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a 3‘; r. to. .r a“ at his Excellency handsomely, p Mr. Quick strolled, but deli ' , for FEB ELEVATION or mas. Tm' "What an mm" capes?“ we , Mrs. Timbury laughed, logging slylyeii’ot ‘ and com led. so many. table attentions - the sun was blistering, and he stroll nat~ boatman‘could easilybo found, audhowonld 1 Mrs. Titus, with just the suspicion of a;..that theCapfain solemnlyenpostulat BURY. A Story oflfanifest Destiny. BY WILLIAM MEDAL!- It is never worth while to waste time in reflectin u a what might have happened if we lug c this, or what tremendous consequences must have followed if we had done that, for thomost trivial circiunstancee are constantly altering the whole course of our lives. It was the sudden death of a too spouted and lamented Deacon in Connecti- cut, for instance, combined with the severe illness of a young gentleman in New~York, that changed plain Mrs. Timbury into Lady McOurrie. 1 ct neither of these persons had ever seen Mrs. Timbury, and neither knew of her existence. When the Deacon died he must perforce be buried, and the Rev. Howard Titus, his pastor, felt it a privilege as well as a duty to make along prayer,with uncovered hcad, before the Deacon was laid in the tomb. That exposure cost the worthy clergyman a fit of illness from which he could not fully recover, the physicians said, without spend- ing some weeks in a warm climate. Hence the name of the Rev. Howard Titus on the passenger list of the steamshi Amazon, about to sail for the Winward slands, as well as those of Mrs. Titus and two young 'f‘ituses. “1 don’t know how I shall ever manage with these children," Mrs. Titus had said. " I shall most likely be seasick, and we can- not think of taking nurse along. If only Mrs. Timbury were going with us this time.” “ Possibly we might induce her to go,” the clerical parent had replied. “ At any rate,’ it will do no harm to write and ask her.’ This was the 61 st connecting link between the death of the Connecticut Deacon and the elevation of Mrs. Timbm'y. Two years before, that lady had acconlipanied the Titus family on a journey to the oly Land, and her qualities as a good sailor and a useful hand with the children were understood and ap reciated. he ministerial letter from Connecticut was delivered to Mrs. Timbury at the din- ner table in the fashionable boarding house in New-York in which she lived. “Dear me !” she exclaimed, upon rcadin it, “this letter has put me in such a flutter shall hardly be able to finish my dinner, Mrs. Dc Fcntaine. Such a. sur rise ! Do you know, I have to start rig it off next Thursday for the lVindward Islands. My friends the Tituscs are oing with the child- ren, and of course I sha to along. Where are the Windward Islan , Mr. St. Gene- vieve 2 Somewhere in the South Pacific?” Mr. St. Genevieve explained their loca- tion, and of course asked as many questions as Mrs. Timbury desired he should. “ Oh, I must go,” the excited lady went on. “ You know I‘ve traveled with the Tituscs before, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and I couldn’t think of letting them go alone. But it’s so sudden ; only three days to make my preparations l chll, that’s longer notice than I had when we went from Gibraltar to Algiers ; and we were u. week n Constantinople without our trunks.” Ten years earlier Mrs. Timbury had been content to pass for the quiet little middle- aged woman she was, the faithful wife of an unassuming physician in a small town, with no cares beyond herown threshold, no greater ambition than a decent Sunday gown and a black bonnet. Butachange came over her life when the regretted Timbury was called to his fathers. Among other papers of importance he left a life insurance policy, an Mrs. Timbury found herself a wealthy widmv-wealthy, at least, compared with anything she had known before. She soon developed a taste for travel, for fine clothes, for jewels, and for lifeâ€"and in five years she came to be the dashing and somewhat 'ddy person we find her in the New- ork boarding house. For the consum- mate skill with which she wi ed out at least fifteen years of her life, in refbrming her up- arancc, she is entitled to our admiration ut in the reformation of her manners she met with a misfortune. Here she used such terrible pressure that not fifteen years only did she annihilate, but fifty, and appeared thenccforth with all theblushingaud gushing shEcss of a maid of sixteen. fore the ship drew away from her wharf the Rev. Mr. Titus was reminded of some little traits in Mrs. Timbury’s character which he had not particularly admired on the former occasion, but which with the passing 'ears he had forgotten. Prominent among t iesc traits was a tendency to fussi- uses, which made Mrs. Timbury perpetually uneasy, and was not soothing to hcrcompan- ions. When her trunks were so clearly in their proper places that she could exhibit no further anxiety about them she discovered that her stateroom was on the wrong side of the ship, where she would have the morning sun in or eyes. new one was too near a hatchway, and was consequently noisy. When at length she was settled to her satisfaction she found an excuse for worrimcnt about her probable q seat at table. “ The Captain is such a dear, jolly-looking old Scotchman, I do hope they'll put us at his table. He ought to have us next to him, you being a clergyman and bringing letters a! introduction to him. I shall be very much ‘suppointcd if we am not at least at his table. The clorgymnn's mind was far removed from such vanities of life, but he attended gallantly to the trunks and the stateroom and did not worry, for he was one of the wise men who know that nine-tenths of the troubles of this world exist onlyin the mind. Mrs. Timbury’s desires were gratified wlien she first went to till“: tabbe, There gore on ' passengers enou toii one, an , at its head, of course, satg the Captain. On his right, in the seat of honor, sat Mrs. Tim- bury; on his left, Mrs. Titus. Thecl - man was uexthis wife, and op . 'tc him e young tlexnan from New 'ork, whose severe ' ess and cut journey formed the second connecting it in the elevation of Mrs. Timbury. " Don‘t let me crowd you, Captain,” was Mrs. Timb ’sfirst remark, as she tried to a little urtheraway the chair that was ted to the clock. “You havchad work to do, and we passengers must make way for u. Can you promise as smooth water all way, Captain?" _ " Smooth water I” echoed the bluff and god-natured tain in a voice that might veheeniu sdtorsachamanatthe masthead. “ Lord bless you, Ma'un, I‘ll kindofavo amt. mam rough. MWorfonl, I'llpromise asythingdalwaysdc.’ A change being made, the P wink. “ButI always have luck with: my (hptains. I never tra but gave me a pleasant vo , and I'm sure you’re not going to be the t exception.” , “I mn’t just say about that," retorted ; the Captain, with aknowing smile to Mr. I cum ; " but somehow the ladies all seem to 3 like my ship pretty wellâ€"all, you under- ! stand, but two or three I’ve offended, be- cause I al 8 make the seat on have to the ban meet lady on board,andthey mn’tall eti ” . ‘ “0h, Captain!” Mrs. imbu simpered. “ You sailors are always so bol "*F‘But I'll‘ give you this big bunch of raisins for the pretty compliment. ” _ When the first dinner was over, Mrs. Timbur had, in her own opinion, made a: decided conquest of the Captain, and the; Captain was equally confident that he had the Bishop to pay his respects. There was; uxser give that . ed with family toward the shade, which led up indentify him. Mrs. Timb prh t and left her behaving him the one short block that lies between the ,would not rest until she discovered the her in Clare, after all, that Mrs. Timbury was most successful. She spent- hours with her on deck and carried up armfuls offinery and cases of jewels for her inspection. Lady Clare was graciousness pemonified, admired ed with one yet ",desper'ately judous. ‘ But it was with Lad y landing place and the ' cipul business street of Brio town. £1111;an induced him to put his and in the pocket where the envelopes were, and the instanthc felt them he was seized'with an inspiration. _ Mr. Quick no longer strolled, but hasten~ everything- and “’33 apparently “fainted ‘ed, notwithstanding the climate. Two with her new acquaintance. doors around the first corner he found a ‘ Ymmfi M“ Qka mme unkind "mulls stationer’s stom,'whcre he bought a sheet of about t erway‘some Americans run after titles, but Mrs. Timbury treated them with the contempt they deserved. ' In'the course‘of a day or two the Amazon reached the island of Dominica, where she waste lie for twenty-four hours. The Do~ miniciaus, knowing their Gavernor to be on board, visited the ship in considerable num- bers, and among them czunc hi: Lordship l 1 care envelope. Securing the paper and a ink, he hastily wrote this use of pen an i note, imitating as well as he could a lady’s bend : “ Lady Clnrc's com iments to Mm 'h'mbury requesting the p erasure of her company At Dinner. On Thursday, Dec. 25, lSâ€"-. at 5 o‘clock. Government House. " This note he folded and put in the white met a great many elderly ladies like Mrs. i an attraction in this title that Mrs. Timbury envelope, addressed to Mrs_ Timbury, The“ Timbury, and that a. vast amount of amuse- ‘ could not resist, and, as she readily ob- 3 men! might always be had out of them on . a dull voyage. By the end of the second day Mrs. Tim- bury had been invited to visit the bridge whenever she felt inclined, and to make free use of the Captain’s charts and glasses. And the Captain, when not engaged, had apex“; so much of his time on deck with the itus party, smokin'lr his pi e and s inning sea yarns, as to lead that E ask of Mrs. Titus : “ You don’t think there’s anything im- proper in the Captain showing me so many attentions, do you? I shouldn’t like any of the other people to notice it.” lashing ady to Mrs. Titus had so often received powerful nudges of the elbow from the Captain when he was saying pretty things to Mrs. Tim- bury that at this question she found it hard to refrain from laughing, but she replied that she thought it very kind in the Captain, and that he 'was an exceedingly pleasant man. “ Because,” Mrs. Timbury continued. . “ I wouldn’t for worlds have anybody think we were in earnest; it’s all done in fun, you know.” It soon became evident to all the passen- firers that Capt. Long was “guying” Mrs. Timbury at a dreadful rate, but he was an old hand at such affairs, and did it all so neatly and with such perfect good humor that the further he went the more delighted Mrs. Timbury became The invalid young gentleman, Mr. Quick, on several occasions tried his skill in these little table jokes, but with such indifferent success that Mrs. Tim- bury regarded him as a. forward and ill-bred young man, and a violent animosity sprang up between them. Mr. Quick’s gibes were not, in fact, nearly so pointed as some of the Captain’s, but there was a difference in their positions. In the six days of tracklcss water between New-York and St. Kitt’s Mrs. Timbury’s innocent young heart was in a continual flutter. Capt. Long was so pleasant and so kind. On one occasion, when, on account of rough water, Mrs. Timbury found it con- venient to remain in her berth, the Captain went to her room, and, totally disregarding the bits of feminine apparel that lay on the floor and hung against the walls, shoved the half-open door until he could get his head in, and made kind inquiries after her health. At Antigua, which was the second stop, news cameout to the ship that the Governor, Sir Herbert Fitz-Dalrymple Clare, K.C. M. G , was to be a passenger in the Amazon to Barbadoes. “ They’ve been shaking them up again," with a snullcr salary ; and another here at Antigua, with a salary smaller still. Well, the high jam pandrum at Trinidad dies, or ets promoted for incompetency, and the arbadocs Governor is sent down to take his place. Then this high jinks at Antigua. is sent to be Governor of Barbadoes. He is oing down with us, and they are going to bring him out in their little steamboat, at 3 o’clock. This intelligence threw Mrs. Timbury into a fever of expectancy. She spent some hours in her cabin unpacking and trying on dresses, polishing rings, and making herself in every way as attractive and captivating as possibleâ€"for if there was anything in the world she really dated upon, it was a title. Early in the afternoon the little steam- boat came out with his Excellency’s lug- gage. It was contained in trunks, black- leather trunks, for the most part. The Governors’ houses in the West Indies are all completely furnished, so when a Gov- ernor moves he has only to pack his trunks and go. But English trunks are small, and to hold the personal belongings of a Gover- nor and his family a surprising number of them are required. Watching the transfer of the luggage, Mrs. Timbury made an im- o'rtant discovery and hastened to impart it to the Captain. “ I don’t believe he's been a ‘ Sir’ very long,” she said in a confidential tone when she had dro ed the Captain to the rail. “ Do ‘ on see ow his trunks are marked?” “ ow’s that ?" the Captain asked. ” Well, you see his name is painted on each trunk in white letters. On every one the ‘ H. F. D. Clare ’ is worn and marred as if it had been done a long time, but the ‘ Sir ’ before the name is new and bright, as if done recently.” “Oh, that’s just one of his freaks,” the Captain replied. ” He has the ‘Sir’ made brighter, so that everybody can see it. \Vhy he is one of the greatest noblemcn in England. He’s the Clare who took a fleet over to Calais and routed the whole French Army with 200 horse guards. He only comes out here for a great favor to the Queen, because they’re a little short of Gov- ernors.” Whatever Capt. Long said was gospel to Mrs. limbury, and this made her more anx- ious than over to make the acquaintance of his At length he arrived, and with him y Ciel-sand an assortment of little Claus, and several secretaries and sides do camp. But there was one drawback to the happi- nessofha ’ this distinflilshed party on board. Sir erbert and { Clare must, of course, have the seats of onor at the table, and Mrs. Timbury must for a time re- linquish her vantage and at the Captain’s side. However, the tain seated the Gov- ernor at his right hon , and thus directly beside Mrs. Timbury, wi Clare and Mrs. Titus opposite, Mr. Quick moved down one seat. at him Lady and young The were a leasant family, the Clansâ€"- sociablb, and g to meet after twoorthroeyears ofAntigua. Tim-§ . , . icd jokes at their expense. Lady Clare Eagguls‘gé‘féhgffigfif‘; ézvgg :1, promised that if she ever reached New- dad, with abig salary ;another at Barbadoes, york her Chief pleasure Should be Infinde taincd an introduction through Lady Clare, 1 he drew out one of the large official envel- opes, “ On Her Majesty’s Service,” inclosed she made such a determined effort that dur- f the note in that, and addressed it, in a, bold mg his stay on boat-dehe hal his Lordship by hersidc almost constantly. Young Mr. Quick, having a. letter of in- troduction to one of the principal merchant in Roseau, the captial of Dominica, went on shore to present it, and Mrs. Timbury watched his departure with pleasure, and would have been well satisfied if he had not returned. She could not, of course, foresee that his landing on the wild island of Do- minica could have any bearing on her own affairs, but the fact is that if Mr. Quick had not gone ashore at Rosseau Mrs. Timbury probably would not at this moment he Lady McCurrio. The Dominican merchant was delighted to receive Mr. Quick, and would not hear of his returnng to the steamer that night. Strangers are scarce in Dominica, and the young ‘Newâ€"Yorker was escorted up the steep hill to a large stone house and install- ed in a. big, breezy room withthree windows. He did not know, he could not have known, that the late occupant of that room was Sir John Windham McCurrie, the future hus- band of the dashing Mrs. Timbury. Sir John Windham McCurrie, Chief J us- tice of the \\ indward Islands, had been called to Dominica to transact some busi- ness, had been entertained in that very house, and bad occupied that very room. On going away he had left some relics of his visitâ€"torn.scraps of paper on the table, and on one of the window sills four or five large envelopes, not such, as ordinary people use, but yellow ones of unusual size and bril- liancy, with the words printed across the top in boldblack letters, “On Her Majesty’s Service.” Sitting by the window to finish a ci or before retiring, Mr. Quick mechanica ly picked up one of these envelopes. They were different from anything " he had seen and their official character was apparent. Being a young man of a facetious turn of mind, it instantly dawned upon him that they might be made to serve a 00d purpose in some practical joke, an he gathered them up and put them in his pocket. It is to be observed here that if Sir John \Vindham McCurrie, C. J ., had not been so careless as to leave his official envelopes lyin about, the present Lady McCurrie wou (1 still be plain Mrs. Timbury. \Vhen on the next day but; one the Ama- zon reached Barbadoes, Lady Clare and Mrs. Timbury parted withgrcat effusion, and Mr. and Capt. Long Quick watched them from the bridge and unicelingly crack- Mrs. Timbury, and Mrs. Timbury declare that her affection should be shown on the return voyage by her driving through the Government House grounds. They arted in silence, with strong probabilitieso never meeting again in this world. It is the custom 'for passengers to make this Windward Island- trip down and back in the same steamer, the whole voypfe occupying one calendar month. But r. Titus had become so infatuated with the French island of Martinique, where he ate turtle steaks in the odd little Hotel des Bains, in St. Pierre, that be determined to stop off there on the homeward voyage and wait for the next steamer. Mrs. Timbury looked impatiently for- ward to the next landin at Barbadoes, on the return trip, where e no fully intended to call upon Lady Clareâ€"not knowing, of course, of the island ceremonials that look Government House doors to the ublic on all but certain stated occasions. in was on the 24th day of December that the Amazon sailed away from Port of Spain, cuttin ndly through the smooth waters of the 5131: of Paris, and sweeping gracefull throu h the narrow Dragon 5 Month, with Trini ad on one hand and Venezuela on the other, and both within pistol shot. And it was afternomi of the next day, Christmas Day, that she dropped her anchor in the roadstead before Brid etown, Barbadoes. The requirements 0 trade, however, have no re ard for the customs of society. When Mrs. imbury saw theCaptain’s gig lower- ed, thc boat that had been gallantly put at her disposal at nearly every port, and when the Captain saw her gorgeously arrayed, waitin for an invitation to go ashore, he dashc her hopes by holding up a warning hand. “ Be careful, Mrs. Timbury !” he said. “We have to make St. Lucia to-night, and can stay here only one hour. You can bare- ly go ashore and come back, but there is no time for a drive. Think how I should feel if vou were to be left !” There Was no help for it; the visit to Lady Clare must be abandoned. Mrs. Tim- bury cared nothing about landing again in Bridgetown, where an e dropped on tho curbstone would cook ha in one minute, and even her smiles could not induce the Captain to remain lon er. “If you’ll wait til I change my coat, Captain, I think I’ll go ashore with you," said Mr. Quick, elated at Mrs. Timbury’s discomfiture. , ' ‘ “ Hurry up, then, young man,” the Cap- tain replied. . Mr. Quick hastened to his room, and throw off his costâ€"the coat in whose inside pocket were the official envelo d at on another. The other was better, t heavier. . “ It’s prett warm l" thdnght M r. Quick ; unbuttoned t o second coat, and hesitated. He pulled off the heavy coat, replaced the first, (the one with the envelopes, took his lace in the boat, and was rchd ashore. “ ’ll stroll around the dock, hero, Cap- tain, while you’re settling your business," Mr. Quick said, and the Captain disap- pearod. l hand to “ Mrs. .Timhury, pr ssepgcr on S. .8. Amazon." “ Capital l” he exclaimed to himself. “ I send this out to the ship, and set the old lady wild. She gets it a few minutes before we sail, so she can‘t go, of course, and there’s no harm done. “’e won’t hear the last of this invitation till the end of the voyage, and I’ll let the Captain into the joke i” It was an easy matter to engage one of the colored boatmen at the lnndin place to carry the letter to'the ship, and t e official envelope, whose sacred character Mr. Quick explained to him, lent speed to his cars. But the Captain did not return. Mr. Quick left word with the ship’s boatmen that he was going to the ‘-‘ icehouse,” a favorite Barbadoes institution where ice cream and cold fluids are dis cnsed. When he came out the boat was st' 1 at the dock. He wondered up and down the street, and He looked in time in every way he could, and at length walked down to still no sign of the Captain. the shop windows, killing the company’s office. The had been ashore by this time considerab y more than an hour, but the Captain was still busily en- gaged with the a cut, and could not, he thought, start for elf an hour longer. Meanwhile the negro boatman “ on Her Majesty’s service” carried the letter faith- fully to the ship, and it was put into the hands of Mrs. Timbury. To say that there was commotion on board would be to put it mildly. Mrs. Timbury become almost delir- ions. “ Is there any one waiting for an an- swer?” she asked the steward who handed her the packet. ' “No, Ma’ani; no one,” the steward re- plied. “ Oh ; I thought perhaps there was a mes- senger from the Governor.” She put the missive in her pocket and took it out again. Read it and reread it. Fondly read over and over the magic words, “ On Her Majesty’s Service.” Blushed, laughed, almost cried for joy. “ It is just this way wherever I go,” she said to Mrs. Titus, as she put the invitation in her hands. “I don’t know why it is, but all the nice people seem to take a fancy But what in the world am I to do? It would be very rude to decline the invi~ to me. tation, after Lady Clare has been so very kind; and if I accept it I shall lose the shi .” ' “ There might be another ship going up to Martinique in a few days,” Mrs. Titus re lied. “ If there should be, you could come along in that. It would be too bad to lose such a chance.” So thought Mrs. Timbury, and she 1n- stantly made inquiries and learned that a French steamer would leave Barbadocs for Martinique the next day or the day follow- ing. This set-tied the question for better or for worse, and Mrs. Timbury decided to ac- ce t the invitation. Through her blandish- ments the first officer was easily induced to lower another boat and ten minutcslater, for it was now past 4 o’clock,) after tearful adieus with the Tituses, big and little, and with a hastily‘packed sachcl at her feet, Mrs. Timbury set out for the shore. The tide b this time had turned, and her boat lande much further down the harbor thin the point where the Captain’s boat lay. It is worthy of remark, en possum, that had the tide not turned at precisely the proper hour, and had Mrs. Timbury en- countered the Captain and Mr. Quick, her letters would not now, in all human proba- bility, be addressed to Lady McCurric. There is not the least dangpr of any white erson landing upon the doc at Barbadoes without attracting sufficient attention ;r and Mrs. Timbury was instantly surrounded by a mob of drivers of decayed coaches and hangers-on after sixpcnces, each of whom gave her the best advice possible under the circumstances. The gleam of sense still left flickering in her bosom induced her to go first to the Bridgetown Hotel and secure accommodations ; and there she had barely time to give a finishin touch to the toilet that was already m e, and to spend a minute in smiling admiration before the cracked mirror. When Capt. Long and Mr. Quick return~ ed to the Amazon, after fully two hours end of his tongue several times to tell the Captain of tho harmless little plot of which Mrs. Timbury was to be the victim; but when he considered how much time had elapsed and reflected that it was barely pos- sible that the lady might have gone ashore and trouble ensue, he wisely held his peace. The absence of Mrs. Timbury from the deck gave him some anxiety, but when, the ship again under way, her seat was vacant at dinner, the Captain saved him any further suspense by asking in his bluff way, “ Where’s my friend Mrs. Timin 2" Then it all came out ; how Mrs. imbu had received an invitation to dine at Gov- ernment House ;how she had one ashore in haste, hnd how she would fol ow to Mar- tinique two days later to rejoin the Titus party at St. Pierre. Thankful then was Mr. Quick that he had not revealed his harmless joke to the Cape tofu. He said nothing, of course; but reflected to such an extent that ho scarce] know whether he hedroast turkey or 1: fish for his Christmas dinner. There would be a scene at Government House; of that ho had no doubt. The forgery would be dis- covered. Mrs. Timbury the ski with blood in her eye, and, (her- rors 1) might catch it. Was it forgery, he wondered, to write a fraudulent dmner invitation? And was thereany special pen- alty for usingono of those oflicial envol for prints Easiness! The paper-might give out on shore, the young man had it on the l would follow up i ’. clue and the stationer describe him; the , he nu ma, ‘ ilty There was no safety for him 53h mega??st St. Kitt’s and was again upon the broad Atlantic. Mrs. Timbury drove out to Government House in the finest coach the hotel could supply. It wanted ten minutes to 5 when she entered the teeâ€"the proper time pre~ cisely. Her wasssnt to Clare, and two minutes later she and that lady weIre in eaclliuSther’s arms. a ’ Lad am so to see you again, we: y Clara’s grating, “and I must take you right up stairs to lay aside your bonnet, for (and its so fortunate) you are exactly in time to eat Christmas dinner with us instead of on the ship. We dine at 5, and we must not keep the gentlemen waitingâ€"just two or three official friends of Sir Herbert’s : Sir John~ McCurrio, and Lord Edward Pa and the Hon. Mr. Harrington. You I will be the only ladies, for we are not sufficiently settled yet to attempt a State dinner. In the plenitudo of her innocence Mrs. Timbury had stumbled upon pleasant post- ures. Mr. Quick was mistaken in his 0 in- ion of the reception she would meet in ov- ernment House. People who spend half their lives in studying and practicino the customs of polite society are not likel to treat a visitor rudely, and even if rs. Timbury had not been a welcome ucst she would not have been permitted to now it. Mr. Quick, however, we must henceforth re rd as-a failureâ€"a dismal, irreparable fai are. He had sent his enemy to eat a Christmas dinner in the Barbadocs Govern- ment House, with a lord across the table and a Chief Justice by her side. He had broncht for her as much pleasure as he had hoped to bring discomfituro. And above all he had, in the character of relentless Fat-e, introduced her to Sir John W’indham McCurrie. Sir John, C. J ., was one of those colonial gentlemen whose self-esteem stones for the absence of a great many other qualities. But he was a. man of affairs, for olthou h the salary of a Chief Justice in the Win ward Islands is only £800, the honor is worth a large amount ;and he owned, besides, a profitable sugar plantation and lived in a ig house out of town, where a dozen color- ed ladies and gentleman flew to gratify his elightest Wish. He was chiefly distinguish- ed in appearance by a broad red sash worn around his waist so constantly that rumor had it he also slept in itâ€"and, indeed, in Barbadoes there isno blanket so comfortable as astrip of mosquito netting. It was much in Mrs. Timbury’sfavor that she was slightly awed by the multi licity of titles surrounding her at dinner. hat sub- dued her girlish spirit-s somewhat and made her much more attractive. So attractive was she and so winnin that Sir John McCurrie was smitten am took great pains to make himself agreeable to her. He felt this to be apiece of presumption on his part, for he was almost Sixty, and gouty at times, and this lovely young widow, who seemed scarce past fort , and who had seen so much of the world an mingled in the best society in many lands, might, be was afraid, look upon him rather as a father than a lover. Mrs. Timbury soon found herself delight- ed with Barbadoes and its charming people -â€"of whom she had met two. “ It is the most beautiful island I have seen in the West Indies,” she declared; and any one who has been in Barbadoes will know how her inclination warped her judg- ment. “ I was going on to Martinique in the steamer tomorrow or next day, but now that I have seen a little of this island I can- not think of leaving it under a week or fivo." “ And where are you staying on the isl- and, Mrs. Timbury? Not in the hot cit , I trust?” Sir John affectionately inquire . “In the Bridgetown Hotel for the pro- scnt,” M rs. Timbury replied. Oh, that would never do, Sir John declar- ed. There was a large hotel a mile or two outjof town, a favorite Winter resort; she must allow him, if she would, to send his sister to her next do. to see toher more comfortable acconnno ation. Mrs. Timbury shyly protested, but at length consented. Onc single indiscrction Mrs. Timbury g r o nmittcd while in Government House, and ; 0 her to escape with a single one was so un- {common that it is worthy of note. She found occasion to say to Lady Clare before taking leave : “I hope Sir John’s attentions to me at dinner were not too marked '3 You know, I am such astrangcr here that I cannot be too careful.” . Lady Clara smilineg assured her that Sir John was a man of high standing in Barba- does, and that attentions from him must be considered a great honor. _ A friend of Lad Clare, a frequent visitor at Government case, a ecial under the protection of the sister 0 the C icf J usticc, Mrs. 'l‘imbury’s path in Barbadoen was strewn with roses. The Governor’s car- riage was often in front of the big new ho- tel ;but Sir John could not pcrxmt her to o sightseeing except in his own coach, driven by his own liveried darky. . . It was during this period of ecstatic joy that Mrs. Timbury wrote to Mrs. 'I‘itus in ’Martiuique, saying that never before had she so felt the need of a matronly friend and counselor. Sir John’s attentions, shs ] saithwerctoo marked to be overlooked ;and {she was in dailyâ€"~nay, hourlyâ€"dread of ‘committing some act, in the innocence of her heart, that mi ht seem im re er in the eyes of the Barbs iaus. She , she con- tinned, replenished her wardrobe in the Bridgetown stores, and her stay on the 184 land mi ht be indefinitely extended, for Lady C re positive] would not hear of her departure. 0n t 8 whole, she was on- joying herself, and Sir John was one of the most courtly gentlemen she had ever met. Six weeks after the date of this letter Mrs. Timbury took her new trunks and be- ‘7 cameo nly an inmate of Sir John Wind.- ham oCurrio’s house, but the Barbsdisn sense of opricty was not shocked, for the former Mfrs. Timbury was then Lady Me- The particulars of this inter-oath) court- ship could notfail tabs on , but thcyhaveno lacointhfsnarrative, rths fate of Mrs. Timbury was settled beyond cavil when young Mr. Quick invited her to eat Christmas dinner with I! he oouldseoherinhernswpos 'onaf:mis- trees of Sir John's establishment, her molds timidly asking "Will to Lady have this!” Will my Lady be pl to lunch ‘to-dayor’l the good old Connecticut Deacon would that ho had not livod(nor died) in vain. Love never-comes in crowds." lie/it is just one after another. w. AAA“ A AJ'ALJ‘AAJ «i