A Family Aefair

Oíd Talbert's half-sister, who wa same years younger than himself, mar sied, lust before the suocessful coup carne off, a man oamed Carruthers. ít was no great rdatch, and ií Mr. Carruthers found domestio biiss it was well that he made his matrimonial arrangements before the 'bo im' in oil, tobáceo, cora, or whatever it was, sent Air. Talbert to Hazlewood House andcounty soocty. Had he deferred it till then the chances are that Mr. Talbert would have insisted on his sister doing better; for Carrathers had only a moderate1 liied inoome, as manager of some works in the north. Somehow, aftcr her marriage his halí-sister slipped away from Mr. Talbert's Me. As wholo sisters ind brothers so often do the same this fact i not astonishing. Mrs. Carruthers had several children - but one after another they died off. She wrote to her half-brother announcing tho birth or the death of each. He answered her letters in a conpratulatory or conoilia tory way aa the oocasion required This was about all the correspondence which passed between them. When Horace and Herbert were lanky boys in Eton jackets and round collars, Frank Carruthers was born, and actually lived long enough to give promise of growing up, Indeed, his father before he died saw his only surviving child a trapping young fellow of seventeen. Mr. Carruthers left his widow an annuity for life and a few hundreds in readr monev. She lived well within her income, and expended her capital in tinishin her son s education. She may have had sorne of oíd Talbert's riews of things in general although lacking his means of carrying them out. Amyway she sent her boy to Oxford. Thre, for three or four terms he behaved disgracefully. He got into scrape3, difficulties and debt So far, indeed into the last tbat his mother for the first and only time in her life, applied to Mr. Talbert for assistance. This was given readily and the young man was once more set off straight. Then suddenly Mrs. Carruthers died. Out of her annuity she had saved enough each year to pay a premium of assurance, and Frank, then iust twentyone, found that her foresight and love puthimin possession of some seventeen hundred pounds. Whatever his faults might have been he was passionately íond ot bis motñer. Her death seemed to make a ehanged man of him. He immediately paid back Mr. Talbert's loan - better still, he went to work llke a horse-an intellectual horse, of course. The consequence was that he became one of the most shining lights of his year, and was, in tlue time, rewarded by a fellowship. This was lucky; for after having repaid Mr Talbert he had only money enough left to carry him to the end of his Oxford course. Eventnally he settled down to try and make his living, or augment the emolumente of hls fellowship, as an Oxford 'coach.' At that particular time the supply of coaches was bevond the demana, so for some years, in spite of his brilliant reputation passengere- or pupils- were few. But he stück to the business and latterly had beengiven as mneh, even more than he could manage. Henee the overwork. "Ib he & clergyman?" asked Beatrice. "He must be, f suppose." "No, " said Herbert. "He never took orders. The fellowsbip he holds did not make that indispensable.11 "They ought all to be like that," sald fceatrice. "Men oughtn't to be torced or bribed to enter the church Besides," continued she, 'they ought not to make a man give up his fellow íhip when lie marries. Just as he wants more money they take it from him. He must either give up his wife or his income." Miss Clauson was becoming quite a philosopher on the subject of ruarriage, She spoke about it as if it were an imposslbllity that she herself would ever be interested in the matter. "My dear," eaid Únele Horace, galiantlv, "1 don't think a man would consider two hundred a year a great sacrifico If you were in the question." She sm led faintly at the compliment "Stlll the systt-m must be bad," she said. "lt might lead to all sorts of un pleasaatness. A man nrght keep his marriage a dead secret - might not marry at all. All sorts of misery might regult" "Tou may be sure," said Herbert, "whatever is- is best." "Exactly so," said Horace. "I a ai sure it is bad," she said declively. Miss Clauson must have been in advance of her day, the autlorities now having in a great measure adopted her views and changed the system. "Shall we write and teil him to come f" asked Horace. "It wou'tbe any annoyance to you?" "Why should it be what difference will it make? Ask him by all means." Then, hearing the patter of little feet outside she left her úneles to answer ■ their letters and in a few minutes was out in the garden rompisg with the child. Horace wrote a beautifully worded letter to Frank Carruthers, expressing the pleasure he and his brother feit at hearing of the promised visit. He begged him to fix his own day for coming and to stay as long as he conveniently oould. The letter was handed to Herbert for perusal and approval. Herbert read it, and after nodding his head continued to hold the letter in his hand whlle a kind of puzzled, thoughtful look spread over his face. Straiige to say Horace abo feil into a rêverie. For some ten minutes the two brothers sat facing one another, stroktng their beards. if thst vulgar wretch from whose rank mind that feline nickname first sprung could have seen them he would, 1 am afraid. have been quite eat'slied that ho had chosen an appropriate designation when he named them the Tabbies. They knew without spea'dng that their thonghts were running in parallel Unes . They of ten thought of the same thlng without a previous word on the subject. The similarity of their natures, no doubt, accounted for this. "Herbert," said Horace, at last, "you are thinking of what Beatrice saidP" "Yes, I am." "So am I. It seemed a revelation, but we oughtn't to jnmp at conclusión 8 "' "No," said Herbert, "but the faot remains. ünme four years ago he had nolhing but bis fellowship to live "ïou are riffht, noüiing. Beatriee tpoke justly. She may by chance have struok the mark." "[ am af raid so. Stlll we most nol be hasty. Yet, whoever sent tht ohilc must have fancied it bad some claim on us." "It is ridueifous to suppose that an entire stranger would have done snch a thing." "Quite so," said Hcrbert. "He may have been mach templed; at that time have been dr i ven to his wlts' end. It is a sad affair- let us try and piece it together " Thea, like a couple of old women, they comtnenced to construct tbeir new theory. 'We will say," began Horaee, "he was uiarried ioiir years ago.' ■'Vet was disboi orable e ough ti conceal it; so that he nrght hold lm fellowship." "Of coiirse this is all ppos'tion," said Horace. i he word duhonomblc in eonnection with on" of bis own kin grated on his ear. "Exactly so. I should Hispeet that the wife uicd -perhaps recei.tly. perhaps shortly af ter the bittli o tlic child." "The latter I .should tliink. Krank makes a large income ïiow. and con l at'ord ti gire up two handred a year " "Yes; the wife died a ter the b'irth of the boy. The older the child got do more trouble he foii'd it to eoncoa' :ts idciitity. ThereupoQ he sendí it to ut, t rusting we may keep It." "And now. after deolining fo mee nvituions, he comes to us litmself The further we pursue tha matter the clearer it becomes." They were ouite in n mild tat" of excitement. That they could draw logical inferen es we have eou by the atlair of Ann Jenkins' stockings. Th ■ brothers had both bet-n is!resed thut all their spculatons as to lítela Harry'a origin had fallen to the ground "for want of proper support Now at !a-t. was a theory whicii, if it reüeoted dis honor on a con no tion of theirs. was at least tenable. It wn i probable, but the whole a air was so monstrous th:it it needed an improbabil ty t account for it. They absolulely arguod themsel es iuto believ ng th-y had found the truth. ' idcot is the junction for Oxford," continued Herbert, after a pause. "Besides, said Horace, "we cannot forget that his conduct once was not what it should have been." "That's the worst of goinjr wrong. No amount of straight running w:ll make people cease to look at times askance. The work of reformaron is child s play to that of making your friends believe you have reformed. ' Therefore Horace TaUerts remark was a clincher. Herbert toyed with the open letter. "Sball we send thisF" he asked. They feil to s: roking their boards once more, and continued the opera tion until the natural kindness of their hearts reasserted tself. "After all, ' said Hubert, ' it is all purely conjectural." "Completely so." "He had bett r come then," "I think so. Besides it will give us an opportuniny of seeing him with the child - surely the inst ncts of paternity must show tnemselves 'They are suppose 1 to bo very strong.1' The polite letter was tent, and a week after the ending of the Trinty term the young Oxford tutor packed up hls things and siarted for Oakbury. As there is no occasion to makc superlluous mysteries, it may at oncj be said that Frank Carruthers knew no more of the existenceof the child whorn n:s amiable úneles had argued themselves into believing to be in some way dis propertv, than he knew of - for the sake of a simile - say the presence at Hazlewood House of a gray-eyed girl, whose beauty would satisfy every deniand of his father fastidious taste. CHAPTEtt X. THE FKACTIONAL COUSIN. Miss Clauson showed very little t terest in the approaching visit. To this curious and, at times, almost apathetic young woman. lt seeemed as , if all young men weru alike. although we have seen that she was capable of showing strong feeling and emotion. as when she rejected Mr. Mordle's love 1 lie only sentiments Miss Clauson feit about Frank Carruthers were these. She was rather glad he was not a clergyman, and rather sorry he was a sort of cousin. Shfi was not very pari lal to clergymen and she thought male couslns were apt to presume on their relationship. Perhaps they do. So, with somethlnj; akin to indifference, Beatrice saw the lodge gate open, and Horace bring the horses and largo wagonette up to the door. She noticed that the young man who sat beside tiim looked rather pale and washed out. She saw several portmanteaus handed out. so canie to the conclusión he ntomied making a long stay. Then she resumcd the book she was reading. It was far more interesting than any young man. Nor was she disturbed for some time. It was close upon the dinner, indeed Beatrice was already dressed; so that the Talberts took their guest to his room, and lefthim to make his evening toilet. Just bef oro the gong sounded the thrce men entered the drawingroom and Frank was duly presented to Miss Clauson She was very civil and kind to hiin. and weloomednim to Oakbury. "Ifs very good of yon to take charge of an invalid like me," he said across the table to Beatrice. "You must thank my úneles. I am only a visitor like yourself, Mr. Carruthers. "And both very welcome," said Horace courteously ] "Exaetly so," saidHerbert. j "By the bye." said Frank turning to Horace, "teil me what 1 shall cali you and your brother. Mr. Talbert seems too stiff - Horace and Herbert too ' iliar. I could. like Miss Clauson, cali you unele, if you l;ked, but you are not old enough." "I think as we are cousins we had better use the chrstan name simply." 'Thank you," said Frank. Now enlighten me as to my relationship to Miss Clauson." Herbert ezplained the matter. "Half tirst cousin once removed An unknown quantity. If I were a mathematician I would try to expresa it in figures. It doesn't seem much, but it is better than nothing. Then the ( alberts, who had the knack of always interesting themselves in their guests' atïairs, and who were. moreover, capital listeners. asked him questions about bts life at Oxford. "Life!" be said; "it can scarcely be called life. All term timo from nine in the moruing to nine at night I try to till up a vacuüm - created by nature, but which nature does not seem to abhor - in young fellows' brains. You look upon a tutor' s calling as rather an intellectual one. don t youP ' ■Naturally we do." "Then I-e undeceived. A man who keeps a shop requires far greater gifts. He has a variety of things to scll, and a variety of customers to send away equipped with what they want My cu8tomera are all the same- my wares Ann't. -var-u i nísnrp vnn Víflfl flfttlfinn the Juli, level stupidity of the typical undergraduate is appalling. "Ihea it needs a clever man to ini prove them." "Perhaps so - but clever in wbat? Not in loarning. Clever in knowing wliat tbey are íikely to be aslced in ex amination. ('lever in cutting off all superfluous work. Ai for the learning the tutor need only be a pae ahead o) his pupil, and that doea not constitut a supremo eftort. Did you ever see a fireworks mannf aotorv ? He aaked beatrioe this. It seemed a sudden departure from the subject. Of course she had never seen a flrework manufactory. (TO BK CONTINf EUJ