The Argosy — page 176: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Missing Rultes. 161 and leading out into the high road ; and a gate in the laurel-hedge opened into the Earles’ grounds. At this little gate, Alma instinctively paused, being on such friendly terms with her neighbours that they were used to unceremonious meetings. Miss Lindrick was in a most unusually sentimental mood that day. She could not see the hawthorn snows drifting over the grass, nor smell the fresh, intoxicating sweetness of May, without a fuolish longing to live old times over again. Here, at this very gate, she had been wont to meet Godwin in the bygone summer evenings when their hopes were high and their hearts young. Lingering here, they could see the Countess sailing majestically across the lawn, carrying a red sun-shade, and heard her imperious voice calling to her daughter, who was playing with a kitten among the flower-beds. Under the verandah were Dorothy and Jane Earle ; the elder, with her knitting in her hands, the younger with a pair of scissors and a flower-basket. Showers of blossoms were falling from over-laden May boughs ; the sward was dappled with light shadows ; a warm breeze slowly swayed the fading golden tassels of the labur- num. Meadow House was a dreamy, sweet old place, half smothered with flowers and foliage, haunted by birds, steeped in calm and sunshine. The Countess was the first to see the two loiterers at the gate. She came towards them ; large, stately, and warmly cordial. “You surely are not going away without coming in!” she cried, with outstretched hand. ‘‘ Miss Ward has not yet seen the garden, and it is looking so pretty now.” As she spoke, her eyes were keenly noting Beatrice’s brown tweed suit, and criticising the fair face and tall figure. The two elder sisters, in their dove-coloured gowns, came gliding across the grass, and seconded her invitation. Aunt Jane seemed disposed to attach herself to Beatrice, uncon- sciously frustrating the Countess’s intentions, as she often did. If she had guessed that Caroline was bent upon engrossing the young girl’s attention, she would have given her up meekly enough. But Jane had a perfectly innocent way of thwarting the Countess, and spoiled some of her best-laid little schemes all the more effectually, perhaps, because she did not know what she was doing. She felt a simple kind of pleasure in Beatrice’s freshness and beauty, and liked to be near her, much as she liked to be in the neighbourhood of a rose. ““T want you to see my anemones,” she said, in quite a confiden- tial tone. ‘‘I have just been arranging them in a flower-dish and fringing them with fern. I do not care to leave all my flowers out of doors ; I like to have some of them in the room with me.” So saying, she led Miss Ward up the terrace steps, under the verandah, and into the long, low drawing-room. The anemones were worth looking at, delicate cups of the richest scarlet, pink, and VOL. XLIV. ip commicoookKks (SO)