2
THE TIMES NEW BLOOMFtELD, PA.. AP1UL 0, 1880.
THE RIVAL COUSINS ;
Oil
Frances Vaughan'i Secret.
fi "7ES, he loves me; be loves me!"
I Frances Vaughan uttered the
words almost impatiently, with the
vehemence that was a part of her nature
when Btrongly moved. Then she glanc
ed up at her Cousin Edith.
They were so dlflerent,the two women
who eat In the cogey room overlooking
the lawn at Woodlea, a reach of emerald
grass burnished by the May sunflhlne.
Cousins on their fathers' side, but the
relatlonshly was faintly told In looks.
Edith was live years the elder.and proud
of her distinctive Vaughan Inheritance.
Hhe had always passed for a beauty ;
her regal air, her calm, classlo face, her
abundant blonde hair, and her exquisite
figure, certainly established her claim.
Somewhat haughty, but that was in the
Vaughan blood. Her grandfather was
all the prouder of her for it. Bitting in
her crioiBon-cushioned chair she made
a very lovely picture, though she roused
herself a trifle at her cousin's speech.
" It will never do, Frances."
" Perhaps I might make It do," and
the young girl clinched her hand with
tierce determination.
" Grandfather would consent to a
suitable marriage, but never to this."
" Suitable indeed I' for something in
the cool tone of Edith roused every fibre
of resistance In the small frame. " Mr.
Harold, far instance 1"
" Mr. Harold makes no secret of his
.admiration for you."
The bright face flushed, and a sharp
frown settled between the straight
brows.
" I've some wayward blood In me.
The Vaughan current runs in straight
channels, never pausing to dally with
wayside trifles. To marry Mr. Harold
would kill me. His precision, his
formality, his everlasting platitudes,
would wear me out body and soul. I
should have a handsome establishment,
hut of tviiat use is a great white tomb
stone when one is dead V"
l You are always unreasonable, Fran
ces." This calm superiority had been very
hard for Frances Vaughan to bear. At
her cousin's last remark the hot blood
flashed to her face.
" I was not born after your fashion,
Edith. Thank Heaven that I am
Vaughan only in name, and that I can.
change that at a moment's notice."
"You dou't mean " and Edith
Vaughan hesitated to utter treason with
tier proud Hps.
" I mean that Boss Stanhope has ask
ed me to marry him, and fearing that it
would be impossible to win grandfa
ther's consent, has proposed a speedier
plan."
"Frances, you will not, you cannot-"
" I'm not so sure." Frances Vaughan
rose with a proud gesture. A slight,
childish thing she was, looking really
younger than her eighteen years, and
thongh not regularly handsome, was
bright and brilliant. Every thing about
her seemed warm and kIowIdk. and you
read in her face a large capacity, for ten-
derness, perhaps unreasoning devotion
to any cause Bhe espoused. " I'm not so
sure," she went on. " I have some for
tune of my own, and this life here
doesn't appear all engrossing to me, I
am not enough of a Vaughan to appre
ciate it. I want love."
The sneer did not touch Edith. She
eaid, calmly
" A poor artist with no position, a
man we know very little about. I should
advise you to give up the acquaintance.
It frets grandfather to have him come to
the house."
41 Thank you." The ripe lip curled.
41 1 have warned you," Edith said,
loftily. 44 1 will not risk any complicity
with such a termination. Whatever
you do is upon your own responsibil
ity." Left to herself, .Frances buried her
face in her hands and wept a few pas
sionate tears. Why was it that her
cousin's counsel always exasperated
instead of convincing her V Her feel
ings were strong, but her moods evanes
cent Ten minutes later she was ramb
ling through the shrubbery, lured
thither by a figure she had seen linger
ing under the trees.
Edith watched them from the window
Of her own room. She could go to her
grandfather and explain the danger
Frances was in, for Boss Stanhope's
friends had not given him a very strong
endorsement. But if the girl Inherited
a taste for such people, opposition would
only make her the more resolute. She
smoothed the matter over to her con
science, and went to her grandfather's
room to read to him, her usual custom.
44 Where to Frances 1"' he asked, pres
ently.
44 1 saw her walking with Mr. Stan
hope a while ago," she replied quietly.
44 There must be an end to this non
sense," Mr. Vaughan began.lmpatiently,
44 1 will not nave mm considered a
visitor. A man with uo prospects, no.
position. I have been foolish not to
speak before, as the child really has no
pride, I shall tell her this very evening.
If she would only like Harold."
The bell rang for supper. Frances
passed'her cousin in the hall, exclaim
ing, with a gay laugh, " Just in time."
44 Grandfather was vexed about your
being with Mr. Stanhope. He asked for
you sometime ago."
44 1 bore every body when I am in
doors, and if I stir out I am needed,"
she said, with a swelling and Indignant
heart.
Edith was her usual graceful self at
table, but Frances felt constrained and
chafed Inwardly. Afterward she was
summoned to the library, and Mr.
Vaughan, now really angry, peremptor
ily forbade her receiving Mr. Stanhope
or walklug with him, and laid down
some rules for her future conduct. She
might have borne this if he had paused
here, for in a certain way she did both
respect and love him. But when he
touched upon Mr. Harold's regard for
her, and held him up as the kind of man
he desired her to marry, her endurance
reached its utmost bound. Usually her
temper flashed up in a blasie, but Jiow
there was a white line about her mouth
and a fierce determination in her eyes.
44 1 havo always intended that you
should have a share In Woodlea, but if
you displease me in this matter of mar-
rlage,you need never expect one farthing1
from me."
Frances bowed haughtily, and walked
across the hall to the drawing-room as
she had been commanded. Mr. Harold
had already taken up his post. To think
of spending all the glad youug years of
her life with such a man, listening to
his stereotyped compliments and thread
bare attempts at witl Well, to-night
she would be obedient, and to-morrow,
perhaps, choose another destiny. She
had it in her power.
Mr. Vaughan looked In upon them
presently with satisfaction. Frances
was making herself really charming.
Edith's clearer eyes discerned the some
thing hidden beneath the mask. Coun
sel, she told herself, would be of no
avail.
When Frances Vaughan laid her head
upon the pillow that night, relieving the
fiery throbbing pulses with bitter tears,
a , crushing sense of loneliness over
whelmed her. Away from this formal
rule, this cold, loveless home, life looked
bright and full of enjoyment,. Who
cared for her here V She had always
been a thorn in Edith's path. If there
had been no Edith, it seemed as if she
and her grandfather might have touched
some shore of real affection. And then
she checked herself. 44 1 am selfish and
wicked to think thus of her," she said,
between her sobs, "but we can never
love one another. And as I am an
interloper here, who would care if I
went? They are sufficient for each
other's comfort and pleasure."
She was quiet and preoccupied the
next morning, and plead an engagement
with a friend for the day, promising to
be back early. Edith saw her depart
with a very curious feeling. It seemed
as if she had only to stretch out her
hand to save her cousin from some
impending evil. But her eyes kept their
cold, calm look, her voice had no strand
of tenderness in it.
When Frances returned no one knew.
Going to her room late in the afternoon
for some embroidery patterns she had
taken, Edith found her asleep. There
were traces of tears still visible upon the
long lashes shadowing her cheek, and
the flush of recent excitement lingered
over her brow. Another token caught
the quick eye of Edith, the glitter of a
plain gold ring on her third finger. She
had fancied that Frances might be
tempted to some daring step and leave
Woodlea, but to marry Boss Stanhope
and brave it out here, astonished her
beyond measure. She stole noiselessly
out of the room, leaving Frances alone
with her secret.
A woman less strong and reticent
must have evinced some curiosity, but
Edith acted quite as usual for the next
few days, although she could see
that her cousin was nervous and ill
at ease. The ring disappeared, and
some friend announced in the course of
a morning call that Mr. Stanhope had
left the village. Mr. Vaughan was de
lighted at this.
44 He will be shocked at her duplicity
when he knows the truth," Edith
thought, and she waited anxiously ' for
some announcement, but the weeks
passed away marked by no event save
the rejection of Mr. Harold, and a cer
tain llstlessness in the place of the wild
spirits that in Frances had so wounded
the refined pride of the Vaughans.
44 Evan Murray is coming to Woodlea
next week," Mr. Vaughan announced
to his grand-daughters one morning, as
the letters had been brought in before
leaving the breakfast-table.
Both faces flushed with anticipation.
then that of Frances as suddenly paled.
44 1 did not know he had returned from
Europe," Edith said, watching her
cousin with a sort of stealthy glance.
" He only reached America a few days
ago, but he says in his note that he owes
his first duty to me, and shall pay it
with pleasure. He has been away Just
three years."
Both girls remembered the summer
made so pleasaut by his frequent visits.
Frances was but a child, yet his appre
ciation had stirred her not unlike the
love of her dead father. Every path had
been made smoother by him. It seemed
as If she had hardly lived since then.
She thought of him as a grave, quiet
man, tender and generous of heart, and
with a most unwearying patience.
Would he care for her now as he had
then, for she needed a friend sorely.
44 Mrs. Parker must put the square
chamber in order," Mr. Vaughn went
on. " It is a long while since we have
had friends to stay, and I am really
delighted. I shall enjoy his visit so
much. His foreign experiences have
not led him to forget us, though it is
not In him to neglect an old friend."
14 He will be Bomewhat changed,"
Edith responded. " These years of
travel and mingling constantly with
foreign society must'have made some
impression upou him." And then she
thought, with a conscious pride, that
but few could surpass her In elegance or
beauty.
The announcement caused a pleasant
excitement at Woodlea. Edith with a
watchful eye overlooked the prepara
tions, Instructed the housekeeper within
doors and the gardener without. There
must not be anything that would Jar on
the most fastidious taste, no small neg
lect, no lck of order.
Mr. Vaughan thought of something
besides the pleasure of welcoming back
an old friend. Evan Muway,of all other
men, would he have chosen for his suc
cessor at Woodlea, had there been .no
other heir. And since Edith's husband
would All this post, he had speculated
not a little on the sort of person he
would be. Not that she had lacked
suitors, but she had held herself regally
above them thus far. More than once
he had half wished Mr. Harold's fancy
had taken that direction, for the Har
old's had come of a proud old race. But
since Mr. Murray had returned heart-
whole, unwon by any foreign beauty, a
new hope stirred the old man.
And though Edith betrayed no undue
eagerness to meet him, it muBt be con
fessed that a vague idea, not unlike her
graudfather's.found a place in her mind.
He had liked her three years ago, and
she had lost no charm since then. A
mature, high-bred, beautiful woman of
twenty-three, cultivated and accom
plished. It was not vanity Blmply
that led her to rate herself thus highly ;
she had seen enough of the world to
know that she could command admira
tion from the highest sources.
Three years before, Frances, only a
child, to be sure, had been anannoyance
aud a marplot. Mr. Murray evinced a
strange liking for her, and it was quite
impossible for Edith to banish her from
all their walks and conversations. And
now what was to be done V Had the
girl really any secret, and would it be
wise to wreBt it from herV Nothing
could compensate, in Mr. Murray's esti
mation, for lack of truth and frankness,
All deceit and double-dealing was abhor.
rent to him, and she knew that Frances
had wound herself in some net. Since
Boss Stanhope's departure she had
changed perceptibly. Edith had not
given up her first wild thought that a
marriage had taken place between them,
and she well knew that she both wrote
and received letters unknown to her
grandfather. Edith possessed the cool
wariness of an Indian, and she waited
day after day for some sudden betrayal,
knowing that any secret or imprudent
step would forfeit the regard of the
young girl's only relative, as well as her
home. And she bore her waiting the
more patiently because Frances, after
the first day or two, evinced no special
interest in Mr. Murray's coming.
Indeed, she well knew she had no
Interest. Her desire for a friend expired
as suddenly as it had been kindled. She
had shut herself out of the pleasant
things of life, chosen her path, and must
walk in it, were the end bitter or sweet.
Above all, she had an Intense desire to
get away from Woodlea, and it seemed
rather as if the fates were conspiring to
keep her here.
Mr. Murray made his appearance one
lovely summer afternoon. A polished
gentleman, possessing that higher beauty
of soul that shone through every feature,
and with a peculiar air of ease and re
finement that spoke of a generous heart
as well as a cultivated Intellect. And as
Edith greeted him she could not but be
satisfied with the pleasure so delicately
expressed.
44 Where is Frances V" Mr. Vaughan
asked, with a little frown.
44 1 left her in her room some time ago
She was complaining of a headache."
41 Do not disturb her on my account,
Mr. Murray said, when Mr. Vaughan
would have summoned her. 44 As I am
to be your guest for days, instead of an
hour or two( I shall have time to renew
all my old friendships. I remember her
Only as a Child : I darn v aim tina
changed greatly."
1 She does not resemble the Vainrlmnn
much." her grandfather rpt.nrnpil. tj1ntv
ly, aud with a look of pride at Edith.
And although she is crown la mnnv
respects, she is still a child.".
b ranees did not make her appearance
until nearly supper-time. Bhe lonkprl
languid and was very quiet, though
tbere was little occasion for her talking,
as Edith entertained their visitor in a
most perfect manner. How lovely she
looked with this delicate color in her
cheeks, and the latent vivacity was Just
sufficient to tone the nrlde that aeon.
sloually strayed to the verge of haugh
tiness.
Mr. Murray felt much disaDDoluted In
Frances Vaughan. As a child he had
taken a great deal of interest in her.
Bright, winsome, full of spirit, creneroua
to a fault; while he admitted that hers
was a peculiar' nature, he did exDecfc
some marked development. Had her
training brought about this look of con
straint and repression, or was she really
mindless and commonplace V No won
der he should turn to Edith with a sense
of relief.
After a restless night", Frances was
awake with the birds. How this bur
then she had added to her life oppressed
her I In a few weeks her bright dreams
had all faded. The long gray stretch of
life lying before her appalled her. Could
she change It, and if not, how would she
endure the consciousness of this misera
ble secret four year&y Sometimes she
fancied that Edith suspected her, and
she almost feared to be denounced and
thrust from this home that had suddenly
grown a place of refuge to her. She
watched the sun as It came up in the
east, and when her thoughts grew intol
erable she rose and dressed herself. The
fragrant morning air tempted her, and
as soon as the servants were astir she
stole down stairs and out on the wide
walks.
4 It will never do, she said, to her
self. 44 1 must dismiss these harassing
fears, or I shall make myself ill. He
surely cannot fall in his love for me,
and perhaps, as he sayB, we are too poor
to take up life together. Not that I
should fear," and a little of the old light
flashed Into her eyes. So she strove to
banish her thoughts in the beauty of
the morning, and the fresh odorous air
seemed to dispel the clouds that had
been gathering about her soul. Walk
ing briskly along brought a glow to her
cheek and new life to every pulse. If
she could only shake off the old shadow
entirely I And she began to wonder if
her one decisive step had not been fatally
false. There could be no going back,
however, no going forward, even, but
Just dreary waiting.
Turning a corner under the maples
she came suddenly upon Mr. Murray.
He was still an instant from astonish
ment at the bright vision before him,
then held out his hand.
44 1 did not expect to find you playing
wood-nymph," he said, with a smile.
44 It has improved you like enchant
ment. I hardly recognized you last
evening, and'felt shall I admit it i
disappointed in you."
44 Because I was grave and ladylike V"
and a mirthful gleam strayed over her
face.
44 Because you were grave, too . grave
for any one in the very spring-tide of
life, when there can be no interior shad
ows to darken the soul."
She colored deeply for a moment,
44 There are better subjects of conversa
tion than. I shall prove," she said,
abruptly. It must be pleasant coming
back to Woodlea at this season, and
finding no changes. At least, it 1b a
great delight to grandfather to have you
here again."
44 Your grandfather has been my dear
est friend for so many years that it gives
the place a homelike touch, and to a
wamlerer like me it is especially charm
ing. But you seem quite a stranger,
In the old times I used to be a sort of
father confessor to you have you for
gotten that?"
The old life had gone out of her mind
completely until he recalled It with a
f look and a word. But then it had been
the frank confidence of a child with an
elder brother or relative, now she won.
dered if he loved Edith, and that tie
would be sufficiently strong to give her
a claim like that of the past.
44 The subject seems to be full of grave
consideration for you. For the past
month or two I have been wondering
about the little girl I left, and bow she
would meet me on my return. And
know now the distance last evening was
due only to the awkwardness of such
meetings when there has been a decided
change in one of the parties."
44 You think I am changed, then 1"
She asked it hesitatingly. Concluded
next week.
tari take "Dr. Sellers' Cough Syrup.'
and no one in the city keeps clearer of
coughs auu colds man l. JJruggisis sen
It. r rice 25 cents.
jyjUSSER & ALLEN
CENTRAL STORE
NEWPORT, PENN'A.
flow offer the publlo
A HARK AND ELEGANT ASSORTMENT OB
DRESS GOODS
Consisting sf all shades suitable (or the season
BLACK ALPACCAS
AN1
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A SPECIALITY.
BLEACHED AND UNBLEACHED
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AT VARIOUS PRICES.
, AN ENDLESS SELECTION OF PRINTS'
We sell and do keep a good quality of
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To be eourlnced that our goods are
CHEAP AS THE CHEAPEST,
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Don't forget the
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JjLOOMFIELD ACADEMY.
The next regular terra of this Institution be
gins MARCH 29th, 1830,
Full preparation, classical or otherwise, Is given
for any college male or female either tor Fresh
man or Sophomore year.
a morougn course is provided lor teacners. ana
Hie outlon is u I yen of selecting one or two of the
higher studies.
Prof. J. O. Miller will have charge of tbs Pen
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music, urawmg aim rainung.
PhllosoDhlcal and Chemical aDnnratus for the
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Students are at all times tinder the supervision
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Boarding, 11 in aavance, ra.ou per weeK, oiner
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J. K. VL1CKINMEH, A. B.. Principal,
or Wm. Ohikk, Proprietor,
9 2m. New Bloointield, Pa.
SELLERS'
COUGH
SYRUP!
50 Years Before the Public t
Pronounced by all to be the most Pleasant
and efficacious remedy now in use, for the
care of Coughs, Colds, Croup, Hoarseness,
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SELLERS' LIVER FILLS
are also highly recommended for caring liver
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R. E. SELLERS & CO., Pittsburg, Pa.
J. M. Gibvih.
J. II. Gums
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FLOUR, GRAIN, SEED Sl PRODUCE
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We will pay strict attention to the sale of all
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December 2, 1879, t
UIRPC IMPROVED ROOTBEER PACKAGE,
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