THE FLO WER O F

GALA WATER .

fl N o v el .

MR S . AME L I A E BAR R
V
’
,

A u t h o r of “
Gi rls f
o a Fea t h e r ,
” “
T/
ze Bea d s of
”
Ta s m e r , “
Fr i e n d O li via , ”
et c .

WI TH I L L U S TB A T I ON S BY o . K E N D R I CK .
Q/

N EW YO R K

R O BE R T BO NNER ’
S SO N S ,

P U BL S H E I RS .

MO N THLY S U MO R I P TI O N A A
A A A
O HO I O! OK R I I O “8 0 5 0 . P R I CZ, SI! DO LL R S P KG NNUA
L NO. 1 10

J NU R Y 1, ( 74 7 5 0 5 0 AT I Hl
‘ ’
N EW YO R K , N. Y .
, FO OT O ' P I C ! AO S EC O N D O L O. "
All . “A7 YI R.
 The Flo wer o f Gala Water .

C HAP T ER I .

TH E FL OWER OF G A L A WATE R .

W an B o rd er h i lls
w at e r fro m t h e
D e ar v o i c e fro m t h e o ld y e ars ,

T h y d i st an t m u si c lu lls an d st i lls ,

An d m o v e s t o q u i e t t e ars .

A mi st o f m e m o ry b ro o d s an d fl o at s
Th e B o rd e r W at e rs flo w ;
Th e ai r i s full o f b allad n o t es,

B o rn o ut o f lo n g ago .
”

66 H AVE a friend . Her name is Katherine

”
J an fari e .

I n the se words Jessy T elfair usually an

sw e re d any rem ark about the solitude of her
[ 7 ]
 Fl w er of Wafer
"

8 Tk e o Gala .

hom e . I t was o nly an apparent s o litu de ,

fo r
’
Jessy knew the laird s fine h ouse w as j ust o ver
the ne arest hill an d that th ere ,
th e s w e etes t
—
maid o f T weedside dwelt he r friend Kath erin e ,

J an fari e

She was talking this m orning to a strange r

who was w aiting to see her father . But m any
strangers calle d upon the minister of Kirtle
hope for he was a fam ous angle r an d the l o nely
, ,

manse among the h ills by Gala W ater w as well

kn o wn to the br o th ers of th e ro d an d reel .

Su c h visitors ,
h o wever ,
had usually bee n o f

middle age dressed for th eir i ntentions in r o ugh

,

gray tweed and well greased boots with a long -

, ,

light waterproo f an d creel slun g acr o ss th eir

s h o ulders . But this caller w as fash ionably clad
in the nattiest of travelling suits m ore o ve r h e ,

w as y o ung and had the air of a high b re d an d

,
-

th o roughly assured gentleman .

Stan ding by the wi n dow of th e m an se parlor ,

he lo o ked up the win ding valley th at le d to th e

s ources of the river in the hear t of th e h ills .
 771 8 Fl w o er of Gala Wat e r .
9 .

Th e slopes were c o vered with sh eep and lambs

—
hu ndreds o f hidden holl o ws were full o f

th em —an d their bleating and th e murmur of

G ala W ater hurrying down through archipel
,

ago e s of bowlders and flashin g over tiny water

falls were all the soun d s that broke the still
,

ne ss o f th e lonely place . So he turned to Jessy

then an d made som e re mark about the solitude
, ,

an d sh e answere d him
I h ave a friend . He r name is Katherine
”
an f ari e
J .

T here was a childlike abruptness and co nfi

de nce a sen se of su fficiency in this asserti o n

, ,

which was very attractive . It was evident also

that sh e wished to be entertaini n g an d that sh e ,

c o uld think of no subj ect m ore delightful than

her friend . Yet far as the eyes c o uld see in
every direction th e hills an d valleys were set to,

s o ng an d story . Names that lilt thr o ugh the

n oblest ballads in the w o —
rld that sanctify th e
m o st desperate struggles fo r religi o us liberty
t h at are fo rem o s t in th e ch r o nicles o f val o r and
10 772 6 Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa fer .

scien c e are its familiar name s . But Jessy

thought of none of them sh e said only whe n th e ,

stranger spoke of the lonelin ess of the famous

land “
I ha v e a frie nd . He r name is Kath
”
erine J an fari e .

T hen h e looked into th e pleasan t fa c e o f the

speaker He h ad bee n expectin g to h ear of th e
.

Douglas and Bu c c le u gh — o f th e Elliots an d

Arm strongs C rac k sp e ar and Out with the
- -

Sword ; or at least of the Cove nanters an d

, ,

Erskine and Chalm ers prea c hing on th e h eath ,

ery heights to v ast unbon neted re v e re n t

, , co n

re
g g at i o n s but Miss T elfair did not me ntion
any of these heroes . Her heart was with h e r
friend and she smile d as h er lips mad e the
,

musi c o f her name . Perh aps if she had c o n si d

ered the m atter she could n ot have been m ore

entertaining for the you n g man waiting for the
,

minister knew all about the roman c e o f th e past ;

it w as th e r o man c e o f the present he desire d ;
”
an d
“
Katherine J an fari e fell upon h is ears
like the preluding of musi c .
 Ti m Flawer o f Gala PValar ‘
. 11

Is your frien d pretty e nough to deser v e her

”
pretty name P he asked .

Pretty ? Katherin e is beautiful Katherine

is th e Flo w er o f Gala W ater !
’
On all T weed
’
”
sid e th ere is n on e like her .

T hen I h ope she li v e s n ear to you .

She lives j ust o v er the hill . I c an sit h ere

an d w atch h er come into sigh t . If sh e does not
see m e when sh e gets to th e little burn by
, th e

garde n gate sh e begin s to sing an d then , I run

to m eet her .

So m e o ne is comin g ov er th e hill now —but

it is no Miss J an fari e
t .

Jessy l o o ke d up an d s miled .

T hat is the minister R ab Hays is with h im .

’
Rab is o ne of the duke s men and is worth the ,

knowing . Rab went out with the Fr e e

k i rk e rs , and when father aske d him what the
’
duke would say to that he answered ,
Indee d ,

min ister ,
I din na ken ; but I must think 0
’
the
Judgme nt Th e duke w i lln a an swer for
’

Day 0 .

th e
’
me on tha t day . If R ab sees mi ni ste r go in g
12

’
to the hills he is sure ,
to
‘
d aunder up th e water
to meet him . N ow I m ust go an d welc o me
father h o me . He would think it strange if 1

did n ot .

Th e minister enter ed th e fr o nt d o or as Jessy

steppe d into the hall . He calle d to her cheer
fully an d patting h is creel said
, ,

Th e burns are a perfect Piccadilly w ith an

gle rs, Jessy but , I have g o tten a fe w fine fel

”
l o ws .

T he n Jessy peepe d int o h is creel an d an ,

.

sw e re d

“
T here are a d o ze n fin e fell o ws at least , ,

”
father .

Maybe so ; but o h, lassie ,

fo r the days w he n

a man could fish d o wn stream an d yet fill his ,

c reel an d h is cap an d his p o uche s with spe ckled

”
tr o ut l
T here is a gentleman in the parlor . He is

waiting to se e y o u . H ere is the card with h is

n am e printed on it . I n ever heard o f the m an

”
befo re .
 T/
ze Fl wo er o
f Gala Wafer . I 3

Th e minister w anted his dinner an d he did ,

not want to se e strangers at that hour . He took

th e c ard reluctantly read an d then reread it
,
.

T here is a kin d of familiarity ,

h e muttered .

R ichard Mowbray Mowbray Hall W estmore , ,

l and . His br o ws went together . T hen his

face brightened . To be sure Jessy , , he said ,

M o wbray ! I kn o w th e m an We w ere at
”
Edinburgh College togeth er .

T h is Mr M o w bray is
. no t very much o lder
t h an I am .
”

’
“
T hen it is Reginald Mowb ray s so n . Dear
me H ow the days go by ! Lo o k to the dinner ,

Jessy the young man will eat it w ith us . I will

give y o u half an hour my dear ,
.

Jessy was glad of the inter v al . She carried

th e tr o ut to the kitch en to be broiled and t hen ,

ran to h er room to change th e gray win sey she

w o re fo r somethin g pretty in silk an d plush .

Sh e m ade h er black hair a trifle m ore flu ffy and

pin ned h er g o ld br o o ch in h er lace at her thr o at .

An d it
w h h e r b ri gh t e r gar m en t s she p u t on a
I 4 T/
ze Fl
o wer o f Gala Wafer .

brighter spirit a m ore h o spitable m an ner

,
an d

intent . Yet through all he r toilet she was thin k

ing of Katherine —wishing she w o uld come
w o ndering what Mr Mowbray would think . o f
—
her speculating as to wh at Katherin e would
think of him —inventing a little rom ance in
which a certain Jamie W i n t o u n interfere d co n

si d e rab ly
—and feeling , to a large exten t all the ,

exciteme nt of her imaginati o ns .

T he n sh e h ast e n e d downstairs an d f o u nd th e
~

dinn er on the table and h er fath er and Mr , .

Mo w bray j ust entering the dining r o om -

. T h ey

were talking politics an d the elde r m an was ,

quite ex c ited .

“
You are j ust a deaf an d blin d T o ry , Mr .

” “
Mowbray , h e said ,
and y o ur fathe r was on e
be fore you . You cann o t discern the signs of
th e times any better than th e T o rie s o f two
th ousand years ago could . Go to G ala sh iels an d
bide am o ng the weavers a wee . T hey w ill .
give
”
you something to thin k ab o ut .

It is m at ter en o ugh fo r th o ug h t sir , , to se e

 T/
ze Fl wo er
f
o Ga la Water . 1 5

’
the me n who ‘
marched th e Border for cen
t u ri e s take to a lo o m an d shuttle . B ut I canno t
u nderstand how it was possible to m ake Radi .

cals an d Socialists o ut of them .

M an they were aye that and nothing else

,
.

Generations ago th eir forefathers anti c ipated

the pleasant t h e o ries of Mr . George and Mr .

Hyndman an d ,
had a persuasion that all prop
e rt y was common by law o f nature an d was ,

’
th e refo re liable to be appr o priate d by them .

I n fact the Border men

,
h ave always favored the
go o d old plan that
T h ey sh o u ld k
t a e w h o h av e t h e p o w er ,

An d t h e y sh o u ld k ee p wh o c an .
’

An d the minister smiling helped himself to , ,

another goodly portion of broiled trout . Th e

sen time n t c alle d for an example , and he

gave it .

So the w o r d y warfare went on thr o ughout

d in ner u ntil the quiet dream ful old manse had,

the aura o f a town hall at electi o n tim e

- -
. All the
p o litical and s o cial struggles o f the day and ho ur
 -

1 6 Tae Fl w o er
f
o Gal
a Waler .

filled the little room and Jessy h eard as afar , ,

o ff, such stim u lating irritating n ame s as ,

Glad

stone Salisb ury Parnell L abouchere until this

, , , ,

restle ss atm osph ere of the present was s u ddenly

in v aded by a v o i c e from the restless atm osph ere
of the past—a c lear sweet voice singing an old ,

B o rder lilt
Fo r t h at , an d a t h at ,
’ ’
a

An d i
t w c e as m uch as a t h at ,
’

We 11 h arry t h e
’
m alt an d g rai n
c at t le an d ,

An d o ve r th e B o rd er h am e ag ai n
At the first line there was a sudden silence ,

th e
’
and a smile flash ed over m inister s disputa
tious fa c e . Jessy looke d at him an d sh e too , , ,

was smiling . Mowbray glan ce d from father to

daughter intereste d and c urious an d the m erry
, ,

v oi c e c ame nearer an d nearer . I n a few m o

ments th e d oor of th e room op e n ed an d Kath ,

erin e J an fari e stood i n its pla c e like a pi c ture ,

in a frame T h e song was yet upon her lips an d

.

the musi c of it on h er fa c e .

Mowbray felt his heart leap an d h e r o se to ,

his feet . It was an uncons c i o u s an d i n v o lu n

 T/
ze Fl wo er
f
o Gala Wa t er . 1 7

tary hom age for the girl was m arvelously beau

,

tiful an exquisite little creature with a face

, ,

fresh and radiant as a n ew blown flow er eyes -

,

like two stars an d lips that were made to kiss

, .

Some fin e instin ct had taught her to ro be her

self t his spring
. d ay in the very colors of th e

spring . A darkish green dress of softish cash

-

m ere fell straight to her feet ,

but the plaited
ve st was of pale primrose silk - . She had in her
h ands a little basket of rushes fille d with fresh ,

primroses an d sh e looked like an angel of the

,

flowers .

But th e lo v eliness w o rds d e sc rib e '

so tediously
was an instant revelation to eyes and hearts ,

and Kath erin e h ad not crossed the room ere

Richard Mowbray was cons c ious of some n ew
elem e n t in h is existen c e . T hrough all his being
th e full tide of lo v e swept like a fateful fire with
irresistibl e surge and flow and he w as carried ,

o ff h is feet — —
f ar beyon d his reason b y its u n

fo resee n impetu o sity . E v en when the m in ister

S p o ke he r name to him an d ,
h e w as conscious
I 8 T/
ze Fl w
o er
f
o Ga la Wafer .

that she was at his side and looking into h is

fa c e h e was not able to
,
c ollect or contr o l h is
out ward manh ood . Th e fire she had kindled in
his heart radiated from his eyes ,
an d sh e dropped
her eyes beneath their gaze and was v aguely ,

trou b led and yet pleased by the mysteriou s

shock they ga v e her .

A moment or two of embarrassm ent followe d

the meeting but the minister qui c kly relie v e d
,

it with a v ery c omm onpla c e remark .

I thought you h ad a new pony Kath erine ,

he said ,
an d I was sure you woul d be j ust dis
tra c ted to ride hi m o v er h ere .

I had also a n ew h at , sir and the hat c arrie d

,

th e day .

T he n she took it from h er head an d turned it

a bout on h er hands and smiled at Jessy an d , ,

was quite u n c ons c ious that th e re v elation of he r

fair bright h air wa v ing an d c urlin g around h er
,

brow was a fresh en c hantment .

You see it is a sailor hat

, ,
sh e said ,
“
an d
one c ould not be so impossibly absurd as to wear
20 Tfie Fl w o er
, of Gala Wat er .

His father was at Edinburgh University with

my father .
—
T hey w ere friends o r en em ies . I
am no t sure which . Th e elder Mowbray d ie d

last Christmas an d le ft fathe r a t o ken . Th e

young man br o ught it to him .

”
A token o f what Jessy P ,

It might be a love t o ke n -
. Father put it in
his vest pocket an d n ever said a w o rd .

“
Only think of Minister T e lfai r h aving a
ro mance ! Such a nice ,
comfortable , m iddle
aged gentleman w ith a l o ve t o ke n
- in his vest
”
p o cket !

I did no t say that it was c ertainly a l o ve

t o ken Katherine
, .

But let us think it was . I have an idea ther e

is a great deal o f hid d e n r o mance in life . And
please Jessy , w here d o es the y o ung man c o m e
fr o m
Over the B o rder—s o m e w h ere in W estm o re
”
land .

Jessy w as trying on th e n ew hat t ilti ng it th is

,

"
w ay an d that and , sh e was no t as intereste d 1 11
 Toe Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Water . 2 1

th e questi o n as Katherine th o ught sh e m i ght

have been .

Never min d the hat Jessy ,

. Yo u can g e t

an o th er j ust like it in Galashiels t o - morro w .

But th e y o ung man c o uld not be m atched at

all , I sh o uld s ay —unless we w ent o ver the Bor
der s o mewhere in W estm o reland ,
to find his
m arrow
Do y o u think him so handso me P

Do y o u n ot think him so hands o me P

H e is n o t to be c o mpared with Jamie W i n

”
t o un .

Perhaps no t, if the c o mparison be made by

i nches . But the n Mr . Mowbray is all alive .

His h and w as h o t its clasp went straigh t to my

heart his very fi n ge r tips tingle d
- . I kn o w for ,

I t o u che d th em . Jamie W i n t o u n is made of

clay—y o u n ever d o ubt it .

’
Mr M o w bray is als o m ade of clay
. .

In f o rm ed w ith spirit .

Jamie h as s o m e spirit H e is a bit f a lag

‘

. o

gard truly but generally spea k i ng h e d o es

“

, , , ,
22 T/
Ze Fl
o w er f
o Gala Waf r e .

what he wants to do . M r M owbray is only a

.

bird of passage h e is h ere to d ay and t o -m orr o w

he will be gone .

Katherin e did not c o ntradi c t this proph e cy ,

Sh e walke d to the win d ow an d l o o ke d ou t over

the gree n d esert and up to the a
g y
r fi rm am e n t

above it .

It will rain at sun set Jessy , ,

sh e said . L et
u s hasten the m inister s argument ’
. T his bird
of passage will want somewhere to sleep . Are
you going to ask him to stop at the m an se ?
Father has said nothing to m e . I will speak
”
to him as we walk o v e r the hill .

Perhaps it was the suppose d n eed for obtai n

ing this in formation whi ch led Jessy to range
her self at h e r father s side an d with a smilin g
’

m o vement in di c ate to Mr M o wbray th at his

, .

’
duty was to be Katherine s esc o rt . It seem e d ,

howe v er th e m ost natural o f position s

,
n eith e r
f them felt a mom ent s surprise at their su dden
’
o

c o mpanion ship . T hey sauntere d through th e

garden which was full

, o f early fl o wers and ,
 Tao Fl w o er
f
o Gala Wate r . 2 3

Kath erin e pointed out the sweet freed o m an d

de m o c rati c friendships that were permitted
there .

Pan sie s are e v erywhere you see ,

she said ,

an d th e rose t re e s h av e n o upper beds to grow

”
‘
-

in an d th e lilies are not too saintly to mingle

,

with th e gadabout honeysuckle v ine and the -

very worldly poppies .

Yet the pla c e is pretty n o w and it will dou b t ,

less gr o w more lo v ely with the summer . My

garden er h as but one idea an d th at is to make ,

geometrical shapes an d fill them with c olored

leaves or blossoms .

“
Ah ,
the poor little flowers ! Set out so
primly they must feel as if they were at s c hool
, ,

an d not enj oy themsel v es at all . If I was a

fl o wer ,
I would rat h er be a b luebell an d gr o w
o ut on th e mountain side j ust where I please d
-
.

But we ha v e a fine garden at L e v ens -

h ope and ,

the h ous e is old eno u gh to have stories ab o ut its

room s and queer dream s in all its chairs . T here

is e v e n a gh o st in th e —
lo g corridor n ot one
n o f
2 4 Tee Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Water .

the modern scientific ghosts full o f p sy c h o lo gi ,

c al suggesti o ns — but a plain s imple s traight , ,

”
forward gh o st .

Ha v e you ever seen it ?

Very often in the twilight . T here is n o th

ing that fears m e in the harmless melanch o ly ,

wraith .

“
Some unhappy lady of former d ays , I sup
”
pose P
“
Ah no ,
! A brav e y o ung laird of Leven s
hope who foll o wed Prin c e Charlie
,
. Do yo u see
yonder n arrow road win ding acr o ss the m oun
tain breast southward ?
-
Th e Highlan d h ost
took it and young W alter Brat h o u s
, w as with
them . He was only twen ty years old then an d ,

he never c ame home again —i n the flesh . H is

picture is in the corridor a gay han ds o m e
, ,

looking boy with the u nlu c ky wh ite rose of

,

Stuart o v e r his heart

All the J an fari e s t o o .
, ,

have been me n of the sword My own father .

d ied at the head of h is compan y in t h e o ns e t o f

batt le .
 Tee Fl w
o er
f
o Ga la
‘

Wa ler . 2 5

T here d id not see m t o be any an swer proper

to this st ateme nt , an d M o wbray did not attempt
a plati t ude yet he made Katherine feel that he
was intereste d an d sympathetic . In deed his ,

wh o le n ature was in a conditi o n o f happy tur

m oil and h e could
,
no t c o mman d th e words h e
w ish ed . It was as if a door of his soul hitherto ,

closed ,
had bee n suddenly opened by Kath
’
erin e s h ands an d he was c on fused and amazed
,

an d u nd er a kin d of en chantment . Th e green

hills on which h e w alke d with her were no t

earthly h ills ; the air h e breathe d with her had

in it m e diviner element Her low v o ice h er
‘

so .
,

swe et ,
ri ppling laugh the sway o f her garments
,

again st him the miraculous light in h er eyes

, ,

threw him i nto a delightsome trance in which ,

he saw the v 1 s1 o n of L o ve like unt o Katherine

,

and all his s o ul an d j all his sen se s were su b u

gate d by th e sudde n splen d o r of th e reve l

ation .

And Kath erine kne w that this lum in o us still ,

sere nity had n o thing whatever to do w ith insen .

s ib ili t y .
She un derst o od intuitively that it w as
the natural expre ssi on of feeling th at had
-
no t

yet learne d h ow to speak . She he rsel f was co n

s c ious o f s o m e emotio n n ew an d strange . Sh e

talked about a s c ore of idle things be c ause ,

her

i nstin c t told her that sile nce would be indi s

c re e t . She was a little fearful an d sh e kne w ,

not of what she was afraid ! Her lips v o iced

pleasantly all the proprieties that guard every
day life ; but b elow her lips h er heart was ask
ing with a persistent iteration question s whi c h
as yet she answered o n ly with a peremptory
Hush
Th e minister and Jessy walke d a few yards
behin d them . T hey were talkin g of the e nte r
t ai n m e n t to be gi v en to th e stranger .

He is welcome a day or two at the m anse ,

said Do c tor T elfair but without m u c h c ordiality

, .

“
You know Jessy there are always my ser
, ,

mons to write and the though t of a

,
.
v isitor is
the thought of the b urn s an d the fish in them
my
’
and you ll allo w ,
cl
ear that there is not
,

”
mu c h spirituality bet wee n trou t and sermons .
2 8 Tee Fl wo er o
f Ga la Water .

youn g man favors his father th o ugh he is n ot ,

h ands o m e .

Kath erine appears to be pleased wi t h h im .

Katherine should keep m in d of her m ani

fest destiny . She w ould be a fo o lish girl to
bring compli c ation s into it . I see Brat h o u s i s
coming to meet us ; so I will j ust step forward
with M o wbray an d in troduce h im
‘

He did so and with the young m an at his

, ,

side walke d briskly toward the advan c ing laird

, ,

while Katherine waite d u ntil Jessy j o ine d h er .

T hey b o th watched the m eeting with interest ,

fo r b o th kne w the un c ertain dispositi o n of th e

laird o f L even s h o pe - . F o rtun ately ,
Brat h o u s
was in a very g o od hum o r . H e h ad ju st re

c eiv ed an American reaper an d som e fin e Je rsey

cattle and h e was ready to welcom e any
, o ne

wh o was ready to admire th em . But ,

apart
from this fav orable con dition h e was please d ,

with h is visitor ; please d with th e m emorie s h e

c alled fo rth an d please d with h is ge ntlemanly
,

appearance an d quic k appre cia t i o n of the seie n

 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa fe r . 2 9

ti fi c farm ing whi c h was the special pride of th e

laird o f Le v en s hope -
.

Katherine and Jessy wat c he d th e three m en

t urn toward th e barns an d th e farm buildi n gs -
,

an d th ey u nderstood what would be sure to

follow .

For an hour at least their tal k will be of

b ullo c ks ,
said Katherin e with an air of ,
di sap

p o intme nt . Let u s go into the house and sit

with my m other . An d yet what a perfect after
n oon it is for a walk
T hey were at the wide entrance gate an d at ,

Kather i ne s tone of regret both turned and

’

looke d ba c k over the mountain path they had -

j ust trod . It was flush e d with the m ost delicat e

tin ts of green . T here were tufts of primrose s
where th e meadow was the dampest and the air ,

was full of fragrance from th e yellow bloss o m s

of the broom . Th e wan cold water flashed an d

ripple d with translucent tints in th e burst s o f

sun sh ine . Th e ousels were flitting fr o m ston e

to st o n e th e linnets lilting i n every bush
,
an d
30 m Fl w
e o er
f
o Gala 17Va le r .

all o ver the grassy parapets by the gate s t h ere

w as a mist of bluebells noddin g in the soft win d
a w elcome t o spring . Th e lovelin e ss freshness ,

and the sweetn ess o f the scen e wen t forever

into Katherine s m em o ry blendi n g itself magi c
’

ally w ith the face an d v oi c e of th e stranger w h o

had w alke d b y h er side .

Slowly the girls wen t through th e garden

together stopping to adm ire the white
, p o w

dered auriculas and the budding lilacs and lin ,

gering long by the pon d th at was shadowed by

,

the large white thorn for it was j u st breaking

,

into a wonder of snowy blossom . Th e h ouse of

Levens hope stood in the mid st of the gard en
-
.

It was built of rough weather beaten s t o n es ,

-
,

touched h ere an d there w ith m oss an d it was

,

old enough an d l o n esome en ough to be th e hab

i t at i o n of all the ghosts and dream s Katherin e s ’

fan c y gave it . But th e interior h ad an air .

o f

h eavy ,
o ld - fash i o ned c o m fo rt brighten e d ,
w it h

many m odern elegan cies m aking it alt o geth er ,

s atis fying an d e v e n picture sque .

 T/
ze Fl w
o er
f
o Gala Wa t er .
3 1

Th e girls we nt leisurely to a parlor on the

se c on d floor a long low room with many
, , w in

dows an d a brigh t fire on the hearth . Here

th ey found Mrs Brat h o u s . . She was s itting in
a comfortable wicker c hair with a basket of
,

tangle d silks an d worsteds on he r lap . As the

girls e ntere d she s m iled an d pointed to
them .

I wish I had been born a good meth o di c al ,

creature ,
she sai d with a long sigh
, ,
“
for I
would nee d to be a very saint to unra v elthis
w eary tangle an d keep m y temper the while .

Have you finished your s c reen at last Mrs ,

.

Brat h o u s aske d Jessy .

I have m y dear,
. Some d ay also I will finish
’
my c o o king b ook . You say at last very wisely ,

Jessy ,
fo r little duties must give way to great
ones and the writin g of a book o r th e working
,

of a scre e n are things that can keep but waste ,

ful servants re quire to be watched and guided

every h o ur o f th e day . Did y o u meet th e laird
”
as y ou came th r o ugh th e garden ?
32 Tae Fl w o er o f Gala Water .

H e is g o ne with the m inister an d an Eng

lishman to see th e Je rsey c o w s .

”
An English gentlem an P
Ye s th e so n o f an o ld college a c quaintan ce .

T he n I must set by m y w o rsted s an d look to

the cake basket and the pantry shelve s

- - .

She r o se w ith th e words an d began to p u t

away her sewing materials . Katherine l o oke d

l o vingly after h er m o ther wh o ,
w as an e xce e d
i n gly pretty woman small an d plump an d very
, ,

bec o mingly dressed in a plum c o l o re d silk gown -

and a little wh ite lace cap tippin g the abun dant

-

coils o f her dark brown hair -

.

'

Yo u might put on a lighter frock Kath ,

said .
“
Jamie W i n t o u n will be sure ,

s o me w ay or someh o w to fin d him self h ere an d

, ,

then there w ill be four pairs o f feet fo r a reel o r

H
two .

But th o ug h Katheri ne w e nt to h er r o o m o sten

si bly for this purp o se she did ,
not fulfill it .

Yo u could no t l o o k l o velier Katherine , ,

said
Jessy .
 T/
t e Flo w er o
f Ga l
a Wafer .
33

An d Katherin e tou c he d the c ashmere softly ,

and rem embered that she had put it on that

aftern o on fresh and new . An d dresse s have
their destin ies . In this on e sh e had spent the
most wonderful h our of her life ,
an d she would
not alter a ribbon or add a bro o ch . Neither
would she reason with herself as to the “
why
of this resolve . Th e dress had had a happy be

gin ning . To m ake qu estion about it might

spoil all .

It j ust suits you ,

Katherine , continued
’
Jessy . It j umps to th e eyes ,
as your gown s
usually d o . So di fferent to Clara Heriot s whi c h ’

always h ave a secon d h a n d look -

. Let us go into
the garden . We c an saunter about in th e sun
”
shine until th e laird an d the others co m e to us .

So Katherine replace d the sailor hat ,

an d

threw ar o un d her sh oulders a little red c loak ,

an d

as they went out togeth er Jessy said ,

T h ere must be p o ets aroun d taking notes ,

for it was but yesterday I read a verse that w as

surely in spire d by y o u, Katherine

34 T/
ze Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa ler .

Fi rst a sm allc lo ak o f fad e d re d ;

,

T h e n a so ft d ress o f lau rel g re e n ;

T h e n a b e lo v e d b ro w n ripple d h e ad -

W i t h fai r swe e t fac e t h e c u rls b e t w e e n

,
.
’

I won der i f I made it up mysel f ; for I tell you ,

K atherine you turn every one either into a poet

,

”
or a lover .

T hen Katherine would have kisse d h e r frie nd ,

bu t the laird suddenly cam e roun d a private

hedge an d the minister called
,
to his d aughter ,

an d Mowbray steppe d to th e side of Kather ine .

T hus they we nt through th e garde n togeth er ,

talking of many things ,

smilin g ,
laughi ng ,

touching hands as th ey swaye d downward th e

'

branches of th e budding tre es alm ost tou ch ing ,

c heeks as they bent th eir faces am ong the hot

house flowers full of intoxicating scents an d

,

dreams of love laden blossom s -

.

Here they lingere d a little behind th e party ,

and Mo w bray looking suddenly into Kath erin e s

,
’

face aske d in a low voice

,

“
H ow long h ave I k n o w n yo u ,
M iss Jan
”
farie P
 3 6 T/
ze Fl wo er
f
o Ga la Wa ter .

lost Pleiade foun d again the star of all his

future life .

A fe w steps bro u ght them out o f th e warm

perfumed air into the c ool freshn ess o f the
mou ntai n breeze . Jessy was waiting at the door
of the hot -
house .

I dare not enter it ,

she said ,
“
th e heat an d
s c ent always give m e a h eadach e . I am no t

from the tropics that is evid ent ,

.

She was astonishe d to fin d Kathe rine an d

Mowbray so quiet . She wonde red if “
anything
had been said . Being herself ye t of th e unin
i t i at e d , she did not un derstan d that silen c e is
the first speech of hearts i n v ade d by the m elan
ch o l and mystery of love
y .

Th e mirth of the e v en ing was a discord . The

laird was in that riotously h appy m oo d whi c h

was the n ext disagreeable th ing to h is unreason ~

ably ill tempere d m ood

-
. He made j okes with
the minister an d snubbed Katherine an d s c ol d e d
his servan ts and imagin ed him self to be very
,

im p osin g be c a u s e ever y
, o ne e membe red h e
r
 T/
ze Fl w
o er o
f Ga la Wa t er .
37 .

was th eir h ost an d tolerate d him Duri n g the

‘

e v ening Jamie W i n t o u n as Mrs Brat h o u s had , .

predi c te d ,
“
found himself present ; and then
she c arried out the rest of her plan an d played
som e merry reels whi c h Kath erine taught Mow
,

b ray h ow to dan c e . It was a c harming lesson for ,

W i n t o u n was one of th ose fair tall long n e c ked , ,

-

youth s who are always glad to be ac c o m mo

d ating an d happy to m ake others happy .

Also he had more influen c e over his un c le

than any other m ortal and h e suc c eed ed in par
,

t i ally subduing the o ffen si v e prominen c e of t hat

gentleman . For he had not as yet the least , ,

j ealousy of M owbray . He had known Kath

erin e nearly all his life . He had n o more fear
of losing he r than he had fear of h is estate slip
ping away fro m him . W he n Katherin e was
twel v e years old and he was eighteen th ey had
bee n told th ey were destine d to marry ea c h
o ther at the pr o pe r tim e Katherine had made
no obj ection th en an d n o acti v e one sin c e .

e
T re f
h or e W i nt o ua lo o k ed fo r w ard t o h i s m ar
3 8 Tee Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa ter .

ri age with the Flower of Gala W ater v ery mu ch

as h e had anti c ipate d th e coming of his m aj or
ity . Both e v ents were the ord aine d blessings
of the heir of W i n t o u n Lands and Lawers Moss - -
.

’
About ten o c lo c k the min iste r said
T here is light n ow of moon an d stars laird , ,

and I will be m oving home with my daughte r

an d my guest .

T hen the laird was spe c ially e ff u sive ; he

wanted all to remain h e wanted Mr M owbray
.

to stay a few days a few weeks if he liked

, . It
was hard for W i n t o u n to m ake him see th e i m
propriety of asking th e ministe r s guest to ’
re

m o v e to his h ouse . But M ow b ray s se renity

’

threw an air of propriety o v er all m istake s an d

enabled him in his short adie u to gi v e Kath
erine at on c e both the assuran c e and the h ope
, ,

h e desired . Th e laird an d W i n t o u n c o nv e y e d
the party to the gate s and Katherin e took th e ,

opportu nity to slip away to h er room .

She
sto o d in the dark and wat c h ed the thre e figure s
like th r e e s h ad o w s disappear . T h en Mrs . Bra t h .
 T/
ze Fl w
o er
f
o Gala Wafer .
39

ous spoke to her and Katherine turned and ,

saw h er mother at the ope n door .

“
Th e laird bids you c ome downstairs Kath ,

erine .

I c annot come down to night m amma -

,
.

Th e laird will be angry

He is neither king nor kaiser . W h o c ares ?
Katherin e
I ndeed mamma darli n g I am in revolt
, , ,
.

An d i f you would ‘
dare h im ’
only on c e he
would creep into a m o use h ole -
. I am no t going
to answer his summons this nigh t ,
no r any
night again unless ,
I w ish to do so . I will fol
lo w th e J an fari e m ott o ,
and ‘
do my w ill an d
fear not .

He will rage round and make every one

miserable .

Jamie will not let him . Good -

nigh t mam ,

’
ma and sh e took he r mother s cheeks betwee n
he r han ds and kisse d her face m any times say ,

i ng be twee n the kisses are such a dar You

li n g — —
m am m a such a l o vely m amma I cann o t
4 0 l e Fl w o er
f
o Gala Wa ter .

tell how you ever stoope d to pick up m y dis

—
agreeable stepfathe r young as I am ,
I could
fi nd a better and ni c er m an — I am sure I c ou ld .

Good -
night ! and good night -
An d m am m a do
, ,

make up your m ind to do you r will an d fear

no t .

T hen she turned the key an d stood still to

’
listen to her m other s retreating footsteps . Sh e
feared the laird would come blu stering to h er
door an d sh e,
stood ready to do he r will ,

every nerve at high tension h er head lifted h e r , ,

—
eyes gleaming her lips parted a little woma n
,

all on fire w ith sudde n and j ust rebelli o n .

T here was no challenge h o we v er an d grad

, ,

u ally the expression of her face softene d into

s m iles an d ten der re c olle ctions . Sh e sl o wly un

fastened her gre en and p rimros e gown an d let ,

it fall to her feet . T hen , with infinite neatn e s s ,

she folded and laid it away in a wardrobe sm ell

ing of v iolets an d laven der . T his comm on ac t

of daily life soothed an d calme d her unusual

feelings . She sat down i n her sn owy skirts ,
 T/
ée Fl w
o er o
f Ga la Wa fer .
4 1

lifte d h er sm all right fo o t an d began very ,

slowly to unbutt o n her boot s At every little .

button sh e pau sed ,

fo r she was full to the lips of
s w eet thoughts an d sweet hopes and dreams of
happin ess .

”
H e calle d m e Katherine Katherin e ! she

whispered . In deed ,
I think he calls me n ow !
But it was o nly the strong vibratio n of her heart
th at struck upon her ear .

She r o se an d sh e sat d o wn . She rubb ed her

pink palm s with pleasure she sighed she
smile d an d all alike for very j oy . All that
Mowbray had looke d and spoken she re c alled ,

and the n musing she thought of what she would

say whe n h e returned . An d she was troubled
because with every c h ange of words some
th i ng seeme d to be l o st .

Mowbray also was at this hour as little fit for

human companion ship . W ith m any excuse s he
d ecline d Do c tor T e lfai r s further h o spitality at
’

that t i m e . He said “
the man who dr o ve him
to Kir t le h o pe fr o m Galas h iels expected
- to re
4 2 Tae Fl w o er o
f Gala Wa t er .

turn that nigh t that his own valet was

,
w aitin g

in Edinburgh for him an d tha t h e h ad urgen t ,

business in that c ity o n the following day .

I n reality h e felt the sam e n ee d for solitu de

as Katherine felt . He wished to rid himself of
all ne c essity to c onsider any m ortal but th e be

loved one . He was glad when all ne c essity for

courtesies was o v er glad to obtain the solitu d e ,

of his own dreams .

Go d be thanke d he said as h e re called his

,

v isit but espe c ially those few rare minutes i n

,

th e co nser v atory .

G o d b e t h an k ed , th e m e an est o f h is c re at u re s

B o ast s t wo so u l-
si d es ; o ne to fac e t h e w o rld w i t h
O ne to sh o w a w o m an t h at h e lo v e s h e r ’
.

And his wh ole co unte nan ce brightene d an d

flushed to the last line Dri v e qui c ke r W at ,

Forster , he said Dri v e qui c ker . Th e win d

begins to whistle . It is really ‘
getting up .
’

L et us hear th e music of th e h o rse s h o ofs ’

.

And W atty sen t them beati n g to an old bo r

 C H AP T E R I I .

BET W EE N TH E P R MRO
I S E AN D T H E RO S E .

B e au t y fo rm e d
H e r fac e ; h e r h e art Fi d e li t y
, Q .

We p e o u rselv e s t h e j o y o r fe ar
sh a

O f w h i c h t h e c o m i n g li fe i s m ad e ,

An d fill o u r fu t u re s at m o sp h e re
’

W i t h su n sh i n e o r w i th sh ad e —R ap b ael. .

Th e first dawn of love is to any fine c hara c ter

a mystic polarization an d no wom an wh ose
fa c e has reflecte d for on e instant th e lumin ous ,

ardent gaze of such a lover as Ri c hard M ow

bray could e s c ape this re sult . Kath erine ,
in

deed was n ot one of th ose foolish souls wh o are

,

foreve r ques t ioning their own cons c iou sness yet ,

she was aware of so m e distin ct change — though

(44 1
 T/
ze Fl w o er o f Ga la Wa ter .
45

only as a butterfly mig h t realize had it s u ddenly

arrived at wings or a bud that it had be c ome a
rose .

No on e else percei v ed t h at Katherine had

crosse d that line “
wh ere the brook and ri v er
meet . Th e laird was going to a magisterial
meeting and was there fore in a j udicial an d
, , ,

auth o ritati v e temper ; and Mrs Brat h o u s was

.

far too much oc c upie d with h is wants and orders

to detect a di fference in h er daughter whi c h was ,

rather to be felt than seen . Th e girl kissed her

m o ther bowed slightly
, to h er stepfather and ,

sile ntly took her pla c e at the breakfast table -

.

She expe cted a reproof for h er disobedien c e .

but the laird said n othin g until he was j ust

ready to take th e road . T hen he calle d her to
him . Sh e answered th e summ ons promptly .

He was standing on the broad flag at th e open

door an d Mrs Brat h o u s . w as at his side .

“
Kath erine ,
he said ,
“
wh en I sent for y o u

last n ight you refu sed to c ome . I sh all look

o ver t h e faul t th is t ime but I ,
w arn y o u neve r
4 6 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa ler .

to attempt su c h rudeness i n m y house again .

Good morning my dear Helen

,
. T ell Robert to
go to Stowe for th e n ew gardene r . I shall be
h ome this afternoon ,
an d h e whippe d th e team
into a gallop be fore Katherine h ad an o pp o rt u

n i ty to say a word .

But she looked at her m other and th e lo o k ,

n eeded no interpretation . Mrs Brat h o u s

. an

sw e re d it at on c e .

He is very angry with you Kath erine ,

and
you m ust remember he is your guardian an d ,

c an send you ba c k to s c hool if h e wishes . He

”
was saying that this m orning .

W h y was I wante d so parti c ularly last

night ? Surely ,
I may go to sleep when I am
”
sleepy H e has m eddle d with everything else
. .

He says you totally n eglected Jam ie — an d

that is true also that you paid u n necessary
, at

tention to Mr M owbray. .

Jamie is not i n t e re st i n g m
he trie s to b e —b u t
”
I am so tire d of h is e fforts .

H e is to be your husband Kat h erine , .

 Tile Fl w
o er o
f Ga la Waler .
47

So my guar d ian says . But th e will of Alex

a nder Brat h o u s is not Fate . I ha v e a w ill
”
als o .

Yo u ! You can o nly obey th e d ecision of

those who ha v e your a ffairs in their hands .

Your o wn father wishe d you to m arry W i n t o u n

in order bring back the lan d to the J an fari e s
to .

It is th e will of your dead father an d it is not ,

to be set aside for a fan cy .

If my fath er were ali v e I am sure he would

now will di ffere ntly . The dead d o not know
how m en and things change . W he n you were
my age m am ma would you h a v e given up
, ,

Captain J an fari e for th e W i n t o u n lan d s ?

”

T here is no Captain J an fari e in your c ase ,

‘
Katherin e and therefore n o question of give
,

up ,
’
and y o ur m arriage with Jamie h as been
part of your e ducation . Yes indeed
, , I may say
”
par t o f your very life .

Mamma dear , ,
I w arn y o u that ab o u t m y
marriage I
shall f o llo w the J an fari e rul e an d

do m y will an d fear n o t .
4 8 J ae Fl w o er o
f Ga la Water .

Mrs . Brat h o u s did no t answer . She kne w

that m o st pe o ple have to submit to the f o rce of

circumstances . She said to herself

“
T h e d ays an d weeks will g o by and the
,

wedding w ill be ann o un ced an d th e in v itations

,

sen t out an d th e presents an d dresses will

,

arri v e and e v ery congratulati o n will be a fresh

,

rivet ; and at th e last Katherin e w ill take the

go o d fortune provided for h er an d be thankful .

For Jamie W i n t o u n is a kind go o d lad , , and sh e

”
might g o farther an d fare worse .

So she went about her househ o ld d utie s and

d id not w o rry h erself c o ncernin g Kath er i n e s ’

”
will . She heard h er playing m arche s an d
mazurkas with a vehement rapidity an d sh e ,

smile d a little an d th en sighed . She w as think

ing how futile were the petulant rebellions of
y o uth an d
,
how s o o n th e emoti o nal girl would
learn to ac c ept calmly the ine v itables of life an d ,

make the best of them . Bu t sh e did not leave

h er d o mestic duties to m o ralize ,
an d at d in ner
there w as a new s o up and a n ew servant t o d is
 T/
ze Fl w
o er o
f Gala Wafer .
49

cuss and the subj ect of m atrim o ny seemed

, to

be alien an d very far o ff .

Aft er din ner Katherine put on her habit and

ro de over the hills to the manse . It had been a
fin e morning but before n o o n the clouds heaped
,

t hem sel v es in watery folds over the highest

peaks an d everyth ing was swathed in mist and
,

v apor . T h en came the rain as it o nly can c o me

d o wn am o ng the m o untains and the wind drove ,

th e sh eet of w ater on h er back but the air was ,

so invigorating that she t in gle d all over with

life an d r o de up to the m anse door with her w e t
face all alight with sm iles .

Jessy was there to m eet h er and then ,

th e

damp cl o thing was changed and the parl o r fi re

stirre d to a blaze and the girls kissed each o ther

,

again and sat d own be fo re it .

Father h as gone to Galashiels ,

said Jessy .

H e d o es n ot like to ride fast be cause it is not

ministerial to ga110 p but ,
I think this w i n d an d
”
rain w ill whip his horse to his best trot .

“
Th e laird is o ut, to o . I h o pe h e w i ll ge t
50 T/
ee Fl w
o er
f
o Ga la Wa fer .

wet through . T he n h e will stay in be d t o -m o r

row for fear of rheumatism .

Has h e bee n sc o lding again ? If I were you

I would get m arried . Jamie w ill n ever say a
cross word to you .

W hen did your visit o r leave Jessy ? ,

He went t o Galashiels last n igh t . H e is in

Edinburgh ere this ,

no d o ubt .

Have you seen the t o ken Jessy ? ,

Father gave it to me . L o o k here

A sapphire ring ! Ho w l o vely ! Iw o n de r
”
w h om it was bought for .

A w o man wh o m m y father lo v ed .

W as the minister troubled mu ch ?

No . H e said that his life h ad bee n l o ng
enough for the forgetting of sorr o w . B ut h e
looked sadly at the ring . H e tol d m e he h ad

bought it w ith many m o nth s o f self de nial

-
o f

all kinds an d th at
,
I m igh t wear it f or th e sake
”
of a good woman now with Go d . T hat was all .

W hat h ad Mr M o wbray s fath e r to

.
’
d o W i th
52 Tee Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wafer .

strength of her own n ature for h elp . I n a few

minu t e s she said
He m ay possibly fin d m o re fash ion able
pla c es but wh ere will he find a c ountry so inte r
,

esting as T weed side ? Our hills and dales an d

tr o ut streams are not m ere earth an d water ;

they have a kind of humanity —they h ave so

many heroes and e vents linked with th em that

they are like story boo k s . A good angler likes
a li v ing land to fish in .

A good angler thinks of nothing at all bu t

fish . Father would cat c h trout in a canal an d

father said Mr M owbray had n o proper respe ct
.

for fishing . I f Mr M owbray e v er does

. c om e
ba c k to Gala W ater it will not be for fish of any
kin d h e will com e se eking the Flowe r of Gala

W ater ; and I for one do n ot wan t any English .

man to c arry he r o v er the border . Are you

goin g to read to m eto d ay Katherine ? ‘

T h en Kath erin e lifte d a book and Je ssy took

up the long h ea v y fishing st o cki n g sh e
, w as

k nitting an d , w h ile he r n im ble fingers fle w in

 l e Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa t er .
53

and out betwee n th e bright steel and the gray

w ool , Katherin e re ad aloud the sweet poeti c
rhapsodies of Lalla Rookh . The rain beat
upon the win dows and the wind shrieked around
,

the house but th ese ,

tw o m aid ens sat smiling in
that

B o w er o f ro ses b y Be n d e m e e r s st re am ’
,

listen ing with soft sigh s and sympathy to the

poet s praise of love an d quite sure that they
’

, ,

too ,
c ould

L o ve o n g i
ls, an d lo v e o n t llt h e
t h ro u h all l i y d i ed ;

c o ntente d to believe th at if there was

An E ly si u m o n e art h ,
”
I t w as t h is ,
i t w as t h i s !

About four o clock th e m inister came back

’

from G alashiels ,
an d the scents of Ara b y th e

Ble st and th e love dreams behind Persian lat

tices van ish ed before his h omely wants and
c o mpl ain in gs .

R eading L alla R o o kh -

R o ses an d w a t er !
54 Tee Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa ler .

Lo v e an d water Perfect n on sense h e cried ,

with that tou c h of d ialect h e fell into whe n

e v ents troubled him .
“
A cu
p o f hot tea an d a
bite of m ountain mutton will be m ore wiselike
at this h ou r of th e day Jessy ,
. W hat do you
”
say Mr Bull ?
, . and he st o oped and stroke d the
dog whi c h had been his companion through the
storm an d whi c h was now stretche d on the rug
,

before the blazing fire .

“
W e are bot h wet and
hungry Bull an d these girls are readin g about
, ,

L o v e an d Roses . W hat do you th ink of such

foolishn ess
T he n Katherine b urst into hearty laughter ,

as all must do who take the trouble to n otice th e

irony in th e lifte d eyelids of a dog whe n it hears
any person reproved .

Look at the c reature ,

she said . I f he
could only talk minister what a lecture poets
, ,

and young women who read poetry would get .

But he is like you sir and pre fers mutton, , .

Bull is no t an exa c ting dog ,

bu t h e does e x
e ct his little personal om forts to be atten de d
p c
 Tae Fl w Wa fer
”

o er
f
o Ga la .
55

to . H ave a drink of tea dearie —an d then gal ,

lop home as qui c k as you c an . It is an east

wi dy west win dy storm
n ,
-
the east win d has
about done its worst an d when the sun sets the,

west win d will sh ow us what it c an do .

As long as it is light I like th e storm ,

sh e
answere d . Th e rain is full of life and th e ,

win d is full of life and th e , S pirit of the fi rm a

m ent thrills m y spirit and there is nothing bet ,

ter than a gallop through wind and rain ex c ept ,

it be a plunge into the summer sea .

B ut th e laird will be h ome before you and ,

the n he will fret h imself an d y o ur mother and ,

hurry an d worry the wh ole household .

“
Th e laird will go straight to his bed . He
will call for blankets and h erb teas and watch ,

for t w inges of rheumatism and send for mamm a ,

e v ery te n m inutes . Minister what of your

,

guest ?
H e went away last n ight Katherin e ,
. Here ,

is y o ur p o ny no w finish your tea ,

an d loiter n o
l o nger .
56 T/
ze Fl w
o er o f Gala Wate r .

Jessy was helping her wit h he r boots an d

habit as he spoke an d as soon as th e last button
,

was in plac e Katherine drew h er c rim son R ob

Roy ca
p tight o v er her brows and went singing
into the rain . T hey stood a few minute s at the
open door and wat c hed he r h eadlon g ra c e
through the swirlin g wreath s o f v apor her ,

V ivid crim son

- ca
p the only poin t v isible i n the
gray banks ; yet for those few m ome nts they
heard her voi c e as some higher note pierce d th e
wet shroud in which she was en veloped .

W ill no on e tell m e what sh e sings ? ’

quoted the minister as h e turned pleasantly to

,

his fireside ; an d Jessy took U p the verse an d

finished it .

P e rh a p s t h e p lai n t i v e n u m b e rs flo w,
F ro m o ld u n h appy far-
o ff t h i n g s,
An d b att les lo n g ago .

Jessy was partially right but it was n ot Kath ,

’
erine s nature to sing sad songs . Be sides the ,

win d an d th e rain made her h appy and h er ,

heart re fused to belie v e that Ri c hard Mowbray

had gon e away f o rever .
 Tee Flo w er of Ga la Wa ler .
57

People do not c ome into a life for n othing ,

“
sh e argued , an d it was into my life he was
sent . Th e old ring and the old frien dship were
j ust th e onl y introduction Fate could manage .

An d it is far m ore likely he came for my weal

than for my woe . At any rate ,
I will belie v e
this .

To su c h tho u ghts mingled with th e ,

e xh i lar

atin g storm sh e rea c hed L evens hope in high

,
-

spirits . Her habit was waterproof an d she ,

flung it o ff with a laugh and then remo v ing her ,

c ap , she shook her hair free again . Her cheeks

were rosy and the raindrops lay like dew upon
,

the m . H er eye s sparkle d ,

h er m outh w as

curved with smile s an d sh e brou ght the very ,

spirit of youth an d v ital j oy into the room with

her . Jamie W i n t o u n was sitting by the window
pretend ing to read . H e was really wat c hing for
Ka th e rin e .

“
W h y Jamie ,
l”
sh e said .
“
W ill any kin d of
a st o rm keep you away from Leven s hope -

“
N o n e while , y ou are here , Katherine . I
58 T/
ze F lo w e r f
o Ga la Waler .

I
[

hav e been so u neasy but knew you would be

annoyed if I cam e to meet you .

“
Indeed I sh ould ! T his lonely ride to th e
manse is the last sh re d of li b erty le ft m e I do
’

not kno w what I sh o u ld

'
do without it . E v ery
other hour of the day is in som e way or other , ,

”
under h is c ontrol an d surveillan c e .

Un c le s words are always worse than his in

’

”
tents I think
,
.

He s ays h e is going to sen d m e back to

school .

W hat ha v e you been doing Katherin e ? ,

I was it seems too c i v il to a guest an d

, , ,
no t

”
attenti v e enough to you .

Win to un c olore d pain fully but h e replie d , ,

with a great deal of spirit

Un c le Brat h o u s is too interfering i n m y per
sonal a ff airs . I have n ot c om plaine d of your
treatment Kath erine ,
. E v e n if I h ad cause for
c omplaint I sh ould not ask h im to interfere
, .

An d Jessy was quite as atte ntive to Mr .

”
Mo w bray as I was .
 Ta e Fl w o er
f
o Gala Wa te r .

few mo m e n ts she returne d to the fire sid e

said
He has gone to Edinbu rgh .

”
But he will return .

How c an you tell that ? D id he say so to

you Ja m ie
,

My heart tells m e so . He admired you very

much Kath erine
,
. I do no t blame him for that .

W h o c ould help it ?
Yet my guardian blames m e for it Jam i e , .

”
You will n ot let h im send me back to s c hool ?
Gi v e me the right to p r
ote c t you deare st ,
!

T he n no one shall e v er say a word to cross you .

“
Always that is the way she cri ed with ,

tears in her eyes and voi c e . I am to be com e

your wife in order to e scape my stepfath e r s dic ’

t at i o n . It would be simply a c ha n ge of mas

ters . Now no one can be generous becau se no

one is unselfish .

Do not be so u n j ust Kath erine , . I will n ot

ask you to be m y wife one hour be fo re you are
so w illin gl y . De ar est , I l o v e yo u so trul y t h at
 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la lVa ler . 6 1

I c an live without you and yet li v e for

you .

He came toward her as he spoke ,

and
Katherine looking into his fa c e saw it
, ,
i llu m i
n at e d by his gen erosity of unselfish lo v e . At
that m oment th e tall ungra c eful youth was ,

almost han dsome ; an d she ga v e him her hand

an d said simply :,

T hank you Jamie

,

Th e n a footman brough t in a tea t ray and -

,

M rs Brat h o u s cam e downstairs She was flushe d

. .

and worried ,
an d said
“
Th e laird has taken c old and fears a
fever .

W i n t o u n made some sympatheti c remark but ,

Katherine was lost in thought and the m eal was ,

not a plea san t one . It w as scar c ely finishe d

when th e laird sent for his wife and Kath erin e , ,

ca s ting about for somethin g to p ass the e v ening

whic h woul d n ot p erm it W i n t o u n too mu c h o
p

p o rt u n i t y fo r co n v ersation beth ought her

,
o f a
ne w bo o k of bo r de r m uS iC ; an d . sh e pr po o se d
6 2 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa fe r .

that they should learn som e of the songs to

gether .

W i n t o u n was delighted . H e knew that he

coul d sing and to mingle h is voice with Kath

,

erin e s ’
v oi c e was a rare pleasure . So t h ey
lo o ked through the book an d W i n t o u n struck ,

boldly out with :

M arc h M arc h E tt e ri c k an d T e v io t d ale

He played the stirring notes with spirit and

decision . T heir voice s b lended c h armingly .

And the room seeme d suddenly full of m ount

ing troopers and th e stir an d bustle of galloping
horses . T here was n o weak note u nder W i n
’
toun s fingers . Th e me n of Eskdale an d of
T w i st d ale we n t flying pa st to bugle to n es ,
an d

they were j ust c alli n g m u sically one to the

o ther
All t h e blu e b o n n e t s are o v e r t h e B o rd er ! ”

when Mrs Brat h o u s e ntered th e r o om with a

.
,

worried face an d a lifted h an d .

K ath e ri ne ! Sh e c rie d
J ami You m u s t
it
e
 T/
ze Fl wo er o
f Gala Waler .

stop playing t o night ! Th e laird is very ner v

ous . H e says it excite s him and h e has some ,

feve r already . H e thinks both of you are very

unkind and h e insists on the pian o b eing c losed
at on c e .

Of c ourse h e was obeyed and Katherine then

, ,

suggeste d a game of c hess . But a c hill had

falle n upon her sunny m ood . She was distrait
and dis c ouraged ,
and she mov ed her pie c es
w ithout con sideration . W i n t ou n h ad no wish
to C heckmate her . H e played as badly as she
did . At last Katherine stood hastily up . She
laid h er han ds o v er the board looked steadily ,

at h er antagonist and said in a voi c e whose

, ,

ton e was authoritati v e an d de c isi v e

“
Jamie we are both playing a false gam e
,
.

Let us with draw be fore either of us has to say ,

!
’
I have lost
She then swept the pie c es into their box ,

close d th e lid an d put them away

,
. Th e a ction
'

had a kind of prophetic fate fulness ,

a p re sc i e n c e

un foresee n an d unplan ned endue d with some ,

64 Tee Fl w
o er o
f Gala Wa fer .

what of omnipoten c e . Its e ffe c t u pon W i n t o u n

was alm o st th at of a sign from h eaven . He did
not doubt it or analyze its m eeti n g or ask
, ,

W h y ? it a ffe c te d him so
”
. H e only felt that
in a moment all had c ha n ge d for h im . A su d
de n despair in v ade d his heart . H e knew that
he had lost Katherine ! He might reason him
self ba c k to h ope but at the en d all her fl at t e r
,

ing tales would vanish he was sure ,

. A pitiless
truth had been flashed upon h is c onsciousne ss
that hour and h e could not dispute it ;
,

Katherine was annoyed at herself . W h y had

she said th ose words ? W h y h ad sh e suddenly
st o pped their play ? She felt in th e silen c e th at
followed a strange regre t tha t sh e h ad spoken ,

and that he h ad u nderstood . For once h e r e v e r

ready thought failed her She c ould n ot fin d a .

—
senten c e n o nor a word to say Sh e stirred
, .

th e fire an d mo v e d the small ta ble aside an d ,

then almost u nwillingly looke d at W i n t o u n .

And her eyes opene d on him like a Book of Rev

elation .
66 T/
ze Fl
o w er o
f Ga la l
/Va ler .

mean s in a c o nciliatory temper an d th e sight of ,

th e unreason able imaginary invalid was an irri

,

tating one . His h ead large and oblong h ad

, ,

the hoariness of yellow mixed with gray . His

sheep eye s were watery an d fu rtive H is tongue .

always too big for his m outh — was th e organ

of a voi c e h ollow querulous an d yet
, ,
au t h o ri t a

tive . He was sitting up in be d , with a large

tartan plaid over his sh oulders .

You see what a man gets wh o serve s th e

”
public ! h e c ried . L ittle h o n or and n o sym
pathy ! You and Ka t h erine were singin g away
as if the laird of Le v ens h ope was in th e very-

”
height of perfe c t health .

H ave you sent for m e in order to quarrel ,

un cle
Quarrel Quarrel ! W h o speaks of quar
reling ? T hink shame of yourself James W i n ,

to u n ! I sent for you because I wan t you an d

Kath erine J an fari e to tie yourselve s together as
soon as m ay be I am tired out with so m u ch
.

lo e making in my house
v -
. I h ave finishe d my
 T/
ze Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa ter . 67

o wn S hare of that silly business and it is not ,

pleasant to have song singing and reel danci n g - -

an d such like havers nigh t after night .

“
I can not m arry Katherine until she gi v es
”
.

m e permission .

Permissi o n in deed ,
! I wonder wh o is her
g u ardian ? I ha v e gi v e n you permission . Go

ba c k an d tell her I will allow her to c hoose any

day betwee n this an d Mi c h aelmas .

“
I will tell her n o th ing of the kin d sir , . I
doubt if Katherine and I will eve rmarry . I do
n ot th ink sh e lo v es me and I do not wish to ,

m arry her unless sh e does .

Are you gon e clean d aft , James W i n t o u n ?

You will m arry Kath erine . Of course you will !
I inten d to see to that . Do you think I will
h a v e d ead fol k worried out of their grav es and
live folk w o rrie d i nto the m for Kath erine s non
’

se nse
Katherine s feelings are to be consulted
’
.

Katherine s feelings
’

! Heard o ne ever the

li k e ? A b it of a s ch o o l girl , t h at h as no t co m e
68 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Gala Wa ler .

to her feelings any m o re than sh e has come to

her reas o n ! I will re min d y o u that I h o ld a

mortgage on W i n t o u n lands an d that you are ,

lo okin g to Katherine s m on ey to pay m e ’

.

“
I am doing n othing of the kind , sir . I
w o uld not m arry Kathe rine for h e r m o ney . I
do n ot c are that for her m oney ! An d W i n
toun snapped his fingers passion ately alm ost in
his uncle s fa c e
’
.

You are a born fool the n ,

! Th e man of this
day wh o does not care for m oney can go out of
date and break his heart if he likes to . Out of
my presen c e anyway sir
, ,
You ha v e made m e
a great deal worse and likely as not I shall bide
,

awake all night for y o ur ridiculou s n onsen se

T hen h e ran g the bell furiously an d ,
c alle d out
at the sam e m o m ent H elen H elen Come
you h e re ! H elen send for Do c tor Musgrave
, !

Peter Symington ride for th e d o ct o r ,

! I h ave
ll be W hat
'

h ad a chill I having a fever n ext

kept you Helen ?
,
”
An d so on u ntil W i n t o u n
,

w as glad to e scape the raspin g u nreas o n abl e ,

 Tae Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa t er . 69

voice . Th e chill win d an d the drifting vapors

were more kindly and com fortable c ompau
ions .

Th e next m orning th e laird was still si c k and ,

th e h ouse was wretched but the mist was so ,

thick Katherin e did not dare to go over the

hills . An d this c on dition c ontinue d for four
days . T hen Sabbath came and she fo u nd her ,

way to chur c h an d afterward to th e manse

,
bu t

there was n o great com fort in either pla c e . Th e

minister was preo c c upied ,

an d Jessy ne v er
name d Mowbray . Moreo v er sh e treated Kath
,

erine s on e question about h im as i f the subj e c t

’

bored he r .

He has forgotten our v ery existen c e I dare ,

say Kath e rine

, ; an d we nee d no t worry our
sel v es about his . He was seeking pleasure and ,

we made an hour or two for h im . I am quite

sure th at h e will j ust m ingle us up with the fine
v iews th e driving the fish ing th e sight seei n g -
, , ,

an d th e other bonnie l assi e s t h at h e w ill dance

”
o r re e l w it h .
70 Tae Fl w o er o
f Ga la PVa le r .

T hen I am real sorry Je ssy ,

. I liked h im
more than th at an d ,
I will even tell you
so .

Dear why sh o uld you

,
? Men are n eve r to
trust to . Father said this one w o uld be dan
” 9
e ro u s
g .

Oh J essy if you w o uld l o ve m e a little

, ,

’
T he n Jessy underst o o d her frien d s tr o uble ,

and she talke d se nsibly no longer . Sh e turne d

her tongue an d began to praise Mr Mowbray . .

She said the like o f him in l o oks had n ever b ee n

seen on T weedside , an d that a blind m an m igh t
ha v e known that he gave h is h eart away th e
moment h e looke d at Katherine .

“ ”
Yes dear, ,
sh e said ,
as he sat th ere an d
you stood at the ope n door he got a woun d h e ,

will n ever get ove r .

It was not th at Katherin e c onfessed h er love .

It was that Jessy di v ine d it an d tha t with the , ,

u n se lfi s h n e ss f
a true frien d sh e h astene d to
o ,

give the o nly sympathy th at is of value — th e

assu ran c e o f wh at e v e r w e w i s h t o b eli e ve . Th i s
 Tae Flo w er f
o Ga la Wafer .
71

c o n versation began be fore the m ornin g serv ice ,

and was continue d in the noon inter v al . Kath

erine s he art was full of her small
’

d omestic
troubles an d sh e ,
c ould no longer restrain her
c onfiden c e . She told Jessy how ill tempered and -

tyran nical the laird was to e v ery one but espe ,

c i all to h erself
y .

I am at h is mer c y ,
she said ,
“
and he
m ake s m e feel it every hour . If I pra c ti c e my
music th e piano a ffe c ts his ner v es
,
. If he find s
m e with a n ovel h e asserts that it is improper
,

reading and takes it away . P o etry o ffends him

still more deeply .

Father says the laird is v ery n arrow an d

bigo ted about literature . He thinks Robert
Burns covers the groun d .

Yesterday I put a pie c e of h eliotrope at my

th roat an d he made m e remo v e it
,
. He said the
scent of the thin g made him ha v e a faintness .

I point ed out several pie c es in the vases an d he ,

an swere d i f I would wear a vase full o f o t her

fl o w ers w it h heliotrope he m igh t per h aps
,
en
72 l e Flo w er f
o Gala Wal r e .

dure it . H e make s the same o bj e c tion to any

other fl o wer I c hoose . He take s dislike s to all
the go w n s I look well in and I really can only ,

Galashiel
’
dress myself in a gray win sey or a s
tartan with any c om fort . All m y frie nd s are in
some way obj e c tionable . The He riots are
fli gh t y ; the Nethe r b y girls are extravagant ;

the H i slo p s are v ulgar ; th e Fe nwicks are be

yond bearing for their pride and so on and so

on . I f it was n ot for th e m inister h e , w ould
”
cross you o ff m y visiting list also .

W h y does h e do su c h things
Only because h e is a n atural tyrant . He
loves to S how his power an d I am completely in ,

it . Until lately I did not m ind him very m uch .

I had m amm a an d you and everyth ing ,

o utside
gave me j oy . I w ore my pretty d resse s when I
came here and played an d sang whe n h e
, w as

out of th e house and carried my , n o v els an d

poetry to m y own room an d as long as I coul d
V isit Jessy T elfair , I c ared n o thing for th e

Heriots or for anyb ody else .

74 T/
ze Fl w
o er o
f Ga la Wa ler .

V éry likely I do invent som e . Every wom an

has to inve nt fo r th e m an sh e loves h er ideal
virtues . Not on e in a thousan d has th em nat
u rally .

On these topics they talke d w ith an e ver in

creasing interest . Th e kirk bell ran g and

-
, th e
minister prayed an d preache d an d the c o n gre ,

g at i o n scattere d o ve r the hills and Katherin e ,

’
still lay upon Jessy s bed with a h eadach e an d ,

a heartache telling her grie fs an d despairs an d

, ,

liste ning to hopes and likelih o o ds angry a ,

li t

tle weeping a little but with all fin ding great

, , ,

comfort in Jessy s reasonable an d un reas o n able

’

frien dship .

W hen Doct o r T elfair cam e back fr o m th e

afternoon se rvice Jessy boldly defende d h er
,

’
own and Katherine s delin quen c y .

“ “
Kath erine is really sick ,
she said ,
an d I
stayed at h o me with her . An d you o ugh t t o go
and give th e laird a go o d sc o lding fath er ,
. He
is simply an o utrage o us dom estic tyran t .

H e th in k s h e is d o in g h i s duty .
 T/
ze Fl wo er o
f Gala PVa ler .
75

He knows he is o v erdoing his duty . And it

is the o verd o ing that delights h im .

W h at was Katherine crying about ?

”
Crying ?
Yes I heard h er so b bing
, . Poor little lass 1 e !
W hat was she crying for ? ”

For th e m oon I think , .

You mean for that Mr Mowbray she met .

here ?
Yes that is what I m ean .

Jessy you are a wise wee body an d I will

, ,

tell you something . You must j udge whether

to speak or to be quiet . I have h ad three n ews
p apers from the young m an . His name is -
in all
of th em . I have no doubt they were intended
for Katherin e . H e was sure I would tell you ,

an d e qu ally sure that you would c arry the mes

sage to Katherin e .

W here are th e papers fathe r ? W h y did ,

you not tell me before ? A Babylonish S ignet

would have been m ore wisely read by you than
”
a r o und ab o u t l o ve m essage .
76 Tee Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa fer .

I am n ot altogether without a sen se of the

tender passion Jessy ,
. I live yet m y ,
d aughter ,

in a shadow o f the bygon e . But I was th inking

of W i n t o u n wh o is a v ery pleasant young man
,

and li v ing within m y own bo u nd s an d parish .

Kath erine will ne v er m arry Jamie W i n

to u nf
’

Th e laird will m ake her .

She i s beyond his make n ow .

Not until Sh e is of age .

Pshaw ! She cam e of age the day sh e me t

Rich ard Mowbray . Fath er you are te n tim es
,

greater than th e laird . Stir yoursel f up for

poor Kathe rin e who is likely to be drive n dis
,

tracted between Brat h o u s and W i n t o u n .

”

“
A word in su c h
matter J es sy is like a a .
,

mustard seed an d may grow into a great tre e ,

an d with all m y c ollege learning an d soul wis

dom I m ight be put to the wall by two
, b its of
lassies not out of th eir teens yet . I am n ot e v e n
v ery sure if I ought to let you ha v e th e n e w s
p a p ers .
”
 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa t er .
77

I ha v e take n your first word on th at su b j ect ,

father an d so I will n e v er heed you r second

, ,

whi c h is n o t hin g but a doubt anyway , . My si e

will gi v e you a good tea . I looked well to it .

M in e has gone upstairs with Katherine s ’

. We
w o uld only be talking u n Sabbathlike if we c ame -

down and ,
b esides , you would feel it to be your
duty to forbid u s looking at th e papers to day -
,

”
an d that would be a dreadful trial .

An involuntary glan ce at the papers when

Doctor T elfair first spoke of them had re v ealed
their situ ation to Jessy . T hey were on a book
shelf an d sh e took possession of them with a
,

nod and a sm ile an d ran upstairs with the fleet

,

feet o f lo v e . Th e e v eni n g m eal h ad been set

by the windo w and Kath erine had risen and
,

was p o urin g the b oiling water u p on the leav es

of the tea as Jessy entered . Th e peculiar re

freshing odors of Pek o e an d young Hyson filled

the r o om an d there was a wan smile
,
u pon Kath
erin e s face
’
for th e young h ave to be v ery de
of
s ai ri n g indeed , be f o re the s ucculent j uices
p ,
78 m Fl w e o er
f
o Ga la Wa ler .

flesh an d lu scious sweetness of cream s fail to in

t e re st them . The idea of a good m eal had been

ac c epte d by Katherine at first with th e resign a
tion whic h a sense of person al duty in spires
~
,

but it was fast becoming a pleasurable an ticipa

tion .

’
Jessy s face flashe d to her h o pe an d e xpe cta
ti o n and Katherine put down
,
the little brass
kettle and looked at her frie nd with breathless ,

interest . Selfish people like to play with good

news to m ake rid d les and surprise s an d please
,

the m selves but Jessy shut th e door and said

,

promptly :

Dear if you wan t to know about M r MO W

, .

bray here are th re e n ewspapers with h is n am e

,

i n them . He sent them to father . Of course ,

he kn ew they w o uld be given to you . Love h as

many strange postmen . Only thin k of him
sending the minister—D o ctor T elfair h im self ,

an d no le ss
She was turning over o ne paper as sh e spoke .

and the th ers w ere in Katherin e s h and s A

’
o . .
 Tae Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Water .
79

pencil m ar k quickly directed their attention to

the pr o per lines .

H ere is the first notice ,

said Jessy . Bal
moral Hotel ,
Edinburgh ,
R ichard Mowbray ,

Mowbray ,
W estm o reland .
’
How the n ame
stands out am o ng a sc o re o f o ther names
He l o oked at it ,
said Katherine and the ,

w o rds caught light from his eyes . Here is the

second notice Perth ,
Richard Mowbray ,

Mowbray W estm o reland , .

’
W hat is he do i ng
in Perth Jessy ?
,
Did he speak of Perth before
I came
I think no t . T his is th e latest paper May ,

1 5 . W i c k Caledoni an H o tel
,
.
’

W ick W hate v er has he gone to W i c k for ?

It is alm o st at John O Gro at
’ ’
s — at the last foot
o f Sc o ttish groun d .

“
I think I kno w . He spoke of an aunt w ho

live d in th e Orkneys . Th e next paper I dare ,

”
say will com e from Kirkwall
,
.

Kath erine s heada c he an d heartach e were

’

Joh n O Gro at s far

’
ff
’

no w g o ne bl o w n
,
o , aw ay
80 m Fl w e o er o
f Gala Waler .

over the great N o rt h ern Sea . It was charming

to see h ow brightly and swiftly th e c o lor c am e
back to her cheeks an d the light to h er eyes .

She was hungry then and ,

Sh e poured out th e
tea and e nj oyed her slice of m o untain m utton
, ,

and v ery much enj o yed her tarts an d tin cture d

cream ; the while she talke d softly an d smile d ,

and dimpled and was as h appy as she had bee n

,

miserable . Th e laird was now a n onentity .

She felt eve n a trifle belligerent toward h im .

Wint o u n ’
s absen ce was no l o nger an noyin g .

Jessy promised to see the young man and fin d

out what was th e worst o f th e trouble th ere .

And after a delicious delightful m eal Kath , ,

erine rode slowly an d hopefully hom e bet w ee n

the two lights with three little scraps of n ews
,

paper in he r silk purse . As for the purse it ,

was hidde n away safely close to h er heart !

82 Ta
re Fl w
o er o
f Ga la Water .

W it h ou t actual kn o wledge of Mowbray s ch ar ’

a c ter she had assure d he rself that h e w as the

mate of her soul and that it would be a kin d of
,

sin to hesitate in her allegiance . She h ad see n

Mowbray but a few hours . W i n t o u n had bee n
he r familiar for years ,
bu t no doubt had tr o u
bled her decision against W i n t o u n . Almost
wit h out considerati o n or without c o nsci o u s in

tent she had made h er old lover un derstand

that Sh e had de cide d against him ; an d W i n
toun ,
no t usually quick to apprehend h ad bee n ,

p ositive of this decision ,

th ough th e wor d s
which had enlightened h im admitted o f an o ther
c onstruction .

’
His un c le s temper had suddenly forced h im

to take a position wh ich h e h ad not con sidered ,

and which on reflection h e regretted . H e h ad ,

in fact spoke n more pro u d ly an d ch ivalr o u sly

,
'

than he felt T h e next m orning h e c ould n ot

.

endure the th ought o f resigning Katherine .

T o g ive her up implie d th e u nsettling o f all h is

life and
, he was a y o un g m an w hose h app ines s
 Tae Fl w
o er
f
o Ga la Wa ler
'

. 83

depende d up o n its being fixe d and methodi c al .

Unusual events and emotions distur bed his

e quilibrium threw h im out of his orbit an d he
, ,

felt like som e forlorn c astaway . Katherine was

l o vely and lovesome and h e had got the habit ,

o f loving her . In tearin g herself from him she

infli c ted a wound and su ffering of any kind was
,

a ne w sen sation to W i n t o u n . He resented it ,

an d his u n c le had been the first re c ipient of his

rese ntm en t .

But his heart su ffering -

w as not all . Kath
’
erine s desertion would woun d his personal and
family pride in th e keenest man ner . He could
imagine h o w y o ung Heriot an d Ja c k Netherby
and Harry Forster would c ondole with him .

He was aware that h e had peaco c ke d about

Katherin e s lo v e for h im and his allian ce with
’

the Fl o we r of Gala W at e r in a w ay to merit the

sympathizing retaliation whi c h was sure to
c o me . How they would twit him with th e Eng
li sh m an trium ph ! Ho w they w o uld c o ndole
’
s

w i th him because h e lived t h ree hundred years

84 Tee Fl w
o er o
f Ga la Waler .

to o late and could no l o nge r ride i nto VV e st

moreland an d lift ’
Mowbray s cattle an d c o rn
an d carry o ff Mowbray s ’
w ife Not n aturall y a
very bright young man his imaginati o n h ad at ,

th 1 s cr i s i s a terrible vi v id ness .

Nor could he a fford to be quite obli v ious of

his un c le s threat
’
. It was true that Brat h o u s
had part of his estate in paw n . H e h ad been
made fatherless at an early age an d his mothe r ,

had not bee n equal to her position as guardian

of a large landed estate . She had le ft it in dif
fi c u lt i e s w hich Brat h o u s h ad assum ed and h i t h
erto m anage d with great skill ; but in finan cial
matters i f his uncle went again st him what
, ,

c o uld he do ?
T hese refle c tions adde d to a severe cold
, , p ro

d uc e d a fever which kept h im at h om e fo r a

week . Katherine thought she was to blam e fo r

his absence . Th e laird was sure h is n eph ew

was brooding o v er the angry words h e had said
b oth
-
w ere blaming them selves somewhat an d
both w ere anxi o us to be friends again . Durin g
 Tae Fl w o er o f Ga la Wa fer . 85

that week there h ad been hours i f he had known

,

them whe n h e might have gre atly influenced

”

both his love an d h is credit o r ; for it is not in

any life opportunity is wanting ; it is the soul ,

alas ! that is either ignorant of its “

hour or
else too fearful to c laim it .

In any c ase W i n t o u n let it slip an d every

, ,

day took it farther away . Katherine received

the h o pe wh i c h had been sen t to her through
the vagrant n ewspapers an d after that S abbath ,

d ay sh e felt n o m o re compun cti o ns about W i n

toun .

Her raptur o us j oy in the peradventure

messages o v ercam e su c h weak and transitory
regrets an d doubts as had assailed her in her
loneliness .

I will h a v e the blessedness of loving as well

as of b e i n g lo v e d , sh e said to herself as sh e ,

we nt hom e with th e three bits o f paper in h er

possessi o n . Jamie m ay l o ve m e but I do not ,

love him an d eve n Jamie has the habit of lov

ing m o re th an th e divine passi o n of th e c o ndi
86 Tee Flo w er f
o Gala lVa ler/
.

ti o n . I will wait for Richard M o wbray . H e is

sure to come .

She was th en sorry that Je ssy h ad p romise d

to say a conciliating word to W i n t o u n . Sh e
wishe d sh e had told her to leave a ff airs as they
’
were Th e laird s anger at his nephew s ah
’
.

’
se nce w o u ld be easier to bear than Jamie s re

ach fu l eye s an d th e frightened at t em pts to

p ro

please her wh ich he would be certain to m ake .

She hoped s o me good fate would pre v en t Jessy

seeing W i n t o u n until she c o uld c ontradict h er
desire . But Jessy was no luke warm frie n d
.
.

She persuaded h er fathe r to take her to W i n

tou n House early on Monday m orning ,
an d
wh ile the minister went to talk with a si c k
plowman Jessy took th e unhappy lover seriously
to task .

R u nning away eve n be fore your ri v al is on

the groun d I am asham e d o f you Jamie W i n
,

toun ! Th e man m ay never come n ear Gala

W ater again . He m ay have see n som e oth e r
p retty girl as he w ent t hr o u gh th e Sc o t t is h
 Tee Fl w o er o
f Gala Wa ter . 87

land . H e m ay have a sweetheart in Eng

l and .

H e is sure to c o me bac k here . I feel it .

’
No o n e s feelings are to trust to . T hey are
S imply th e m ost unreliable of eviden c e . Sup
pose he doe s c ome back ! W hat the n ! Lord
T aunton admired Kath erine ,
an d came back
and back an d the n went h is way and m arried
,

anoth er w o man .

M r M o wbray fell in real love

. w ith Kath
erine . I know he did .

W ha t d o yo u kno w o f real l o ve
I th in k I kno w all about it Jessy , .

You do n ot . If y o u were in real l o ve would

y o u st o p away from Katherine for anything or
any one ? No . You would press your case
m orning noon an d night
,
. You would get Kath
’
eri ne s m o ther n your side You would seek
o .

y o ur u ncle s active help for if h e set himself to

’

w o rry Katherine Sh e w o uld marry or drown

hersel f to get beyon d him —an d if y o u had a
thimbleful o f g o od sen se you w o uld be coaxin g
88 Tee Fl w o er o f Gala Wafer .

me this very m inute to say th e g o o d w o rd s y o u

h ave not S pirit e n o ugh to say for yoursel f .

Jamie W i n t o u n ,
o rd er your best h orse an d put
on your best coat an d away over to Leven s h o pe -

and ask for what was pr o mise d you !

and th e n
see to it that you let up on e say No .

He looked at the pretty bright girl stan ding ,

before him and h e could n ot h elp admirin g

,

her . He also liked her lecture . I t br o ught a

flush of color to h is c heeks and a very pleasan t
warmth to his heart . Sh e was th e incarnati o n
of hope an d resolution and her trig twee d suit ,

her soft derby with i ts one ere ct e agle feather

, ,

and her gl o v ed hands seem e d to express to h im

the idea of enterprise — o f s o m ething to be d o ne .

I will ac t in whate v er way you think best ,

”
Jessy ,
he said that is I will do as
, w ell as I
can . I do not know how U ncle Brat h o u s will
take my c all . He told m e to leave his h o use ,

”
and he has not sent for me again .

Are you waiting for a graciou s w o rd fr o m

f N abal
‘ ‘

this so n o H e h as n o t su c h a t h in g
 Tee Flo w er o
f Gala Wa l r e .

somer . He has bro w n eyes an d you have blue

he has black hair and you have brown . You
are both slende r an d you are the talle r ,
. It is a
matter of taste . Most wome n would th ink you
the b ette r looking . I am sure y o u have th e best
heart and th e best te m per . I dare say also if it ,

c omes to the main argu ment you h ave th e long ,

er purse . It is n ot lady like to bet you kn o w

-
, ,

Jam i e or I would bet on you

, .

I oug h t to wait for the minister s return ’

.

It is n ot ne cessary . I will m ake a pr o pe r

excuse for you . Father will talk t o T o m T ytle r

for an hour if they get to s o cialism an d some ,

how eve n the Bible leads men there n o wa d ays .

I can amuse myself with the piano ; an d sh e

gave him a bright nod of dismissal an d began ,

to sing with a m o cking lame ntation

,

Oh, L o v e, yo u
’
ve b ee n a v i llai n ,
i
s nce th e d ay s o f T ro y
an d H elen

W h en yo u c au se d t h e fall o f P i
ar s, an d o f v er y m an y
m o re

He we nt away laughing at h er im peach me n t ,

 T/
ze Fl w o er o
f Ga la Water .
9 1

and Jessy did not finish the verse . Her face

grew so m ber e ve n sad , . She lifted a bo o k ,

o pened it upside down and pretended to read , .

Th e agitation of self con s ciousness made her

-

unc o m fortable an d sh e knew that S h e had been

playing a part .

I do n ot care much for Jamie myself ,

she
said ; then sh e sudde nly flung down the book
and went into the garden . Th e tone of her own
voice frightene d and informed her for there ,

was u ndo u btedly in it that curiously u n sat i s

factory ring whi c h may always be heard in the

renun c iation of the un a c c epted .

As She walked restlessly to and fro she saw

W i n t o u n go out of the c ourt yard on his finest
-

horse and ,
Sh e sto od still and wat c he d h im ride
at a steady gallop o v e r the hills .

“
H e is a good man an d h e h as a se nsible
mind though he is ne v er in the
,
c louds , she
thought .
Po o r Jamie I f he only had wings
and a little sacre d fire then Katherin e might ,

l o ve h i m . Wh at h as Mo w bray tha t h e h as no t ?
 9 2 m Fl w
e o er o
f Ga la Water .

Just that sacre d fire that gl o w s an d warm s an d

’
makes a w o man s h eart like wax be fore its
—
flame I am glad he did n ot lo o k at m e n or
.

sigh for me — may b e I would h ave c aught love

from him too ,
.

E v idently W i n t o u n h ad no t this sacred flame

to impart to Katherine indeed Jessy had o ften
,

n o ticed that h e was c o ld and ill at ease in the

presence of Katherine . An d this m orning h e
w as subj e c te d to pe c uliarly adverse in flue n ce .

Th e laird indeed wel c omed him with

, ,
nu m is
takable pleasure but the laird had bee n
, v ery
unpleasant to his wife an d stepdaughte r all the
morning and both of them regarded W i n t o u n
,
’
s

unexpected v isit as a golde n opp o rtunity for re

v enging his un c le s bad temper ’

.

T hey there fore re c eived th e young man with

a formal politeness w h ic h was chilling . Mrs .

Brat h o u s asked after his cold and h is lungs an d ,

then be c ame absorbed i n Katherine s m b ro i d

’
e

e ry . Kath erine gave h im h er h an d an d a few

s ym pathetic p lati t udes an d re t urn e d to h e r c o n ~
 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa t er .
93

su lt at i o n ab o ut colors with her mother . T hen

the laird m ade some c ontemptuous remarks

about wom en and Mrs Brat h o u s left the room
,
.
,

while Katherine bent lower over he r work an d ,

W i n t o u n was misera b ly c onscious of his u n fo r

t u n at e situation .

Somehow he felt also that th e ladie s had

tacitly relegate d him to the position of the
laird s frien d and nephew
’
. He u nd erstood why
h e was being thus punished an d was angry at ,

his uncle for bringing h im into su c h disfav or ;

and yet h e kne w that a quarrel with Brat h o u s

was a quarrel with all his opport u nities . W hat
the n c ould h e do but submit to c ir c umstan c es h e
fou nd h imself unable to c ontrol ? Because it
was only in s u bmission h e could fin d o
pp or

t u ni ty to retrieve himself .

He was u nfortunately th irty six hours too

, ,
-

late an d it might as well h ave been a lifetime

,
.

’
H ad h e sought Katherine s prese n c e on Satur
day in stead
,
o f Monday h e m ight ha v e foun d
,

h er in that m o od o f de s p air w h ich is

gratefu l .
94 T/
ee Fl w o er
f
o Gala PVa ler .

for a ffe c tion but Sun day h ad br o ught her hope ,

and Sh e was sanguine an d happy an d far m ore ,

inclined to look forward to her n ew lover than

to e nter into se ntimental conversation with h er
old one .

Day after day W i n t o u n went the sam e h ope

less road . Th e laird scolde d an d t h reaten ed ,

but he c ould fin d n othing tangible to complain

of though he was quite sure there was e v ery
,

thing to c omplain of . For though Katherin e

,

rode and walke d and t alke d and sang with W i n

toun very mu c h after the usual form all ,
c ould
see that it was but a form —th at th e old girlish
kindness an d freedom which had bee n its spirit
were gone and that though they were ve y
,
r
co n

s t an t l together there was a wall of separation

y ,

betwee n them tran sparent but m ore

, ,
i m p ass

able than adamant .

It was in this daily ve iled antagonism th at the

laird first fo und out th e power o f th e m aj o rity .

’
Katherin e s womanh ood h ad m ade h er her
m o t h e r s all y,
’
an d Mrs . Brat h o us be gan t o Sh o w
S ign s o f res tlessness an d rebellion u n d er the
’
laird s d o mestic aut o cracy which a mazed her
husband an d ought to have given him notice
,

that his reign of terror was over . T here were

now two against on e and he was sure that W i n ,

toun w o uld j oin the enemy either on his first ,

open disapproval or their first o pen favor .

T he n there would be three wills against his

w ill . I n th at case he doubted and consequently ,

he feared .

But the S pring grew to summer and the roses

were bl o wing in th e rose garden and the blue -

heave n an d green earth an d soft wind made the

place arou nd Leve ns hope a little bit of paradise - .

Katherine h o wever had been , ,

fo r ten days rest
less an d unhappy for the laird as a last annoy , ,

ance ,
h ad forbidden h er visits to the m anse .

He said it w as
“
because th e h illsides were in :

’ ’

f e st e d with ‘
trippers and tourists whom
”
n ob o dy knew an d ,
who were not to be trusted .

He gave his gamekeeper the strictest charges

a bo ut th e w o o ds an d th e trout streams and ,
96 Tae Flo wer f
o Gala Wafer .

vowe d “
he w o uld be glad e n o ugh if s o me st rav
’
agers r o un d Leven s h o p e -
g o t a sh ot or tw o .

Katherine knew that h e was h it t in g '

Mo w b ray
o ver her shoulder and she talked sc o rn fully
,
to

her mother about the coward wish .

“
“
Because mamma , ,
she said ,
he w ill not
have the c ourage to utter one word to Mr Mo w .

bray if h e eve r doe s come h e re again . H e will

preten d to be delighte d to se e h im . He w ill

c arry him to the stalls to praise his prize oxen ,

an d th en wink at the gamekeeper to do his

dastard will for h im .

And M rs Brat h o u s did not defe n d h er hu s

.

b and or invent exc u ses for him as she had bee n ,

wont to .

H owever Katherine knew t h at if an y n ews

,

c ame or any e v en t occurre d wh i c h was of

, in

t e re st , Jessy would be sure to let h er know in

’
some way . Jessy s resource s were infinite ,

though generally it was enough to m ove th e

m inister to make all othe r m oves su c cessful .

’
So Katherine s heart beat fast one m orning w h en
 lae Flo w e r f
o Gala Wl a er
‘
.

When the two m e n w ere out of sigh t Kath ,

e rine turn ed to he r m other .

Never mind Katherine my dearie , , , said

that lady chee rfully
, ,
I am going to G alashiels

this afternoon and I ,

c an leave you wit h Jessy
”
till I return .

Can you not go this morning m amma ,

No . I wish I could . B ut I h ave the dairy

an d linen r o o m to atten d to this m o rning else
-
,

we w o uld s tart immediately and make a day o f

it . But we can bring Jessy back w ith us .

Mamma darlin g you are as kin d as

, , y o u are
pretty an d that is saying a great deal
,
and the
pleasant w o rds an d the kiss which wen t with
them sent Mrs . Brat h o u s to her h ousehold
duties with a light heart .

It is such an easy thing to m ake people

”
h appy , she reflected as she sat down with the
,

dairy b o ok an d began to coun t the quarts of

cream an d the pou nds o f butter it represented .

Meantime Katherine h ad one of those war m

,

impressions those instin c tivel y sagaciou s pre

,
 Tae Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa ler .
99

sentime nts whi c h enable a sensitive soul to an

t i c i p at e events . She knew Ri c hard Mowbray

was c oming . Th e soft warm breeze told her
,

so ; the birds sang the news to her the flowers

n odde d and wave d and blushed their con scious
ness of the event . Her heart beat with the
sweetest tremors ; h er eyes had in them that
clear far ,
-
o ff gaze whi c h sh o w s the s o ul to be on
the l o okout . She was su d denly anxious about
her appearance ; suddenly aware of being
presse d for time and she ran upstairs asif ,
Sh e

had not a mome nt to lose .

A S imple little gown of finest lawn and white

as ligh t had j ust been laid upon her bed . She
put it on she belted it with a white ribbon she
, ,

l oo se ne d h er b raided h air , she tied on her pink

garden hat an d she took her rush basket and
-

sciss o rs to the r o se hedges . A m usk r o se pink

-
,

an d m o ssy looke d at her an d she gathere d it

, ,

an d place d it i n her girdle T he n sh e heard .

— — —
fo o tsteps voices a lo w laugh a merry strain
o f s o ng
100 m Fl w er e o o f Gala Water .

W i lli e F o st e r s g an e ’
to se a,

S i lle r b uc le s k at h is k n ee ,

H e 11
’
co m e bac k an d m arry m e,
B o nn i e W i lli e F o st e r ! ”

She instantly d ivine d the truth . Jessy was

coming through the garden an d s o m e on e was ,

with Jessy . She knew wh o it was . All fear

was gone ; h ope an d love made glad he r h eart ,

made bright h er eyes made r o sy h er cheeks , ,

dimpled her mouth W i th smiles illumined her ,

face with that ultra terrestrial char m wh i c h

-
be

longs to beauty t ran sfi gu re d by th e h eart not ,

by th e intellect .

She st o od m o ti o nless ere ct every sen se , , ah

sorbed in listening . For one m ome n t sh e had

an impulse to answe r Jessy s s o ng th e ne xt m o ’

m ent s h e felt it w o ul d be an o ffe n se to destin y .

Lo v e knew where she was waiting . I f Mo w

bray h eld her fate he als o , , ,
o u ght to kn ow .

T here was a sligh t h esitation a cessation o f ,

human v o ices ; they were plucking a flo w e r —sh e

co uld se e
, the b ush t remb le at its l o ss ; an d be
 10 2 T/
ze Fl w o er o
f Gala Water .

co u ld fin d their way to th e h o use an d take th eir

leisure ab o ut it !
Both watched her out of sight an d the n some ,

how the little basket fell fro m Kath erine s ’

hands and Mowbray w as clasping both o f them

in his own .

Katherine ,
m y beauty ,
h e said ,
s o ftly ,

you might h ave steppe d out of th e folded

leave s of the rose blossom s - ! Kath erine ,
my
”
belo v ed say to m e one word of welc o m e !
,

T hen she spoke an d ,

th e rose s n odde d with
delight ; and the small blith e wren s burst into ,

a wild little j ubilate at her answe r .

M o wbray nee de d only this slight en courage

ment . He ga v e her no time to qualify it . He
wo o ed her as m en ought to wo o —with an irre
si s t i ble will with a passionate desire
, . An d l o ve
is a m agistrate i n language . He taught M ow
bray words that unlocked th e m aide n s he art ’

taught h im words that swayed h er th ere am o n g

the lonely r o se trees as ora t o rs s w ay multitudes
-
,

i n t h e market place -
. T h ey were often fo o lis h
 T/
ze Fl
o wer
f
o Gala Wafer . 10 3

word s ,
with no scholarly m eaning but they ,

touched her with a delicious intelligence . T hey

were ofte n nothing but a sweet impulsive i m , ,

p e t u o u s iteration ,
but this iteration was as
potent as the qui c k re curring blows of the ham ,

”
m er on the anvil . I f he said only Darling ,

he said it twe nty tim es an d each time it c ame ,

hotte r fro m his heart and we nt closer to hers .

Such wooing m akes an ugly man handsome ;

it make s a h an dsome m an but little lower than

an angel . Mowbray h ad that beauty whi c h
—
catches and charms th e eyes a graceful form ,

a winning m anner regular features and what , , ,

is mu ch rarer flesh of finest texture translucid

,

in its paleness so mu ch so that h is brown ex

, ,

pre ssive eyes were not more lambent than th e

rest o f his face . An d Love t ran sfi g u re d him ;

he w as eve n physically d ivine , u nder the celes

tial e m o tion .

S w iftly we nt that w o nderful hour am o ng the

roses —that dele ctable exquisite hour that never ,

c o me s to an y m o rt al but o nce T here w ere

‘

.
 10 4 T/
ze Fl w er f
o o Ga la Wa fer .

tears o f rapture in their eye s when at last they , ,

turne d o ut of the fl o w ery labyrinth ple dge d to ,

each o ther forever ! I n their bliss th ey were

assailed by a little of that weariness and m elan
ch o l
y which all m ortals m ust experie n ce who
dare the only earthly j oy wh ich h olds th e gift
of imm ortality . Katherine fled to h er r o o m
and fell upon he r knee s an d wept a little an d
praye d a little in th o se broken ej aculati o n s
which are at once so childlike an d so ac c eptabl e
to th e Divin ity .

Mowbray held his cup of happin es s w ith a

steadier hand but he was strangely a ffe cte d by
,

’
this s w eet realization of man s c apacity for a
double existence . Fo r it was not so mu ch that
s o mething n ew had c o me i nto h is life as that ,

s o meth i ng old had been returne d to him . To

love Katherine had been n o fresh le sson '

; he
had foun d her at first S ight familiar an d the,

“
sense of righ t in he r had bee n th e earliest
sensation sh e inspire d . Admirati o n an d aff e c

ti o n foll o we d quickly but he was certain th e

, in
 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Gala Wa ter .

welcome guests w h o c o me j ust at the right time .

She made him feel that Sh e was glad to see him ,

and h e lost n ot one m o men t in o penin g his case .

He seated himself before h er he spoke with an

eloquen ce which de nie d all obj e ction s . In a
few minutes he was holding her han ds an d beg
ging her to stand .
by Katherin e and h imself
against all odds She was no t very easily pe r
su ad e d . She sai d W i n t o u n had lo o k e d on Kath
erine as his future wife for n early seve n years .

She sp o ke of the laird s long unwavering deter’

minati o n to unite the tw o estates by m arriage .

For W i n t o u n is his h eir ,

she said and
W i n t o u n Lands and Levens h op e are
- -
no m ean
’9
patrimony . M o wbray h o wever h ad w o rds far
, ,

beyon d her reasoning h e talked with h is h eart ,

and Sh e grew silent . Th e n the tears came to

her eyes and at this fav o rable m o me nt Kath
,

erine entere d th e room and slipped within h er

’
mother s arm an d laid h er chee k again st h er
’
m other s breast .

Mrs Brat h o u s st o o ped and kissed

. h er child .
 Tao Flo w er o
f Ga la Waler . 10 7

She had begun the n to gi v e way . And Mow

f
’
bray s ad o rati o n o the girl his impetu o sity his
, ,

determin atio n to take no denial were i rre si st

ible . Undeniably als o his beauty

, , w as a silent
but p o werful friend for there seemed to be a
,

natural fitness in the marriage of a man so hand

s o me with a girl so lovely . At the last Mrs .

Brat h o u s s u rren d ered un con ditionally .

”
Sh e
“
It is e nough Mr Mowbray , .
,
said . I
am convin ce d by something beyond your words .

My heart is with Kath erine and you and I will ,

”
stand by you to the v ery uttermost .

T hen sh e st o o ped forward and kissed the

y o ung man an d with the kiss took him fully to
,

her love an d trust .

After this happy settlement th e day went to

Love an d to L ove only for th e ge nerous moth er ,

set the whole h o useh o ld to this happy key .

W hile K atherine an d Mowbray wandered in the

warm sunny garden she talked to Jessy of th e
, ,

a ffair an d with her

,
o wn hands spread a mor e
fes t ive t able .
 10 8 i e Fl
T/ o w er
f
o Gala Wal r e .

W e will le t them have a day or two in para

dise Je ssy , ,
she said ,
“
fo r the laird will pull
their happiness to pieces as s o on as h e finds it
7,
o ut .

But for on c e good fortu ne was on the sid e of

the lovers . W i n t o u n went th at very day to
Dalkeith to assist at the m arriage of a frie nd ,

happily obli v ious of th e stranger who was inter

me d dling with his own m arriage . An d th e
theological fray was m o re h erce th an had bee n
'

anti c ipated be fore each man of b o th c lergy an d

laity had said their say four days had elapse d
, ,

and e v e n then re t urn was a little delayed ,

be
c ause the laird h ad b o ugh t a Galloway p ony ,

and a man was to h ire who c ould ride it o ve r to

Le v ens hope -
.

So it was Saturday e ve ning when Brat h o u s

reached h ome . He foun d n othing to m ar th e
peace and happiness of his return . M owbray
had gone to Edinburgh to buy a betroth al ring ,

and he inte nded to remain o v er the Sab b a t h i n

th e capital . Wi n t o u n w as sitting wi t h Mrs .
 1 10 l e Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa te r .

young people o ught to walk o v e r to th e m anse

for Jessy ; an d then they could dance a reel or
”
two before supper .

Brat h o u s did no t like the proposition but h av ,

ing been so good nature d hitherto h e could n ot

-
,

at once summ on the n ecessary c ourage to co n

test either the walk or the dance . So Kath

erine with Mow b ray an d W i n t o u n went o v er
, ,

the hill for Jessy an d th e result was pre c isely

,

what Mrs . Brat h o u s anticipated . Jessy an d

W i n t o u n wal ked ba c k togeth er an d Katherin e ,

and Mowbray turned aside into Leve n s wood ’

to see a saint s well ; an d then they were de

laye d by th e roaring of a n otoriously ill te m -

pered bull an d ,
c ould not rea c h h ome u ntil an
hour later . For it h ad taken Mowbray all that
extra tim e to put th e c ircle of gem s on Kath
’
erine s finger an d to tell h er how long and
dreary the two d ays had been without h er
’

Th e delay , h owe v er m ad e the laird very

,

angry and he did not scruple to scold Kath erin e

,

fo r i t on their re t u rn .
 Tae Fl w o er
f
o Gala Water . 1 1 1

It w as
Miss J an fari e s fault S i r said
t
’
no
, ,

M o wbray quickl y Pray do n ot let y o ur p o si

, .

tion as h o st make you blam e her in my place . I

aske d Miss J an fari e to show me th e saint s well ’
.

Neither o f us i s resp o nsible for the furious

animal you keep so near the high ro ad and -
,

w h ich —permit me to —
say ought to be sh o t at
o nce .

Mr M o wbray
.
, y o u are a stranger . Y o ur ig

n o ran c e is y o ur apol o gy . As fo r Katherine ,

and h e l o o ke d angrily at the girl who st o o d ,

’
w ith her han d in Mowbray s han d .

’
T he n M o wbray s dark eyes flashed a defiance
which th e laird migh t have quarreled with had
no t Mrs Brat h o u s steppe d between them
. w ith

her charming smile .

“
Mr . Mowbray ,
Jessy is w aiting fo r y o u .

Katherine , y o u are keeping Jamie w aiting for

y o u . An d if y o u w ant me to play a reel , y o u

h ad better make haste w hile I am i n the mo o d

”
of being g o o d na t ured - .

I n spite o f her merry w o r d s th er e w as a lo o k

1 12 Tee Flo w er o f Gala Water .

o f anxi o us deprecati o n in her eyes ,

w h ich bo th
Katherine and Mo w bray respe cted fo r sh e

knew with what magical spee d suspici o n grew

in h er husband s m in d ’
. H e had e ntertaine d a
d o ubt twe nty,
w o uld f o ll o w and confirmati o n
,

be cl o se b ehind . So , th o ugh her fingers struck

o ut the tingling note s and th e light fee t,
o f the
happy dancers kept time to t h em she c o uld see
,

the anger and dislike br o o ding i n her l o rd s ’

white , w ea k face an d whe n h e suddenly

lef t the parl o r sh e k new h e h ad gon e to

his r o o m t o w alk h imself into a passi o n of in

j ury .

It was up o n h er th e s t o rm fell .

”
Near midnight ! he cried when she entere d ,

the r o o m . A woman of your age d afli n g an d

d ancing till such h o urs
“
Wh y no t scold the m inister ? H e th o ught
no harm o f o ur d affi n g an d dancing .

He didn t ? T he n
’
he ough t to have a re
p ri

”
mand an d I will se e tha t he gets it
, .

I h o pe y o u will .
 1 14 Tee Fl w
o er of Ga la Wafer .

for y o ur bad m anners every tim e we h ave co m

pany . T here is n o use i n s t o rming an d sn i ffl i n g ,

Alexan der .

I will n o t have that Englishm an in m y h ouse

again . I w ill orde r the servan t s t o t urn h i m
”
o ut .

“
Yo u, y o urself , asked h im here . I f an y
s erva n t turns him o ut, I will turn th e serva nt
after him .

“
A nob o dy ! An adven turer Oh de ar me !
,

W hat a dreadful thing it is to ha v e a kin d

”
heart !
Yo u said he was th e so n of y o ur frien d .
If
he is an adventurer wha t right h ad ,
y o u to in
t ro d u c e hi m to my daughter ? A fine guardian
y o u are ! And as for your kind heart n o , o ne

e ver was or ever will be bette r of it . T here is

no use S itting up to worry Alexan der , . E v ery
o ne in the house is asleep an d I am going , to my
”
r o om .

I shall n o t sleep a w in k . Ho w can I with

s u ch g o ings o n ?
 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Gala Wa ler . 1 1 5

You will sleep well enough . You m ight as

well . Nobody will min d your staying awake .

Good -
night .

But in reality h e did no t sleep mu c h . He

was trou b led and anxious about W i n t o u n ’
s

a ff airs for after Alexan der Bra

, ,
t h o u s he , re

garded Jam e s W i n t o u n as th e person of most

’
imp o rtance . He was his sister s son and he ,

looked up o n him as his own heir . His marriage

w ith Katherin e was the pet proj e c t of his life ,

fo rKatherine s m oney would redeem W i n t o u n

’

Lands an d beside sthis Katherine was of the

,

best blood of the Border an d her beauty an d ,

grace would be suitable adj un cts to his nephew s ’

wife . But there was another reason an d though ,

he seldom gave it eve n to himself it was , ,

by far
the most potent . H e h ad taken the mortgage
on W i n t o u n with some of Kath e rine s money
’

an d if Katherine did not marry James W i n

toun h e would ha v e to replace this money when
,

sh e ca m e of age a
nd d emanded an account of
h is stewardsh ip . An d the sum w as so large
1 16 Tee Flo w er o
f Gala Wafer .

that he c ould only do so by mortgaging Le vens

h o pe .

It see m ed to him th ere fore that it w o uld be

, ,

an o utrageous wrong to permit the fancy o f a

mere girl to make v oid all h is plan s to save two
fine estates —estate s whi c h in the en d w ere to
belong to her and her childre n . In fact he told ,

h i m self that h e would n ot an d could no t h ave

any interferen c e wit h a pr o j ect so wise an d so

beneficial for all concern ed .

Nobody had interfere d yet but he h ad a sus ,

p i cio n of Mowbray for h e n otice d th at th e Kath

,

erine who talke d an d dan ced with W i n t o u n w as

but a colorless sh adow of th e Katherin e wh o

talked an d dan ced with M owbray . She was

sweet and p o lite and c old to Win to u n . She was
light an d life an d fla m e with Mowbray . If
W i n t o u n said lovi n g words to her th ey fel l like
snow - fl ak e s on steel ; if M owbray but looke d at
her his look lighte ned her eye s an d burne d in
,

her cheeks and flashe d in sm ile s h er an swe r .

Th e l o vers had t old themselves they would be

1 1 8 Tee Flo w e r o
f Ga la Wa fer .

p e rat i ve order . I ndeed ,

Sh e delaye d so lon g
that she found th e laird standing impatiently
at th e open d o o r of the r o o m ,
w aiting for he r
approach .

W h y do you not c o me quicker Hele n ? ,

he
asked fretfully
,
. I sen t you w o rd that y o u

were to come in haste .

I was talking to Katherine . W h y did y o u

send fo r m e to co m e to this r o om ? Are y o u

really at last
, ,
going to get a ne w carpe t
for it ?
No m adam
,
. I am not likely to have m on ey
for new c arpets . I c h ose this room because I
wan t to talk seriously to y o u ,
and I did no t w is h
”
the ser v ants to h ear us .

She smiled s c orn fully an d aske d ,

Pray wh at is the m atter n ow ?

Matter e nough W h y did you decei v e m e ?
W ere you n ot afraid to ask a stranger to m y
!

house while I was away ? On e would th ink you

were trying to m ake a m atch betwe en him an d
K a t h erin e —t rying to ruin b o t h K a t h erin e an d
 Tee Fl w o er
f
o Gala Wafer . 1 1 9

ourselves . I am alm o st beside myself with the

n ews .

“
W ill you remember that it was you wh o
aske d him when h e was here last ? You wh o
said with your u sual ridiculou s e ffusiveness
,

On your re t urn Mr Mowbray c o me an d stay

,
.
,

a fe w days —a fe w weeks if you wish ? ’

If I had
not made h im welc o me , y o u w o uld have asked
H o w I dared to turn one o f your invited guests
away ? ’
—
As for match making that it seem s-
, ,

is y o ur business . You have been planning to

marry my p o or little girl ever since y o u had the
charge o f he r . It has been your on e care fo r

Katherine .

I was planning for h er happiness an d wel

fare .

Yo u w ere planning for your nephe w .

Jamie W i n t o u n m ay no t appear to Katherine

all th at h e appears t o yo u . Katherine may no t

think it a supre me j oy an d privilege to use her

m o ney t o release W i n t o u n - —
L ands to S pare your
m o r t gaging Levens h o pe - ! Oh I have rea c hed
,
 1 20 Tee Fl wo er
f
o Ga la Wa ler .

the bottom o f your plans Brat h o u s ! Un der

,

stand this I will not have my daughte r sa ri c .

ficed to carry out your plans .

I un derstand that you are going to ru in y o ur

daughter . W h o is this Mowbray P ”

”
You said y o u knew h im .

I will tell D o ctor T elfair w hat I thin k of

him . I will that W hat right has h e to bring
the fell o w to my home ?
“
Speak to Doct o r T elfair , by all m e an s ! He
will tell y o u some truth s you o ugh t to hear .

Quarreling with you is no pleasure . I shall no t

”
c o ntin ue it .

I am go ing to send Katherine bac k to

”
school .

Mr Mowbray. w ill feel much oblige d to you .

Bolts and bars cannot keep out love . Do you

’
imagine the R ules of a ladies sch o ol’
w ill be
”
more successful ?
You will see w hat I will do Do you think
I shall permi t a c o uple of s i lly w o me n t o break
”
my plans to p ie ces ?
 C HAP T E R IV .

“
I MU ST S EE MY B RO T H E R .

T h i s e arth wh e re o n w e d re am '

I s o n all si d es o e rsh ad o we d b y t h e h igh

’

U n o e rle ap e d Mo u n t ai ns o f N ec e ss i t y
’
,

S p ari n g u s n arro wer m argi n t h an w e d e e m .

No j o y so g re at but ru nn e t h t o an e n d ,

N o h ap so h ard b u t m ay i n t im e a me n d .

Two letters arrive d at the m anse very early

n ext m o rning . On e was fr o m Mrs Brat h o u s to .

Jessy asking h er to request Mr M o w bray n o t to

,
.

visit Levens h ope for two or three weeks

-
. She
” “
was ,
she said ,
fully re solve d to stan d by th e
promise she had m ade h im with regard to Kath
erine but sh e m ust have time
,
to c o n sider th e
”
kindest and best way to m anage th e future .

[ 122 ]
 Tae Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa t er . 1 2 3

In tr u th the lady was m u c h trouble d and per

,

p le xe d . She had perhaps a more affe c tionate

, ,

feeling toward the laird than Sh e was really

a w are of ; at any rate she did re c ognize a
, cer

tai n loyalty to his interests as in c um b ent upon

her . Also Jamie W i n t o u n had some c laim to
be con sid ered . He had won a large share of
her liking . She could not remember one in

stan c e in which h e had been thoughtless of her

feelings or negle c tful of h er wishes . To inj ure
him both in his a ffe c tions an d his estate did
see m a little too bad but she was in hopes that
if time was take n to look at the S ituation rea
s o n ab ly, some finan c ial arrangement fa v orable
to W i n t o u n could be made . Hen c e sh e wis h ed
,

Mowbray to keep out of sight sin c e the laird ,

would only be irritate d by his presen c e .

Th e other letter was a v ery intemperate one

fr o m th e laird to the mi n ister .

D E AR SI R : Ih i o pe p o wer gi ve n yo u t o
yo u w ll u se t h e

e t t h e m an M o w bray aw a y fro m G ala W at e r H e i s an o f

g
.

fe n se t o m y sig h t an d my e ar an d h e h as b e e n se e k i n g
-
,
1 2 4 Tee Fl w o er o f Ga l
a Wa te r .

K at h e r n e s i ’
lo v e w i t h o u t w o rd or w arran t fro m me . I th n i k
it is y o ur d u t y as a m i n i st e r to k ee p p e ac e i n fam i li e s , an d I
e x pe c t yo u t o ge t t h e m an
’
o er t h e b o rd e r t o h is o w n h o m e,

an d also t o lo o k w e ll aft e r y o ur d au g h t e r le s t sh e ma k e on

m e dd le i n m at t e rs b e yo nd h er j u d g m e n t an d d o m o re i ll
.

i
t h an e t h e r yo u o r sh e w o ts o f. R esp e c t fully ,

A L E! AN D E R BR AT H O U S ” .

Th e minister who was a man of fiery sp irit

, ,

answere d this le tter promptly with two words ,

which are better not printed e specially as Jessy ,

pretende d n ot to hear them . Th e se con d reply

was more elaborate ,
but j ust as truth ful .

D E AR L AIR D : I h av e y o u r le t t e r an d I am so rry fo r ,

it . T h e re is n o e x c u se fo r su c h a bit o f ri d i c u lo u s w ri t i n g .

Mr M o wb ray go i n g u p an d d o w n G ala W at e r is o n t h e
.

k i n g s h igh w ay an d h e h as as m u c h righ t t h e re as yo u o r
’
,

an y o t h e r m an As fo r m y d u t y if I fai li n i t t h e P re sb y
.
, ,

t e ry w i ll ask m e t h e re aso n wh y I am p u t u n d e r n e i th e r
.
’

lai rd n o r m ast e r An d I w i ll be g le av e t o re m i n d yo u o f
.

y o ur o w n sh o rt c o mi n g s fo r if all g o o d p e o p le w h o o ffe n d e d
,

y o u r e y e s an d y o u r e ars w e re t o b e b an i sh e d fro m G ala

W at e r y o u w o uld fin d y o u rse lf i n a d e se rt Y o u are i ll t o
, .

p le ase lai rd an d t h at is t h e t ru th ; an d if t h e t ru t h h u rt s yo u
, ,

I am o nly d o i n g p art o f t h at d u t y yo u re mi nd m e o f As ’
.

fo r t h e F lo w e r o f G ala W at e r I se e n o h arm i n an y g o o d ,

g e n t le m an ad m i ri n g h e r sw ee t b e au t y an d t ryi n g t o w i n h er .

K at h e ri n e J an farie i s a w o m an an d is t h e re fo re n o t b e y o n d
, , ,

w o o i n g an d w i n n i n g I b elie ve in lo ve m arri age s lai rd I

.
, .

th ink t h e unio n o f h earts is bet t er th an th at of

p u rse s. And ,
1 2 6 m Fl w
e o er
f
o Ga la
‘

Wa fer .

fully toward Leven s hope - . H e was v ery happy .

He knew that Katherine loved h im , an d

~ h e did
not spoil his j oy by questioning an d qualifying
it . He was going to see her and the swee t air , ,

the b righ t sunshin e an d the spirit o f summe r

were going with him . Th e prodigiou s dis
quietude of a selfish lo v er h e kn ew n othing of .

He was c arrying his soft h at an d the fresh ,

win d was blowing his hair . Th e bridle lay

loosely in his grasp ; he was hum ming softly to
himself a little lo v e song .

W hen the m inister j oine d him he alighted

from his horse threw th e bridle o v er his
, arm

an d walked by his side T here was a little

b rown wren S inging on th e whin bushe s an d ,

they stood still to wat c h its body in c lin e toward

the sun its head thrown ba c k its breast swell
, ,
l

ing with e c stasy .

He is singing to h is lo v e ,
said M owbray .

T h e b ird is e n c han ted ! See how his wings

flutter
“
W ings ! W in gs ! crie d the ministe r .
 T/
ze Fl w
o er o
f Ga la l
Valer . 1 2 7

W i n gs t h at o h e art s m ay re st
ur

I th e r d i an t m o rn i n g s b re ast !
’ ’
n a

Oh that I had wings like a dove

,

His fa c e was sad ; he was already sorry for

the letter w hich h e h ad written .

I h ave b ee n angry this morning Mr Mow , .

bray , h e continued ,
and I am out of fav or
w ith myself for I c an tell y o u that the m oment
a man feels angry he has c eased striving for the
T ruth and h e has begun to strive for himself .

I think y o u h ad better ride to the manse . Miss

T e lfai r will h av e a word or two to say to you .

As for m e I m ust talk with my own heart for

,

an hour .

T hen Mowbray understood that there was

b ehaviour
’
some an noyance an d th e laird s ,
on
the previous night gave him the key to it . So
he thanke d Doctor T elfair and rode rapidly for
w ard , his j oy h av i ng bee n suddenly turned into
anxiety .

In the m ean time the la i rd had bee n making

every one at Leven s as unhappy as possible .
 12 8 Tee Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wafer .

He w as sc o lding abo u t the strawberry be d s be

fore breakfast and nothing at that m eal satis

,

fied h im . Th e oatmeal w as h alf b o iled th e ,

c h ops were burned th e rolls col d the co ff ee

, ,

m uddy . He kept th e f o o tm an on a trot betwee n

the breakfast parlor and the kitchen most of the
time and it gratifie d h im
,
to see th e young m an
in a state of tears an d trembling . For h e w as

angry at the silent dign ity of M rs Brat h o u s .

and Katherine . H e felt that his c o m plaints

ought to have been indorsed by them . T heir

non interference was a tacit disappro val

- o f his
c o nduct .

Afte r the disagreeable m e al was over the ,

la d ie s were leaving the room together . He re

called them in what h e i nte n ded to be a very

authoritative manner ; but Mrs Brat h o u s de .

t e ct e d in it that t o ne of blu ster w h ich is always

the sign of co w ardly timidity an d sh e asked ,

promptly
“
W hat do yo u want wit h u s Alexander ?
,

I have something very imp o rtan t to say to

 l e Flo w er f
o Gala Wafer . 129

Katherine . C o me h ere ,
miss . You will be
marrie d on th e h of Septem b er It is Jamie s ’
2 9 t .

birthday and h e may as well make it his mar

,

ri ag e d ay .

You are going beyond bounds on e v ery side ,

”
laird , an s w ered Mrs Brat h o u s for he r . d au gh

ter . It is the right of the brid e to c hoose her

wedding day an d he r husband also
-
, . . And I
doubt if you have word or warrant from Jamie
for wh at you say . You m ay be Laird of Le v ens
h 0 pe b ut Katherine is b eyond your ordering
, .

It is high time that I took matters in hand .

G irls that are as good as m arrie d playing shut

t le c o c k with two m en s hearts ’
It is not, re

sp e c t ab le . I am not able to bear it . I did not

S leep w ell last night and to lose m y sleep is as
,

mu c h as my life is worth . I am so nervous this

morning it is really pitiful . I will not su ffe r in
fli rt
’
this way for any girl s vanity . Flirt flirt
, ,

ing morn ing noon an d night

, ,

Alexan der take heed ,

w hat you say . Yo u
”
are slandering m y daughter .
 1 30 l e Fl w o er o
f Ga la PValer .

I say Katherine is a flirt ! She is all the

same as Jamie s wife yet I saw her m aking eye s
’

at t hat Englishm an and whispering in corners

”
with him . I saw her !

It is not the truth .

Is she not betr o the d to James W i n t o u n ?

No .

H elen Brat h o u s !
‘ ’
I say No ,
not unless sh e desires th e mar
ri age . A promise made at twelve years o f age
co uld hardly be bin ding on a wom an o f n in e
teen ,
even if it had bee n an u n c on d ition al
promise Katherine nor I e v er regarded it as
.

anything but pro v ision al —i f sh e liked if W i n ,

”
toun liked if we were both of th e sam e m ind
, .

W ell women beat all ! I will ha ve no m o re

,

to say to either of you . But th e wedding w ill

take place . So you may make ready for it or

not j ust as it please s you

, . It is n o longer a
question of wo m en s likes ’
or dislike s . I will
take th e law to my side . Just u nderstan d that ,

will you ? For beh in d Alexander Brat h o u s

1 3 2 T/
ze Fl w o er o
f Gala Wa ler .

W ater and ,
o f bloomin g he r life away in th e m .

And as sure as my n am e is Alexa n de r Brat h o u s

1 will let n o English b ody tran splant t he Flowe r
of Gala W ater . Th e m an t h at trie s it will neve r
c ross the border ham e again
T hat is all gas c onading an d bragga d ocio
You swagger like Pistol and always e at th e le ek ,

”
at the end of it .

Madam Madam I will

You do . You know you do . Com e Kath ,

erine ; and though the laird stood up an d

stru c k the ta b le with his c losed h and an d e v e n ,

mildly swore a little the ladie s we nt c almly out ,

of his presen c e lea v ing him withou t a , S ingle

promise ,
and with a v ery positi v e sen se of
de feat .

But th e opportu nity to explain an d d e fe n d

himself was an absolute n e c essity of his n ature ,

and h e was sorry no w that h e h ad writte n to

th e minister . It was ab o v e all things desirable
that h e sh o uld have h is good word an d support .

Ho w e v e r, h e me nt all y c o n clud e d ,
“
I will .
 Tee Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa fer; 1 33

just ride o v e r to the manse . I will go on my

Barbary m are , with m y m an in the L e v ens li v

ery behi nd m e . T elfair will gi v e in a bit to

that and when I — the Laird of Levens hope
,
-

say a fe w words with a ring of apology in them ,

the minister wil l be glad enough to put the o f

\
fe n se away with a w h aff of th e hand or a p olit e

w o rd or th e like o f that . For it is tr u e as Go s

pel that the m inister is j ust a nobody without
the laird be h ind him .

He put on h is tightest -
fi t t in g riding coat
- an d

his Dent saddle gl o v es calle d his Barbary m are

-
,

and his m anAr c hibald and rode proudly down ,

the main ave nue . Be fore h e rea c hed the b ig

gates h e met the minister s m an with the m i n ’

i st e r s letter It was blow th e second an d rather

’
.
,

’
harder to meet than his w ife s defiance .

“
S u c h a like letter ! he muttere d wh en ”
he

had read it th rough . Th e m an writes to m e

as if I w as a v ery sinne r . Th e comely h u m ili y
o f a Presbyter in deed A m ore prelatic spirit
co ul d no t be fo und i n a Hi gh Ep i sc o p al . I am
 1 34 T/
ze Fl w o er
of Ga la Wa fer .

j ust distra c te d with the insult . Leve ns h o pe in -

h is parish and S piritual j urisdi c tion ! H umph

m f— m f and snorting out h is de fian c e o f
’ ’

this truth he turne d his finely caparison e d ani

,

mal to W i n t o u n H ouse .

He found Jamie i n pre cisely the m ood h e de

sired . Th e young m an was feeling hurt an d
’
wronged and his uncle s sympathy was s w ee t
,

and his promises com forting .

It is all in your own h an d s Jamie , ,

he said ,

the woma n you lo v e an d th e e state which it

woul d break both o ur h earts to see r o upe d and
sold .

I will do anything reasonable u ncle but I , ,

do not like to gi v e Katherine pain or ann oyan ce

of any kind .

“
Katherin e doe s not kn o w h er o wn m in d .

She has no idea of what is good for h e r . No

girl at her age h as . Fath ers an d m oth ers an d
guardians h a v e to watch them as if they had
the death fever . At nineteen ye ars o f age th e
wh o le gen e rat i o ns o f w o men go de me nt e d a bo ut
1 36 m e Flo wer o f Gala Waf er.

her for a wedding trip . Sen d her ri n gs an d

brooches of all kin ds . G et th e wh ole countr y
side talking o f your m arriage ; most wome n
w ould rather die than h ave people say the ir
wedding was broken o ff . Man Jamie
,
I f you
let that fello w Mow b ray steal you r wife you
, , ,

may j ust as well give him your estate ; an d if

you let W i n t o u n S lip I am not likely to trust
,

you with Leven s hope -

.

“
Do not threaten ,
un c le ; I n ee d n eith er
threats nor promises where Katherin e is con
”
c erned .

T he n why are you whimperin g h ere in stead

of being at Levens ? An d if the ladie s tell you

I ga v e them th e scolding they de served this
m orn ing ,
I gi v e you leav e to talk as they talk -
.

You m ay say I am a perfect Bluebeard if it will

help you to win Kath erin e J an fari e An d m in d .
,

you are to fight for th e we dding in Septembe r .

Promise all t h i n gs i m p o ssi ble , the moon and th e

stars if she wants them
, . I did that way with
h er m o the r . I had to . And sometime s I wonder
 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la
r
Wat er . 1 37

at the courage I showed in those days . But I

feel it now . I lost my sleep last night an d ,

nothing touched my palate this morning an d ,

my heart beats too fast I am , v ery sure and all ,

this trouble for that c on c eited ,

meddlesome
English man ! If it was not sinful to swear I ,

have a m outh ful of bad words waiting for him .

As the morn ing went on t hey visited the

sto c k and walked int o th e fields and looked at ,
;

"
the grass n ow ready fo r the mowing and at t h e ,

gro w ing wheat and barley . T hen they had a

go o d lunch an d the laird supplemented it by a
,

long comfortable S leep

,
. He was in hopes that
his absen ce would cause some uneasiness to his
wife —that she might perh aps fear somethin g
had happened ,
”
an d sen d to W i n t o u n House to

inquire after him . He awoke about thre e

o clock and asked if she had done so and Jamie
’

, ,

”
answ e red ,
No ,
with the utmost indi fferen ce .

T his want o f interest rat h er troubled him ,

bu t

there was n o c om fortable -

c ourse o pen but that
o f re t u rn in g h o me i n t h e m o st o rd i n ary manner .
1 3 8 T/
ze Fl wo er o
f Ga la Water .

He aske d Jamie to go with him an d Jam ie

,

said he had bee n waiting to do so . The ride

was a rather silent o ne . W hen all was said and
done W i n t o u n felt very like a puppet i n h is
,

’
un c le s hands ; and h e resented the positio n .

T here had bee n m oments th at day whe n h e had

longed to tell the laird th at he did not won de r
Katherine had resol v ed to choose a lover wh o m
he could not order or interfere with .

T hey found Mrs Brat h o u s an d Jessy

. T elfair

on a little lawn near the rose garden . It was

furnish ed with S heltere d seats an d a table an d ,

on fin e afternoon s Mrs Brat h o u s fre quently had .

tea ser v ed there . She smiled at her hu sband ,

and made r o om for h im on the rustic cou ch by

rem oving her work basket -
. He was n ot able to

resist this c h arming ad v an c e and seeing that ,

W i n t o u n was talkin g to Jessy h e kissed the ,

white hand that had prepared his place an d ,

said
Oh Helen , How could you be so cross this
mornin g ? I h av e h ad a m o st w r e tc h e d day .
 140 Tee Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Waler .

He is handsome and capti v atin g ; what

chan ce have I again st h im ? I h ave n othi n g to
/

put beside his rs o n al ad v an t ag e s

p e .

Oh Jamie W i n t o u n
,
You h ave a heart of
g o ld You are th e most un selfish soul that e v er
live d an d at the last Katherine m ust fin d ou t
,

”
how c aptivating this n oble n ature m ake s you .

Be fore he could an swer they saw the lovers

standing under the gree n roof of the m eeting
hazel boughs . A blackbird was fl u t i ng above
them recapturing again and again h is fe w de
,

li c i o u sly im pl o ring n o tes . M o wbray with lifte d

,

face was trying to imitate them his

, , arm was
aroun d Katherin e h er head was against h is ,

shoulder an d the bright sun shine sifting through

,

the green trees fell all over her fair br o wn hair ,

and sn o w white dress - .

Ter -
a -
tene ' Te r a- -
tene ! Ter -
a- ten e he
whistled s o ft and c lear but Katherine said
Yo u have not quite u nderst o od . I kn o w
w hat he says .

“
Then tell m e , deare st !
 ‘

T/
ze Fl wo er o
f Ga la Waler
’
. 14 1

I learnt the secret fro m the shepherds an d ,

the angels m ay h ave told them . For shepherds

out on the h ills all night do hear and see wo n

d e rfu l things . An d they h a v e known for hun

dreds of years what is th e sweet e ntreaty the
bla c kbird makes e v ery night an d morning .

”
“
An d now will you tell me
,
?

Liste n then ,
and in low mell o w thirds sh e
,

cha nte d the black b ird s mass ’

.

M ag d alen at Mi c h aels g at e ’

T i rle d at t h e p in ,

Th e blac k bi rd san k o n J o se p h t h o rn,

’
s

Let h e r in ! Let h e r i n

Th e ten der little prayer with its m o urnful

caden c e blende d with the pensive n o tes of the
bird an d whe n it was finished Mowbray kissed
,

th e lovely m o uth that had made it .

“
I will go back Jessy , ,
’
said W i n t o u n .

”
will wait by the raspberry bushes for you .

She u nderstood and made n o obj ection s an d ,

so lif t ing h ersel f the old world rhyme sh e went ,

s ingi n g it toward Kath erine .

”
an d
“
“
Th e laird is h o me , Sh e said , he is
 1 4 2 m Fl w
e o er
f
o Ga la Waler .

asking for y o u . And Jamie is by th e raspbe rry

bushes and you , two must c o me out o f Paradise
and be j ust common mortals again .

T hey cam e out with a sigh though h er kindly ,

imperativeness took away s o me of the senti

mental regret . And then sh e so m anage d th e
S ituation as to place Kath erine an d W i n t o u n
t o gether , w hile Sh e rather ostentatiously
walked at M o wbray s S ide Th e laird saw th em
’
.

approa c hing and his loose m outh pu c kere d and

,

his eyes sought some explanation from his

w ife . She was arranging the tea cups an d ,

as her hands m oved to an d fro , sh e said ,

swe etly
N ow, Alexander you m ust n ot be less than,

a gentleman . M r Mowbray has

. co m e to bid
by
’

y o u good -
. You gave h im welcom e for h is
’
father s sake do not sp o il your kindness at th e
last ho ur .

He had n o tim e to rebel agai n st th e c harge .

Mr Mow b ray s perfe c t man n er and courteou s

.
’

w o rds asked fo r the same return an d , w ith h i s

1 44 T/
ee Fl wo er o
f Ga la Wa ter .

father s oldes t friend’

. I can not n egle ct h is re

’ ”
quest and must ,
say farewell at o n ce .

He bowed to W i n t o u n thanke d the laird for ,

his hospitality an d the n turning to Mrs Brath

,
.

ous ga v e on e hand to her an d one to Katherine .

T here was not a word uttered by Kat h erine .

Mrs Brat h o u s spoke some hurrie d senten ces

.

that mean t n othing at all an d at the sam e time ,

answered his e ntreating eyes with a l o ok that

meant all he asked . His last glan ce was for
Kather i ne and h e ,
w as turn ing rapidly away ,

whe n Je ssy said

W ill you not S h ake han ds w ith m e also M r , .

Mowbray ? I thought I w as on e of you r fa v or

ites . Go od b y ! -
Be sure and write to us Fath er .

will want to kn ow if you forget Gala W ater .

She ga v e a m eaning to this inj un ctio n wh i c h

he unde rstood an d answered an d th en h e was
gon e an d th e tea had lost all fla v or and
, , th e

laird was gru ff an d inj ure d and had n o t h in g to

say ; an d the girls stole o ff to K at h e rln e s
’
roo m
to t al k ab o u t t h e l o ve r an d t h e t e le gram .
 Tae Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wafer . 14 5

He did no t look mu c h troubled ,

said Jessy .

P e ople do not as a rule worry about their , ,

’
fathe rs frie nds . You will get a letter to mor -

ro w . A love letter - ! Oh Katherine a love

, ,

lette r !

The girls lo o ked at each other with shining

eyes and the n sighe d for the very j oy of antici
,

p at i o n . T hey took a map an d a railway guide

and followed the lin e Mowbray would be likely
to take ; and Kath erine said over th e names of
the stations softly and musically . T hey were
little stations on a c rowde d m ap but th ey ,
w ere

clear and vivid to her eyes . She speculated as

to the m ome nt at which her lover would pass
each of them .

An d he will rea c h Mowbray abou t sunrise I ,

”
should think Jessy , ,
sh e said .

He rea c hed it in th at still chill h o ur before ,

sun rise ; th e village was asleep ; th e sheep on

the m ountain S lopes were asleep ; the silen c e
and m yste ry o f sleep br o oded ov er everythin g ,

ani mat e an d i n animat e . Mr . He we t t s h o u s e

’
14 6 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa ler .

was on the outskirts o f the place a pretty stone

.
,

d w elling in the midst of a flo w e r -

garde n . Mo w
bray opene d the gate an d with swift steps , ,

passed the flag g ed walk to the do o r . It stood

wide open . Mo w bi ay kn ew Mr H e wett s room .
’

and he we nt there . H e found his frien d S ittin g

by the open win dow an d evidently su ffering .

“
I saw thee com i n g Rich ard , ,
h e said .

I am s o rry Mr H ewett , .
; I am very sorry ,

indeed .

Nay ,
n ay , R ichard ! I have had m y h o ur ,

an d done m y work . I am ready to go as soon

as I have a bit of a tal k with thee . T ake th y
pen c il and write down what I say . W h y man ,

Ne v er look so scared . T here is n ot h ing to h urt

’
thee . I h a v e n t murder or th eft or anything
w i c ked to tell the e .

I am not fearing for mysel f .

I know . I ha v e heard tell I can fancy a .

bit m ore . A b o n ny lass —a J an fari e beauty .

T here ha v e bee n many of th em .

J Th e an fari e s

are a h an d s o m e lo t o f men an d w o me n . We ll
14 8 m Fl w
e o er
f
o Gala Water .

E nglish gentleman . W hen he was eighteen h e

was allowed to travel wherever h is fancy le d
h im . You r fathe r hope d to w eary out his
'

ro vi ng tempe r } o n th e c o ntrary it c o nfirme d it , .

H e came back with the w ild life of Califor nia

and Colorad o and T exas in the m iddle o f his
heart . T here was n o life w o rth li v in g but that
of an Indi an or a co w bo w . H e talke d to th e
squire until even he sometime s felt as if h e must
sell Mowbray an d go with his b o y t o the prairie s .

’
But the wish was only in th e squire s imagina
ti o n and it was his son s bloo d ’
. I ’
11 say this
the lad could n ot help it . It was his n atu re .

And at last his father underst o od that he could

n o more make an English squire out of T h omas

M owbray then h e could m ake a plow h orse out -

of a red deer . T hey did not quarrel or an grify

about it . T hey talked th e c ase sen sibly over in

my presence an d th e young man was glad
, to

take five th o usand pounds as his porti o n and g o

o ff with it to the W est to m ake his o w n li fe an d

~

”
be his o wn m aster .
 T/
ze Fl w o er o
f Ga la
‘

Wa ter . 1 49

A painful S ile nce follo w ed this story . Th e

lawyer breat h e d with di ffi c u lty and had been ,

obliged to rest frequently during its re c ital .

Richard sat with a troubled fa c e . He needed

no one to point out to him the unfortunate in
‘

fl u en c e this position would h ave on his relations

with Katherine . Th e laird would v ery j ustly
refu se to sancti o n an alliance while his s o c ial
standing was so undeterm ine d . H e looked
anx iously into the lawyer s face and ’

,
ask éd
“
W as no t this agreement formally au t h e n t i

c at e d

“
Certainly . I put it down myself in bla c k
and white and yo u r brother sign ed it
,
.

T hat is h e relin quished all

,
c laims on Mow
b ray for five thousan d pounds
”
Yes .

Then my title to Mowbray is c lear enough .

Your fathe r th o u ght so until j ust before his

death wh e n I was g o ing through
,
h is papers
with him . T hen th e real condition of th e agree
th e u t s t r u ck h i m : T h o mas M o w bray Was not of
1 50 Tee Fl w o er f
o Ga la Wafer .

age whe n he S igned it . A m inor c ould n ot

alienate his r ights . Th e transaction had bee n
”
con c luded three days too soon .

“
And you did n ot know this ?

Certainly I did not . W hether your father

’
had mistaken the date of his son s birth or
whether he o v erlooke d the c o n dition alt o gethe r
I do not know . I con fessed that it n ever oc

curred to me to question the maj ority of T h o mas

Mo wbray for travel had give n him a

,
v ery ma
ture appearan c e .

Had you n ot kn own h im all his life ?

By n o m eans . Until y o ur bir t h Squire ,

Mowbray s c arcely e v er lived at Mowbray .

His son T homas was n e v er h ere to m y knowl ,

ed ge but on the one oc c asion whe n he fre ely

,

resigned his right in the property for fi ve th ou

sand poun ds . I doubt i f th e villagers knew of
his existen ce . Th e action was in a c c ord with
his own ea rn est desire an d there was n othing ,

but a ffection in your father s willingness to ’

ac

cede to it . He wen t with his so n to L iverpool

 1 52 Tee Fl w
o er o
f Gala Wafer .

makin g any formal m em o randum o f th e agre e

ment . H e said it l o oked like a d o ubt of his s o n s ’

word . Whe n T h o mas signed the paper h e , g o t

up an d went to the w indow an d lo o ke d at n o th

ing rather than see h im do it H e always th o ught
.

’
for other people s feelings that way did y o ur ,

father .

“
And after all the agreeme nt is valueless ?
, ,

Quite so .

W hat w o uld y o u advise m e to do ?

You migh t go on as your father did .

N o —h e had a surety —o r at least h e thought , ,

he had one . I know I have n o ne . B esides I ,

cannot marry Miss J an fari e in a character wh ic h

”
m ay n o t be m ine .

Is Miss J an fari e marrying the Squire of

Mowbray or is she m arrying Richard Mo w
bray
“
T hat is a question by itself . Sh e supp o ses
I am the owne r o f M o wbray . H er guardian ,

even i n that p o siti o n obj ects , to me . To ask for

h e r h and i n any l o w e r o ne is to sub j e c t my s e l f
 The Flo w er o f Gala Waler . 1 53

to the rude ness of a very vulgar an d ill natured -

man .

W hat will you do, then ?

I must see my brother . T hough h e wish e d
to let his own right slip h e may now have sons ,

and d aughters , wh ose rights he will feel bound

to c onsider . I must see h im though I go to ,

T exas to do so . Have you any more certain

”
address ?
La Guadalupe an d San Antonio are enough ,

I should t h ink . I kno w none other .

”

”
T ex as is a large State .

“
From what I saw of T homas Mowbr ay I ,

should say it would take a very large State ,

in

deed to lose h im in it
,
.

T hen I shall fin d h im if he is alive . I must

fin d him .

“
Yes .
I am much of your mind . But go at
on c e an d ,
d on t dilly dally about it
’
- .

I wi ll stay with you as lon g as you n eed me .

I wan t n o on e with m e . I have lived alo n e .

I will die alone W he n Go d says ,

‘
Abraham
I 54 Tee Flo w er f
o Ga la Wa ler .

Hewett come ! I wish to be alon e with Go d

’
.
,

My dear lad at the last h our n o h uman creature

,

c an keep you compan y .

‘
T he re is n on e the n
lik e un to Him " f
I ha v e told thee all . Th e

case is in thy own hands now . Do what is right

”
w ith it .

Can you give m e any furth er advi c e i n th e

m atter
I sh o uld say trust thy brother . I think th o u
m ay do so . I do indeed ,
H e had his fathe r s ’

great heart . His wild nature was i n his bl o od ,

an d cam e through his moth er a very n oble

’
creature ,
I heard thy father call h er . Yes ,

R ichard I heard him whisper h er n am e on h is

,

deathbed . She was Squire Reginald s first love ’

.

An d th ere is a deal of som ething everlasting in

”
first love . You are a bit put about I se e ? ,

“
Yes I am M r Hewett
, ,
. . It is news I n ever
expe cted .

I know that . But it will turn m iddli ng well ,

J e re mi ah , x:6 .
 C H AP T E R V .

GU AD AL U P E AN D G A L A W ATE R .

Allh is i st le d w i th p assi o n at e th re at s
w o rd s b r —P h wau s '
.

S o m e m e n c an m o re e asi ly h o ld fi re i n t h e i r m o u t h s t h an
k ee p a sec re t W h at e v e r t h e y h e ar g e t s ab ro ad an d e x c i t es
.
,

t h e i r w o rld w i t h s u dd e n re p o rt s —P et ro m as A rbi t e r
'

. .

Mowbray left his friend s death roo m i n a ’

-

mood of mingle d sorrow and stress of e v e nts .

A great and sudden c loud had c ome ove r his

hopes an d all the lo v er i n him was angry at the
,

false p osition which his fathe r s blin d tru stful ’

ness or carele ssn e ss h ad induced . He d ro v e

very rapidly to h is h o me an d t h e b e au t i fu l park
‘

and stately buildin g lo o k e d mo r e d esir able t h a n

[ 1
56
1
 Th e Fl w
o er o
f Ga la Wa fer . 1 57

they h ad ever done before . Only yesterday his

sole thought with regard to Mowbray had b een
how best to adorn an d furnish it for his bride .

All through his midn ight j ourney h e had been

planning n ew de c orations ; an d now h e c ould
not e ven fe el as if it was c ertainly his h ome .

T his u nseen u nknown brother might yet c o v et

,

an d take possession of it .

During th e n ext two hours h e fought a great

battle with hi mself For a little while the .

meaner m an within him pleaded for his own

way . He said :
“
W hat your father did you ,

may surely contin ue . To attempt to alter what

he arranged is tantamount to a c c using him .

Your brother s righ t m ust ha v e lapsed

’
he has
on c e bee n fully paid for it and as for yourself , ,

ac k n o w l
’
you h av e always bee n your father s
edged he ir . No one could blame you for keep
ing what has been so long given to you . Amid
such ple adings it w as s o m e time befo re the
braver and n o bler s o ul c o ntendin g for th e ri gh t
co ul d O bt ain a h eari n g .
1 58 Th e Fl w o er
f
o Ga la PVa le r .

At last however Mow b ray rose like a m an

, ,

who has made a good de c ision .

“
I will go an d see Kathe rin e ,
he said . I
will tell he r e v e rything ; if sh e will wait until I
hav e foun d my brother and we have settled per
m an e n t ly the su c c ession of Mowbray I shall be ,

all the h appier for this proof of h er lo v e . But ,

wh ether or no I must see ,

T homas Mowbray ; I
must find out whethe r I be really Squire Mow
bray or only Ri c hard M o w bray
, ,
th e squire s ’

brother .

He spent the day in gi v ing in structions to his

steward ; in pro v iding himself with funds for
his propose d sear c h i n se curin g an early pas
sage , an d in ordering h is house for a few
’
months absen c e . T here were papers to destroy
and papers to write for h e belie v e d it to be ,

proper to lea v e beh ind him th e story of his

’

father s first m arriage an d the probable resi

den ce of the heirs fro m it in c ase of any ac c i ,

dent to himself .

Wh e n all d u tie s were p er fo rmed he le ft at

160 The Flo wer f
o Gala Water .

fe sso rs . Ho w ever ,
sir y o ur course is quite
,

c lear . You c annot ask the Laird o f Leven s

hope for the han d of his war d M iss J an fari e , ,

until your righ t in Mowbray is absolute an d u n

dou bted . W he n do you leave for Am e ri c a ?
“
T o zm o rro w afternoon if I can , S peak with
M iss J an fari e in time t o catch the steamer I .

expected t o see Miss T elfair I h ave been dis .

appointed .

My d aughter is at Le v en s h ope
- .
‘
Sh e w ill
’
return about eleven o clock . Kathe rin e w ill be
sure to c o n v ey her part of th e way h o m e . Wh y
not go and meet them ?
I will sir ,
.

You had better leave your horse here and

take the uppe r road .

H e nodde d pleasantly to the sugge st i o ns an d ,

followed both . The upper road was very pri

vate ; he would not be likely to m eet any one
on it unless it
, w as a shephe rd c oun tin g h is
flo c k or a little child going a m essage for its
m ammy . And from its elevation h e c o uld see
 Th e Flo w er f
o Ga la Wa fer . 1 61

the girls lea v e Le v ens hope ,

and so arrange
matters as to des c end to their le v el at the most .

fa v orable p oint .

All happe ne d as well as h e could ha v e desired .

Just be fore rea c hing th e stile by whi c h Lea v ens

wood was entered the girls began to linger ;

then they stood still an d it was e v ident Kath

,

erine was hesitating about her return and ,

equally e v ide nt that Jessy was urgin g her to go

bac k , for th e m idday sun was very hot and ,

there was n o S h ade after the wood was passed ,

the road then being a bare path over the m oun

tain b reast .

He foresa w that Jessy would gain her way ,

an d that h e migh t meet Katherin e at the stile

leading in to th e wood . So he hurri ed through
the tim b e r an d across the pat c h es of moss - be r

rie s an d whe n he rea c he d th e stone wall whi c h

,

enclose d the plantation he ,

s aw K atherine res t
ing be neath it . She sat upon the grass a large ,

tre e overshadowed h er an d she was almost up ,

to t h e chin in purple foxglove bells .

1 62 Th e Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Waler .

He c alle d he r and she stood up

, ,
eager all ,

attent all radiant wit h smiles

,
. Th e next mo
ment his arm was aroun d h er an d his face
again st her fa c e an d they were laughing s o ftly
,

together .

I knew you were coming ,

sh e whispere d .

I felt sure y o u were near m e .

For a few moments th eir rapture had th e per

fe c t i o n of all that is spontaneous . In the m
Mowbray forgot his anxiety an d Katherin efor
got her fears and her position . T he n c o n sid er
ation c am e an d for c ed them to realize that they
were yet boun d by m ortal c ond itions .

You must c ome with me to th e Sain t s W ell ’

’
my sweet Katherine ,
said M owbray . I h ave
something important to tell you an d th ere it is ,

”
not likely we shall be disturbed .

So still full of c hildlike happiness th ey went

, ,

han d in han d o v er th e stile an d through the ,

wood to th e glen wh ere the well drippe d i nto

its fern bordered basin
-
. Here there was a n at
ural seat formed by the r o cks an d carpeted wit h
1 64 Th e Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa t er .

distance — to presume nothing on th e past or to

take no advantage fr o m it . H e had withdrawn

a little from her side with his face slightly ,

d roppe d toward his folde d han ds .

Bu t as he pro c eeded Kath erin e wen t c lose to

,

him sh e took one an d th e n both his han ds in

hers ; she laid h e r head against h is shoulde r ,

and as h e finished his c on fession S h e kissed him .

”
“
You are d o ing quite righ t ,
sh e said . An d ,

pray what does it matter whether you are Squire

,

Mowbray or not ? You are Rich ard Mowbray

th at is enough for m e .

I shall be c omparati v ely a poor man if m y

”
brother asserts h is c laim .

W e ha v e enough and to S pare Ri c hard W e

“
, .

are ri c h Is it any matter whi c h of u s has th e

.

m oney ? I f I were th e minister s daugh ter with ’

out a penny of to c h er I am sure yo ti w o uld

,

gladly marry me
Go d kn o ws I would most gladly
, .

Do you think then that I am l e ss u ns e lfi sh

, ,

Yo ur gu ardi an — «
a
 Th e Fl w o er
f
o Ga la PVa ler . 1 65

W ill make trouble u nder any c ir c umstan c es .

He says that if I do n ot m arry Mr W i n t o u n by .

the end of September h e will send me to s c hool ,

or m ake me a chancery ward or do some other ,

impro b able or disagreeable thing . I am not

afraid of him ; yet I must a ffe c t to a c quies c e or ,

else face a sea of trouble s an d annoyances Can .

”
you b e bac k before that date ?
I f I am ali v e I will be ba c k
,
.

I shall the n be within S ixteen m onths of my

eman c ipation . I S sixtee n months too long a
b ridal trip in c ountrie s where h e c annot follow
”
an d interfere with us ?
My lo v e My lo v e How happy you make
me
You u nderstand then ? ,
I will be you r wife
whe n y ou return . I do not c are whether you
are squire or master . I do not care for a splen
did wedd ing . Je ssy an d I an d you an d the min
ister are e nough Mamm a will give us h e r
.

c onsent an d h er blessing and th e blessing or ,

ba nn in g of Mr Brat h o us w ill mak e n o di ffer e nce

. .
 1 66 Th e Fl wo er o
f Ga la Wa ler .

Do your part dear Ri c hard do it h o norably

, , ,

as you wish to do it an d whethe r it leaves , y o u

ri c h or poor you ,
w ill be j ust as welcome to m e .

You dear b ra v e girl I feared you wo uld

“
,

No Richard
, , y o u did n ot fear I w o ul d fail
you in the least . You know better . As for
Mowbray if it is yours I S hall b e glad
, ,
fo r your
sake . If it is not we will buy a lovely site an d
,

build up a far finer h ome . Be true to m e ,

darling ; that is all I ask .

T hey lingere d until mid aftern oon -

in the
lonely wood saying o v er an d o v er th e sam e
,

fon d words ; gi v ing again an d again th e same

strong assurances . But at last M owbray kne w
that they must part . T here w ere n o tears an d
no la m entations Katherine was c hee rful to the

last moment and ,

Sh e sent h im away with a

heart tuned to sweetest accord with he r own .

An d all things no w see m ed possible an d all

things endurable for he felt sure that w h atever h e
,

m ight lose Katherine was his own f o rever

,
. She
h ad heard h i s st o ry wi t h o ut on e d oubt ; Sh e h ad
1 68 Th e Flo w er o
f Ga la Wa ler .

ideas expan ded his m in d enlarge d

,
h e searche d
his mem o ry c o ntinually for n ew w o rds to ex
press his em oti o ns . But whe n h e breathe d at
last th e w on dr o us air of W e stern T exas , an d
tasted the freed o m of its life h e had not a doubt ,

or fear left ; For his wish had be c ome an i n dif

ferenc e .

If T homas d o es wan t Mowbray ,

h e th ought ,

he can h ave th e place an d all th at belongs to

it . Kath erine and T exas would be j oy en ough
for on e m ortal . W e will m ake our bridal trip
here and choose some n oble location with wide ,

horizon s an d lofty skies an d so build in para ,

dise . Oh h ow the Flowe r of

,
G ala W ater would
bl o o m on the b orders of these h on eysu c kle d
creeks pontoone d over with lilies
,

An d the idea so en amored h im th at he alm ost

hoped his brothe r would ha v e a h anke ring for
the gray old house of Mowbray with its h om ely ,

—
air of Northern lands w o uld remember fon dly
the little ri v er flashing past it in swirls o f b roke n

w ater full of g o o d bull trout ; an d th e r o un de d

 Th e Fl wo er
f
o Ga la Wa ler . 1 69

hills on wh i c h the plaide d sh epherds w atched

patiently their flo c ks of wandering sheep .

I n San Antonio h e foun d his first di ffi culty .

No one knew a Mr . T homas Mowbray and peo ,

ple s m ile d when th ey were aske d to remember

some one whose latest record there dated back
se v en tee n years .

Our population drifts a good deal ,

said the
hotel keeper
-
,
“
but I would trust to the Guada

lupe Valley for if h e on c e lived there I re c kon

, ,

you couldn t ge t him ’

to live l ong anywhere
else .

So Mowbray rode into the rich upper v alley

of th e S parkling Guadalupe . He could not
a void the fe elin g that he was again in Gree c e .

Th e sky was the same the climate was the ,

same an d when he passed Kerrville he was sure

,

it ought to h ave bee n called Ath ens . At four

di ff ere nt farms h e calle d an d aske d after his
br o ther . But th e n ame o f Mowbray seemed
quit e u n fam iliar . One o wner w as a Spanish

g
e n tl em an , an d he co uld no t w ell say the word
1 70 Th e Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa t er .

Mowbray ; another was a G erman , wh o gave

it an un pronounceable a c ce nt . A S c otchm an at
”
the third farm said h e “
d idn a k e n th e m an .

An Am erican at the fourth “

re ckoned Se ilor
‘

T omaso at the n ext farm m igh t re member as ,

he was the o ldest settler in the valley .

So Mowbray rode forward to the h ou se pointed

out to him . I n the clear atmo sphere it looke d
c lose at hand but it was really a distan c e o f six
,

miles .

’
I d ask y o u to stay till m o rning stranger , ,

said his dire ctor ,

but you ’
11 get better quarters
’
at the se lf or s He is always ready for com pan y
’

.
,

”
and set up beyond e v eryth ing with a stranger .

Jus t b efore sunset Mowbray reached the

’
s e fi o r s h ouse . I t was a v ery h andsom e pla c e ,

with deep latti c e d galleries and a tangle o f

sweet herbs and shrubs all aroun d it . A n egro
boy took his horse and sh owed h im a little path
that led to the prin c ipal e ntrance . As h e fol
l o w e d it he h eard the tinkle o f a guitar an d the
fe e t an d v o ices o f ch ildr e n play i n g on th e
1 72 Th e Flo w er o f Gala Wa ler .

Mow b ray rose and looked at th e ad v an c in g

man . Nothing in this home i n di c ate d any cer

tainty of in formation and yet he felt as if h e ,

was on the ve rge of the information he wan ted .

The se nor was c oming through th e Shrubbery ,

and it was nearly dark bu t he could see a tall , ,

s t out figure that walked leisurely an d lifted h is

head expe c tantly as he began to m ount th e
piazza steps . T hen two little childre n rush ed
forward to m eet him an d h e seem e d satisfied , .

He delayed a m oment to kiss th em and cam e ,

into the house h olding a han d of ea c h .

Th e candles were lit as h e entered th e parlor ,

and his hat h ad bee n left in the h all . Ri c h ard

looke d at him an d without a m om ent s he sita
,
’

tion put out his h an d and said

Brother Brother T homas

Wh y , Go d bless my soul this is littl e D i c k

, !

Di c k ! Di c k ! I f an angel fro m h ea v en h ad
c alle d I c ould not be m ore surprise d and de
lig h ted . Dolore s ! D olores ,
c ome h ere ! T his

is my br o ther ‘
Yo u never h eard f h im ? I
’

. o
 Th e Fl w o er
f
o Gala Wa le r . 1 73

kno w you did n ot . But it is Di c k . I am sure

i t isW h y you are the very pi c ture of our
.
,

father Di c k ! ,

Nature had instantly spoke n for ea c h Richard .

felt a strong drawing toward this brother who ,

looke d at him i n suc h a fath erly way and

T homas was n ot ashamed to take the handsome
youth to his breast an d kiss h im .

I am old enough to be your father D i c k , ,

an d I ha v e n ever been able to think of you ex

cept as the pretty boy whose pi c ture father sen t
me . He sent your mother s also ’

, .

She is dead lo n g ago . Father die d last

Christmas .

Go d give them peace fore v er . And you

ha v e thought of m e and c ome all this way to see
y o ur prodigal brother ? W h y Di c k it is the
, ,

”
best n ews I co u ld ever have .

T he n h e calle d together all his family an d ,

with m arke d pride introduced his el d est d au gh

ter Jesuita
,
. It w as her guitar Mowbray h ad
heard ,
bu t th e sight o f a stranger had sent h er
1 74 Th e Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa ler .

away until sh e understoo d h ersel f to be th e

nie c e of the S plen did youth who dared to kiss
her heek with such very E n glish e su m p
c p r

tion .

No lo v elier type of a m ixe d ra c e c ould have

been foun d in all the South than Jesuita M ow
bray . Her un c le wat c hed her with a d elighte d
curiosity . She was so ind o le ntly gra c e ful that
her movements had a rhyth m like m usic .

Ne v er before had he seen a c omplexion so like a

lily - —
leaf blush ing to dazzling c armine su ch large ,

S lumbrous d ark eyes — su c h purple bla c k hair

su h full red
c —
lips su c h small dimpled h and s
,

su c h languors an d su c h c oquetries ! A wom an

more c ompletely th e antipodes of the bright ,

fres h alert Kath erine it would be impossible to

,

imagine . Th e one was like a tropi c al j asmin e ,

hea v y with s c ent wh ite with ,

S hade lo v in g th e
,

moonligh t and the passion ate songs of th e

mo c king b irds . Th e other was like th e blue
bells o f the Norther n mou ntain s ; elegant ,

mobile responsive to every breath

, o f the fres h
 1 76 Th e Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa ler/

T hen it is all right yet T h o m as M owbray

fell fre qu ently into silen ce s wh ich he sudde nly
broke with a forced laugh or j o ke an d as soon
as supper was o v er and the ladie s and ch ildre n
had gone to their apartm en ts he took his brothe r ,

to an upper gallery apart from th e other gal

le ri e s , and only approache d through a roo m
wh i c h h e lo c ked beh in d them .

T here was a glorious full m oon an d the l o vely ,

land lay bathed in its light . Far o ff the

mo c king birds were singing in the woody
b elt that followe d th e ri v er ,
an d from th e
c abin s there c am e the e c hoes of a banj o or a
man dolin .

“
Sit down Di c k, ,
he said pointing to a rude
,

but c om forta ble chair ; and the n h e brough t

another from a S hady c orner and pla c e d himself
”
c lose to his brother . Smoke Dick , ? h e asked ,

and Di c k n odded and took out his c igar c ase .

T homas lit a pipe an d put his feet i nto a com

fo rt ab le position . Now m y boy we can talk
, , .

What brought y o u to se e me ? Sh o w m e T ru t h
 Th e Fl w
o er o
f Ga la Wa t er . 1 77

’
and I don t m ind how ugly she is . I will gi v e
her a fair hearing .

I ha v e told you that our father is dead . I

am suppose d n ow to be Squire Mow b ray . I am
not . You are the squire .

T homas pu ffed his pipe a little qui c ker and said ,

W ell ? Go on . W h o told you so ? ”

Lawyer H ewett .

I f any stranger knows anything about it he ,

does .

“
Yes but I did not know u ntil last month
, ,

T homas . I n deed I did not know of your exist

,

en c e u ntil then . So I am not to blame if I

usurped your right .

“
I sold m y right . Father bought my birth
right .
I was a son of Ishm ael ; he c ould not
make an English gentleman of me .

B ut the sale was not legal . Hewett told me

it was made while you were a minor . It amounts
”
to n oth ing .

Go d in h eave n I t a m o u n ts to all I signed

”
i t fo r .
1 78 Th e Fl wo er o
f Gala h Va ler .

Do no t be angry ,
T h o mas . Th e que stion is
to com e be fore a m an who knows noth in g of
you and wh o hate s me
,
.

T h en Mowbray told h is brother about Kath

erine J an fari e and h er guardian an d ,
T h o mas

grasped the sit u ation at o nce .

I un derstan d ,
h e an swered . Dick I was,

at M o wbray last May You were in Scotlan d at .

—
the time Some one I suppose it was H ewett
.

sen t me the newspaper wh ich con tained a

’
n oti c e of my father s death an d I j u st to o k a ,

run o v er to see th e old place . W he n I got there

I did not feel as if I bel o nged to it at all . Th e

only spot of land that c laime d m e was my

’
father s gra v e . I stayed at th e inn in Mowbray
v illage for three d ays an d n o one kne w me —not
e v en old He w ett .

“
Yet the place is legally yours ,
T hom as .

I h ave sworn it is not . I m ay h ave a right

to a place in the Mowbray vault . I have no
ot her righ t . Th e place is yours D ick , ; an d I
w ill go with you to San Antoni o an d m ake it
1 80 Th e Flo w e r o
f Ga la Wa ler .

Look north and south east an d west an d the , ,

land is mine farther tha n you c an see . T his

di v in e sky this h eavenly

,
c limate this life of
,

indi v idual freedom an d nation al liberty are

mine ! I b uilt t h is fair wide spreading house
,
-
,

and n o one but myself and my wife an d children

ha v e li v e d in it . Its rooms have n o sad m em
o ri e s — no writings on the wall against us .

Death is no t forespoken for us nor e v il fate by ,

wraiths linge ring for th eir re v enge . I w as o

p
pressed by the spiritual in fluen c e of th e MO W «

brays i n their an cien t hom e . I c ould not live in

it . I do not belong to the family . Neith er does
England please m e no w . Th e rain s an d fogs
and wailing winds made m e wretched . I was
hungry for sunshin e that h ad life an d glory in
it . My boy I am sorry for you
, . I wish you had
an inh eritan e in c Te a -
v irgi n fields an d an
unhaunted house . But e v ery m an m ust dree
his de stiny .

I c an be happy any where with Kath erin e .

T hat is th e right S pirit . To -

m orr o w w ew ill
 Th e Flo w er o
f Ga la Wa l r e .

go i nto San Anton io an d I will quit myself an d ,

my childre n fc re v e r of the Mowb ray pla c e It .

is not ours . W e h ave n o n atural right in it .

Come c loser bro t her for I must not lose you

, ,

again . W e had the sam e good fath er . Are you

happy n ow Di c k ,

“
Very h appy . To - morro w I will begin to go
ba c k to Katherine . But ,
T homas , I will bring
her h ere to see you . W e will turn our fa c es to
the Guadalupe as soon as we are married . I think
Alexander Brat h o u s will n ot follo wus to T exas .

T h ree me n kept this secret Di c k for thirty , ,

years . I wonder h ow l o ng three women could

”
hav e kept it .

“
T h re e women I think kno w it n ow
, ,
. I told
Katherin e an d aske d her to tell her mother an d
, ,

I am sure sh e would also tell her friend Jessy ,

T elfair . T h e re is n o reason why our relation

S hip should n ot be a c knowledged . For m y part ,

I W i sh your h o n o r and u n se lfi s h n e ss to be widely

made public . I am pr o ud of such an elder
”
br o th er .
1 82 Th e Fl w er f o o Ga la Wa f er .

T hese are fine words an d I like ,

to h ear the m
fro m you Di c k ,
. And to have fou n d you j ust
su c h as you are is better than to fi n d a fortun e .

I am prou d of you . Not every young fellow

would ha v e tra v elled n early five th ousan d miles
to be sure he was right .

To -
morro w then I m ay begin to go h ome
, , .

You know why witho u t apologie s .

To -
m orrow by sun ,
-
u
p, we w ill turn to th e
east . W e may be delaye d some days in San
Antonio . The man I want m ay n o t be there or ,

h e may be si c k or b usy or n ot i n the moo d for ,

business . Bu t we m ust do the thin g right an d ,

then it will n ot be to do again . D o you fear

what th ree wome n may do or say in your ab
”
sen c e ?
No . Non e of the thre e will say a word
m ore than truth . I do not fear the truth .

But it was not n ece ssary for any of th e three

women to speak a word to set trouble brewing .

Th e tele gram fr o m a dying lawye r an d Mow ,

bray s hurrie d resp o n se t o it in fla m e d t h e sm all

’

.
1 84 Th e Fl w o er
f
o Gala Wa ter .

Yet h e heard the story o f th e telegram w ith

some interest .

I f the lawye r was dying h e didn a se n d for

the lad without good and su fficient reaso n ,
he
said .
“
But the reas o n isna bou n d to be a bad
one be c ause it is the outcom e of a lawyer s min d ’
.

However laird I will go to M o wbray if

, , y o u

wish and fi nd it
,
if so th ere be anythi n g to
o ut ,

find out .
—
Of course there will be expenses m y
time an d fares an d hotel bills an d ,
so forth .

If y o u fin d o ut anything to build a wall be

tween Miss J an fari e an d th at y o ung ne er d o ’

-

weel I will not c o unt a few poun ds h ere o r there

, ,

”
Langton .

“
And I will gie you a bit 0
’
advice with o ut
,

c harge this time ,

-

, laird : d in na call a m an a
h pro v e the count
’ ’
ne er do weel unless you
- -
ca .

Th e word m ay not be action able but j uries are ,

kittle cattle an d b o rder j uries di n n a like ill

,

names . T hey will pass by a few h ard knocks

readier .

D o n t you trouble y o ursel f L a n gt o n , . I w ill

 Tee Fl w er f
o o Gala Waf er . 1 85

j us t c all my enemies wh at I like to c all them .

I can pay for all the bad words I c hoose to

”
say .

D o o t le ss laird an d you ll pay bad words

’

, ;

easier than you pay bad blows . T ake your

’
guinea s worth of th em if you want to . I 11
’
go
and see what I c an find out against the hand
some lad— for h e is h andsome an d that is no ,

”
lie .

Yo u need not say so in my presence .

’
I 11
’
say th e truth in any man s presence .

”
If nobody pays you to lie .

Just sae laird ,

. I say th e truth to please
mysel ’
. I lie to please my clients an d they pay ,

me for it . At th e lang en d the great Judge

w i lln a m ak much di fferen ce between lawyer
an d lient an d in the meantime I hae the
'

c ,

S iller . He laughe d softly to him self ,

and
began to pa c k a valise . Now lair d for the
, ,

expen ses T his

is a very u ncertain j o b ; I ll ’
.

give n o credit fo r expenses .

So th e laird drew o ut his long silk purse and

1 86 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la

counted out t w enty pounds an d ve ry black an d

,

ugly h e was about it .

A week aft erward M rs Brat h o u s an d K . at h e r

ine were together in th e large parlor ope ning

into th e rose garden -
. Katherine was dressed
for her pony and sh e stood by he r m o th er s
,
’

sid e with her soft riding hat in h er han d

,
-
. Mrs .

Brat h o u s was pat c h ing bits of m an y col o ure d -

satins togeth er an d the me dley of rich tints lay

,

on her lap an d on the carpet at h er fe et . T he y

w ere talking about M owbray an d of th e earliest ,

date at which a letter fr o m New York m igh t be

expected . T heir lo w , pleasant laughter fell
’
upon the laird s ears as h e opene d th e door .

T hen he pursed up his lip s an d trie d to l o ok at

once mysteriously angry an d mysteri o usly i m
portant .

Kath erin e ,
he said ,
you n ee d no t leave th e
ro o m whe n I enter it . T hat is a ve ry rud e h abit
o f you rs and m ust be amended
, . An d to d ay -

you cann ot g o to th e m an se . T he re is far to o

m uch n onsen se betwee n you and j essy T el fair .

1 88 Tee Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa fer .

H o w do you know h e is no t?

Simon Langton has been to Mowbray . He

got there j ust afte r the funeral of th e lawyer
who telegraphe d for Mowbray . Th e so - c alled
squire had not e v e n the decen c y to wait for his
frien d s death
’
. He heard wh at Mr H ewett h ad .

to say and le ft that

,
v ery nigh t for America .

W hat do you th ink of that ma a m ,

’
P

I think he h ad good reasons for all h e did .

To be sure h e did . Langton rubbe d the

innkeeper s m emory wit h a so v ere ign an d th e
’

man reme m b ered that an Ame ri c an h ad been

there in the sprin g -
he was sure he was an
Ameri c an —but whoe v er h e w as , he we nt to the
’
dead squire s gra v e m ore than on c e an d ga v e ,

Dabby T horn , the h ousekeeper a m atte r of , fiv e

pound s for lea v e to go through th e h ouse . W hat

”
do you think of that ma a m P ,
’

It w as all right an d natural en ough .

Natu ral ! I should say so . It is L angto n s ’

belie f that h e was the real heir . H e foun d an

o ld w o ma n k ni t tin g i n th e su n sh i ne ,
w h o t ol d
 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la PVa z er
‘
. 1 89

him she re colle c ted the dead squire bringing

home a very h andsom e lad who ,
c alled h im
’
fath er be fore e v er this Ri c hard Mowbray was
,

born . Langton has gone to Edinburgh to in

v e s t i g at e the life of Squire Reginald Mowb ray .

I ha v e sent h im . I remember that whe n we

were youths at c ollege Mowbray h ad a bad n ame
about wo m en . W hat did that ring mean he
sent th e minister ? It is a b la c k b usiness . I
h av e n o d oubt this young Mowb ray knew all
ab out it ,
bu t he thought Ameri c a was too far o ff
”
to gi v e him trouble .

Do not for h ea v en s sake Alexander make

,
’

, ,

yourself a b igger fool than n ature has already

m ade you said Mrs Brat h o u s rising and put
.
,

ting aside h er satin c ir c les . W h y should you

rake among th e ashes of th e dead for presumed
wrongs P Paying good m oney to tha t s c oundrel
Langto n to dis c o v er se c rets that n e v e r were
se c rets at all .

Mrs Brat h o u s
.

N o n se n s e W h y did y ou pay good mo n ey

1
9 0 T/
ee Fl w o er
f
o Ga la 17Va le r .

for su c h c ontemptible inquiries ? I f you h ad

om e with your i m e or to Katherine

‘

c
q u e s t o n s to

or to the minister or to Je ssy we any of u s , , ,

c ould h a v e t old you what y o u ha v e been digging

like a very ghoul to find out . Bla c k busi
ness indee d ! Katheri n e ,
m y dear ,
go an d
take your ride . W h y should you be d i sap

pointed
Katherine c annot go .

Katherine do as I tell you

, .

T hen , as the d oor c losed sh e laid h er h an d

,

’
upon her h usban d s arm an d sai d with a still ,

passion that he always respe c ted

“
Brat h o u s sit down an d be quiet or I will
, ,

lea v e your house this hour T hen you will h a v e

the whole c ountry side talking of you an d Sim on
Langton . Be fore going to Am erica Mr Mow .

bray c ame here he saw Katheri n e an d told h er

the whole train of c ir c umstan c es whi c h m ad e it
proper for h im to take th e j our n ey . He told
the m to Do c tor T elfair also . Kath erin e an d I ,

Doct o r T elfair an d Jessy have talke d the m over ,

1 92 o we
Tae Fl r of Gala Wa ter .

T hen he began to whimper an d th e st orm ,

was o v er .

A dead silence follo w e d . Mrs Brat h o u s t o ok

.

up her satin pie c es again but in a ,

w eary , de
presse d fashi o n and the laird sat sulki n g and
,

S ighing in h is big c h air by th e open win

dow .

He had the curiosity o f a peasant an d th e sen

s it i v e pride of a small conceite d n ature ,
. He
wanted his wife to tell h im the se cret an d sh e
,

sat silently m atching bits of satin . She was un

touched by his air o f inj ury an d not to be led ,

into c onversation by any i rrele v ant rem ark .

At last h e was fully con quere d and ready to

ca
p i t i i
lat e . Silence w as th e on e th ing h e co ul d
not endure .

Helen , h e said , you know it is your duty

to tell your own husban d everything .

I know my duty Alexand er—duties vary ,

with husban d s .

“
W hat is the secret my d ear ? ,
I ough t to

know it . Now ,
o ugh t I not ?
1 94 T/
ze Fl w er f
o o Gala Wa fer .

family likely to be allie d with her o Wn ; an d sh e

j udge d that the m in iste r s in fluence w o uld be ’

su fficient to m ake her husban d prudent u ntil

the tim e c ame to speak . So she fin ally said
W h en did Langton go to Edinburgh P ”

”
T his m orning .

If you will telegraph h im to ret u rn at o n ce ,

and make him keep absolutely quie t ab o ut Kath

erine an d M r Mowbray I will tell you all
.
,
.

Th e pledge was readily given an d th e pr o m ise

fully performed . Th e laird h ad a de lightful
afterno o n discussing th e c ircumstan ces with his
wif e . He eve n felt a sort of temporary kind
ness for the young m an so sudde nly fa c e d with
su c h a calamity . For Brat h o u s c o uld really
h ardly c on c ei v e of a greater m isfortune coming
to any one than to be in a m oment dep o se d from
the elder to th e se c ond so n , an d thus fall fr o m a
landowner to a plain perh aps a po o r gentlem a n
, .

Yet in spite of h is professe d sympathy ,

be was
co m forted by t h e situation . F o rtu ne h ad never
dared to play the laird of Leve ns h o pe such
-
a
 Tao Fl w
o er
f
o Gala Wa fer .

trick an d,
fo r several hours h e tossed his head
both at fortun e and the poor disinherited squire ,

of M o wbray . H e talke d with Mrs Brat h o u s .

until he was tire d and then the d esire to talk

,

w ith some one else was irresistible . He said h e

would j ust walk over and see the minister
about the n ew psalm b o oks and his wife an -
,

sw e re d

“
Keep to the psalm books Alexan der -
,
. You

kno w wh a
t you ha v e promised m e . And see
that y o u go to Galashiels an d sen d the telegram
to Langton .

He promised all things positively an d she had ,

not muc h doub t that his c onfiden c e w o uld be

rest ric t ed to the minister who was very well ,

able to take care of what had been c ommitted to

him . An d she did think the withdrawal of
Langton fro m his scr u tiny of the late S quire s ’

youthful life was a thing Mr Richard Mowbray .

w o uld be grateful for . T here might in deed be

n o thing to reveal an d again there might
, ; few
m e n w o u ld care to h ave the days of th eir first
1 9 6 Tae Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa ter .

entrance int o life set in the searchlight of public

o pini o n . S o Brat h o u s w en t to call up o n D o c t o r
T elfair , an d after a slight in quiry ab o ut the n ew
psalm books plunged at once into the subj e ct
-
,

pressing upon h im .

I kn o w what t o ok young M o wbray to Amer

”
ica doctor an d I presume
, , y ou do , to o , h e said ,

with an air of mystery .

W ell then , ,
we will no t talk o f th e m atter ,

lai r
d . It is not yet the time to do so . W he n
the young man comes ba c k I am ready t o speak .

’
An d the doctor s face was so final and his
voice so im perative that Brat h o us felt him self
retired beyon d contro v ersy . But as h e r o de
to Galashiels to sen d his telegram h e taste d in ,

ad v an c e the triumph it would b rin g him .

First , h e m used , Langt o n will have to

~

re fu nd the m o ney I ga v e him fo r e x p e n s e s , an d

he hates to gi v e m oney ba c k . Se cond I sh all ,

ma
ke him feel his shortc o m ings . I shall say
Langt o n I , h ave f o un d o ut with m y o wn go o d
s n e se an d p o we r o f p ut t i ng t h is and th at to
 C HAP T E R VI .

T H E O L D P RO OSE
P .

Th e ro m an c e w e lo ve i s t h at w h ich w e w r t e ini o ur o w n
”
h e art .

”
i
T h e E d e n w e lv e i n i s i n o ur o w n h e art .

I n the m orning the laird felt the n e cessity fo r

a further discussion of the remarkable family

in c iden t to be still m ore pressing ; an d Mrs .

Brat h o u s was so provokingly in di ffere nt that he

was sure h e had a j ustifiable excuse for going
to W i n t o u n H ouse . He dallie d with his co n

science h owever all the

, , w ay there assu ring it
,

f
’
that he would n ot say a w ord o M o wbray s
affairs unless he saw they were going
, to inte r
fere with his own a provis o which ,
o pen e d the
door for any am o unt of g o ssipin g .

[ 1
9 ]
8
 Tae Fl w
o er o f Ga la I Vazer / ’
. 1
99

W i n t o u n wh o was a fine musician was at his

, ,

pian o an d the laird could hear him singing as

, ,

he approa c hed the h o use , singing loud and

clear
L o ve in h er su n n v e yes d o e s b as ki n g p lay .

I used to sing that song myself on c e ,

th e
lairdcomplacently reflecte d Jamie h as not a .

very comm anding voi c e I sing better yet than .

”
he does .

But h e did n ot tell W i n t o u n this . He talked

to h i m a little about b o rder ballads saying ,

T hey are very romantic an d stirring Jamie , ,

and i f one c o uld h ave an ac c ompaniment o f gal

loping horses to them they would be j ust pe r ,

fe e t but I c an tell you J am i e t h e re is more , ,

'

rom an ce in every day life if you happen to come

-

”
its way .

I have n ever h appened on anything but the

”
most prosaic existe n c e answere d Jamie so I , ,

am glad t o sing T h e B raes of Yarrow or the

‘
March ! March ! of E t t e ri c k and T eviot

Me n
 zoo Tao Fl w o er o f Gala Wa t er .

Tu t T u t ! T hat is the roman c e of bygone

days not of the same material n or th e sam e
,

c o lor as this life and so n o thin g but a bright

,

patch on it . N o w, there h as been a strange

story right under y o ur eyes lately Jam ie an d , ,

”
y o u never read a line of it .

A strange st o ry u nder m y e y e s P

Yes ; but it took the pe netrati o n o f a far

seeing m an like mysel f t o read that fellow M ow
bray .

W i n t o u n s bright face cl o ude d an d he

’

, an

sw e re d in a t o ne that was al m o st sulky

I w ould rather y o u choose s o me oth er sub
j ect fo r our c o nversation un cle
‘

, .

I have s o mething particular to tell you about

”
the man .

I w ould rather h ear noth ing at all ab o ut him .

His life does no t concern me .

But it concerns m e as Katherine s guardian ’

.

I never like d Mowbray an d my s u spi c ion s ab o ut ,

him have t u rne d o ut to be correct . He w ill get

some plain words fr o m m e the n ext time he
 T/ Fl w Waler
'

20 2 ze o er o
f Ga la .

Sorry in d ee d
,
It is a gran d t hing fo r a
girl to be take n out of the temptation of su ch a
like scoundrel . I h ope h e will stay h is life tim e
in America . T here is now n othing between
y o u and Kath erine Jam ie an d th e so o ne r
, , y o u

”
are m arried the better .

Jamie d id n ot an sw e r a word .

Do y o u not think so
No .

I am sure I might as well live betwee n th e

devil an d the deep sea as betwee n you an d
Katherine . Neither of you kn o ws your own
m i nd two days together .

’
Katherine s m ind is m y m ind . Can I m arry
her against her de sire ? No sir
,
. I will n ot ,

upon my honor ! I am tired of the w h ole sub

j ect .

T ired of Katherine ?

Yes if , y o u like to tak e it so . I am t ire d of

being le c tured and advised an d plann e d for .

Yo u have no right to i n te rfere between Kath

erine an d myself . It is a piece of m e ddles o m e
 T/
ze Fl w
o er
f
o Gala Wa ter . 203

1 m p e rt i n e n c e to fix any on e s wedding day for ’

-

them . I f Kath erin e and I n ever marry it is ,

your fault e ntirely uncle , ,

.

Katherin e would h ave married you if that

sc o un drel Mowbray had n ot come this way .

Confoun d th e m an ! An d c on fou n d the min

ister for bringing him to Levens h o pe -
!
“
S w ear at your enem ies to their fa c es and
not behind th eir backs — that is the way of the
bor d er . I w ish the subj ect of my m arriage to be
dropped . I will not ha v e it s poken of in my
house again u ntil it can be discusse d in a di ffer
ent spirit .

Perhaps you would rath er dis c uss the sub

ject of your o v erdue m ortgage on W i n t o u n
House
“
Yes I would
,
. Let m e k now the worst of
th e m atter . I am tired of th at threat also , .

How soon do you inten d to foreclose ? I will

roup m y whole estate an d go to India with the
residue rather than be h ectore d and threatened
”
by you any l o nger .
2 04 Tae Fl w o er
f
o Gala Wa fer .

W ell sir I will threaten no m ore

, , ; I will

T hat is a threat also .

You will find out . I f I did righ t I would

take my walking stick an d give -
y o u th e beating
I ought to have given y o u pretty often when
y o u w ere a po o r silly frien dless boy
, ,
.

Jamie smiled and l o oke d at th e bla c kthorn

’
shaking in h is uncle s h and . H e h ad n o fear of
that threat and he did not n otice its futile bra
,

vado . He opene d the parl o r d o or and b o wing ,

p o litely a n swered
,

W hen you can visit m e in a m ore reasonable

temper u n c le I will gladly receive you
, , . Silly
I have ofte n been but n e v e r p o or or frien dle ss ;
and that I have not m any m ore frie n ds is en

”
t i re ly yo ur fault .

Do you order m e out o f the house ? W hat

do you m ean sir by standin g with the open
, ,

d o or in you r h and ? Shame ful ! Sham eful

W e will both of us go out of th e h o use u ncle , .

Y o ur h o rse is w ai t ing and a gallop o ver t h e , h ill s

20 6 T/
ze Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa t er .

hi rn to decide for him

-
. Ch oosi n g was always
a di fficult me ntal exercise an d h is hesi tation ,

was real an d pain ful . Indee d Jamie W i n t o u n

,

was one of th ose m en for whom it is “

n ot good
to be alone . A quie t sit with his own heart ga v e
him no h elp he longe d for some o ne to talk to .

And his first th ough t was Jessy T el fair . He

knew th at h e c ould tell her all that troubled
him . Sh e lo v e d Katherin e an d sh e u nde rstood
him an d he resol v ed afte r lu n c h to go to the
,

manse an d ask J essy to take a w alk with h im .

As they straye d about the hills Jessy would gi v e

him th e best ad v i c e about Katherine for he was ,

tired of trying to think out the puzzle by him

self . He had gi v e n it up an d was ready to be
informed an d dire c ted .

Just as he was s itting d o w n to lun c h an old

gentleman distan tly relate d to th e VVi n t o u n s

c alled upon him and Jamie was bound both

, ,
by

his in clin ations and h is interest to be h o spi ,

table an d attentive to h im . So h e was mu ch de

layed by th e visit an d th e aftern oon , w as wel l
 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Gala Water . 20 7

a dvanced whe n he left W i n t o u n House . Be

t ween i t and the manse there was a little wood ,

an d , as the day was sunny he took the path ,

thr o ugh it . It w as a path absolutely p rivate

an d only use d by the fam ily an d friends of
Brat h o u s ,
so h e had n o fear o f m eeting strangers
there an d yet it was most likely to be the road
t ake n by Jessy if sh e was going to or c o ming
from Leven s hope -
.

Half w ay th rough the w o od he saw Katherine

sitting un der the gr o up of pine trees - . Her pink
dress m ade a rosy flush in the green shadows ;

her h at with its wh ite ribbons lay beside

, ,
h er

her brigh t brown hair was braided in a coronal

ab o ve her hrows . Jamie could not resist the
o pportunity fate had provided . He went to her
side with the eagerness of a man w h o h as ’

a
pleasant surprise . Katherine smiled h im a
w elc o me .

“
I am waiting for Jessy , sh e said . She
Th e
’

w as t o meet m e here about five o cl o c k .

minister is g o ing a w ay fo r a few days , an d Jess y

20 8 Tae Flo w er o f Gala Water .

w ill stay with m e . Jamie , y o u have bee n quar

reling with your un cle again . H e came h o me
in an awful te m per . You quarreled ab o ut me ,

”
to o . It makes me w retched .

He is so interfering . W hat right h ad h e to

fix our we dding day -

T here w as a m in ute s silen ce an d t h e n Kath

’

erine said
“
Jamie supp o se we take o ur a ffairs int o
, o ur

o wn hands . Supp o se we agre e this h o ur to be

abs o lutely truth ful with each oth er ?
It will m ake m e happy Katherine , . Un cle
t o ld me Mowbray h ad gone o ff t o Am erica ; he
—
i nferre d he h ad bee n f o rced to go that h e was
'

not the m an he pretended to be . Are these

”
things so ?
I will tell you t h e w hole story Jam ie
,
and
sitting erect an d loo king h er old lover full in
the fa c e ,
she ex
p l i ned to him the circum
stan c es whi c h had take n h is ri v al to T exas .

”
Did he d o righ t Jamie ? ,
sh e asked .

Ye s, he did wha t I sh o uld h ave exp e cte d

210 Tao Fl w o er o
f Gala Water .

toun H o use by rhymste rs makin g silly do g

gerel verses like

Up an d g aes Jami e W in t o u n
d o wn ,

P ro u d an d h appy h e w e elm ay b e ,

T o w i n t h e F lo w e r o f G ala W at er ;
Be au t y an d b o ast o f t h e N o rt h C o u n t re e

but e v en if you were pr o u d an d happy you ,

n ever l o ve d me .

Have y o u resolved then not to marry me ?

, ,

Yes .

And to marry Richard Mowbray ?

”
Yes .

T he n J amie l o oked sad and tr o u bled . He

believed himself to be su ffering very m u ch . He
had some remote ,
v ague s w i ft passin g idea of
,

taking her rather roughly to task an d v o wing ,

never to gi v e her up . But it was an idea w ith

out vitality . He let it go . T h e m o rt ifi c at i o n of

her desertion was the th ough t that m ade h im
flush and nervously bite his un der lip bu t even
this had some c ompens ation . H is un cle w o uld
su ffer in the public go ssi p far m ore t h an he
w ould .
 Tae Fl wo er
f
o Ga la Wa fe r .

You are thinki ng of what pe ople will say ?

inquired Katherine .

Yes there will be talk without end

, . I do
’
not care much . It s n o one s business but yours
’

”
an d m i ne .

“
Jamie h av e you
,
c ourage to take the h orns
of this dilemma in y o ur own hands —to be my
—
frien d to be Ri c hard s frien d —to help us e s ’

’ ”
cape your u ncle s interferen c e ? T he n sh e took
his h and and said
, ,
c oaxingly Jamie I need
your help . T hink that I am your little sister .

For m y sake will you try an d like Rich

ard ? He is su c h a n oble gener o us truth ful , ,

man .

I ne v e r said or thought di fferent . But it is

not fair Katherine to ask me to like
, ,
the man
wh o has stolen your lo v e from me .

Let th at pass . W ill you help us ? No one

”
can h elp us as mu c h as you c an .

“
W hat do you want me to do Katherine ? ,

Make up you r quarrel with my stepfather .

L et h im suppose you are w illing that the pre p .

2 1 2 Tae Fl w o er o
f Ga la PVa ler .

arat i o n s for our marriage shall go ou . R ichard

”
w ill be back b e fore th e e nd of Septembe r .

But as you will not marry me ,

w hat good
”
can c ome fro m that attitude to either of u s ?
“
I shall be allowe d to remain at h o me with
m amma until dear Ri c hard c o me s back . B ut if
the laird knows our marriage is broke n ff, I
‘

shall be se nt to school I kno w n ot wh ere

,
p er
haps to France or G ermany . And i n the m ean
time e v ery day will be a terr o r full o f threats
and reproaches . You know how w retche d he
”
can m ake the whole house .

“
An d whe n Mr Mowbray does . c om e ba c k ?
W hat the n
W e shall be married .

Your stepfather will not permit it . He w ill

raise n o e nd o f obj e c tions An d until u are

.
y o

of age you c an not m arry withou t h is con sent .

“ ’
I have m amma s conse nt ; that is e n o ugh .

I shall marry th e m an I love an d n o other , .

Have you then th o ught

, , o f running away to
be marrie d ?
2 14 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wafe r .

be both h is noblest revenge an d his clearest

j ustifi c ation . An d whe n Jessy j oin ed th em she ,

was not long in pointing out how e ffe ctually

such a move would take the sting out o f all h is
friends ondolences T hey would be of
’
c . o ut

date tame and un necessary

, .

T alking o v er th e m atter they l i ngere d in the ,

wood u ntil the sun set an d e v e n th e n it kept ,

prese nting n ew views or un f o resee n d i ffi c ulties .

Jessy put them all aside . She was full o f re

sour c es for Katherine and c om fortable w ords

for Jamie and h e fel t h er kin d smiles an d th e

tou c h of h er sympathetic han d to be a great
c onsolation .

At the garden gate th ey saw th e laird stan d

ing . W i n t o u n went frankly to him an d said
I am sorry we had c ross w o rds this morn ing ,

u n cle . Ex c use my ill temper -

.

And the laird after a proper h esitation looked

, ,

o v er the o ffense . Katherin e th en undertook

the propitiation an d succeede d well with it
, .

She made no p romise ,

an d yet Brat h o u s un der
 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Gala Water . 2 1
5

s t o od t h at she preferre d marriage to sch o o l and ,

he to o k all else for granted .

Jamie walke d behin d them with Jessy at his ,

sid e . T h ey sto o d a moment before a bed of

sup erb pansies and Je ssy stooped and gathered
,

o ne
-

an d gave it to Jamie .

H eart s ease
’
-
she said softly .

An d Jamie l o o ked in her c heerful pretty face , ,

and felt that it w o uld be delightful to kiss her

s mili ng mouth .

I am so m iserable Je ssy , , he said .

But y o u ought to be happy Jamie , , she an

sw e re d . You h ave been grandly unselfish .

Kath erin e does n ot love m e . She says she

n eve r h as love d me . I am no t handsome .

“
Ye s , y o u are h an dsome and a m ost perfect ,

gentleman . No old knigh t ever behav ed more

chivalrously than y o u have d one the last h o ur
or two .
And I think y ou deserve more love
t han Katherine can give you .

T he n he lo o ked a ffecti o nately d o wn at h is

li t t le com fo rter an d pressed her ,

arm cl o ser to
2 16 Tfie Flo w er
f
o Gala Wa fer .

h is side and felt that life was

,
no t altogether a

blank .

So the n ext few weeks went o nward with a

kind o f dull acceptance of eve n t s . Th e laird
advised Jami e to h ave h i s h o use put in m o re
m o der n order fo r his bride an d Jam ie eagerly
,

e ntere d int o h is suggesti o ns an d se nt to E din

burgh for de c o rat o rs an d fine furnit u re ; in fact ,

’
rather o verdid his un cle s ideas . But the young
man w as begin ning to nurse a new —
ho pe o ne
w hich Katherin e had reveale d to him ,
an d
w hich his heart accepte d with a thrill of de
lightful amazement . It became a com mon
afternoon event for the ladies to ride ove r to
W i n t o u n an d see what the w c rk m e n were doing .

And al w ays Mrs Brat h o u s and Katherine wan

.

dered away together and always W i n t o u n an d,

Jessy were left to l o ok after their own amuse

ment wh ile almost insensibly W i n t o u n grew
,

confidently happy and rather overbearing in

his o pinions an d Jessy quiete r and m o re beau
,

t iful vet no one could say j ust whe n this ch a n ge

2 18 Tae Flo w er f
o Gala Wafer .

tember Mrs Brat h o u s was sitting i n h er r o o m

,
.
,

despon de nt an d w o rrie d to an extreme degre e .

Her easy sanguine disposition had le d he r thus

, ,

far i n th e daily anticipation of

,
som ething
happe ning ,
for sh e h ad a suprem e relian ce upon
that good fortune which looks after people wh o

trust their a ffairs to it . But in five days a o

’
e

n o ae m en z must come which would b e a s o cial

,

sh ock up an d down Gala W ater . An d if W i n

toun deserted her daughte r for Jessy T elfair ,

and Mowbray for any reas o n did not keep his

, ,

appoint m ent sh e felt that the ch agrin would be

,

’
intolerable an d her husban d s an ger so j ust that
,

for once s h e would be unable to meet h im with

her usual w eapon s .

On e of those sudd en sick fears that fre quently

attack th e heart j ust before all reas o n for fear is
taken away had smitten h er in the nigh t and
, ,

she had anticipated the looks and words of all

her a c quain tan ces th e gossip true an d untrue
, , ,

that w o uld ri n g from house to h ouse th e pas

,

si o n o f rage that w o uld kn o ck Brat h o u s against

 l e Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wate r . 2 1
9

e v ery human creature ; the minister s c alm ’

re

p ro ac h e s regarding h is own daughter— really ,

that morning she w as feeling as if she m ight be

a very wi c ked woman . And Katherine did not
appear at breakfast . She had gone for a
walk , h e r maid said and Mrs Brat h o u s g rati .

fied her lord by a very sin c ere anger at the girl

and he r uncon v entional way .

Drabbling her skirts and shoes in the dew ,

like a m ilking maid -

,
she said fretfully ,
. It is
absurd
My dear sh e is the Flo w er of
,
Gala W ater
said Brat h o u s satirical ly, ,
“
and n eeds the dew .

Th e rem ark turned the lady s wrath upon the ’

speaker and after a disagreeable meal she had

, , ,

retire d to her room to think things o v er until ,

finally she felt half in c lin ed to make a c lean

.

br east of the w hole a ffair .

About te n o c lo c k Katherine entered the room

’

like a streak of sunshin e from Iran . She w as

dressed exquisitely in pale blue -

,
with white
s rs in her
a te h at an d at h e r w ais t . H er starry
2 20 Tae Fl wo er
f
o Gala Water .

eyes her delightf u l smile her rosy fa c e

, , ,
h er air
of p erfe c t happi n ess we re for a m ome nt irri , , ,

tating .

Oh Katherine , crie d Mrs Brat h o u s ; but .

she got n o further . Katherine was kissing the

complaint o ff her lips .

“
H e has come mamma ! she cried ,
”
. We
are goin g to se e him Ge t dressed mam m a
, ; I
will help you H e is waiting to see m e Every
moment is an hour
“
Do be sensible ,
c h ild . Do you m ean that
Ri c hard Mowbray has c om e ? W here is
he ?
He is staying with Jamie W i n t o u n . W ill
you please believe that of all th ings , ? Jessy
got Jamie to meet him at the train and take him
to W i n t o u n as his guest .

Katherine what a shame ,

No Jam ie an d R ichard have to b ebr o th ers ,

and t h ey m ay as w ell begin at on c e . J e ssy an d

I could not h av e o ur h usba nds h at in g ea ch

o th e r .
2 2 2
‘

Toe Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa ter .

laird was astonished to see his wife c ome d own

stairs in the sweetest of m oods an d dresse d for
a drive .

W e are going to ride over to W i n t o u n

”
Alexander ,
she said ,
an d we m ay go to Gala

shiels so do not wait for

,
us .

And Brat h o u s answere d

“
Very well m y dear , ; but as soon as the
ponies had passe d th e gates h e turn e d to the ,

house for his own horse . Galashiels he

muttered . Galashiels ! If you are going
there I am going too
, ,
. All three wom en looke d
too happy n ot to h a v e some m ischief on h and .

“
Now said Mrs Brat h o u s as she fle c k e d
‘

.
, ,

her whip for emphasis ,

th e laird will away to
Galashiels as fast as St Serge . c an trot h im
there and we can ha v e some com fort at W i n
,

’
to u n f

I n less than half an hour they arri v e d at W i n

toun and there they foun d Jamie an d his gues t
,

in the breakfast parlor . T hey were smokin g

and ch a t ting in t h e p le asan t e st
‘
m an n er .
J am ie ’
s
 T/
ze Fl w er f
o o Ga la I/Valer . 22 3

laugh was their welc o me as the do o r opened ,

and the n what a d elightful c o mmotion there

w as !
’
Katherine w as i n M o wbray s arms Jessy ,

an d W i n t o u n were clasping hands and Mrs ,

.

Brat h o u s was e ffusively thanking Jamie ,

and
thus committing herself deeper to all that these
four l o ve sick young people
- might propose ,

to d o .

An d what though t was there of a selfish , un

reas o nable old guardian whe n there was such a

y o ung m an as Rich ard M o wbray prese t ? His
n
love darting eyes his handsome face his caress
-
, ,

ing manner won him his will

‘

, ,
w hatever he
wanted He took Katherine into the dra w i n g
.

—
ro o m an d pu t his heart into her h ands h e w o oed
her as if sh e was the o nly woman in the world
h e le ft their frien ds to talk of trains and trunks ,

an d all the lets and bars which even lovers ,

have to submit to . say h ad

W hat h e h ad to

—
c o ndition s o f alm o st divine eloquence m o n o
syllables an d —
sile nce s fl a h i n g s intelligences
bey o n d wo rds —kisses that were ete rnal pr o m
2 2 4 Tae Fl wo er
f
o Gala Water .

i se s —
th e clasping hands and the m ingling of

s o ft blac k h air w ith tresses like th e daw n .

In the m eantime Mrs Brat h o u s discusse d w ith .

Jessy an d Jamie a plan th ey had arranged fo r

e sc a ih
p g
’
th e laird s interfere n ce .

Yo u must have a bride party at L e ve ns - h o pe

as s o o n as y o u can ,
said Jamie t o Mrs Brat h o u s .

“
an d during its pr o gress Katherin e will j o in
M o wbray . T hey will com e here I h ave already .

spoken to a y o u ng min ister from In n erleithen .

H e kn o ws n o thing but tha t th e m arriage is

proper and h o n o rable and appr o ve d by th ose ,

wh o have the righ t to appr o ve it ; an d this I

certified by my w o rd o f h o no r . Th e se rvants
can be calle d as witn esses at th e mo m e nt n ee ded ,

and so w ill not have time to talk or to give any

in formati o n . W he n the first tu m ult o f th e dis
co v er
y is over I ,
w ill return to W i n t o u n an d
drive them myself to Symington . Th e laird
will be sure the y h ave taken the train e ither to

Edinburgh or Carlisle ; h e will n e ver think o f

th eir g o ing t o Glasgo w . Bu t fr o m Glasg o w the y
 22

think that he had any re m e mbran ce of Mow

bray or any suspicion that Katherine m ight
have writte n to him or that he could in any way
,

i nterfere with h er m arriage with W i n t o u n . He

th ought that by ignoring th e d an ger h e m ight
annihilate it . He had satisfie d h imself th at th e
Englishman w as not at any of the inn s in Gala

shiels . H e h ad called at the manse an d , ,

find

ing the d o ctor out had bluntly asked ,

I f they
had any c o mpany ,
an d been quite assured by
.

’
the servant s n egative . An d yet th ere w as

s o mething ab o ut Katherine and h er m o th er h e

c o uld n ot understan d . But h o w can a m an
complain o f a feeling so vague t h at it is u n d e fin

able
After Jamie an d Jessy h ad le ft Mrs Brat h o us , .

seemed incline d to talk an d the laird gladly

,

humore d h er .

She is sure t o let s o m eth ing o u t ,

h e th o ught .

Jam ie says we ought to have a party a little ,

dance an d supper befo re th e wed ding to re

h earse the cerem o ny an d intr o duce pe o ple t o

 T/
ze Fl wo er o
f Ga la Wa ter . 2 2 7

one an other , was her first remark . W hat do

you think Alexander ? ,

I think it will c ost too m u c h m oney .

I will pay all the c ost out of my pri v ate in

c ome . Jam ie wants it . Some of his people are

s trangers here .

“
T hen let Jam ie pay for it . Your doing so
is only ro bb i n g Peter to pay Paul . Katherin e
has bee n n o end of expense lately . I shall be

glad en o ugh when sh e is away to her own

”
home .

An d he lo o ke d so sour an d ill natured that -

Mrs Brat h o u s an swered qui c kly

.

So sh all I I am sure nobody c an wish to

stay in your h ome that c an h elp it !

I am sorry en ough for my n ephew He will .

have h is h an ds full with his Flower of Gala ‘

W ater ,
’
an d she will withe r an d fade j ust like
th e rest of us .

“
T hink sham e o f yourself Alexander for , ,

sayin g such u nkin d words . If Jamie has a drop

Qf y bl o od i n h im , h e w ill make a p o or hug .
2 2 8 Tee Fl w o er o f Gala Wa fer .

band for any girl . My daughter n ee d no t m ake

you sorry for him . I f I had taken her into the
world for a season sh e would ha v e bettered
,

your n ephe w a thousand fold . If y ou are sorry

for Ja m ie stop the wedding
,
at on c e . Katherine
will be glad to ha v e it stopped .

I dare say she will . W hat doe s she c are for

the sham e an d the talk I would have to meet up
hill and down dale an d in th e m arket pla c e ? -

She c ould then m arry that run away English man .

I dare say she would be glad . Bu t I am n o t

going to pain and sh ame Jamie to please her .

Poor Jamie
Poor Jamie in dee d ,
! Alexander , y o u h av e
a bad tongue . But take c are The bad tongue
eventually says some words that pay for all the
others .

She lifted h er ball of w o ol threw h e r knittin g ,

passionately into her work basket an d le ft the -

,

parlor . It was to Katherine s room she we nt ’

Th e girl was sitting in

her night dre ss readin g -
,

a song M o w bray had written to h er an d h e r ,

2 30 Tee Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa ter .

is pretty certain to say :

‘
W i n t o u n an d Jessy ,

and you an d I an d Mowbray —one an d all of u s

’
did right . D o not gi v e yourself a c are about
me Katherin e my darling daugh te r
, , . I sh al l
want something to break the blow whe n you are
gon e from m e an d I shall ha v e th e figh t with
,

your guardia n at hand . At any rate it will be

,

pleasant to remin d him that he h as no lon ger

”
any o ccasion to pity h is poor n ephew .
D
 C HAP T E R VI I .

TH E YO U N G D I SP O SE .

Th e h appi n ess o f h e r c h i ld i s t h e c ro wn o f a m o th e r .

“
L o ve an d h o p e lay enc a mp e d b e fo re t h e g at e s o f th e
fu t u re .

Th e bride dance was n ot further discussed

-
,

but the y o ung people of the neighbourhood were

all bidden to it and in th e interval while the
, ,

’
laird was away on e day Katherine s trunks were ,

sent to the Northwester n Hotel ,

Li v erpool .

T here was telegraphing to and fro an d riding ,

here an d th ere an d n obody h ad e v er seen Jamie

,

W i n t o u n so busy ; but then when a man is to ,

b e m arrie d in a day or two anything is ordinary ,

and expedie nt .
2 3 2 Tao Fl w er
o o f Gala Wa fer .

Fo r
tunately Monday was on e o f those lo v ely
,

days which are the charm of th e dyi n g sum

m er ,
and the night ,
though m oonless ,
was
bright with stars and only pleasantly c ool . A
large c ompany of young men and maiden s was
gathered at L e vens hope -
. T hey trooped through
the halls an d ran up and down the stairs an d
dan c e d in the parlours and flirted in the green
houses . Th e laird was importan t and e ff usive
Mrs Brat h o u s was playing waltzes an d
. s ingin g
songs and fi nding partners an d sending servants
here an d there and everywh ere . T here were
fi d dle rs in th e large hall an d they we re dan ,

cing th e Lance rs there .

Katherine in a gow n wh i c h had th e ine ffable

,

softness of pale primrose silk -

,
cove re d with
Valencie nnes was a won de rful picture
, . Her
beauty was so h armonious so radiant with love , ,

so etherealized by the emotion s filling h er

heart th at even Jessy was amaze d at her tran s
,

figuration . She danced continually . She had

a kind w o rd for every o n e ; she appeare d
2 34 T/
ze Fl w o er
f
o Ga la Wa fer .

Darling mamma kiss me ,

Bless m e I am
going mamma , . Oh bless m e m amm a an d k iss
, , ,

me again And m am ma dear if you can play

, , ,

—
something and get Jamie to sing Jamie m akes
e v erybody listen to him .

’
A tight ,
c linging clasp of her child s hand a ,

gaze full of mother lo v e an d blessing an d the n

-
,

Mrs Brat h o u s trembling almost faintin g put

.
, , ,

aside with a strong heart her own sorro w an d

, , ,

c alled cheerily ,

Come here Jamie W i n t o u n and sing us a

, ,

song .

W ithout a purport or intention she O pe ned

’
the book at “
Jo c k o Hazledean ,
an d Jamie ,

smiling at th e apropos sentiment , s ang with

c harming spirit h ow the l o vely bride of the ch ief
”
of Erringto n wept for Jo c k o Hazled ean
’
.

Some one was looking for Kathe rin e as the

first words of the song rang through the par
lours . Som e on e said they h ad see n her g o

int o the greenhouse . Sh e w as called but an

s w e re d n o t . T he n Jessy was missed .

 Tae Flo w er o
f Gala Wal
’
er
‘

. 2 35

T h ey are doubtless together ,

said Mrs .

Brat h o u s between ,
v erses .

Th e lit t le sough of w o nder grew and finally , , ,

dan c ing stoppe d in the hall an d the ,

fi d d le s

were qu iet and eve ry one was asking

,

W here is Kather i ne J an fari e and Je ssy T e l

”
fair ?
Mrs Brat h o u s prolonged th e c aden c es and
. in

t e rv als , an d J amie sang the third v erse twi c e

”
o ver ,
and th e se nse of something w rong

flashe d like th ought from mind to min d . Th e

m usi c began to soun d strange Jamie s ang as if

he h ad to sing an d Mrs Brat h o u s playe d with
'

.
,

hysteri c al restlessn ess . But the tiresome song

went droning on while guests wondered and , ,

the u neasy feelin g spread to the s m oking room

’

and b rough t the laird out in a fuss and i n a

flurry And whe n h e entered the parlour Jamie s
.
,
’

voi c e had a telling fatefulness in it for as he , ,

caught his un c le s glan c e he in v oluntarily sent

’

to his ears and c ons c iousness the last singularly

propheti c w ords of th e song
2 36 7he Flo w er
'

o
f Gala Wa f er .

T hey so u gh t h e r b o th i n b o w e r an d ha
’

T h e lad y w as no t se e n ;

t h e b o rd e r an d aw a
’
Sh e ’ ’
s o er

W i Jo c’
k H o
’
az e ld e an

Brat h o u s went angrily to his wi fe .

“
W h ere is Kath erine he asked .
“
She is
not to be fou nd I hear ,
. W hat n onsen se is this ,

”
m a am P
’

“
She is with Jessy ,
I suppose . Both are
missing for awhile . T hey h a v e a good reason ,

”
no doubt .

’
I d o n t belie v e it .

T hen h e se nt the servan t s flying th rough

every r o om of the house . H e sear c h ed th e gar
den himself the hazel walk an d th e gree n
,
-

houses . Th e two girls w ere n ot to be foun d

~

W i n t o u n was question ed an d c ross questioned

-
.

He kne w nothing . He had bee n sin ging .

Kath erine was prese nt whe n -

he began ; th at
was all h e kne w . Mrs Brat h o u s fled to her
.
-

ro o m to avoid the sympathy and que st ion s o f

the curious . At length Brat h o u s said passi o n ,

ately
2 38 The Flo w e r f
o Ga l
a U/a ler .

edge that they had se e n th e young ladies an d ,

though the strange m inister was in th e very ac t

of marrying Katherine an d Mo w bray as th e

laird and his friends passed W i n t o u n House n o ,

one had a suspi c io n of what was going o n within

it for the windows of the lighte d parl o u r were
,

shuttered an d draped an d the whole buildin g ,

had a dark and deserte d appearan ce .

T hen he w ent to the manse and was told that

‘

Do c tor T elfair was in Stirlin g . He would not

believe it . W i n t o u n said You are un reason
”
a ble un c le , ,
an d was called in answe r a poor ,

miserable laggard of a lover ,

a few words whi c h
ga v e the young man the ex c use h e desired for
retiring to his o wn house .

By m idnight the sear c h h ad been practi c ally

abandoned . Th e laird was ragin g at every
one . He h ad seen smiles th at were an i n sult to
him . No n e of his frien ds h ad shown the least
interest in the re c o v ery of the runaway bride .

Hays and C an fe r had sneake d o ff at the first

turning . Harrib e e had laughe d at th e lasses ’
 Th e Fl w o er o
f Gala Wa fer . 2 39

pluck and Scott had plainly told him that the

day for gi v ing wo m en away in marriage had
gone far by . Brat h o u s ,
man he added ,

the lasses j ust gi v e themselves away these

days and a fine thing it is for good me n that
,

they should do so I llwarrant Katherine Jan

’
.

farie has taken care of herself and the minis ,

ter s clever daughter will not be far behind her

’
.

Let them alone an d they will c ome home all

o f which com fort Brat h o u s felt to be like the
w ords o f Eliphaz and Bildad and Z oph ar .

On Mrs Brat h o u s fell the residue of the laird s

.
’

wrath an d fears . H e went to he r room V ibrating

w ith passion an d wounde d self esteem - .

“
T his is a shameful to do Helen -
, , he cried .

T his is a m ost o utrageous insult ! T here

n ever wa sa more ill use d m an - . I am demented

with th e sham e that h as come to m e . An d you ,

H elen ! T here you sit as c alm as a sucking

baby while that ungrateful girl of yours is
,

hri n gi n g disgrace on me and mine . I always

to ld yo u w h at K atherine J an fari e w as, a little
2 4 0 Th e Fl w o er o
f Gala Wa fer .

snake in the grass . Just think of your d au gh

ter running away fr o m home an d frien ds an d

good n am e .

“
T ake c are Alexan der
,
.

’
It is too late to take care m a am ,
. I wish he
m ay marry her ! I only wish he m ay ! I am
feared he will have to o much sense a li ttle de ,

c e i t fu l huzzy .

’
T hen the mother s patien ce failed an d she ,

said ,
w ith a sincere satisfaction
—
Kath erin e was not deceitful not i n th e
least ! I knew all about h e r m arriage .
“

Jamie
k n ew all about it . Jessy knew all about it . All
of us h a v e helped Katherine an d M owbray .

T hey were m arried at Jamie s h ouse You m ust

’
.

ha v e passed th e door while the m inister from

Innerleithen was m aking them m an an d wife .

Jamie is going to m arry Jessy T elfair . H e has

bee n in lo v e with Jessy for a long tim e ,
an d

Jessy was in lo v e with him . Katherine an d I

made that match —a sweet h o n e st lo v e m atch
'

-
,

as e v er w as . N o w , Al e xa n der that is , allabo ut

2 4 2 Th e Fl w o er o
f Ga la Wa fe r .

himself of you . H e has ch o sen a cleve r wife ,

’
an d y o u m ay make up your m in d to let Jamie s
a ffairs alone for the future .

Yo u
’
You have decei v e d m e m a am ,
h av e
deceive d m e Th e wh o le c o u ntry side shall -

know of it
“
Th e whole c ountry side will take you for
-

their laugh ter . Now Alexander you h ave said

, ,

e nough and too much . I f you do no t beh ave

yourself I will m ake you sorry that you e v er
,

were born . I am tired and want to go to sleep, .

Kather i ne is away o er the border by th is time ’

W hat can not be cured must be e ndured . Go to

bed and sleep . You are fit for n o th ing else .

I will go to the ministe r . I will give h im

”
the plain truth .

And you will get it also . I advise you to

let Doctor T elfair alone . H e kne w n oth ing
”
about th e matter .

It is all his plann ing .

It is no t . I plan ned it . T here w as no pla n

”
ning .
Events j ust grew t o ri pe n e ss day by d ay .
 I n ever heard of such treatment of a hus
band . Ne v er ! Ne v er ! I t i s sh am e fu l ! Sha m e
ful !

Go to be d sir ,
.

I will not . I want some c om fort . I will

speak m y mind .

And thus the wretched night went on full of ,

turmoil and reproa c hes but the mother com ,

forte d h erself with the thought of her child s ’

happiness . An d she hoped that the morn

ing would bring Jamie an d good news nor ,

was sh e d i sapp o i n t e d . Jamie c am e about no o n .

He was shining with satisfaction . He had seen

the m inister and his own marriage was ar
,

ran ged for . Fortunately for h im he had been ,

delaye d long e n ough to allow the laird to speak

to the m inister first . In fact the
,
o utraged
Brat h o u s had entered the manse parlour while
’
Jessy was smilingly po u ring out her father s
co ff ee .

H o w did you get h ere Miss T elfair ? asked ,

the laird angrily ,

.
244 Th e Flo w er of Gala Wafer .

Th e minister fr o m I nne rleithe n brought m e

home .

H u m ff—ff An d when did you get h om e ,

sir ? Or were you hiding last nigh t fro m m e

“
I hide from no m an laird ,
. I got h o m e h alf
”
an hour ago . Is it any of y o ur business ?

Yes it is ,
.

T he n the laird t o ld his st o ry an d told it with ,

very angry additions an d i nterj e ction s an d in ,

the very midst of the passionate re cital Jamie

W i n t o u n came in an d explaine d his share i n th e
matter and this necessitate d th e
,
c on fessi o n o f

his love for Jessy and the asking of her h an d

fro m her father . He was con stantly an d wrath
fully interrupte d by his uncle but W i n t o u n at ,

this hour was manly enough . H e said firmly

“
I love your daughter D o ctor ,
T el fair , an d
with your c onsent we think it best to be m arrie d
this afternoon .

It is a base plot all thr o ugh , ,

cried th e laird ,

and you D o ctor , T elfair , are at the bott o m of

it ! A fine thing fo r y o ur t o c h erless lass t o be
24 6 The Flo w er f
o Ga l
a W lr
a e .

But when he had take n her to his study h e

looked at her with anger an d said
“
Yo u ha v e done very wrong Jessy and you , ,

have c ause d me to do wrong an d to make a

foolish promise that I migh t right you in th e
’ ’
laird s an d other people s eyes . And I will tell
you Jessy
,
T elfair , th at the whole circumstan ce
is a shame and n o on e on the e arth but thre e
,

foolish w o men w ould have h ad anything to do

with it .

Ex c ept three men — thre e foolish m en fa t her ,

Jamie and Mowbray an d th e m inister fr o m

Innerleithen .

T hen Do c tor T elfair shrugge d his shoulder s

and tossed his sermon paper about but fin all y .

he kissed Jessy though h e shook his head re

,
.

p ro ac h fu lly ere h e d id so .

As the laird had fo resee n the st ory set , Gal a

W ater in a commotion from the l o n ely farm s in
the Mo o rfo o t H ills n orthward to Dalkeith an d ,

southward through all the h o mes of T e v i o t d ale .

But time doe s w o nders , an d the laird acted p re

 Th e Fl w o er
f
o Gala Water . 2 47

c i se ly as Mrs Brat h o u s anti cipated h e w o uld

. .

He blustere d a little in public and c omplaine d ,

and even crie d a little to his lawyer an d m o re

intimate friends ; but pri v ately he w ent d o wn
on h is knees to his wife and in that excellent,

discipline was gradually led to see things as she

saw them . He w as first reconciled to D o ctor
T elfair , an d the n he forgave Jamie . C o ntrary
to all expectations Jessy was not tocherless an d , ,

her little fortun e set W i n t o u n lands an d W i n

t o un s m aster free An d as s o o n as this
’
. w as

the case Brat h o u s made a merit

,
of fo rgiving
Jamie .

“
He is my n ephe w ,
after all , Helen , he
said ,
and I can n o t give h im the back o f my
”
han d th o ugh h e well deserves it
,
.

T he n he began to be curious ab o ut Mowbray

an d Kathe rin e , Lo ng and frequent letters
cam e fr o m vari o us c o untries an d it ,
w as a
trial to see his wife enj o yin g the m all by her
self . H e heard he r al o
s t elling Vi s i t o rs ab o u t
T e xas , Califo rnia ,
Japan ,
India , Greece an d
 2 4 8 Th e Fl w
o er f
o Ga la Wafer .

Italy etc and he heard j u st e n ough to ma k e

,
.
,

him restlessly curious . On e day he said

Hele n my dear I thin k I o ught
, ,
no w to for
give Katherine and h er husban d . I supp o se
they will be h o m e s o on an d I do ,
no t approve of
”
quarreling i n families .

Mowbray expec t s to go into Parliamen t an d ,

he is hurrying h o me for the election . I thin k

”
of g o ing to M o wbray H all next week .

I w ill go with y o u . I kno w all ab o u t electi o n

business . I can give o ur son - in -
law valuable ad

vice . And I h o pe I am a go o d Christian Helen , ,

and kn o w h ow to f o rgive a wr o ng . It w ould be

a pity for the two y o ung th ings t o feel m y ange r
— —
though i t w as j ust anger a shad o w in thei r
h o me .

T here was no shad o w in M o wbray Hall wh e n

the laird and Mrs Brat h o u s rea c he d it
. . T here

is n o sh adow likely to be there ,

fo r love m ade a
constan t glory in the fin e old man sion . An d
Katherine was so happy an d so beautiful an d ,

M o wbray h appy an d so busy an d M o wbray Hall

,
 2 50

You are aye j esting at m e H elen , , h e said .

W hat are you lo o king at so pleased like ?

T hen her glance directe d h im to Kath erin e
an d Mowbray . T hey were in th e sun n y garden
standing together with claspe d h and s an d un

c o vered heads under a large laburn um tree .

Its golden rain of yellow blossom s m ade a glory

on their faces . T hey w ere talking happily an d ,

heart was ans wering heart an d eyes an swe ring

eye si n l o ve an d laughter .

How happy they are Alexand er ,

Are y o u

”
no t glad they ran away to be so happy ? aske d
Mrs Brat h o u s
. .

It is an extra o rdinary exception Hele n !

Extraordinary ! I hope it m ay last ! an swere d
Brat h o u s . For in all my sixty years I n ever
yet knew a h appy runaway marriage . Never
one An d I h a v e always seen t h at the girl
who goes for her husban d with o ut her paren ts ’

blessing goes for d o ol and sor ro w an d sh am e

e n o u gh f
’

h ad I
’
But Katherine h e r pare nts blessin g .
 Th e Fl w o er o
f Gala Wa fer . 2 5 1

ga v e h er my blessing from the first hour . And

I gav e her Charlie J an fari e s blessing also I
’

knew that Charlie would appro v e Ri c hard Mow

bray . T h ey are both T ories and Chur c h of
England me n —at least Charlie was and Ri c h ,

ard is . Charlie like d fishing and fox hunting as -

much as Richard does ; and as for the c lassi c s

”
and literature of all kin ds ! the la d y lifted up
her white dimpled hands to express the ad m i r

’
ation that she had for Mowbray s and the de
ceased J an fari e s intelle c ts ’
.

T h e laird was not mu c h dashed . H e con

tin n ed
I kne w Charlie J an fari e as w ell as you did .

He was a ni c e ord inary young man I dare say

,
.

Mowbray would be about his le v el . I look a

little abo v e their mark . I stood by Mowbray in
—
p o litics for you r sake Hele n m y own opinions ,

—
are a g o od deal in advan c e of his and I won
his seat fo r him . But for my in flue n ce h e would
’

no w be biti ng his thumbs o er his unprofitable

sl
e et io n b i lls z Y es —ye s ; h e w ent o n m y S h o ul
2 52 Th e Fl wo er o
f Ga la Wa fer .

ders to the House of C o mmons an d that nob o dy ,

-

can deny ! Fishing I have n o opin ion of at all .

Any bit o f a boy c an put a string at th e en d of

a sti c k an d cat c h a trout . An d I would think
shame of myself if I could be ar to be one of a
big crowd of me n an d horses c hasing a p o or d og
fox forbye that h alf the time the fox gets the
,

better of them . As for the c lassics I sto o d well ,

enough in them whe n I was at college . T here

is a tim e and a pla ce for the classics an d the ,

Laird of Le v en s hope knows better than to m ix

-

his farming up with H ora c e and Virgil . I am

about two th o usand years ahead of th em Helen , .

Charlie J an fari e was my frien d . He left his

daughter in my c are .

“
You mean he left her money in your
c are l ’

Charlie thought a deal of my wisd o m an d I ,

’
thought a deal of Charlie s good easy te mper , .

For his sake I hope Katherin e m ay be happ i er

than is likely .

Sh e is hap py . Sh e is ve r y h appy .
 MAGNOLI A .

A R o m an c e o f W e st e rn T e x as .

C H AP T E R I .

OM E o f the bl o odie st battles of T exan b o rder

warfare h a v e taken place in those wild
stretches of prairie between the Nueces and
the R io G rande . T here , upo n miles o f meadow ,

’
the rarzeh e ro s cattle feed .

W h ile b ro w n o aoaero s
f
i c arele ss re i n
w th ,

D ash i n g m ad ly o ve r t h e p lai n ,

S wi n g reatas o n rest le ss st ee d ;

an d there as a n atural consequen ce the fier c e

, ,

an d clever Apache is a fre quent visit o r .

[ 2 55]
2 56 Mag n o lia .

Th e days when Mexi c o disputed t h ese gl o ri o u s

mead o w s with T exas are past . At th e m uzzle
o f the rifle and at th e p o int of the b o w ie knife -
,

they have bee n cleare d of ban ditti an d In dians ,

and prepare d by h er o es for a d w elling place for -

Liberty . But whe n th e battle gr o un d c o ve rs -

hundreds o f m iles th e fight is long and scatte r

,

ing and oft renewed

, . Even at this day th e
great plain s of the Pec o s an d Pre sid io an d the ,

counties stretching from Z apata to C o nch o are

under the c o nstant watch of th e rangers . But
twen t y fi v e years ago th e c o n stant watch was a
-

c o nstant warfare and the bravest m e n that eve r

,
-

pulle d a trigger waged ceasele ssly the g reat

battle of humanity the strife ,
o f civilization
again st th e savage the strife
, o f liberty against
priestcraft and political tyranny .

T rue , T exas h ad the n won her indepen de nce

an d had voluntarily be c ome a m ember of the
United States ; but horse th ie v e s an d cattle
-

thieves Mexicans
, and I ndians still disputed the
,

fer t ile prairie s of the far W e st an d th e rich val ,

 Mag n o lia
’

. 2 57

leys where under forests of pe c an s and mul

,

berries the thin languid waters of th e Conch o

, ,

slippe d along pon tooned over with lilies while

, ,

th e n arrow dusty bottoms of the Rio

, Grande ,

naked ,
bu t in c alculably fertile were to fight for , ,

o v er an d over again .

G radually , howe v er the land was di v ided into

,

counties an d small county towns sprang up an d

,

b ecam e c enters of j ustice an d c ommer c e . T hey

had a gen eral resemblance ,

and were often
pretty places o n the edge of a wood or prairie ,

containing a church a j ail a , ,

fe w stores a great
,

m any b ar - rooms an d c ozy rambling log houses

, ,
-
,

the populatio n being a c urious m ixture of idle

looking gen tle m en Jewish traders rangers , , ,
I n

dian spies an d Mexican peon s

,
.

Su c h a little t o wn was Fair Play in th e year ,

1 86 1 ; bu t being in a v ery southern latitude it ,

.

ne stled in an almost tropical wealth o f foliage .

Early in April the china tree s were full of their -

pale lilac ri c hly scented bloo m s

, ,
-
; and the hum
m in g birds in t o xicated with,
d elight , darting in
2 60 Mag n o li a .

tened for a c o nversati o n that n o on e in the

st o re seemed in cline d to c om m en c e . P e t ralt o ,

hoping to hear so met h ing of the route th e n ext

great cattle dro v e would take ; C ac h i se ,
in h is
c apacity of spy for the Un ite d States troops at
Nigrita Pass ready to c at c h any se c ession
,
i n fo r

mation fo r the o ffic ers station e d th ere .

C ac h i se
’
s in formation c am e from an u nex

cte d sour c e T here had been a lon g silen c e

p e .
,

when a young ranger straighten ed h is tilted

chair an d said
,

T here
’ ’
s Bowie s little ra c e horse I know its-

”
step .

He strolle d to th e door an d looke d out . Evi

d e n t ly in accord with his expe ctations a girl ,

was riding it . She came at a rapid “

lope up
th e street an d stopped at Le v i s ’
. Not e v ery
one would h a v e calle d her h andsome but to th e ,

few who coul d feel h e r b e au t y , sh e was wonder

'

fully so . She was a d ark h aire d girl slim as a

-
,

palm tree with soft large eyes an d a white low

-
, , ,

foreh ead . For th e rest she was a wom an with

,
2 60 Magn o li a .

tened fo r a c o n v ersation that n o o ne in th e

store seemed in c lin e d to c om men c e . P e t ralt o ,

hoping to hear so meth ing of the route th e n ext

great cattle dro v e would take ; C ac h i s e , in h is
c apa c ity of spy for th e Un ite d States troops at
Nigrita Pass ready to c at c h any se c ession
,
i n fo r

mation fo r the o ffi c ers statione d th ere .

C ac h i se
’
s in for m ation c am e from an u nex

p e c t e d sour c e . T here had been a lon g silen c e ,

when a young ranger stra i ghten ed h is tilted

chair an d said
,

T here
’ ’
s Bowie s little race horse I know its -

”
step .

He strolled to th e door an d looke d out . Evi

d e n t ly i n accord with h is expectations a girl ,

was riding it . Sh e came at a rapid “

lope up
th e street an d stopped at Levi s ’
. Not e v ery
one would h a v e calle d her h an dsome but to the ,

few wh o c oul d feel her beauty sh e was wonder ,

fully so . She was a dark h aire d girl slim as a

-
,

palm tree with soft large eyes an d a white low

-
, , ,

foreh ead . For th e rest sh e was a wom an with

,
 Mag n o li a . 2 6 1

vig o rou s griefs and j oys ; a woman of the day

time ,
c apable o f a great lo v e ready to do and to
,

bear .

”
“
Oh Ja c k,
! sh e cried an d h er clear pale
, ,

“ !
c heeks floode d with crims o n . Oh ,
Ja c k
T exas has left th e Union . T ony came hom e
this morning . He was in Au stin an d saw th e ,

Ordinance of Se c essi o n passed . I t was passed

at te n o clock at n ight and the streets were
’

crowde d until dayligh t . You must raise a co m

pany here —o f our own men —at once —t o

”
day l

If you are set on that M agnolia of course , , ,

’
I ll’
do m y part . I d rather shoot Indians on
general prin c iple s than white m e n but I ,
ll be
’

h an d —you if there s any fight i ng ’

on bet I w ill ,
”
to be d on e .

C ac h i se appeared to be un tyin g his mustang ,

’
bent forward n early t o th e anim al s n eck h e was ,

riding away at his utm o st speed .

2 62 Mag n o lia .

Jack Hayes wat c he d h im with an un c om fort

able feeling .

ff
’
T hat dog g o n e d spy is
-
o to th e Pass . He s

got eye s an d ears all rou n d his head . I f I c ould

raise the me n to day surprising th em is out of
-
,

”
the question n ow .

Magnolia alighted an d wen t into th e store .

Hayes walke d up to the group of T e xan s

‘

Gentlemen ,
we must get th e boys t o gether .

T exas has gone into the quarrel an d we m u st ,

’
h elp ou r own side now . I t w o n t do to h a v e
the m fellows from the Pass c ome d own on us
su d d e n t -
like .

Th e news m o v ed them like a ri fl e shot at m id -

night . In a m oment they were alert ,

v igilant ,

ready an d eager to fa c e the o c c asion . W hile

they were talkin g Le v i h ad ad v an ce d the pri c e
,

of all his good s twenty per cent an d if Magnolia -

.
,

had c ounted her c hange sh e would ha v e ,

d i sc o v

ered that sh e h ad been made to pay well for th e

news sh e had broug h t . But she was th inking
of other things —h er father h er lo v er her two , ,
2 64 Mag n o li a .

Magn o lia ?
Jack
I f I raise a c o mpany an d fight fo r th e Con
federacy what reward shall I have
,

W hat reward does a m an want for fightin g

for his mother State
“
W ill y o u love m e Magnolia ? ,
T hat is what
I mean .

She reined in her p o ny and sto o d q u ite still

among the knee deep grass and fl o w ers - . W ith
all her s o ul in h er eyes she looke d steadfastly at
him a few m o ments an d then bending forwar d
, ,

she put her hands in his h ands and kissed him .

Hayes was deeply m oved .

I bel o ng t o y o u an d to T exas fr o m t his h o ur ,

he answered .

“
Dear Ja c k I knew I could trust you wh en
,

the hour came . N o w say good - by , for fath er

’
is in on e of h is bad ways . H e won t want to see
you .

Haye s went back to Fair Play full o f a n ew

h appiness and a n ew purpose . He h ad ch ose n
 Mag n o li a . 2 65

his side an d with the ch o i c e had c o me the

, eu

t h u si asm o f a partisan . W ith out bei n g very

c lear as to the variou s items of the quarrel h e ,

had espoused it for life or death . Th e woman

h e l o v e d had kissed him an d though h e under ,

sto o d that the kiss was as mu ch a c o nsecration

of him to his State as a toke n of personal affe c

ti o n he knew that Magnolia meant it as a

,
co n

d i t i o n al promise . Th e ele v ation of the momen t

rem aine d with him . H e stood upon a little hill
to see old Earth laugh and leap as if she was
young agai n his heart w arm ed to the beautifu l
land an d he t o u c hed the pistols in his belt and
,

silently vowed to do his duty .

But the warm splen dor which h ad for a few

’

m ome nts alm ost t ran sfi g u re d Magnolia s face

left it as sh e left her lo v er . A thoughtful ,

—
an xious expressi o n t o ok its place a lo o k not quite
devoid of anger . Un c ertainty walked on both
sides o f her . She could not tell which side h er
fath er an d elder brother would esp o use ,
no r y e t

ho w the war which mu st fo ll o w th e ac t ion of

2 66 Mag n olia .

T exas w o uld alter her own life . I t was p o ssible

th e Rio Grande territory m igh t be c om e a great
battle - fie ld again an d i f so it would be tra ersed
, ,
v

by hostile arm ies by In d ians M exicans ru n

, , ,

away n egroes and thie v es of e v ery description ,

and would s c ar c ely be a pla c e for any woman to

dwell in .

She looke d with a new interest at the hom e

—
she m ight soon h a v e t o aban don a spread ing ,

two story man sion built of

-
w ood an d painted
white Both stories had wide veran das festoo n e d
.
,

e v erywh ere with v ines whi c h threw a flowery

,

m antle o v er all ar c hite c tural deformities . In

’
Magnolia s eyes it was b eautiful . She walked
her pony through th e gro v e of m ulberries by

which it was approached purposely keeping in ,

the sunlight whi c h sifted d own throug h th e

leaves for sh e love d warmth an d d read ed the
,

c h ill o f shadow .

The shadow was on th e threshold w he n she

cr o ssed it . Th e elde r Bowie and his so n T o ny

s at j u st with in th e ope n doo r B o wie h alf sle e p ,

2 68 Magn o lia .

Not m uch ! T here s thro w ff in m e

’
no -
o ,

but these fello w s are o nly playing a game of

blufi ’
.

“
You will find that th ey are very m u ch in
earnest .

“
T hen , said B o w ie passi o n ately , ,
so mu ch
th e w orse fo r them an d for u s and for every
body T hey 11 get an almighty whipping ; an d
’
.

ll get
’ ’
that s all they
“
W hen men fight fo r liberty father th ey
, ,

”
always win .

Do they ? N ow Magn o lia I wan t n o n e

,
o f

your top lofty t alk -

. T he n he rose and carried ,

h is chair into a shady corner o f the veran da .

T ony sat still . Magnolia stood looking at him .

He ough t to h ave been a very han ds o me man ,

but h e was not . His fine features we re scarre d

w ith old cuts . His dark eyes ,
de ep set and -

w icked . His belt was garnishe d with pistols

and a bowie kn ife and h e had a trick
-
, o f c arrv

ing his han d in the bos o m of his vest wh ere his ,

derrin ger lay ready .

 Mag n o lia . 2 69

To n y , whi c h side are you going to take ?

’
My own . I ain t very p art i c
’
lar whether I
go Nor t h or South . If I only knew which way
our Rex an d Ja c k Hayes were for I ,
’
d take the
”
other way you bet ,
.

How can y o u be so wicked

’

It s n ot very hard to do . Say now you ,

n e v er m ind what a lot of fools are doing . Have

m y saddle bags got ready -
; I m going a w ay
’

”
again .

She longed to know where he was going but ,

T ony was not the man to tell any one the thing
they aske d him . She took her sewing into the
wide h all and was soon as busy with it as i f
,

there were no men mustering for battle around

h er . The gulf breeze ,
blowi n g unche c ked
through it fluttered her white dress an d tosse d
,

about the stray curls whi c h had escaped the silk

net in whi c h they had been co nfined . An d
T ony noticed her beauty with a vagu e feeling ,

o f pleasure in th e br o therly pr o priet o rship h e

had in it . She was hum ming Dixie , making
 2 70 f ag n o lia
Jr .

her c hair ro c k to the cheerful rhythm ,

an d
though the melody ann oye d him he concluded ,

to let her sing it out ind emnifying him self by

,

w histling Th e Star Spangled Banne r in a

“
-

peculiarly demonstrati v e m anner as he carrie d ,

his c hair beside hi s father s on the veranda ’

.

T hey soon fell into an engrossin g c onversa

tion an d Magnolia heard enough to un derstan d
,

that a United Stat e s m an - o f -

war was expected
at Indianola to take from ,
T exas all Un ite d
States soldiers who remaine d faith ful to th eir
flag . She knew this was important in form ation ,

an d ought to be mad e known to th em at Fair

Play . I f h er brother Rex would only c ome !
For though without any definite kn owledge o f
,

his mo v emen ts sh e was quite sure that he had

,

j oine d th e Con federate c ause . She knew his

heart by her o wn . W hen T ony passe d h e r
again she asked h im ,

“
W he n did you lea v e Rex ?
I don t ’
c arry R ex Bowie at my belt M ag ,

n olia . W he n I saw h im last h e was in San

2 72 Mag n o lia .

been cut out of stone —a speechless motionless ,

world lig h ted up with su c h a fl o o d of moonshin e

,

as would h a v e been u n c an ny were it not for

the passionate soliloquies of th e m o c king bird - .

Footsteps on such a night are easily h eard bu t

Magnolia was aware of nothing until th e In dian ,

C ac h i s e pu shed aside th e j asmine v ine at h er

windo w an d laid a slip of paper on th e sill

,
.

His appearan c e startled her but he laid his ,

hand a c ross his mouth and she un derstood at

,

once that silence was ne c essary . Sh e took th e

message into the broader m oonlight an d easily ,

read it . H er heart beat gladly it was from h er

brother Rex ; h e was waiting to see h er . Sh e
ga v e C ac h i se a writte n m es sage ,
an d the n it
struck her to won der how he had reached th e
upper balcon y —the doors being all lo c ked . Ere
she could take in th e thought , C ac h i s e h ad sli d
down one of the vine c o v ere d pill ars
-
. H e m ade
no more n oise th an a bird and ,
w as out of sight
as s o on as h e reached th e ground .

I n hal f an h o ur she was in h er broth er s arm s ’

.
 /ag n o li a
lV . 2 73

”
Ah Rex ,
! sh e whispered as they wandere d ,

farthe r in t o the shade of the a v enue . De ar

”
Rex how proud I am of this
, ! an d she tou c hed
the gray uniform and the sword at his side .

“
W h y are you h ere in it ? ”

I am orde red to surprise Nigrita Fort if pos ,

sible . My m en are resting a mile away . I

wante d to see you an d , C ac h i se happen ed to
”
c o m e in to camp .

C ac h i s e canno t be trusted Rex ,

. As soon as
he h eard m e speak of se c ession h e was ,
o ff with
the n ews t o the f o rt . Did h e turn ba c k I ,
won

der ? W h y is h e here ? ”

He h as probably met some In dian whom he

c ould trust with the n ews an d has returned ,

himself for further info rmation . He o ffered to

sell h is ser v i c e s to o ur c amp . He is false of ,

C ourse .

Do vo u kn o w t h at there is a man - o f war at

-

In dian ola waiting to tak e away th e tr o ops from

Nigrita
Are y o u sure of that ?
2 74 Mag n o lia .

T ony told father so ; an d he has left home

to night
- . I really think h e has gon e to the fort
with th e in formation in ,
c ase the messe nger
from the ship fails to rea c h them whi c h is ,

likely enough . W hat is that noise ? ”

It was a rapid footstep an d ,

b efore either Rex
or Magnolia c ould de c ide what to do Colonel ,

Bowie stood b efore his c hildre n . For a m om ent

his passion m ade h im dum b . He lai d a heav y
hand upo nMagnolia an d turned her toward th e ,

house . She did n ot dare to remain with in his

sight but she hid h erself among the shrubbery
,

and waited in th e h 0 pe of seeing her brother

,

again .

“
W hat are you d oing he re sir ? ,
And why
did you not c ome into the house ? Oh —h —h I
”
see ! he a d ded with a , s c o rn fu l lau gh ,
as h e
i are a full
’

tou c he d Rex s uniform .

“
So y o i

grown rebel I re c ko n you were a sh a m ed to be

s een in daylight . W hat in thun der do y o u
”
m e an by it sir ?
,

I me an to do m y duty f ather to m y c oun try , , .

2 76 Mag n o li a .

W ell ? W h y don t you speak ? ’

I do not wish to .

W here is he g o ing ? H o w m any ro o ls are

”
with him ?
I have no right to tell .

Right or wrong , y o u had better tell m e I ,

”
reckon .

“
I should be a traitor if I did . I will n ever
”
be th at .

See here now ,

I m ’

g oing with the North ,

and T o ny is going with the North and I ll have ’

no Secesh on this place . I f your brother Re x

’
c o mes here again I ll se nd him a pris o n er to
,

the next Unite d States fort .

“ ’
Yo u ll have to send him N o rth th e n , . I
’
don t belie v e there w ill be a United States f o rt
in th e State no nor in the whole S o uth m any
, ,

days longer .

Oh I see
, ! H e is g o ne to the fo rt i s h e , ?
H o w many men had h e with h im ? ”

T ony an d C ac h i se are spies . It is their place

to find out .
 2 77

Look here Magnolia,

You re a wo m an but
’

don t try me too far

’
. As for Rex I ,
’
ve a Long
ac c ount to settle with him . He s gone bout
’ ’

long enough —the m ost c ontempti ble fellow be

twee n the Colorado an d the Rio Grande

Except T ony . And as for your account

with R e x father you have always bee n settling
, ,

it . I do w on der what makes you hate him so

mu c h
S acr is t ie h e said fier c ely and turned away
, ,

with a still deeper oath .

T here are always more c auses than one for

an y existing c ir c umstan c es and the reason s for ,

Colon el Bowie s dislike to his youngest son had

’

their root in years long passed . W h en a very

ou g man he had been guilty o f some i m p ru
y n

den c e whi c h c ompelled him t o lea v e England

for a w h ile . He lan ded in N ew York j ust when
the c ity was in a fe v er of enthusiasm regarding
the war betwee n T exas and Mexico an d when
‘

wild young S pirits of all nati o ns were eagerly

enlisting in the T exas Brigade . W hen in de
2 78

enden ce h ad bee n w o n, h e h ad n o wish to lea v e

p
the lan d for which h e had fought . H e m arri ed
a beautiful wo m an ,
whom h e loved with an
adoring a ff ection and who died in giving birth
,

to her sec o n d son Rex ,

.

If the innocent c hild h ad been a c tively to

blame the father could hardly ha v e dislike d
,

h im m ore . For month s h e re fuse d to see h is

face . Nothing in his growth please d him . Th e
’
boy resem b led a brother of Bowie s a brother ,

wh o m he though t himself to have just c ause

for hatred . Rex also had a n ature w hich w a s a
c onstant reproa c h to those who were no t like
minded . He could not tou c h liquor he had n o
taste for gambling . H e was a great favorite
with men who disliked an d feared h is father an d
brother . If T ony went east with a drove of
cattle h e generally picked up as m any m av
,

e ri c k s 9G
as paid the expen ses of the j o u rn ey . If
Rex were sent he w o uld no t see a m ave rick if it
walked into his herd . I n fact h e was a stray
,

St ray , u nb ran d e d yo ung c at t le .

2 80 Mag n o li a .

ate sympathy was unexpe cted . And they gav e

her no credit for any genuine patriotism .

It was all Ja c k H ayes ,

”
T ony said and Bowie
believe d it and h ated Hayes accordingly
, . If
Hayes would h av e gi v e n him half an excuse fo r
“
it he would ha v e
,
dropped him with the very
greatest pleasure .

But h e s o on per c eived that he was in an u n p o p u

lar position . Fair Play had e ndorsed as a un it , ,

the action of the State Legislature . Th e town

was full o f men sworn to the Con federacy an d ,

who were very apt to argue with their rifles .

His age and his past ser v i c es procured h im a

cold t o leran c e but ,
T ony foun d it prudent to

a v oid the suspi c iou s looks and s c orn ful words

that he c ould only answer in one way .

Besides the pro v ost marshal an d the

,
-
co n

s c ripting o ffi c e r were soon busy an d m en , c ould

no longer halt between two opinion s . T he n

T ony , with a s c ore of men of his own c hara c ter ,

fled to the head w aters

- of the Atascosa . He was
by n o m e ans a c o ward figh ting was as n atural
 Mag n o lia . 2 81

as breathing to him but he would fight only

“
for his own hand an d his own interests .

North and South were equally indi fferent to

him . The war o ffere d him a c han c e for a law
less profita b le life and he was deter m ined to
, ,

make the most of it . He had never had c lear

ideas as to the ownership of cattle ; he per
c e iv e d that the c ongregating of great bodies of
m en in the lo c ality would make cattle of great
v alue and that turning sto c k into gold would
,

be a mos t profitable busin ess .

His plans were soon organized and the ranks ,

of the c ompany whi c h he forme d for this pur

p ose were soon fille d by me n flying from their
h omes in order to a v oid military ser v i c e . From
Eagle Pass to B razos Santiago h e had se c ret , ,

stations an d at these station s the cattle stolen

,

fr o m th e Mexican side of th e river were hid d en

an d de fended until th ey c ould be turned into
,

gold . His communi c ation with h is fath er was

consta n t . Magnolia was aware o f men wil d and ,

u nkempt who stole in and out of the house and

, ,
2 82

’
for wh o m in Mr B o wie s r o om there was alway s
,
.
,

a meal of j erke d beef an d whisky .

In the meantime the tran sport lying at In ,

d i an o la had b een taken an d carried into Galves

ton harbor an d , G eneral Houston amid j eers

,

an d hisses had spoken his last words for the

,

Union . Ci v il war i n its bit t ere st aspects was

, ,

o v er the land . T here were th o usan d s o f fam i

lies so di v ided that they w ould n ot eat at the
same table and su c h m en as h ad not ye t put on
“
the gray were met wherever they turne d by
’
some wom an s s c orn ful look or taunting word .

As yet nothing but success had followe d the

,

Confederate arms an d Magnolia went singing ,

about the house in a tone of tr i umph . Yet war

had b rought her many deprivati o n s . T heir

negro ser v ants h ad all fled and Bowie w o uld buy ,

no more and th e work of th e h ouseh old fell

,

hea v ily upon her . G radually it b e c am e h arder

and harder . Candles s o ap and other n ece ssities
,

that h ad always been bought were now to m ake , ,

and with the rudest m aterials . H er strength

2 84 Mag n o lia .

times o btaine d the latest and as time ,

w en t o n,

the most disastr o us news .

One night in a time of peculiar hopelessness

, ,

she sat musing in her room at midnight . She

had already slept an d was re freshe d an d wake
,

ful . Th e night was still and rathe r c o ld an d , ,

the c asement was shut . Her m in d was specially

active . She was thinking of Rex an d Jack ,

whom she belie v ed to be in Arizona . Su ddenly

a trumpet blast seemed to fill all the spaces of
—
earth and hea e n a blast o f infinite sadness that
v ,

made h er rise to her feet with clasped h an ds

,

and beating heart . It died gradu ally away and ,

was not repeated ; but as she st o o d listening

with all her soul she heard footsteps an d s o m e
, ,

one tapped at her do o r .

M agnolia it is I ,
.

Th e oice was her father s but was strangely ’

v

unlike his usual hard so m ber tone , . She lifte d

her lamp and open ed the door . H e stood look
ing at her wh ite an d trembling
, .

W h at is it father ? ,
”
 Mag n o li a . 2 85

Did you hear it ?

Yes .

H e staggered to a c h air and sat d o wn mut ,

tering
Wh o blows it that has fo und me out here ?
,

Am I called W hat is going to happen ?

She spoke to him in lo w , ge ntle w o rds ; spoke
o f H im whom all powers obey ; but the m o rtal
terrors mar c hing and cou ntermar c hing acro ss
the m an s soul sh e ’
c ould n ot dispel . He sat
speechless w h ile the forgotte n and the dead
and hardly heard his daughter s ’
called him ,

w o rds . At length he rose drearily and went to

his o wn r o om . H e was scarc ely there when ,

T o ny knocked fo r admittan ce . His father was

u nusually glad to see him . T hey had no t met
for m o n th s and , T ony
’
s influen ce was j ust what
he needed to help him to fling o ff the uncanny
tremor that was dominating him .

T ony brought i m p o rtant n ews . R ex with a

,

body guard of fi fty men was on his way

-
,
to the
capital on s o me special business and the f o ll o w ,
2 86 Mag n olia .

h is
’
ing day would be likely to pass fath er s
house . C ac h i s e had inf o rmed T ony that the y
were greatly in n ee d of m oney ,
an d T ony

th o ught it likely they would le v y a contri b ution

on th e ri c h ranchme n and planter s o n their
route . Bowie was known to h a v e m ade a great
deal of money by the sale of c attle an d cotton ,

an d T ony ad v ised him t o di v ide an d c o nceal it

in se v eral di fferent pla c es .

Bowie was easily alarmed where h is gold was

c oncerned He c on fessed to h av ing a large
. su m in
the secret drawer of h is d esk an d a still greater ,

su m hidde n about th e house . T ony suggested

that the latter should be h idden u nder di ffere nt
tre es in the n eighborh ood an d Bowie prom ise d ,

to attend to the m atter at break of day . Durin g

the con v ersatio n there was the usual , c o n su mp
tion of beef an d wh isky an d gradually Bowie
,

thre w o ff the influe n ce of that weird m idnigh t

blast . He said n othin g of it to T ony ; h e h ad
n o mi n d to meet his scorn ful in cre dulity and ,

in deed , as dayligh t came on ,

he began to
2 88 Mag n o lia .

large sum s fo r the arming o f me n specially de

fending his o wn fr o ntier . He was prepared for
Rex s demand and deter m ined to resist it
’

, .

He said nothing to Magn o lia ; for gradually ,

d uring the last three years the girl had becom e ,

his master . Her mora lpurity and the u nselfish ,

elevation of her m o tives disc o ncerte d and

humiliated h im . He had long fo un d it i m p o ssi
ble to co w her with brutal w o rds the slave o f

his o wn vices h e unconsci o usly b o wed bef o re

,

the girl wh o had risen ab o ve h erself .

Be fore lea v ing him th e next night she st o o d ,

at his side a m ome nt and asked ,

”
Do you feel better father ? ,

He knew what sh e m eant ,

b ut h e w o uld
not permit h imself to ope n such a subj ect
again .

’
I m well enough , he an swered ; and th en
he stooped and shook the ashe s out o f his pipe ,

in order to hide his changing fa c e from the c lear

eyes rea d ing it . I f h e had only kn own It was
th e last appeal of his angel and whe n Magnolia ,
 Mag no lia . 2 89

turned away with a sigh the pla c e was ready ,

for th e evil that was to come to him .

Bu t Bowie was watchin g his gold e v ery care

w as los t in that one . T hat th e day was over
did not release h im from anxiety h e had b een

called during th e n ight often to answer the

re quisitions of m arching tro o ps . Yet wh en he
reach ed his room h e was su fficiently u n der the
terr o r of the previous night to look at the length
of his candle an d ,
to res o lve to keep it burning .

I t was only a hom e m ade tallow dip with a -

, w ick

o f twiste d c o tton thr o ugh it but it made a dim ,

light in the large bare shadowy room

, , .

H e did no t undress . He lay do w n up o n his

bed to watch At first the numberless insects an d
.

moths an noyed him . T here w as o ne large m o th

f th e species called Death s H ead w hich did
’
o ,

so particularly . It fle w r o und an d r o u n d the

flame an d n ever seeme d to receive any injury
,
.

He c ould no t rid him self of the id ea th at it was

w atch ing him m aliciously with its uncanny pro ,

t u b e ran t eyes . He rose as softly as if some

2 9 0 lbf ag n o lia .

one was to be de c eive d by h is m ove men ts an d ,

put th e candle in side th e glass lantern . Still

the creature darted at it with a kin d of fi e ré e

persistence that became u nen durable . He got

up again now quite determ ine d
,
to kill it ; but
the creature always elude d h im . Th e chase ,

trivial as it was became a thing of p o sitive me

,

c e ss i t y to him . He had shot m any an Indian

without feeling such hatred as h e felt t o ward
the irritating insect .

Suddenly a n o ise in th e garden attracte d h is

attenti o n . H e lay s o ftly d o wn trem b ling all ,

over w ith a new apprehension . Th e n o ise con

tin ned at intervals . It was stealthy and n u o er
tain but h e was sure that it was a
,
h uman foot
step . He th o ught first of C ac h i se ,
an d w as i m

mediately on th e alert . T here was no better

Indian fighter than B o w ie an d w ith th e though t ,

c ame a vigilan ce o f every sense ,

w hich defie d
surprise .

His bed was in th e northwest c o rner of the

ro o m and quite in shad o w
, ; his desk c o n tain ,
2 9 2 Mag n o lia .

at o nce for the hidden drawer . Th e m o ne y

was tied up in rolls o f gold pie ces one hun dre d
,

dollars in a roll . He let the robber pu t thre e

in h is pocket the fourth was in th e
,
ac t of tran s
fer . He could en dure th e angry strain o f his
passions no longer an d h e fired
,
.

Th e shot cut the still ai r W i th a reverberating

sound and ere it h ad c eased Bowie was aware
, ,

of the s ame trumpet blast that he had heard the

previous night only infinitely m ore sad an d ,

wailing and far away —a very shadow of soun d

, ,

yet thrilling all his soul with a dreadful fear .

He leaped to his feet an d at th e same m omen t ,

Magnolia stood within the door . Her v ery lips

were blan c hed h er whole attitude that of ex
,

treme horror . Ere h e c ould realize her pres

en c e her hand was on the pistol an d she had
, ,

gasped out :

Fath er fath er ! W hat h a v e you don e ?

,

Rex w as robbing m e I ha v e shot him

Not for a mom ent did she believe th e a c cusa
t io n ; b ut t urnin g t o w ard t h e fi gu re ,
she noti c e d
 Mag n o li a . 2 93

th e gray u niform . W ith h urried steps she ,

ap

ro ac h e d it Th e robber had fallen partly upon

p .

his face She st o o ed an d gently turned him

‘

.
p .

A last excru c iating throe of pain forced an oath

fro m the bloody lips and Magnolia knew t he ,

v oi c e . T here was little nee d for the sho c ked

girl to fet c h a c an dle an d cast its si c kly glare
u pon the fast setting fa c e - . Bowie ad v an c ed
with her an d for c ed himself to look upon
,
it

the fa c e of his eldest son ,

his belo v ed and
truste d T ony ! T heir eyes m e t in one short ,

awful glan c e of everything that was una v ailing .

Magn olia ,
lea v ing the dead an d li v ing to
gether we nt to the quarters to c all two Mexi c an
,

peon s who slept th ere . As she c ame ba c k she .

saw C ac h i s e leaning against a tree . He must

h ave heard the pistol and at a motion from ,

Mag n olia h e followed her

,
. W hen th ey entered
th e death room -
,
Bowie had stripped the gray
u n i for m from his son and laid him upon his ,

bed . Th e clothes lay in a pool of blood by th e

plun dere d d esk . H e p oi nte d t h e mo ut t o Cach i se , .
‘
2 94 Magn o lai .

but remembering th e gold in the po c ket wen t ,

and removed it .

Th e Indian c ompreh en ded all ,

an d th ere
was a flicker of pleasure in his gleam in g black ,

eyes . But when h e saw Bowie rem ovin g th e

gold he laid his hand on the coat
,
w ith an i n t e n
tion not to be mistaken .

Mine ,
he said all m ine cloth es an d gold
”
too !

Th e m en w ould ha v e settled their dispute

with the knife b ut for Magnolia . She finally
indu c ed h im to gi v e up the blood y garments ,

for he was alm o st exhauste d with emotion and ,

’
the I ndian s explanation of the a ffair was th e
last blow h e was able to endure .

C ach i s e said he had stolen th e unifor m from

Rex Bowie for T ony to commit th e robbery in .

He c al c ulated on accom plish ing th e dee d with

out disturbing h is father who usually , , in th e
early part o f the night fell into the deep slum
,

ber c o mmon to tr o pical clim ates . T he n the

C o nfe derat e c o at an d ca p wer e to be le ft b e sid e
2 96 Mag n o lia .

lashe d together so m e gree n bran che s fo r a bi e r,

and they laid the c o rpse up o n it . Bowie followed

in a maze of horr o r an d grie f Magn o lia walke d
beside h im and when the turf was packed tight
,

over the dreadful moun d sh e t o ok her fath er s ’

h an d an d led h im back to th e house .

No man w o uld blam e h im but he blam ed ,

himself . He knew th e murder that was in his

heart and the fie ndish j oy with which h e h ad
,

pulle d the tr i gger when h e h ad supp o sed it was

R ex he w as slaying . T h at last repr o ach ful ,
re

m o rse fu l, despairing lo o k in T o ny s eyes was

’

ever be fo re h im . He sat h o ur after h o ur with

his head in his hands letting it , w o rk to m ad
ness in his brain .

An d no w came the h ardest year o f th e strug

gle . Hope had fled . The C o n federates w ere

fighting their enem ies with s o m ething of th e

despairing persiste nce w ith w hich a physician
fights a cancer w hich he kn o ws will in th e en d
pr o ve mortal . Fair Play was full o f m aim e d
and disapp o inte d m en ; th e c o untry w as full o f
 Mag n o lia . 2
97

desperate ch aracte rs of all kinds Property was

“

at their mercy ; h omes and lives were held at

their will or pleasure . Magnolia lived in a co n

stant fearful looking for -

o f robbery and fire ,
o f
murde r and o utrage w o rse than death , .

She e ntreate d her father to remove to San

An tonio until the end came and sometimes h e ,

promise d to do so ; but the next h o ur he had

forgotten th e pr o mise and probably ans w ered ,

any allusion to it in language which made the

heart sick girl tremble
-
. For it was evident that
Reason was fas t l o sing her d o minion over the
’
old m an s fierce passions and fierce despair .

Political e v e nts h ad ceased to make any impres

sion upon h im . He sat for hours with dropped
eyes ,
S pee c hless moti onless or he kept up until
,

exhausted that m onotonous to an d fro walk - -

which in some measure st u p e fi e s the v ital ener

gies . D ead S leeps alternated with nights of
frig h tful restlessness ; S ilence , with passionate
exe c ration s . His eyes got a haunted loo k ; he
h ad the face of a man driven by an irresis t ible
2 9 8 Mag n o lia .

ag o ny and he ,
w as visite d by v o lcanic m o o ds i n ,

w hich he w as danger o us to appr o ach .

Th e en d of it all came at last . One nigh t in

January when there was a wet
,
“
n o rther ”
—
a

c o ld bitterly c o ld night when th e cattle had

, ,

fled to the timber an d the w o lves were h o wlin g

with hunger Magn o lia aw o k e fr o m a dead S leep
,

w ith a sense of impending disaster . T h e w in d

sobbed and roare d about th e h o use an d th e ,

freezing pitiless rain b e at again st the

, w ind o w s .

To be out in these wet n o rth ers is a m at t er

o f life an d death an d govern m ent an d em igrant
,

train s are often decimate d by o ne, so fatal is

the piercing severity of the wind .

She th rew a
p aroun d her h asten ed t
s er a o the e ,

windows and looked o u t listening intently to

, ,

e very soun d . T he n Sh e rem embere d h ow un

lik ely it was th at any hum an bei n g w o uld be

out dur i ng suc h freezing weather . She w o uld
go to bed and liste n there . But it was i m p o ssi
ble fo r h er to rest . Cryi n g softly partly wit h ,

mental t err o r partly , w ith the real physical pain

go o

'

li e v e d the se cond blast to be his own summon

He had aske d himself over and o v er W h o blew
it ,
an d How they h ad found h im out on that
lonely far west prairie
,
-

Shi v ering even by the blazing cedar logs ,

Sh e

dressed h erself replenishe d the fire and then

, ,

walked in h er restless anxiety to the window

, , .

Her eyes fell upon the live oak that over

’
shadowed T ony s grav e . Very rarely did s he

allow them t o rest there but at this mome nt th e ,

tossing tree fascinated h er . Its great branche s

waved an d ro c ke d and b o wed an d appeared to ,

beckon her in a horrible manner AS . Sh e gazed ,

the m oon plunged o ut of a black cloud an d

shone full upon the tree “ T here w as a long ,

black S hadowy figure swaying with it .

Quick as her terror an d th e cold win d w o uld

allow her to move sh e tottered al o ng the garden
,

road an d although blown hither an d thither

, ,

Sh e reached at length the fate ful tree . H er

father w as hanging fro m it . Sh e d rew th e
b o w ie k nife from his b o o t and instantly cut
-
, th e
 Mag no lia .
30 1

dangling r o pe but it was far too late . Th e

corpse was frozen hard . Cold and s t ran gula

tion had sent th e torture d soul through ra c k and ,

tempest to its own place, .

Sh e was at on c e aware of her position . To

call th e Mexi c ans was to let the m know that she

was alone and defenseless . Yet the poor frozen
,

wreck of hum anity c ould not remain there the ,

S p o rt o f th e w inter storm . In after years the ,

m emory o f how Sh e managed her terrible task

grew partially c lear to h er but at the time of
the ordeal she was raised far ab ove the m aterial
,

aids to it . W hen Sh e h ad laid the body upon the

dead m an s be d and c overed it with the blanket
’

which had been his pr o tection on m an y a long ,

dangerous m ar c h she locked the door and went ,

to her o wn ro o m .

Cr ouching over th e fire , praying sobbing

, ,

suffering she passed th e lonely hours u ntil d ay

,

light . Th e cold and win d moderate d at sunrise

an d with out a word to th e peon s she rode into
, ,

Fair Play . T here were pitiful h earts there to

30 2 [ M
a n
g o lia

help her ,
an d sh e w as i n d u c e d , w he n sh e had
seen a party of m en lea v e for th e Bowie ran ch ,

to submit herself to th e imperative need of

S leep and warmth .

W hen Sh e came to any sen se of outward life

again th e trees were budding the birds sing
, ,

ing and th e
, w arm s u n si n e fl o oding the re newe d
world with glory . Th e war was pra c tically
over . Rex was at th e Bowie ran c h an d Jack ,

Hayes with the last han dful of men fighting

, ,

Colonel Branson at the mouth of the R io

Grande . B ut a m o n th afterward in th e m idst ,

”
of a fight ,
the orde r c ame to cease firin g .

Th e war was ended ; an d Jack sheathed his

sword fore v er in that quarrel .

Exactly thre e years afterward M agn o lia was ,

standing on e evening at the door of her h ome ,

by the mystical Gila , looking down th e Santa

Cruz Valley wa v ing with wh ea t so rich an d yel
,

low that it m ake s bread like gold . A stranger

was sitting at the open d o or a m an wh o looke d ,

w eary and discontented and wh o talked to h e r ,

3 4
0

who had been so long i n possessi o n of the

estate
“ “
Now wife , ,
he said ,
you m ay be a great
”
lady in your own right if you wan t to be one , .

I would rather be the wife of Ja c k Hayes

an d live in the San t a Cruz Valley .

T here , S i r, you have your answer I reck o n , .

11
’ ’
I j ust drop a line to Magnolia s c o usin an d
tell him h e n eed be noways afraid o f either Rex
B owie or Jack H ayes makin g any claim for th e
place he ’
s been squatting on so long—long
enough I take it to make his right go od I f
, , .

’
you ll look down th e valley an d up th e hills ,

stranger as far as you can see the lan d is mine

, ,

’ ’
and Magnolia s ; and I m thin kin g th ere isn t ’

any to beat it i n the whole wide world . W e are

contented an d h appy . Could we be better th an
tha t ? No sir ! So Magnolia an d I we
, ,
’
11 j ust li v e
an d die in the Santa Cruz Valley ,
i f so it pleas e
Go d t o le t u s h av e such fav o r fro m Hi m ! .
 THE

Ro mance of Crado ck Manor .

S my st o ry is a true story and as I am a

,

m atter o f fact person an d like

- -
, to have my
lo c alities corre c t I ,
S h all have to introduce my
readers to that quiet hom ely portion of England
,

c alle d Norfolk . I wish I could have made it

W ale s ,
or the S c ot c h Highlands or the Lake
District ; but the people I am going to write
about live d i n Norfolk , an d I ha v e neith er
power no r wish to separate the m fr o m their
r l surr o undin gs
n at u a .
30 6 R o m an ce f
o C r aao eh
’
Ma n o r .

I m ay as well admit at on ce that the C o unty

of N o rfolk is unkn o wn to fame . Artists an d
summer tourists n ever go th ere an d it has n o
subterranean w ealth to enrich it on the fien dish
c o ndition o f breathing an atmosphere o f dilute d
so o t and coal dust -
. But it has compen sations all
—
its own strange ,
h aunting beauties ,
which ,

hav ing o nce take n p o ssession o f any heart fill ,

it at intervals ever afterward w ith a sweet re

m e m b ran c e th at is almost h o mesickness .

I can see to d ay as I saw th irty years

, ago ,
the
great wide stretch es of level pasturages d o tted
, ,

with rich farms an d lonely win dmills an d lo w

[

thatched cottages th e m arshes fringe d w ith

yellow and purple flags ,

stan ding up to th eir
chins in water ; th e great ditches intersecting
them white with water lilies
,
- the high belts of
natural turf use d instead of fen ce s
, ,
an d o v er all ,

for weeks together a sun sh in e to whi c h th e

,

white lights o f the opera were shad o ws .

Th e little market t o wn -
o f Crado c k was in th e
center of such a —
d is t rict a very quiet lit t l e
30 8 [ f o rn an oe f
o C ’
r a ao o h Man or .

to o honorable to watch her S ister . If Sh e S h o uld

tell her very g o o d , ; if not Sh e would n ot
follow out this thought but laid h er work in th e ,

basket and began to dress for din ner .

Presently there was a light footstep a gentle ,

rustle of sweeping robes and B rida entered , . A

kin d of radian ce came i n with her came fr o m ,

her large fair loveliness from the glow in he r

,
-

eyes fro m the fresh sweet fa c e that looke d as

, ,

if m ade out of a rose and fr o m the warm lights ,

about her pale golden h air - .

“
W h y Brida where h ave you been ? You
, ,

look almost t ran s fi gu re d .

Down the garden Kitty ,

-
with the trans
”
fi g u re r .

Captain M o ntane -
eh
You are a good diviner .

I S it w ise ? Sir Charles m ay be h ere any

hour .

I S it delightful —is it en chanting ? AS for

Sir Charl es I don t think Kitty you n eed speak
,
’

, ,

of disagreeable subj ects until you are obliged to .

 R o m a n ce f
o Gr a elo c h M a n or .
3 9
0

Kitty shrugged her sh oulders ,

and looked
half admiringly and half repro v ingly at her
- -

sister .

I do wish our family c ould fall in love sen

s ibly .

W ell Kitty that is a thing the Crado c ks

, ,

never have done and never will do ,

-
it is their
one re dee ming point . Papa married in Italy
—
to please himself did anybody kn o w mamma ?
I h av e h eard she was a famous p r i rn a ao n na ’
,

’
really on the stage said Brida lowering her , ,

voice and the n laugh ing merrily

,
.

“
An d do you mean to please yourself and
m arry Captain
Oh Kitty why do you ask such
, ,
s t rai gh t fo r

w ard questions ? It is a dreadful h abit dear ,

.

It pleases me to live for the present twenty f o ur -

”
h o urs . To -
m o rrow w ill be an o ther d ay .

Have you th o ught ab o ut y o ur dress for to

m o rrow
T h at ,
in d eed is ,
o ne th i ng in advan ce that
in terests m e . I h ave n ot a de c ent thing to wear .
3 1 0 R o m a n ce o
f C '
r a ao c h Ma nor .

I t is a S hame of papa to ask c om pany an d yet ,

give us n o money
Brida s handsome brows wrinkle d
’
there was
a cumbrous old oake n c hair near ; Sh e drew it int o
the sunshine and sat down to thin k . Ki t ty
we nt to th e lattice and thro w ing it open st o od, ,

lo o king with wistful eyes far ov er th e garden ,

to the brown world an d the placid w aters o f th e

broad .

No money —that was the S kelet o n o f C rad

ock Hall . Yet it stood far away from the busy

world in the midst of a won derfu l old garden
, ,

S hady s w eet an d still

, ; always earliest fo un d in

spring by birds an d bees . It w as en circled by

fen and pasture lands and protecte d by m ile s
-
,

and miles of creeks and cuts an d “

deeks ”
—
it

was Cradock Man o r as far as on e would care to

walk in any directi o n . Yet ,

for all th at th e ,

want of money made itsel f see n an d felt in every

ro o m o f the g ray o ld mansi o n an d in ,
e very
h eart with in th em .

T h e Causes w ere many an d far bac k ;

,
no '
o ne
3 1 2 R o m a n ce f
o C r a ao c h
’
Ma n o r .

bee n easy for h im to please both father and

wife .

Sh e died in Floren c e in the third y ear of their

union . Th e older servan ts still rem embered
the return of th e squire with his two daughters ,

and still S poke with a kind of won der of the

bitter mourning m aster h ad made fo r th e
foreign woman .

But ere long the deeper family traits asserte d

themselves He settle d down into th e h o spitable
.
,

hu nting squire an d whe n his fath er d ie d an d

, ,

he became master o f Cradock adopte d all th e

,

traditions of his c aste .

Among these traditi o ns was the the o ry that

the women of a c ounty family were born thralls
to its interest an d con v en ien c e . I f Squire C rad
ock had had a so n , he would h ave grumblingly
allowe d the boy s righ t to ’
c h oose h is own wife
but it ne v er e ntere d his m ind th at his d aughter s
might desire th e same latitude . Neither did he
take into c onsiderati o n the admixture o f quick
S o uthern bl o o d an d the broader views o f life
 R o ma n ce f
o G ’
r a ao c h Ma nor .
3 3
1

whi c h were theirs by the simple fa c t of the

general ad v an c e in e d u c ation and i n t e lli
gen c e .

So he m ade n o c eremony in announ c ing to his

daughte r Brida the expe c ted arri v al of Sir
Charles W ickham an d his desire that she would
,

re c ei v e h im as h er lover .

He does m e too mu c h honor sir , ,

said Brida
dropping angrily one by one the red , ,
c urrants
Sh e was eating upon her plate .

W e c annot a fford to be humble miss , . You

will now tell Mrs Pearson to get the east rooms
.

ready 9
T he n , w ith that final manner whi c h is
so embarrassing h e pushe d away his c hair and
,

walke d S lowly out of th e ro o m .

But Brid a kept h er place

‘

. She seemed to be
o nly arrangin g red currants in all sorts of fan
t ast i c shapes but ,
Sh e was in reality coming to
the first great decision of her life .

I suppose i n som e occult

,
w ay , t h e currants
h elpe d h er for ,
Sh e m o v e d them hither and
th ither sometimes thoughtfully sometimes ir
, ,
3 4
1 R o man ce f
o C r a ao c h
’
Man o r .

ri t abl
y, until finally Sh e pushed them sl o wly bu t

de c idedly away saying as she rose , ,

I — — — —
will n ot do i t
She had it all her own way with the currants ;
Kitty was harder to manage . Kitty thought Sir
”
Charles not at all bad . H e was rich an d ,
we
”
are so poor Brida , ,
sh e said dolefully tapping
, ,

w ith her foot th e fade d carpet of their r o o m .

Oh dear I
, ,
w onder if it is wicked to be p o o r !
T here is Louis can t do a thing h e wants
’

,
to o , to

do , j ust because h e has n o thing but h is pay .

Kitty sighed an d went diligen tly on

,
w ith her
se w ing . Brida lifted her hat an d w ent th o ught
fully out . Bu t Sh e ca m e i n, as Kitty said ,

t ran sfi g u re d , an d with a light in her eyes ,

and a settled co n fiden c e in her manner th at

Th e
’
argued ill fo r Sir Charle s s suit . questi o n
of dress brough t h er to the level o f daily
life .

“
I do no t want to l o o k a fright Kitty , , sh e
s aid after a thi n k in th e old oake n chair that
,

had held so m any Crad o ck beauties .

3 6 1 R o m a n ce f
o C r a ao c h ’
Man o r .

Brida ,
—
dear dear Brida ! D on t sing in
’

that way please ,

. Oh what a wonderful voice
, !
”
See you have made me cry too
, , .

“
Yes Kitty
, , answere d Brida walking to the ,

open latti c e and looking dream ily into the

h o rizon ,
it is a w o nderful v o ice . It calls m e
in my heart and I remem ber strange li v es I
,

never saw . Ha v e I bee n somebody else ,

I
wonder ,
or does the present proj ect itself into
the future
’
Dear Brida don t begin speculating wh en it
,

is din ne r time -
. See ,
t here is papa c om in g
through the shrubbery an d I do belie v e that Sir ,

Charles is with him or is it Captain M ontane

Kitty Cradock you ough t to , be ash am e d o f
yourself . Does Louis Montan e h a v e straw
c olored hair and legs too long for h is , b ody ?

Does h e need a c ane in order to e ntertain his

hands ,
o r look on the ground when h e c ould
j ust as well lo o k straight be fore him ? T hat is
Sir Charles of ,
c ourse an d I hop e I
, s hall lo o k
”
as u gly t o n i gh t as I fe el .
 R o m a n ce o
f C r a ao c h ’
Ma n o r .
3 1 7

Yet Brida s first care after this rem ark was

’

, ,

her personal appearan c e and if Kitty had been

ill nature d she might hav e said some
-
, u n ge n e r

ous things ab out the pain s S h e took with it For if .

she desire d to look ugly n e v er had ,

Sh e looked
m ore beau t if u l . Sir Charle shad seen her in
her riding hab it at various times
-
but this white
robed beauty with roses in her hand was a de
, ,

li c i o u s astonishm ent to him .

B efore dinner was o v er he had almost de ,

c ided to release Crado c k Manor e ntirely from

the mortgage h e held rather than lose any ,

c han c e of making Brida his wife . One song in

the sweet e v ening gloam ing de c ided him . He
’
was ery fond of musi c Brida s v oi c e o v er c ame
v

him — i t was m ore en c hanting than her beauty .

He had n e v er b e fore felt so generous and so

kin dly .

’
“
Squire ,
he said as they held ea c h other s
,

“
h and s in the “
good n ight courtesy , I feel
how little I c an do to S ho w my sense of obliga
t i o n to yo u for your a c c e p tan c e of m y p ro p osal
3 8 1 R o m a n ce f
o C r a ao c h
’
Ma n o r .

but th e day Miss Crado c k is Lady W ickh am ,

your manor will be free as far as I am ,

co n

”
c erned .

Any on e m ay imagin e no w th e progress o f

events . Sir Charles went out riding an d walk
ing with Brida sauntere d with her th rou gh th e
,

shady garde n held her ba s

ket while sh e gath
,

ered s trawberries an d cut flowers or hung eu

tranced over the piano wh en Sh e c h ose to sin g .

It would be foolish an d unnatural to say th at

Sh e found only annoyan c e in th is compan ion
ship . No woman is indi fferent to honest ad m i r

ation besides there was the piquant pleasure

, ,

when Captain Montane j oine d them of satisfy ,

ing th e real lo v er without arousing the su sp i

c ions of th e rival .

So little pleasure had c om e into Brida s life ’

that e v en this uncertain current—leading h er

—
sh e knew not whither was irresistible .

AS for Captain M o ntane h e kept his sere ne,

face and ch eerful man n ers ; th e baronet s priv ’

i le ge s did no t see m to ann o y h im .

3 2 0 R o m an ce f
o Gr a clo ch Man o r .

Squire Cra d ock was n ot a suspiciou s m an but a ,

conversation h e listene d to betwee n Brida and

the latter young lady m ade him so .

Miss Bash p o o le being an old playmate an d

,

girlish friend had c o m e early i n th e day and

, , ,

with the young ladies of Crado c k retire d ,

to a
little parlor long disused and seldom visited
, ,

fo r a go o d c o nfidential talk . T hey d id not re

member ,
no r did they k now that it looke d into
,

a part of the garde n devoted by th e squire to

horticultural experim ents ,

in which h e took
great interest . H e h ad gon e there that m orn
—
ing to examine his tom ato plants the n rare -

enough in Norfolk to excuse h is pride in th em

—and being tired with stoopin g in the hot sun
, ,

sat d own on a stone ben ch be neath th e win do w ,

th e lattice of wh ic h was open .

He h eard m any things there wh ich made him

smile an d plan little S peeches to astonish the
girls with his kno wledge of their a ffairs . He
’
heard Brida s complaints of his stinginess about
th eir dresses an d po c ket money Kitty s ideas
-
,
’
 R o m an ce o
f C r aao c h ll
’
f a no r .

a b out the way in which wo m en were generally

”
“
kept down in Norfolk and Mis s Bash p o o le
,
’
s

frank opinions about her numerous lo v ers .

Up o n the whole the old gentleman spent a

,
’

very pleasan t hour listening an d it n ever on c e ,

e ntered his head to be ashamed of himself

alth o ugh if it had been a party of m en discuss
,

ing t h eir bets an d am o urs he w o uld have con ,

s i d e re d it highly dish on o urable to listen to their

a ffairs .

But listeners s o o ner or later hear something

u npleasant an d he had his dream regarding
,

th e h ad
’
Brida s satisfaction with destiny he pro
v id e d for h er rudely broken fo r at last he heard
Miss Bash p o o le say
H ow do y o u like Sir Charles my d ear and , ,

”
whe n is the a ffair to com e o ff ?

I do not like Sir Charles at all , answered

Brida an d th e a ffair is n ever to c o me o ff
“
,

R ea ll
y

R eall
y .

—
Captain M o ntane e h ? “
3 2 2 R o m an c e o
f C r a ao c h
’
Ma n o r .

Hush ! Fann y ,
d ear , to n igh t you m ust do
-

m e a very great favour . W he n your carriage

comes you will pre fe r to walk h o me an d take
,

Sir Charles as your escort .

But have you c o nsi d ere d Brida that I shall , ,

do m y very best to captivate him ? I c o uld n ot

help it dear ,
-
no not if I
,
w as put under bond s
for go o d beha v iour
do n
’
I wis h you w ould . I f you t c o mpare
him w ith any o ther m an Fan ny h e is , , no t so

very bad . H e has been terribly heavy on my

hands for two weeks ; will insist on taking
things s er i e n x T hat is one fault in
’ ’

an g ra n a .

stupid men . Another is wh en you try to e nter ,

tain th em ,
t h ey let y o u d o i t ; they actually be

lieve you feel all the interest in th em y o u pre

ten d to do an d n ever think they o ugh t
, to try
and am u se you a little .

W ell dear I S hall try and relieve y o u ; for

, ,

my part I think th e lordsh ip o f W ickh am man

,

tle large en ough to co v er a multitude o f per

sonal imperfe ctions . Th e n there w as so m e
3 4
2 R o m a n ce f
o C r aao c h ’
Ma n o r .

Sp o n d e d
’
readily to Miss Fanny s advan c es held ,

her te acup turne d her music walked with her

, ,

o n the esplanade and i n fact playe d back th e , , ,

card the two girls h ad S hown him with an un

consci o us S implicity ch arming to th e fair pl o t

ters .

W hen Miss Bash p o o le ’

s carriage arrived sh e ,

’
obeye d Brida s dire ctions and turning to Sir ,

“
Charles said ,
he h ad been so delightfully en

t e rt ai n i n g , sh e was going to allow him to walk

home with her . She would S how him th e sweet
est little lane lined with wild roses an d hau nte d
,

”
by nightin gales ,
etc etc
.
,
.

Sir Ch arles declared he “

n eede d n o in duce
ment but her c ompany an d the little co ns
p i r

at o r actually bid Sq u ire Cradock g o od - by ,

’
leaning on her vi c tim s arm .

He wanted to tell h er what h e thought about

her but he could fin d n othin g but
,
s t rai gh t fo r

wa rd blun dering w o rd s t h at he knew

, , w ould be
i n sta ntly de molished by Fa nny Bash p o o le s ‘

.
’

rapier pointed se nte nce s S o h e p n ly S hoo k h is

-
_ w
 R o m a n ce o f C r a ao c h ’
Ma n o r .
3 2 5

head at her in a way w hi c h made her w o nder ,

for a se c ond or two ,

whether he was falling in
love with her or whether he had taken an extra
,

”
quantity of port that night .

B ut the squire was neither in love nor in

wine h e had b ee n unusually S paring at dinner
time and was consi derably wider awake than he
,

had bee n in th e morning . He decline d Captain

Montane s i nvitation
’
to smoke said h e was tired
, ,

and bid Brida an d Kitty go away and get their

beauty sleep as good English girls ought to do
,
.

For these Norfolk S quires belie v ed the n in early

h o urs and be fo re ten o c lock th e house was
’

; So

still that h e heard the great clock i n the kitchen

answer the great cl o ck in the hall . T here was
n o noise i n the garden either but a nightingale , ,

S ingin g in some leafy seclusion his hymn of

, ,

i m passio n ed imp o ssible lo v e

,
.

But the squi re h ad lea rned th at day to distrust

appearan c e s and h e determined to walk sl o wly
,

d own a little path win din g all round th e garden ,

an d whic h w as c alle d th e H azel L an e becau se

“

,
3 2 6 R o m an ce f
o f an o r
C r aclo ch ll .

plante d on each side wit h th o se deli c i o u s nuts .

T here were seats an d arb o rs all thr o ugh th is

w alk . Secluded and quiet it was j ust th e place ,

for lo v ers an d there as he had suspected

, , ,
he

foun d a pair .

T hey did not attempt to evad e h im .

I shall not run , Brida , said the captain .

I am d o ing n othing wrong ; an d this explana

tion must c o me soone r or later .

Brida attempted to speak ; the squire would

not listen to her but ordered her hom e with ,

such bitter w o rds that Captain Montane angrily

requested h im to remember h e was speaking
‘

to Miss Crad o c k a lady whom he intended to

,

”
make his wife .

Never I ha v e prom ised he r to Sir Ch arle s

W ickham and by , , George , she S hall m arry
”
him !
Quarrel s are not pleasan t th ings t o write
ab out ; this was a very angry o n e Unpardon .

able words were said on both sides . Captain

Mo n t ane , h o wever , asserte d to t h e las t h is ri ght
3 2 8 R o m a n ce f
o C r a ao c h
’
Man o r .

friends written letters

,
to far and n ear d e s c ri b
’
i ng Brida s wonderful beauty and the s trange
c har m of her S inging . He c ould n ot h e ar their
i n quiries an d con dolences . H e had ann o u n c ed
i n his club h is approaching m arriage an d he ,

could very well imagin e what T ownley , Vesey ,

and a lot o f o ther fello w s would h ave to say ab o ut

his disappoi ntment W h ate v er
. No indeed
,
!

the result Brida must be com e Lady W ickham

,
.

T hese thoughts passe d rapidly through his

m ind as the squire spoke so that his answer was,

“
really w ith o ut hesitation . He though t to o

much imp o rtance had been place d on a very

’

trifling aff air youn g ladies alw ay s h ad a senti

m ental atta c hment either to th e c lergy or th e
military —i t n ever amounte d to anyth ing . He
was quite sure that he possesse d B rida s heart ’

and really h e could not mu c h grudge h is poor

c ousin Montan e a few kind words to break h is
disappointment .

For one m oment th e fathomless co m plaisance

o f the young m an struck Squire Crado c k as con
 R o m a n ce o
f C r aao c h
’
Ma n o r .
3 2 9)

t e m p t ible but th e next h e remembered the ;

lands of W i c kham and re c ognized the

, i m p o ssi
b ili t y of any girl preferring a captain s ’
a
p y to

them . As for personal c onsiderations he reall y ,

thought it a spe c ies of indeli c a c y for a woman

to h a v e them . Both m e n agreed howe v er that , ,

an early m arriage was desirable and both readily ,

enough e ntere d upon a discussion of the n eces

sary settlements an d busin ess .

Neither of them was sensible of an y odour o f

human sa c rifi c e in these brutal arrangements ;

neither of them felt any pang of c ompun c tion

for the v ictim of their selfish ness . W hile their
talk was of pounds sterling ,
an d a c res and ,

’
dower house Brida
-
,
lay moan ing in Kitty s arms ,

an d L o u is hurried by a
, S pe c ial dispat c h was ,

hastening south w ard to his tr 0 0 p . Poor fellow !

I f Cradock Hall had been an empty grave he ,

co uld scarcely ha v e turne d his ba c k on it with a

sadder heart . Life had suddenly become to him
a S imple weight .

.
B rid a kept her r o om Kitty came to the table
330 R o m a n ce f
o C r a ao c h
’
Ma n o r .

with red eyes and flushe d cheeks ; Sir Charle s

indulged h is geological tastes by watching t h e
draining of a famous m arsh on an adj oin ing es

tate the squire took an exe cuti v e fit and rate d

the hostlers about their treatmen t o f the h unters
and th e quantity of oats u sed .

T here was an uncom fortable re v olutionary ,

feeling all through the house an d c ook sai d ,

“ ’
Drat the m e n ! T he y couldn t e v e n g o a

c ourting without making e verybody m iserable .

W he n Brida after a week s seclusion reap

,
’

e are d , Sir Charles made h er a form al o ff er f

p o

his hand . It was both of them knew a m ere

, ,

ceremony like the renderin g of a bill afte r a

,

bargain h as bee n m ade bu t still it was a neces

sary ceremony .

Brida c o uld fin d n o thing obj e c tionable in th e

manner of its perform ance he S poke with great
deli c acy and a great deal of earne stn ess . He r
pallor and S ilen ce an d th e m ourn ful lo o k in he r
,

eyes t o uched an d yet irritated h im but h e h ad

set his heart upon this w o man of all th e , w om en
3 3 2 R o m an ce o
f Gr aao ch ’
Mn a or .

one a sep a
rate h u rt . T here were only five feet
o f Kitty Cradock but there was ,
no t a weak spot
i n them . She was the soul o f seren e daring ,

generous an d plucky an d very mu c h a c c ustomed ,

pers o nally to b reak all the laws Sh e did not like .

Don t ’
cr
y ,
Brida darling ,
I am g o ing down
to papa ,
an d I shall m ake him gi v e m e a hear
ing .

She met the squire c oming upstairs with his ,

candle in h is h an d .

Papa ,
said Kitty , will you please retur n to
th e parlour ? I want to speak to y o u .

To o late to night Kitty

-
,
. I suppose it is
about Fanny Bash p o o le ’
s party . I will give y o u

m o ney fo r new dresses to m o rrow -

.

He tried to pass h er with a sm i le

i

an d a shake
o f the h ead but she held h im with h er eyes
, .

“
It will be too late to m orr o w papa -
, . I mus t
S peak with you to night —now -

Kitty you are a little torm e nt

, . I ough t to
h ave broke n your temper twen ty years ag o . I
su p o se p I m ust go w ith y o u, or d o w it h o u t
 R o m a n ce o
f C r a ao c h ’
Ma n o r .
33 3

S leep ; and the squire returned grumbling , ,

to

the parlour .

W ell miss , , y o u will need a \

good ex c use for
”
your beha v iour to night - .

I coul d not have a better papa than m y , , Sis

ter . I c ame to S peak to you a b out Brida s ’

”
tr o u b le .

Brida s trouble ?’

Yes —Sir Charles W ickham you know , .

I do not kn o w ; and what is m o re I do

, no t

’
profess to know any woman s rid dli n g ,
.

Papa I am a plain speaking girl

,
- .

Deu c edly so an d h e gave her a look which

was a singular mixture of anger and