to say what we mean; therefore thy staying will give us pleasure." "Then I am sure we will not deny ourselves such a pleasure," added Captain Verschoyle. cared for) touched up his horse, and they were soon well on the road again. - "Charles," said Audrey, breaking the silence, "I never in my life-time felt so old and world-worn, nor felt such a desire to be different from what I am. Now I know what happiness means! Something born of a great heart too pure, too truthful, too charitable to see aught but the best of people, and which, as it daily grows and strengthens, fills its owner with inward peace and perfect content! Oh, I have so enjoyed this afternoon! I feel, if I were a man, I should like to marry that girl." 66 And I," answered her brother, "should like to marry the mother. For such a wife I could give up everything, and feel perfectly contented." And on this they all went back to the house to partake of tea and fruit and cake. They sat some time longer talking of paintings and flowers, and of many subjects on which Charles and Audrey seldom spoke. Captain Verschoyle gave them some descriptions of the Crimea of the sufferings and bravery of the men, and of the fortitude with which some had heard their deathwarrant, when life would have given them the fame to gain which they had risked all they held dear. He spoke more particularly of one of his own especial friends, and of the influence his life and death had had Yes, she is certainly charming; but so upon his men. Patience at length confessed they both are, and their manners are perto herself that she felt greatly drawn fect. While I was watching them, I could towards him, and thought how proud his but make some rather humiliating comparimother must be of such a son; for Charles sons. Here was I pluming myself on my Verschoyle had that gentle suavity of man- wonderful good breeding, the result of ner which, while it attracts all, particularly birth and society, and I come suddenly appeals to women who feel that their youth upon the wife and daughter of a country no longer claims the attention and thoughtfulness due to their sex. They were all reluctant to say good-bye; and, standing together at the white gate, any one would have been surprised to hear that they were friends of only a few hours' standing. 66 Farewell," said Patience to Audrey. "I shall often think of thee." "And I of you," she answered. "The thought will do me good- as you yourself would do could I see more of you.' Then turning to Dorothy, and meeting her loving, earnest eyes, Audrey, giving way to a most unusual impulse, took the sweet face in both her hands, and kissed her on both cheeks. Captain Verschoyle meanwhile, bade a lingering adieu to Patience. "Farewell," she said; "I am glad we have met, should it never be our lot to meet again. In all thy warfare, may thou be protected." 66 shopkeeper, who tell you that they have hardly ever been beyond the town they live in, and never mixed with other society than the members of their own community, and yet the self-possession and graceful tact of the mother, when she covered your confusion at an awkward mistake by turning it at once into an attention paid to her family, and the pretty way in which the daughter told you that the flowers were just those she had been wishing for, might have been envied by a duchess." "Quite so," said her brother; "the true thing evidently springs from some other source than blue blood' alone." "I was very nearly endangering every claim I possess to good breeding," exclaimed Audrey. "I really thought I must have had a fit of laughter at you, Charlie. You have no idea of the ridiculous figure you presented with that enormous nosegay; only the geese were wanting to make the representation of the Bashful Swain' complete." Thank you heartily: but I will not think this is to be our only meeting. Should I ever come to Plymouth again, you will, I Captain Verschoyle laughed. .. Well, know, give me permission to call and see certainly," he said, "I never felt more comyou. Good-bye, Miss Fox, I have not ex-pletely disconcerted in my life, and the pressed half my gratitude to you for your worst of it was, I could think of nothing to charitable kindness." say.' Fancy, Charlie, if mamma could have seen her son hors de combat before a shopkeeper's wife!" "Ah! poor mamma!" replied Captain Verschoyle, "she has a good many things to be shocked at yet." "I cannot think," continued Audrey, why you were so little impressed with the girl's beauty; to me she is lovely. She made me feel so old, and filled me with a desire to caress her and pet her and indulge her." 66 "She is very much prettier than I thought ness. 99 66 "Yes," said Audrey," but that is only in her pretty half shy manner and appearance; she can talk extremely well." 66 Can she?" replied Captain Verschoyle absently. "Of course she can," exclaimed Audrey, "but you were so taken up with her mother that I don't believe you spoke ten words to her. However, it didn't matter, for I saw she admired me much more than she did you." "Then all was as it should be, and we got an equal division of pleasure. I wonder what the father is like." 66 Oh, vulgar, I daresay," replied Audrey. "And I dare say not," returned her brother; 66 peculiar he may be, disagreeable perhaps, but the husband of that woman could not continue vulgar." 66 6 No, you are right, Charles," answered Audrey, and I only wish I could see them often. I know they would do me good, and keep down that envy, hatred, and malice' which poisons much of my better nature. This afternoon's visit is the delightful termination to our holiday. Say you have enjoyed the last week, Charlie dear, for I don't believe I was ever so happy in my life before." 66 Next morning they took their departure reluctantly. Marshall quite entered into their regret, for, in addition to the scenery, she left behind the landlady's son, home from sea, who, speech and rough in voice, was a tender, though a little free in kind-hearted creature." Moreover, he was so attentive to "" Miss Marshall," that she hardly knew what to think of his intentions, At parting he had given her a white satin heart-shaped pincushion, worked with beads, and had told her to accept it as emblematic, though his own heart was not so hard. So it had been a happy week to all of them, and as the train carried them beyond the possibility of another glimpse of the old town of Plymouth, they sighed that it was over. 66 see you both," said Lady Laura. stay away these two days longer, and have "Do you intend staying here much longer, mamma?" interrupted Audrey. "I think not," answered Lady Laura. "We are due at Dyne Court the beginning for a few days before we go there. Howof next month, and I want to stay in town ever, Charles shall decide, and I shall be governed by him." "Oh no, mother," said Captain Versof pre-eminence. You and Audrey must choyle, "I do not want any of the bother manage everything for me, and I shall be content to follow out any plans made for e. lightedly. agement upon me, I think I may answer that Very well," returned his mother, deyou will have no cause for complaint. I If you throw the onus of manhave several pet schemes on hand which I season comes I hope you will both be well established, and independent of everybody." you will approve of, and before next At this point Lady Laura gave a sigh; and then, meeting her son's eyes, pressed his half what I suffered while you were away, hand, exclaiming, "I have not told you once more." nor how thankful I feel to have you with me CHAPTER V. THE CREWDSONS. of Leeds, where for many years his family Lady Laura was at St. Thomas's station In appearance Josiah was short and broad set, with ruddy whiskerless face, and an undue amount of colour, which seemed to deepen like a girl's on the smallest provocation. Had it not been for the excessive gravity of his speech and manner, he would have struck people as boyish. And boyish his face really was, although his figure might have belonged to a middle-aged man. Except when engaged in business, Josiah was painfully shy, and very sensitive as to his own personal defects. He greatly envied the ease of manner and fluency of speech which most men seemed naturally to possess; and he often wondered what could possibly make him so bashful and stupid. These two defects resulted entirely from the hard school in which his boyhood and youth had been passed. vat, he adopted a scarf of black silk or have been extremely tame and uninterestsatin; but with these exceptions his cos-ing, Jemima or Kezia were down upon him, tume was in all respects that of the old and if he did not at once relinquish his school. newly-found hobby, woe betide him. Thus was he kept in utter subjection; his spirit curbed, his geniality suppressed, his tongue tied, and his whole nature turned, as it were, from its natural source and diverted into the groove which his father had laid down for it. And when old Crewdson died, people wondered why Josiah continued just the same man, permitting his two sisters to rule his household and lecture and snub him as they had done all his lifetime. They forgot that twenty-five years of brow-beating leaves such an amount of bashfulness and spiritlessness, that unless a man turn at once into a bully and a tyrant, many years will hardly suffice to remove it. In one thing Josiah's father had not laboured in vain, and that was to make his son a thorough man of business. Josiah's capacity for business was the only thing the old man appreciated in him. The lad soon saw that on this ground they met on an equal footing, that his diffidence gave way, and his natural good sense had full swing. He showed such undoubted talent that for some years before his father's death the entire management had almost fallen into his hands, and the trade, which was very considerable, had steadily increased. Josiah was accordingly looked upon as one of the wealthiest and most prosperous of the younger members belonging to the Society of Friends. His father, a stern, narrow-minded man, had certain fixed notions and plans on which he invariably acted, and for which he could give no better reason than that such was his rule. It was his rule, for instance, never to allow the smallest indulgence to his children, but to deny them every amusement. He punished each small offence, and magnified an omission into a glaring fault. He condemned all lightness of heart, and called all manifestation of tenderness nonsensical and ridiculous. His two daughters, who were many years older than Josiah, were cast in the same mould as their father. To them, it was no hard task to obey regulations which exactly fitted in with their own cramped views. But Josiah was not a Crewdson. He took after the mother, who had died when he was born; and for this abominable want of sense the family never entirely forgave him. Surrounded by all the comforts of life, the Crewsdons ought to have been a cheerful, happy family; instead of which they were dull and gloomy. The silence of a prison seemed to reign over them. They seldom met save at meals, where conversation was strictly forbidden. Except to ask for what they needed, not a voice was raised. Directly the business of eating was over, all the members were expected to occupy themselves immediately with their duties. Amusements were regarded as contemptible snares, which old Crewdson said were not needed by rational beings. If, therefore, Josiah, as a boy, interested himself in any little diversion which in the case of one differently brought up would VOL. XVII. 732 LIVING AGE. Between the Crewdsons and the Foxes there had always been a close intimacy, and it was the wish of Nathaniel Fox and old Stephen Crewdson, that this bond might be still further strengthened by the ultimate marriage of Dorothy and Josiah. Josiah had not seen Dorothy since she was a girl of fourteen. But even then he quite regarded her as his destined future wife; and many people would have been somewhat surprised to know that this sedate-looking man, who was apparently engrossed in his business (for besides being a cloth merchant, he was a railway and bank director), looked forward with the greatest satisfaction to the time when a sweet young wife would lovingly greet his return and brighten his home, taking the place of the two gaunt figures, who, seated on the stiffest of horsehair chairs, and clothed in the most terribly severe coloured alpacas, now considered it their duty to bear their testimony and uphold their principles whenever he proposed anything pleasant or a little contrary to their established customs. Yes, the fact was that Josiah's warm answers were often checked by the thought that very soon the whole domestic arrangements would be changed. The proposed alliance between their brother and Dorothy Fox was of course no secret to the Miss Crewdsons. As it had been an arrangement of their father's, they entirely approved of it. In common with most of the leading Friends, they considered it an excellent and sensible union, and one which it was now almost high time to bring to a conclusion. Dorothy was nineteen, and twenty-one was considered a fitting age for a maiden to become a wife. Two years would thus be given for a more open engagement, and then the necessary preparation for settling would all be properly gone about; for nothing done in haste could, according to the Crewdson ideas, be performed with that decency and order which befitted Friends. The thought that it was high time these two young people should see a little more of each other had also entered Nathaniel Fox's head. Therefore it was fixed, after a consultation with his wife, that an invitation should be sent to Josiah, requesting him to spend a short time at Plymouth. Nathaniel said he knew his friend was too much occupied to make a long stay, but the more time he could give them the better pleased they should be. Josiah readily accepted the invitation; and it was with no little excitement that he was now looking forward to seeing his future wife. He began to arrange matters so that he might pay a visit to Exeter on the way, and be present at a wedding to which he had been invited, and which was about to take place between John Cash, his cousin, and Elizabeth Dymond, a relative of the Foxes. He knew Dorothy had been asked to assist as bridesmaid; but no sooner had Nathaniel heard that Elizabeth was to be adorned in a white lace veil and an orange wreath, while her bridesmaids were to keep her company in coloured dresses and bonnets, than he sternly refused his consent to her going. He said he would as soon that his daughter should exhibit herself before a booth at Plymouth fair, as take part in such a raree-show. as suitable for him to say, and which were calculated most effectually to damp all cheerfulness and hilarity. Josiah, however, had not the slightest intention of saying one word of rebuke. He was too painfully alive to his own awkwardness and shyness to contemplate standing up before a number of people, many of them strangers to him, and delivering himself of a caustic speech. But as his habit was, he silently listened to all their conversation, not even indulging in a yes or no, unless absolutely compelled. He was to start the next morning very early, so he sat attentively while Jemima, who had packed up his things, gave him the necessary information as to the reasons which had made her apparently collect together the most incongruous assortment of material. It was rather amusing to see these two women regarding their businesslike brother as utterly incapable. had done so when he was a schoolboy, and so they did now. They packed his box for him, and they put up his parcels; but when Kezia commenced to give him various hints as to his mode of conduct towards Dorothy, it became too ridiculous, and Josiah was obliged to return her a mild reproof. 66 They Thank thee, Kezia, but, doubtless, when the time comes I shall find words to make myself agreeable to Dorothy." "That speech is somewhat self-sufficient, Josiah," answered Jemima, immediately taking up the cudgels for her sister—“a fault our father always warned thee especially to guard against. Kezia's remark was a just one; and Dorothy Fox, if she is what I take her to be, is too earnest an upholder of our principles to be caught by frivolous words and worldly phrases." Josiah knew that any answer would only draw him into an argument in which he was certain to come off worst, so he made no further comment, but promised to deliver all the messages he was charged with, particularly to tell Patience Fox that they would be pleased to have a visit from Dorothy, in order that they might become better acquainted. Then they bade him farewell, and hoped, grimly, that he would enjoy himself. 66 Jemima and Kezia Crewdson of course were as severe in their censure. They told Thank thee," returned Josiah, “I think Josiah that he, too, ought to bear his testi-I shall. This is the first holiday I have had mony against such worldly wickedness by for so long that I shall do my best to make refusing to be present; but a letter from it pleasant." Nathaniel, in which he begged Josiah to go, and seize the opportunity of rebuking the wedding party, had altered their tone. They now employed every moment they were with their brother repeating to him the various remarks that had occurred to them Well," said Jemima, with a gloomy nod of the head, "I wish it may turn out so." "One would not give credit to thy wish by thy face," laughed Josiah, for the prospect of the change had raised his spirits, and made him unusually talkative and bold. | when she remembered that it came from The sisters looked at each other, as though the grooms or coachmen of a marquis or an they said, "If he was going to see the earl; and though the chief passers by were Foxes in this spirit, what will Dorothy think of him ?" footmen, pages, or tradesmen's porters, they were all either going to or coming from some grand house, and so found more favour in Lady Laura's eyes than the fine stalwart sons and fresh pretty daughters of "those middle-class people who are always trying to seem better than they are" would have done. Lady Laura, with her son and daughter, had left Shilton Hall the day before, and arrived at her house in Egmont Street, intending to spend a few days there, and then go on to Dyne Court. The horses were turned out; the footman and housemaid were away on board wages, and only the cook (with her niece from the country) remained of the usual household. The curtains had been all taken down, and the furniture covered up for the summer; and as the family were only going to stay a short time, Lady Laura had not thought it necessary to have more than the dining-room got ready. They could manage, she said, without the expense of recalling the other servants. Certainly on this occasion, circumstances were very much against 27A, Egmont Street, looking the least like a house speaking of welcome and an invitation to settle down and enjoy the quiet pleasures of life. HER LADYSHIP'S PLANS. LADY LAURA VERSCHOYLE's house was a small excrescence on a sort of by-way which connected a fashionable London square with a fashionable London street. Lady Laura always spoke of her house as 27, Egmont Street, which was true, only it would have been more correct to have said 27A, Egmont Street. The letter A seemed a very trifling addition, yet the difference that such a small sign indicated between the houses was somewhat startling; for whereas No. 27, Egmont Street, would have been termed "that desirable family mansion," So, at least, thought Captain Verschoyle and was the town house of a baronet with as he descended rather earlier than cook £15,000 a-year, 27A, Egmont Street, would had expected the morning after their arrihave been advertised as "an elegant bijou val. The close heat and the active habits residence," and was the sole dwelling-place of the inhabitants of the Mews had driven of Lady Laura Verschoyle, who on £1,500 sleep from his eyes at a very early hour, a-year found it very difficult to compete and he now somewhat ruefully surveyed the with her more fortunate neighbours. Had small uncomfortable room as the woman she been contented to live on the other side made as hasty a retreat as possible, apoloof the Park, she might have had a cheerful, gising for being so late, and promising comfortable house instead of this incon- breakfast as soon as it could be got ready. venient one, where, to make a tolerably "What an awfully dingy place this is!" good reception room, all the other apart-thought he; "how can they exist here? I ments had been robbed of their height or breadth. 27A had a most cheerless prospect, the front being shadowed by the high garden wall of a grand house which looked into the Park. All the back windows were frosted over, that no glimpse might be caught of the mews into which they opened. Taking it as a whole, it would have been difficult to find a like rented abode with so little to recommend it besides what was to Lady Laura its all-powerful attraction-the fact of its being situated in one of the most fashionable localities of London. The jesting, laughing, and quarrelling which Lady Laura could not help hearing from the back could not offend her so much don't wonder at that poor girl wanting to get married. Well! I hope when I have a wife I shall have a better home than this; although she must help to provide it, for I have not much more than half my mother's income. I shall certainly look after this heiress Audrey was speaking of, for money is a considerable sweetener of life." And then certain memories of his early days arose, when he had pictured a home and an angel to share it; and he smiled over these visions, so dimmed now. In books you might read of love's enduring through life; poets spoke of its standing strong unto death; but speaking from his own experience, he had never seen it stand |