Madame Midas

uts of the Pactolus claim. She was a tall voluptuous-looking woman of what is called a Junoesque type — decidedly plump, with firm white hands and well-formed feet. Her face was of a whi

r face, which had a calm, serene expression, effectually hiding any thoughts that might be passing in her mind, and which resembled nothing so much in its inscrutable look as the motionless calm which the old Egyptians gave to their sphinxes. She was dressed for coolness in a loose white dress, t

had rather a harlequin aspect with their varied colours, all melted together in the far distance into an indescribable neutral tint, and ended in the dark haze of the bush, which grew over all the undulating hills. On the horizon, however, at intervals, a keen eye could see some tall tree standing boldly up, outlined clearly against the pale yellow of the sky. There was a white dusty road or rather a track between two rough fences, with a wide space of green grass on each side, and here and there could be seen the cattle wandering idly homeward, lingering every now and then to pull at a particularly tempting tuft of bush grass growing in the moist ditches which ran along each side of the highway. Scattered over this pastoral-looking country were huge mounds of white earth, looking like heaps

better hurry up the tea, for he wi

expect a reply, for without saying anything else she walked slowly down the garden path, and leaned lightly over

s, and which gave him rather a peculiar appearance, as if he had his jaw bandaged up. His eyes were grey and shrewd-looking, his lips were firmly compressed — in fact, the whole appearance of his face was obstinate — the face of

relaxing his grim features as he held up a rat

it carefully in her hand, with a thoughtful look in

d in her soft low voice; ‘the last we had was fifteen, and the

characteristic Scotch caution, as he followed Madame into the house; ‘it’s no a

said Madame, turn

’ll ken what to dae wi’, an’ ’tis to be h

people’s blame is always genuine, their praise rarely so. At all events she was not displeased, and looked after him with a smile in her dark eyes as he disap

Tall and gaunt, she was like a problem from Euclid, all angles, and the small quantity of grey hair she possessed was screwed into a hard lump at the back of her head. Her face was reddish in colour, and her mouth prim and pursed up, as if she was afraid of saying too much, which she need not have been, as she rarely spoke, and was as econ

o ‘draw’, thereby disturbing a cat and a dog who were lying in front of the fire — for there was a fire in the room in spite of the heat of the day, Selina choosing to c

le place with a plaintive growl, but the cat, of a more irritable temperam

the side of the head, which sent him over to Madame’s feet, with an angry spit. Madame picked him up an

that the food on the table was worth thanking God for, asked a blessing in a peremptory sort of manner, as if he thought Heaven required a deal of pressing to make it attentive. Then they commenced to eat in silence, for none of the party were very much given to speech, and no sound was heard save the rattling of the cups and saucers and the steady ticking of the clock. The window was open, and a faint breeze c

mistress. ‘They, feckless things, that left were better than

Slivers?’ said Mada

ne onything to getting me what I want. Weel, weel,’ in a resigned sort of a manner, ‘we mi

aw her opportunity, and let

ne,’ she said sharply, ‘we

ith Selina, so handy was she with her proverbial wisdom — a kind of domestic Tupper, whose philosophy was of the most

yon t

and was always spoken of in a half-hinting kind of way. As both her serva

she asked, smoothing t

money on that Moscow mine, but he made a

d Selina, ‘flourish l

y; ‘we ken a’ aboot that, Selina

d Madame, calmly; ‘however rich he may become, he will

, mem,’ said Archie, gr

er feet and walk

e said, complacently; ‘the

away a stone,’ said Selina

placidly; ‘I don’t think his p

oke his pipe, while Madame sat down by the open w

n unquiet spirit, came to trouble her and remind her of a time she would willingly have forgotten. She looked calm and quiet enough sitting there with

earing into the adjacent bush, and Madame, stretching out her hand, id

hat lead. I must bribe him, I suppose. Oh, why can’t he leave me alone now? Surely he has ruined my life sufficiently in the past to let me have a few years, if not o

the window, ‘I must get rid of him, and if bribery