TO MAY ON HER BIRTHDAY. EAR May, keep with its innocence and truth Dear child, thy happiness long may it be; T. F. D. C. MY ONLY LOVE. BY EMILIA AYLMER BLAKE, Author of "A Life Race," "A Crown for Love," &c. E kept his word, and quickly too. Twice was I blest, that he came to me, and that he came so soon! Came he in love, or in friendship, or in merest courtesy, I cared not; was it not enough to look upon him? to hear him speak to me? But I was made to feel by my grandmother that she received him as my suitor, or had no welcome for him. He was not to play the angel on her Berlin broidered hearth-rug, with impunity for me! She had more reason than I, or it looked very like it, though Arthur proved fully at his ease, master of himself and the situation, whether he turned his conversation to my grandmother or to me. He spoke seriously, as seeking information, but in the kindest way, as to our present position and family surroundings, questions such as a man of the world, however much in love, likes to have satisfactorily answered, and failing this, often makes a merit to himself of "not being so far gone for a woman, as not to listen to reason." Who we were, and what we came from was all right. My present place in the world, at least, was all wrong, but so as to be remedied at once, by an honourable man, whose love was true. "I can understand Lady Stormouth not going out of her way to find you out," said Arthur, on my grandmother's declaration that she would never care for the honour of entering Stormouth Park again; "she has two sons whom she wants to see married to two earl's daughters, of three hundred years' creation at least, Stormouth being rather a new title. Not but what a Fortescue is better than many an earl in my opinion." "Better in our own, I hope, than to lay traps for her ladyship's two fools of sons; I am sure they are safe from us; what do you say to that, Lily?" "I say she takes me for what I am not; " said I, reddening, "but she has plenty to do if she means to protect her sons from half the girls in the county, who occupy themselves in tuft hunting, because they have nothing else to do; she may trust me, I hate a crowd." "I saw the Honourable Hubert making eyes at you, but he could find no one to introduce him," said Arthur, maliciously. "Perhaps so, because I did not want him; I believe that's the way with men." "Ay, you've found that out already, Miss Leila; that's the way with women, we may retort; you find the pleasure is as great of being hunted as to hunt. You've heard of Galatea, who threw out the bait in shape of an apple, and ran away, knowing her lover was sure to follow and catch her in her hiding place." "The Honourable Hubert will not follow me; I'm not in his set, granny says." "You ought to be; but women are so unkind to each other; they find you too charming, too attractive; if you were an ordinary girl, you would be among the first people in the county. Lady Augusta St. Aubyn is your cousin, I believe?" 'Distantly connected," said grandmother, stiffly. "A younger son of our family married the heiress of the title, early in this century, and our estate followed the male line. Leila, they have the inheritance. But it much good with them." My son having no child but does not seem to have done "I see, then, why there is a coldness. I was speaking of you to Lady Augusta yesterday, Leila, asking whether she knew how exquisitely you sang, and would you guess her answer? There are too many women who sing,' she said, and so I would not propose to introduce you." "Quite right," said granny. "Tell her I said there are too many women old maids," I put in, wickedly. "Oh, you bitter creature! there you have poor Lady Augusta at your mercy. She's safe to be Lady Augusta St. Aubyn to the day of her death, and as proud of her title and position as if she were seventeen. Well, they're not worth your voice, Leila, and less gifted people should beware how they tread on your dainty little toes, that I see. But you have not told me how you enjoyed Lady Diana Hope Trevor's performance. What did you think of it?" "I think her the most beautiful woman I ever saw." "I am glad to hear you say that." "Why? It is simply true." "Well, perhaps that is why, but there are a great many reasons more than I could undertake to analyse. But I am pleased to hear a girl like you say so. I have always thought her beautiful." "You have known her very long?" "Oh, years and years, in India. There was not a girl came out there from England in all my time that would be looked at beside her. She drove half the men mad. A fellow would gallop hundreds of miles to a ball on the chance of getting a dance with her. But there never was, never will be such another beauty under the sun." I was growing jealous. What could she be to him? I repeated his words-" never was, never will be such another beauty under the sun." Arthur laughed away my "You think so, you-" I faltered. blame with "Oh, she's passée now-three-and-forty. I did not mean to put her in comparison with young girls. In her own imperial way she is superb." "She looked wonderfully young that night, and acted wonderfully." "She is an enthusiast in acting, and enthusiasm carries an audience or a breach as nothing else can. You are an enthusiast, my young Saint Cecilia, you did not see the faults." "Yes, I did, plenty of them; you forget, I am a trained singer, which helps me to judge an artist in another line. Lady Diana has a good speaking voice, but she lets it fall when she should keep it up, drops half her sentences, so that she could not be heard where we sat; catches her breath with a gasp, as a singer is taught not to do ; and then, the passages in a speech are like the phrases of music, you must know how to manage the changes from one to another; she does not. She will give one part very well, and another part very well, with something between the two that spoils the effect." "I know what you mean; she fails in the transitions from one emotion to another; the most difficult thing in acting. Well, that's her weakest point, except tripping on her train, which sometimes happens to her, when she gets excited." "I never thought of that. She carried me out of myself; take her altogether, I never saw such acting before." "You have not seen much. I can tell you they ran after her playing in India, where we see no acting at all, except amateurs; all the officers who can act catch the infection. I used to be fond of it myself, at one time." "Did you ever act with her ?" "Sometimes-very long ago. I had to give it up, when I had too much upon my hands. Have you ever tried acting?" "Not yet. I would give anything in the world I could, if you—I should like to act with you, I think I could," said I, restraining myself. |