Miss Grantley's Girls / And the Stories She Told Them

nt spices; or, better still, held the essence of odorous flowers distilled into subtle perfume. Need

Protestant families-the old Huguenots-whose undaunted spirit Louis the Fourteenth could not quell, eve

d few of his neighbours. Anton Dormeur was a man who kept his own counsel, and, when the persecutions had for a time been stayed, he saved money, hoping

complexion of a peach; the younger, soft and fair, with locks that hung like silken skeins upon a neck of snow, a

leaves with which this cup was filled, till the air of that gloo

perished in the great calamity that fell upon the house, and the silver cup was among the few re

carvings, jade-stones, jewelled daggers, boxes of filligree, and rare cups of porcelain, like great opals, gleaming with strange lights that paled the pearls with which their rims were set. There were tables and tripods too, bearing bronzes and Oriental jars filled with s

the tanners of Alais, was a man of the people, without that connection with the old nobility which the Hugueno

they were of the best blood in France, or owned them secretly and in fear, les

nd saturnine Bartholde, by birth seigneur of an estate near Lozère, where, however, he lived only on sufferance, for the title had been abated af

his own; for Sara, having pleaded in vain, fled with her lover to the north and there they were married. After this they hoped and believed that the old man would relent. He never relented, or at least never to their knowledge. As his sweet fair daughter knelt to him, her golden hair strea

ed, and an orphan, from the old house, a

daughter again, the manufacturer had frequent struggles with his pride and obstinacy. They were scarcely acknowledged even to himself. He thought he could trample the suggestio

en the dragoons came. He had already made some preparations, however. Always in communication with the refugees who had settled in Spitalfields and Coventry, he held money in England. This was pretty well understood; but what few people knew was, that for weeks before the blow fell he had had a ship ready, and that some of his most valuable effects and merchandise were stowed among the cargo. This very cup was hidden away in a case, surrounded by silk brocade and velvet, clothes, and lace. For days the vessel swung with the tide, w

in the saddl

," cried the old man. "There will be post-horses there, and I will order relays along t

e round that district; the house of Anton Dormeur was sacked. Achille Dufarge and his wife, the lovely Sara, were in Paris, where no word reached them till long after, and then only by a stranger, an old workman of the factory in Languedoc; so the months went by, and then came the awful revolution that put an end

.

London lying between Spitalfields and Norton Folgate, and known as "The Liberty of

erns or shreds of silk and cotton. The front door stood open every day from ten till five, to give buyers access to the warehouse, in which Anton Dormeur-old, withered, slightly bent, and with a set look upon his face which even his rare smile failed to disturb-unrolled pieces o

windows, the lower panes of which were dulled in order to obtain a clear high light; but the cloud upon his puckered brow was not lifted. Hour by hour the warehouse clock ti

ment upon his folded hands; but the next instant glanced round with the half-startled look of a man who fears he has betrayed himself. He

day. Come and help me put up these pieces, and then get you into the fresh air. Would that I could make the old house more chee

handsome fellow, with an olive cheek, curlin

some change from your dull life? What sorrow is it that seems to press so hard on you to-day,

its darkness to lie on you for ever either; but, Antoine, remember you are all I have left. In my silent, lonely life, and this dull house-and I always a reserved and seeming loveless man-you may well pine for something more, some lighter, gayer time, and ever brood over

that his grandfather spoke in a voice so tender and so yearn

said again. "Wh

re money. You do not gamble, Antoine; you are never out late, for I can hear you come in, and the sound of your violin penetrates to m

ked for more than the allowance you make me? Do I complain? Except for the two or th

that my own children even, thy-thy mother, Antoine, and-and Sara-ah! leave me just now, my dear; I am surely growing old and childish, but I have still enough of the old manhood left not to wish even

stairs into the house, when he shut himself in his own ro

reweighed, and only when the piece was finished in a woven fabric did it find its way into the lower warehouse, there to be measured and inspected. Access was gained to this upper warehouse by a door in a back street, inscribed with the words "A. Dormeur. Weavers' Entrance."

out their work from the "scale-foreman," whose name was Bashley-one of those bad men who, with a bullying pretence of candour and honesty, contrive to impos

ellow who had joined his old master in London after the calamities which drove them both from France. Pierre had been in Paris, and had escaped to bring to his master the awful intelligence that the daughter he had denounced was now beyond his relentless anger; but the old man, having grown old and feeble, had retired with

picions of the young man's probity, but so artfully that while he only seemed to hint at small blemishes, which he pointed out for

wance-to taking beforehand what he, of course, might consider would be his own some day, as the scoundrel would have put it. Not only this,

the "Providence." Old Pierre had been the early guide, philosopher, and friend of the little orphan boy; and the keen-faced, pippin-skinned old Frenchman had the courage of his convictions, an

of this also," he said presently. "Why did you send me a

be true, Pierre? My

ou it is

And yet the boy came and rested his hand upon

im pro

ears h

t th

, too, think it is

ay be in love, and in love with one who is p

eyes, a strange look in his face, as he said th

of this," he cried. "You sha

e old man thoughtfully. "Still, you invite me t

I have bidden him to meet me-Antoine will not be at home; that he may stay away altogether to avoid my questio

hen a keen sudden gleam of surprise and intelligence seemed to shoot

nights

ten, neve

what is there working

, but lend me one, tw

n you want with them? There will be n

rhaps a lady, but that I cannot t

eur, turning pale and with an angry gl

the day; pardon me a thousand times-pardon me. I could cut out my thou

th some old china cups, and other little ornaments with which it was adorned. Turned with its face to the wall was a small trumpery frame, containing as it seemed some common-looking picture; and quit

not old, it cannot have been painted more than a year; and yet, as a mere likeness fro

Paris," he said, with his eyes cast down; "you know, too,

the face itself must have been beautiful, not a good likeness. You wonder I can talk so calmly of this,

ered the old man; "I swear to yo

once knew her, Pierre: a picture I keep among some relics, and look at often-oftener than you thi

e to winter, and the days were short. There was still light enough, however, for him to see to write a letter, and in a few lines he told his grandfather that he should be with him at nine o'clock, and would then ask him to give him back the confidence

ce was surmounted by an old mirror with sconces containing candles; a leathern chair was drawn up to the hearth; on the table itself was

ce so unusual that he went towards it and looked inside to note what might be the reason of such carelessness. Then seeing this silver cup on the shelf, he carried it to the window, and looked curiously at its contents. There was some reason for his doing so. In that dim silent

n hastily placed there, and covered with a piece of torn point-lace. Removing this the young man saw a portrait, the picture of a face so sweet, and eyes so penetrating, that he uttered an involuntary cry. It was a deeper feeling than mere surprise or admiration that prompted it, howev

r Antoine left the house with a strange sense of wonder and confusion in his mind

first landing, as he frequently did, to look thoughtfully over the balustrade and down the well-staircase, he became aware that one person yet remained quietly seated on the bench below. As he uttered some slight exclamation at his own negligence, a face was turned upward towards his own-a face of such sweet, pure, girlish beauty that he held his breath lest it should be bent from his searching gaze-as indeed

e he was b

tary bow; "I thought everyone had gon

she curtseyed before him. She might have been a young

ed her foot and cannot walk. Mr. Bashley said she migh

red, pausing for her to fill

ply; "it is for my aunt that

ou to bring you money?" Already the lad felt

work, but not to bring money

young girl had roused his sordid fancy. Is it a

is face as he wrapped in a paper

I will call and see if your aunt is better, and w

of her garden clicked, and she, looking through the leaden casement of the upper room, saw the young master coming along the little path, with its two rows of oyster-shells dividing it from the gay

ned her, and in a coarse insolent way had said he meant to b

the garden, he was surprised t

rnestly. "Your new foreman watches you, and already hints to your grandfather that you are engaged in some

eddening. "I have never spoken a word to her that could not

know your grandfather well. For a month you must not come, b

se in Bethnal Green-and in all that slack time neither Sar

t been, he would have felt that he must break his promise, for on that very morning as he stood at the door after th

ever come a

hat he bent his steps along the narrow tangle of streets that lay between his house and the edge of a great piece of waste ground known as Hare Street Fields, and even had he been less pr

tel-piece. The place was very bare. Few of the little ornaments that usually decorate even a poor home remained, and the good woman

lf instead of sending the poor child. What would Peter say if he knew-ah! and what would that old flin

within. It was not the first visit she had made to this establishment, for the poor little household ornaments, the loss of which had left her home so bleak and bare, were now in the safekeeping of the proprietor; but still she shrank back as sh

t conversation with somebody in the next box. Before she had spoken, and while she was yet in the shadow of the partition, she thought she recognized the voice of the pe

d his elbows on the counter, so that his head was close to the partition; "but w

d he won't keep it. If he's not on his way now to see the girl, he's tied up neck and heels, by this time, and in a safe place out of harm's way. I tell you I can be back here in an hour or two. You're too deep in now to draw back; and besides, who can swear to raw silk? I shall

g one tells his ve

empty house. A pretty story! No, no; if the old man believes it, he won't face the disgrac

ith an undefined fear which paralyses her for a m

No-one thing she can do, if only she can creep back unnoticed. She will use a

gainst the noiseless door, she slips out again, and, like one pursu

.

e old man can hear the ticking of the gold repeater in his pocket, the tinkle of the ashes that stir in the old wide grate, where a fire has been lighted, and the gnawing of a mouse behind the wainscot. He sits with the silver goblet beside him on the table, his knees to

he street door sets his nerves ajar; the quiet click of the lock-a pause of deadest silence-and then the light tread of an uncertain foot upon the stairs make him tremble; yet he knows not why-does not even ask himself the reason. There is a lamp outside upon the landing, he knows-the light of it shines do

fear, he knows not what or whic

r to his waking vision or in disordered fancy, the living original of the picture stands

strength to reason. His daughter, with the past years rolled back to show her in her youth, and yet with po

nt towards this apparition-that he sank again into his chair-that he felt a living hand upon his shoulder-saw a

.

at neighbourhood, just on the edge of Spitalfields, a lower colony of petty thieves and receivers kept up the trade of two or three disreputable taverns, where dogs, birds, and pigeons were exchanged or betted on. It may have been in consequence of this taste for pigeon-flying that the whole neighbourhood resounded with whistl

crossed the road. Had he given the matter a thought, he might have hesitated for a moment before plunging into the gloom of the muddy lane, or at least might have grasped his walking-cane more firmly and looked about him, in which case it is just possible he would have seen two shado

nd the grasp of two powerful arms that pi

up, and were upon him before he could raise a hand; but he was quick and active, so that by a

ng of a cocoa-nut. Crack! crack! and the ruffian's body fell heavily against the fence, as two shadows-the two shadows that had been following Antoine so long-danced in the footway, whence they had just struck a second of the ruffians through a jagged hole in the fence, and left him sticking t

ows, now visible-a light active f

Antoine knew, as a thin spare old m

derly, approaching Antoine, who star

aimed the young man; "you he

rap, and had you followed by two lads that I could trust.-Gave him a body-guard of a coupl

ess-gang for nothing, daddy," replied one of them grinning; "but we mus

said Peter; "we must hasten, or your grandfather will be waitin

lightly up, and one o

n't our cart. This will be brought in stea

'm not much mistaken," said Peter, as h

s in danger, and through me, I will brave my grandfather's displeasure, lose

id the old man. "One word with your g

has left

y me false we shall overtake the scoundrel who detains her, and he sha

le stoop; but Antoine said afterwards that there was a very terrible look in his face just then-such a look as may have been born, pe

.

ne that the girl who stood beside him touching his shoulder was real flesh and blood; but at last, with a strong effort,

esently, without taking his eyes from her face. "Your name is

d the girl-"

eau! where hav

eur. See you not that this Monsieur Bashley, having a

eaking of monsieur my grandson. Has he seen you? do you know him? Your mo

ot!" said the girl,

great effort, but almost without taking his eyes from the child's face, Dormeur strode to

m, and retreat

rm thee, little one? Come, take my

r; then I came in and listened, and there was a light up here, and so I cam

oftly for all that, and, turning about, traversed noiselessly t

n at the basement, where the lobby opened in the yard, there was a stronger light-the light of a lantern, by

l be here directly. It's rare luck that he should be out, and the women too as I verily believe, for not a

ious that he was talking to himself. He looked upwards also, as though by some strange instinct; and there, leaning over the wooden b

pen, a torrent of air rushed up the well, and amidst shouts and cries, and the sound of falling glass, Bashley was smitten down, and handcuffed between two officers, who had been posted in the street, according to the instructions they had received from Peter Dobree. T

ying a woman in his arms. The old man had darted down the stairs at the moment Bashley fired his pistol; but S

the great leathern chair, with a wan face and closed eyes, a keen anguish wrung the lad's heart-anguish not unmingled with utter amazement, fo

d began to reel. So Peter Dobree found him standing

ou're not wounded surely-say?"

brandy from a teaspoon (it was a spoon that had fallen from her dress, but he knew nothing of that, for he found it on the floor without thinking how it came there). He s

great eyes upon him, then flushed, drew herse

he old man, striding to the door,

him, and drawing Antoine into the room, all gr

glaring into Peter's eyes, and laying a grip upon

ufarge-once Sara Dormeur-my loved and lovely mistress, joined her husband-not by the guillotine, but by a broken heart in a little country lodging at Nogent-she left her child-that child-to the nurse who had been faithful to her-to my own good s

en in his bitter anger there came to him the recollection of the stern relentless temper with which he had blotted out his daughter's name from the family record; and, wi

lad, go you into the kitchen and see if any one has come in; for we will have supper

he is-no, not my brother; what then?-But I may kiss him?" said the wondering girl, as she stood the

nd with a sudden gesture, which shot a pain to the old man's

and leading her to where Antoine stood-"a cousin

ed me," she said simply, and held up her sweet face to

----

e story of the Silver Goblet," said our governess a

the summer months, when the whole atmosphere appears to be one low-hanging cloud, enveloping everything in a kind of dark-gray mist, that is only now

d the song of the birds was hushed, or only an occasional chirp was heard as one or two thrushes flashed from amidst the plum-trees, or a martin twittered beneath the eaves. "What

ch of the streets and places there, or how could you have learned so easily a

Charles, but are now used for counting-houses and warehouses, such of them as are not pulled down at least. I made some odd acquaintances too; and a kind old couple, who were caretakers at one of the smaller city halls, used to ask me to take tea with them, for the old gentleman had known my great-uncle Joseph, who was an East India merc

till Annie Bowers, who was standing near her, gently took her in her arms an

ce, when I had to stay there in the little cozy parlour for a whole winter evening because of a downpour of rain, he asked me if I should mind his reading to me a little story that he had written about a very strange occurrence to an old friend of his who lived in just such another lane, near just such another old hall in the city. He said that he felt like Robin

old gentleman took a bundle of papers out of a drawer in the bookcase and read me the story that I am now going to read to you; for as I was very much interested in it he was so pl