Show abi ERI A L STORY ofle U of 0 athe LADY by HOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL ja opper bobbs merr uco 11 co SYNOPSIS at 14 keais of age admiral S r peter Hawk hawkshaw shaws s nephew achard R chard glyn tell fell deeply in love at first sigl t with lady arabella stormont who spurned his at tensions tent lons ions tl TI e lid pid an orphan was given a berth as midshipman on the ajai ajax by h 9 uncle G leg les vernon nephew of 0 S r thomas vernon became the boys boy s pal they attended a theater wl ere hawk slaws sl aw s nephew saw lady arabella arabelia ver non met ph I 1 p overton next in 1 ne for S r tl TI cmaj v ernon s estate tl TI ey start cd ed c d a duel vl ich was interrupted vernon overton and iia hai aw s nephew found es attracted by pretty lady ara bella belia the ajax in battle defeated french u warships in the med glyn got xa 2 prize money he was called lome 1 ome by lady hawkshaw Haik HaNk shaw as he was about to blow in I 1 Is earnings with vernon at a hawkshaw party glyn dis covered that lady arabe la ia was a poor but persistent gambler he ile tall ed much with I 1 er cousin daphne lady arabella again showed love tor for gaming later she held glyn and overton pr boners thus delay ing the duel in the overton ver non duel neither was I 1 urt lady ara 1 I ella huell abed rid ric ard by her ks richard and giles shipped on a frig brigite elte CHAPTER vl VI cont aued we e had a pleasant journey to ply mouth and were troubled with few regrets at leaving london we ex pecked in fit the foolishness of youth to capture many more such prizes as the indomitable and xantippe the bel del videra vitas as nearly ready and in a few weeks wi w sailed bailed on our second cruise I 1 shall not nol give the particulars of that cru s i it was such a one as all th tb officers of his maj esty s service were engaged in during those eventful years IN we e were constantly at sea we kept a tireless lookout for our enemies and hunted and pursued them into their own bar har bors we never slept tor for more than four hours at a time in all our cruis cruls ing we ve lived on oil beet beef and b for months at a time sometimes we had scurvy in the ship and sometimes we did not we struggled with mighty gales that blew us hundreds and even thousands of miles out of our course and we sheltered in calms that tried men s souls in all that time we watched night and day for the enemy and when found chased him and never failed to get alongside when it was possible and we fought him with the greatest good will we had good and ill fortune with the ship but her colors ere never lowered and it was five y ears before we set toot foot in london town again only a year of that time was giles vernon with me he ile got promotion which took him out of the ship I 1 had the extreme good fortune to be with nelson at the nile on that great day as sailing master of the belvidera I 1 tool the frigate around the head of admiral villeneuve es s line she was the leading sh p and placed her v as enabled to fire the first raking broadside of the battle I 1 got a wound in the forehead which left a scar that remains to this day but I 1 also received the personal thanks of my lord nelson which I 1 shall ever esteem as the greatest honor of my life I 1 had heard nothing of giles for nearly a year ear when among admiral es e s officers I 1 feind to ind one a young lieutenant like myself who told me that giles had been captured while on a boat expedition and was then in prison at duni erque arque I 1 wrote h in a dozen letters at least by officers who were paroled and when the ship was vas paid off the follow ing spring I 1 lost no time in getting to london and using what little power I 1 had in trying to have lve him exchanged sh peter was in great favor at the admiralty As soon as I 1 reached lon lou don I 1 went immediately to call in beri berl eley square my lady hawk shaw was at home and received me in great state black feathers and all and with her sat daphne carmichael I 1 believe lidy hawkshaw was really glad to see me but daphne after speaking king to me remained with her eyes fixed on her embroidery I 1 noted however that she was a ven charming girl and her eyes under her long dark lashes were full of fire and s vee u pdt pat she had not and never could have the glorious beauty of lady arabella stormont lady hawl shaw demanded of me a particular account of my whole cruise and everything that had hap at the battle of the nile this I 1 gave to the best of my ab lity she len 1 en invited r rather commanded m lie to take up my quarters in beri derl eley square and told me that I 1 had tl busand ana ten pounds nineteen shill and seven pence to my credit in bank after this she was called upon to leave the room for a moment and I 1 civilly en illy inquired of daphne how lady arabella was she is well responded daphne ather tartly I 1 thought and as de voted to capt overton as everil ever you know arabella ever ill ed him tather rather more than he liked her at which un generous speech I 1 said one word fie and daphne coloring to the loots of 0 her hev hair yet attempted to 0 de end tend herself 11 I 1 only tell you ou what hat all the world says and so say my uncle and aunt arabella could have married a dozen ames umes she is all of 21 you know and married very splendidly but she will not S r peter rages and swears that he will marry her off in spite of bersell ter self but arabella is her own mis tress now and laughs at a sir peter and does she still play cards daphne raised her ees eyes it seemed to give that otherwise sweet girl post tive pleasure td tol call over lady ara bella s faults yes she sa d loo lans quene t aIh anything ng by which mone money can be lost or won v on three times a week she goes to the duchess of auchester chesters Au S where play is high we go there tonight but I 1 do not play I 1 had bad not thought there was so much malice in daphne until that conversa tion I 1 left my adieux for lady hawk shaw and repaired to the admiralty where sir peter happened to be b tha thai day I 1 explained that I 1 should i hav havi M come to him it once but for my enof binate wish to see and that I 1 found her looking at least 20 year younger since we vie met last sil sh peter beamed on me with delight and I 1 believe mentally determined to give me 1000 additional in his will I 1 then stated my real business which was to get giles vernon ex changed and sir peter without a moment moments s hesitation agreed to do all he could tor for me and then as usual directed me to haie have my portmanteau sent to berkeley square as lady hawkshaw 11 had done before I 1 left the edmi admiralty ralty machinery had been put in motion to secure giles vernon s ex change I 1 returned to berkeley square and again took up my abode there CHAPTER vil one month from the time I 1 gir arrived rived in london I 1 N was as on my way to ports mouth to meet giles bernon ernon who had been brought over with a batch of ex ellan changed ged officers from france in that month during which I 1 had lived continuously in III Der berkeley keley square things were so little changed except in one respect which I 1 shall mention I 1 presently that I 1 could scarcely per suade myself five years had passed peter and polly as giles disrespect fully called them had not grown a day older and quarreled as vigorously we we were constantly at sea a as ever lady arabella was then her own mistress although still living un der sir peter peters s root roof but as far as I 1 could see this led child of nature and fortune had always been her own mistress I 1 found that overton had been away tor for some years on foreign service and after distinguishing him self greatly had lately returned suf fering fiam severe wounds and in luries juries to his constitution he was however in london and able to ride and walk out and visit his friends but it was doubted by many whether on the elpi atlon of his leave he would ever be fit for duty again I 1 heard and saw enough to convince me that lady arabella had been wild with grief and despair when she heard of his wounds and although since his return to london he avoided corn com pany generally she managed to see him occasionally and spent much of her time driving in the parks upon the mere chance of ceding him tal ing his daily ride or walk lady arabella stormont had everything in I 1 te fe that heart could wish except one she had chosen to give her willful and way ward heart to philip overton and it must be acknowledged that be he was a man well N ell fitted to ancha n a woman s imagination overton had disdained the spontaneous gift of arabella s love but I 1 believe her haughty ha eighty and arrogant mind could never be brought to believe that any man could be real ly insets ble to her beauty her rank and her fortune overton could not in any way be considered a gre grea match tor for her his fortune was mod est and his chan e of succeeding to the bernon ernon estates remote but with the desperate perversity of her na ture him she would have and no other it always seemed t to 0 in me e as it if overton was the one thin thing g denied her but that she had determined to do battle with fate until S she he conquered her souls soul s desire for myself she treated me exactly as she had done five years before call called ed me dicky in her good humors and aad a variety of sneering names in ia her bad humors and little as it may be believed I 1 richard glyn lieutenant in his majesty s sea service with 13 3 to my name would have gone to the gibbet rather than marry lady arabella with her 3 perhaps daphne carmichael had something to do with it she was the same gentle winning creature at 19 as at 12 she was still sir peter s pet and lady hawkshaw s comfort but I 1 had not been in the house a week be fore the change I 1 alluded to came about and the change was in me con berning daphne I 1 began to find it very hard to keep away from her she treated me with great kindness before others but when N a e wee we alone together she wis capricious I 1 began to decair of ever finding a woman who could be I 1 md ind to a man three times running and I 1 was very much sur at the end of a fortnight to find myself experiencing the identical symptoms I 1 had felt five years before with arabella only much aggravated there was this difference too I 1 had admired arabella as a star afar off and I 1 think I 1 should have been very much frightened if at the time she had chosen formally to accept my de 1 ot oton on not so with daphne I 1 felt I 1 should never be really at ease until I 1 had the prospect of having her by my side the rest of my life I 1 reached this phase at the end of the third week at the end of the fourth I 1 was in a desperate case but it was then time to go to portsmouth to meet giles according to my promise and I 1 felt when I 1 parted from daphne as if I 1 was starting on a three years cr use and I 1 was only to be gone a day and a half she dear girl showed some feeling too and I 1 left bearing with me the pack which every lover cardies pains and hopes I 1 left london at night and next morning on reaching portsmouth as I 1 jumped from the coach I 1 ran into giles arms he had reached ports mouth some hours in advance of the time he showed marks of his imprison ment in his appearance but his soul had ever been free and he was the same brave and joyous spirit I 1 had ever known not being minded to waste our time in portsmouth we took coach for london town at noon As we were mounting a countryman standing by held up a wooden cage full of larks and asked us to buy ex pat lating tatino on oil their beautiful song I 1 will take them all my lad cried giles throwing him a guinea the fellow gaped tor for a moment and then made off as fast as his legs could car ry him I 1 wondered what giles meant to do with the birds he held the cage in bis his hand until we had started and were well into the country then opening the little slide he took out one poor fluttering bird and poising hails HJ iq ils finger for a moment the lark flew upward with a rush of joyous wings each bird he liberated in the same way all of us on the coach top watch ing him in silence As the last cap tive disappeared in the blue heavens giles crushing the cage in his strong hands threw it awa agaj I 1 have been a prisoner for 14 months he said and I 1 shall never see any harmless living thing again imprisoned without trying to set it free we retched london that night and G les went to his old lodgings where his landlady was delighted to see him as all nomen omen were who knew giles vernon she gave us supper and then we ne sat up all night talking I 1 had thought from the guinea he had thrown the vender of larks that he had money I 1 found be he had none or next to none nole TO 1313 CONTINUED |