. Mrs. Sequel â€" "I understand your husband can't meet his creditors.' " Mr*. Equal â€" "I don't believe he par- ticularly- Wants to." , "The way we test the quality of I oiir whiaky." av«vrred n trav^Ik-r i-v>o- 'cDtlj-. "is to inject one drop into the vein of a rabbit and ii after that ' the rabbit will not fight a bulldog ithe whiaky is no g-cod." Vr. M^.'vle.vâ€" "Well, d(u-lin|r. 've had :uy Ufa Ineurc^J for 1.%.0O«' " Mrs. iM â€" "Hf»w very «efvsiMc of yon' Now T s*la'r»*t hair* to T;eep tellia^ \iei l.i ibe so ccrefii! evary plac* yoa (• ttt."