ON THE THRESHOLD Oн, give me back the vision and the splendour! The past with all its memories sweet and tender, The flower-crowned heights of youth's bright summertime; The faces lit with love that, o'er me bending, Soothed my childish sorrows long ago, A mother to my lightest need attending- A dim mirage is earthly fame that brightened Yet though with empty hands before Thy altar Reflected from the deep blue far above, Methinks I hear an echo answering faintly, These lines were written, a short time before his death, by Robert James Reilly, a gifted young physician, who died a few years ago at Rostrevor, Co. Down.-R.I.P. HESTER'S HISTORY A NOVEL CHAPTER VII SOME ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED AT THE BALL NOTHING Outside the covers of a fairy-tale book is so bewitching as the scene on which this company entered. No stage could present so gorgeous and vast a piece of grouping. Mr. Campion the knave of diamonds, conducted Red Ridinghood to an excellent post of observation, where troops of dream people passed by them in the flesh Cinderella and her godmother, Lady Macbeth and Robin Hood, popes and their cardinals, kings and their jesters. There were summer and winter, the devil and an angel, sylphs and mermaids, a savage and St. Agnes; the three weird sisters (three maidens in their bloom), the graces (three withered old spinsters in their paint). Some with masks and some without glowing and glittering, laughing and jesting, sneering and ogling, coquetting and love-making; pointing witty speeches and ridiculing dull ones; dragging out bashfulness and tripping up blunders; fanning, blushing, sighing, whispering-so the motley crowd went by. Love jostled hate, and misery joy. Beauty rubbed skirts with ugliness, and security with danger. Youth aped age, and age aped youth. Virtue mimicked wickedness, and wickedness virtue. It was all very fine, yet the Queen of Spades thought but little of the pageant. Hester might have leisure to note the oddities and contrasts, but Lady Humphrey had only eyes for one sober-looking figure. "Sir Archie Munro here!" said Pierce to his mother. "Surely that is he over yonder. What can bring him to London at such a time?" Pierce involuntarily doubled up his fist under his ruffles. It was an insult to his faithless Janet that this rival of his should be indifferent to her presence in his home. "How dared he be there, looking at her every day ?" had been the lad's thought, but an hour before; now it was, "How dare he be here, not caring whether she is there or not ?" "Perhaps he has come to London to arrange about the marriage settlements," he said bitterly. "Or perhaps, indeed, he may even now be here in the character of Benedick." "I think not," said Lady Humphrey. Why does he not wear a mask, I wonder. It would suit him. Hist, Pierce! I will tell you-he is here in the character of an Irish rebel; his true character. His proper costume would be a pitchcap, with a pike on the shoulder." "Nonsense, mother! I beg your pardon. But you know you are a little astray on that subject." "I am not going to harm him by talking," said Lady Humphrey. "You need not get excited, as you did upon another occasion. But I know why that gentleman is here." Pierce was silent and uncomfortable. "Why, then, is he here?" he asked presently, unable to control his curiosity. Lady Humphrey shook her head. "I think it is better to say nothing whatever," she said, a little mournfully. His family were old friends of mine, Pierce-a truth of which you once reminded me." The young man was silent again, glanced at his mother's face, once, twice, and hung his head with remorse. Forgive me, mother," he said at last. "I remember that other occasion well. I terribly misunderstood you on two points. Your conduct to Hester has delighted me of late. I will never doubt the goodness of your heart again, even for a moment, in passion. If you know aught against Sir Archie Munro, I will never ask you to repeat it." "It is safer not to talk here, at all events," Lady Humphrey answered drily, and turned away her face; perhaps to look through the crowd after Sir Archie Munro. perhaps to avoid the glance of her son's honest eyes. "And now," she said, presently, with a sprightly change of manner, "we will leave the gloomy subject of treason. We came here to amuse ourselves, did we not? Let Sir Archie Munro have a care of himself, while you go and take Hester about the rooms. And forget your saucy Janet for a time, if you can, and make yourself agreeable." Pierce was fain to do as he was bidden, and so Red Ridinghood and the cavalier made a tour of inspection round the brilliant chambers, whilst the Queen of Spades returned to her hand, and was shuffled over and over again with her companions in a stately dance. That was the hour in which Pierce Humphrey unexpectedly found himself telling the story of his love and his troubles to Hester. "Who is your saucy Janet, Mr. Pierce ?" asked Hester, suddenly, as they pushed through the crowd together. Pierce Humphrey blushed. He felt startled, dismayed, ashamed; and yet on the whole rather pleasantly excited. His vanity half-hoped half-feared that Hester would be grieved to hear the story about Janet. Where have you heard? What do you know about her?" he asked evasively. "Nothing," answered Hester, simply. "But I heard Lady Humphrey speak of her just now; and I thought I should like to know." Pierce Humphrey sighed, but on the whole was relieved. There was no jealousy, no bitterness, in the young girl's tone. She was only at her old trick of wanting to give help. It was better so, better that little friendless damsels like this should have no hearts to get hurt. And it was pleasant for a man who had vexation on his mind to find ready-made sympathy at his hand. "You were always willing to share a fellow's troubles, little Hester," he said joyously. "And I should be glad, indeed, to hear your opinion of this one." And he plunged into his story, and told it frankly from beginning to end; how he loved a merry maiden called Janet, how the merry maiden had gold and beauty and a temper of her own; how he had been bound to her by a bright betrothal ring; but now, woe the day! he had happened to offend her, whereupon she had flown across the sea, to bide under the roof of one supposed to be his rival. And lastly, how he was wasting for her sake; though he made efforts to pass the time pretty well. Hester listened patiently, attentively; weighing his difficulty, believing intensely in his pain, now and again asking a question as he went along; while they two threaded their way up and down through the crowd, he flushed eloquent, gesticulating, so very much in earnest that Lady Humphrey, catching a glimpse of him from a distance, grew uneasy. Had she not gone too far in thus keeping him so constantly with this Hester, who walked by his side, a pale, patient-looking little Red Ridinghood? Was he making an offer of his fickle heart, even now, to this dressmaker, whose work was already cut out for her so many miles across the sea? "I do not know much about such matters," Hester was saying at the moment, gravely, and with a business-like air; "but I should think the young lady must be true." "God bless you for that, little Hester," said Pierce Humphrey, squeezing, in the enthusiasm of his gratitude, the hand that was holding on by his arm. "But how have you come to such a happy conclusion?" "Why, you see," said Hester, earnestly and deliberately, as if explaining a knotty problem, "you are brave and goodnatured, Mr. Pierce; and you love her a great deal, and you have told her so. And she had wealth of her own, and rich lovers; and yet she once promised to marry you. I should think she must be fond of you," said Hester, wagging her head sagely, as if too great a volume of evidence had been summed up to admit of there being doubt upon the matter. This was the amount of Hester's wisdom and penetration, but it satisfied Pierce to the full. He sighed, and became more humble, more doubtful of himself, in his speech. "You have not seen my rival, little Hester," he said, deprecatingly; "and you must not imagine him an uncouth mountaineer, with coarse hands, and a brogue. Sir Archie is a travelled gentleman, wiser, better, more clever than I am. He has a castle many hundred years old; he has money at his bankers; and he has fine woods and mountains on his beautiful estate." "All that makes no matter," said Hester. "You are the pearl of comforters," said Pierce; "but these things make all the matter in the world. I am ashamed to confess that I have thought of them myself," he said, hesitating, and looking a little sheepish. "I knew that Janet was rich, and that I wanted money. But I would give all the money to you, little Hester, or to anyone else, if she would marry me to-morrow; and we could do the housekeeping on air," he added, ruefully, as if remembering how little hopes there was of his ever being able to put his genuine feelings to the proof. Soon after this arrived the very moment when Fate took up that puzzle of Lady Humphrey's, shook it into perfect shape, and dropped it in her lap. It happened that Hester got separated accidentally from her party. She was thirsty, from the heat of the place, and the intentness of her listening. Pierce, after gleaning up every atom of sympathy and advice which she could gather for him out of her heart and brain, responded to her complaint by rushing off gratefully to seek lemonade for her refreshment. He placed her in the corner of a small, dimly-lighted room where only a few people were wandering in and out. He ought to have taken her to his mother; but where was his mother at the time? He was too careless, and Hester was too ignorant, to think of the danger of separation in the crowd. He bade her not to move till he should return. He intended to return with all speed, for Pierce was in the main a true-hearted lad, and he loved little Hester, after a fashion. But the history of his adventures in the meantime is obscure. Did he get into a quarrel with the confectioner? Did he also feel thirsty, after his talking, and drink just one glass of wine too many for his memory, so that he could not find the |