XV. THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE. "'Tis strange to think if we could fling aside -L. E. L. "What can we do o'er whom the unbeholden NOTHING is so pleasant to men as to talk of the affairs of their neighbors, and plenty of people in the very best society find all amusements shortlived but that of watching the failures and faults of their friends and comparing them with their own successes and virtues. The broken-off marriage between Bertha and Blair Rodney occupied this class pleasantly for many days. It was the more delightful to discuss because it offered points for distinct opinions. Those inclined to take Bertha's side, were sure she had refused to marry because Blair had ceased to be socially her equal. They had been told that Blair Rodney was only an ordinary Perthshire farmer, and they suddenly discovered that they had always thought him vulgar. Those inclined to sympathize with Blair, approved of his decision in giving up a wife who had lost the power to advance him to the head of an old county family. "Bertha had no other desirable quality," they said, and many professed to understand how far Blair might indeed welcome his freedom, though it did send him back to poverty. Through this trying ordeal Bertha carried herself with great wisdom. She did not shirk a single caller, and her calm manner allowed them no just opportunity to offer her condolence. She had her usual pleasant smile, and her dress was a combination of the fine arts. No one had any right to suppose a girl was suffering from either pain or mortification, who always looked as fresh as morning-glorys look before twelve o'clock. With mere acquaintances she exchanged those innocent platitudes which are the loose coins of society; to the Cupar and Braithness girls-with whom she had been on terms of intimacy-she allowed herself little suggestive confidences: "She was sorry for poor Blair Rodney, but the restoration of her dear, darling brother had made the world very different to them all. Of course it was impossible for her to marry Blair in his present position. He was very poor, and she was such a luxurious little body. Her father thought it would be a mistake for both of them to marry, and her father was always right." And on one or two occasions, she alluded with a long sigh to Sir Thomas Carr, and gave the girls to understand that her heart was with her old lover, and that she was not unhappy to be free. However, all suggestions were so cleverly and so modestly made, that many who came to Rodney to pay off old scores of contempt found themselves unable to say a disagreeable word. Really, it is hard to snub a perfectly dressed woman, who has a sweet non-committal smile always ready, and the general public felt themselves to be almost defrauded out of a legitimate retaliation. Indeed, the noble restraint with which Bertha carried herself during these days caused her to receive less consideration than she might otherwise have had. Those who want sympathy must demand it; Bertha made no such claim. She had a pride that stood her very well in place of stronger qualities. The Colonel, who always judged from appearances, said to his wife, he thought Bertha was glad to be rid of Blair, and he respected her for the feeling. Scotia thought her sister suffered mostly from the dread of public opinion, and she found her so well able to manage it that her sympathy appeared superfluous. Mrs. Rodney judged her daughter more justly, and it was to her, only, Bertha abandoned her well-assumed indifference. She knew all the girl's longing and heartache, her sense of wrong and insult; her weary bondage to the claims of the unfeeling, curious world; her sharp disappointment in loosing husband and home, the position and hopes, which had been so nearly hers. As for the Colonel, one side of the question seemed to him a sufficient answer to all who named the circumstance, "A son is a very different thing from a sonin-law where you have house, and land, and an ancient name to transmit." It was an incontrovertible position; and every man with a landed estate felt it to be so. And the son, though not exactly after the Fife pat tern, was a very fine fellow. He managed a horse and used a gun as Turkomans can ride and shoot; and these were accomplishments easily understood. But nothing could induce him to learn to dance. Dancing was the business of women, and he looked with astonishment and contempt on all masculine exhibitions of bobbing about and turning around. There was very little hope that the heir of Rodney would be turned into a ball-room partner. The first event of importance which happened as a sequence to the two great events of Archibald's restoration and Blair's deposition, was a letter from Lady Yarrow. It was a generous, noble letter, ignoring everything past, rejoicing in the household joy, and refusing to see in any event consequent, the least cause for regret. It was, finally, a proposition to rent Innergrey, with all its furniture, for a term of three years. The price offered was munificent, and the Colonel was assured that the house and grounds would be kept in perfect order. "In fact," she said, "I purpose to make it the home of my adopted son; and I shall send there two women to look after his comfort, and a man to take charge of the garden. Whatever other help is required can be procured on the spot." She then signified her desire to assist in the building of a free kirk for Bruce and his people. She had understood the Colonel favored the views of these dissenters, and that he was willing to give a piece of land for the building of a place of worship. If so, she would give three hundred pounds to help forward the immediate labor. This letter gave the Colonel great relief. In meeting so promptly and so extravagantly the claim of Blair Rodney for eight hundred pounds, he had been actuated by a reckless pride which had caused him afterward much anxiety. The check for one thousand pounds represented nearly all his ready cash; for the repairing and furnishing of Innergrey had cost far more than his original intention; while the expenses attending Bertha's outfit and the wedding arrangements had magnified his indebtedness to an alarming extent. Lady Yarrow's offer was a godsend. He accepted it as such, with cordiality and thanks; and it was with real delight he thought of the minister as the tenant of the dower house. Bruce's books and belongings were speedily carried there, and other arrangements grew naturally out of this one. In the first place, it was just a pleasant walk from Rodney, and it was arranged for Archibald to study with Bruce there, under very favorable conditions. And while the Colonel was sitting watching Bruce arrange his library, they fell into conversation about the new kirk; and a piece of land, admirably situated to accommodate three villages, was given by the Colonel for the purpose. In the mean time the large granary at Innergrey was to be fitted with benches, and used as a place of worship. And no emotion retains long its first agitation. Life, however disarranged, soon accommodates itself to fresh conditions. In a month Archibald was as much at home as if he had grown up under Rodney roof. Bertha's disappointment-ignored from the first-was now seldom spoken of. It was a dead issue. Blair had gone out of their lives without protest, and with very little regret. No letter came from him. The Colonel never expected one, but Bertha for some weeks looked with strained and anxious eyes at every |