1896. 



Till-: AMi:iUCA.\ njJE-KEEPER. 



353 



A CHAPLAIN'S STOKY. 



Jim Bomn and I were boys together 

 at Westminster ; we weut to Oxford to- 

 gether — to B;i]]iol ; we took our degrees 

 together in the elassical (honors) school 

 and were ordained together bytheBisli- 



op of L as curates for his diocese. 



Here our patlis separated lor some years, 

 and when next we renewed our old 

 friendship I was the vicar of the town, 

 still single at a-i, and Jim was the chap 

 lain of the famous jail in the same 

 town and married. 



We were talking in my study as in 

 olden times. Somehow the conversation 

 drifted to the subject of a recent news- 

 paper article, "Ought Married People 

 to Have A);y Secrets From Each Oth- 

 er?" I eaid "No, " Jim said "Yes. " We 

 both smilingly stuck to our text. It was 

 not often that we differed in opinion, 

 but this was tlie case anyhow. 



"Why, Jim." said I, "you would 

 have been the last person I should have 

 expected to take that line, for I am sure, 

 from what I have seen, that if ever two 

 folks were happy and loving they are 

 Ella and yourself. I can't conceive of 

 your having any secret which you would 

 not wish Ella to know." 



"Ah," retorted he with a peculiar 

 smile, "that's just it. Well, Howson, 

 I'll tell you one, if you like. Though," 

 he added, "it must remain a secret be- 

 tween us two." 



"Thanks. Jim; you need not fear me, 

 as you know. I am only curious to know 

 the case," and I assumed an attitude of 

 eager attention to Jim's story. 



"I was the chaplain at Lowmarket, 

 as you are well aware, before I came 

 here. It is a pretty place, and one won- 

 ders whatever made tJie government 

 build a jail there. However, there it is, 

 and there was I. The amount of society 

 that one got in Lowmarket was perfect- 

 ly astouishiug. Had I had the time and 

 inclination for ic I might have turned 

 out a reguliir 'society' clergyman. As 

 it was, I had a full amount of lectures, 

 soirees, parties and entertainments. 

 Among the people I got in with none 

 were nicer than the Yorks. Miss York, 

 a maiden lady of 50, lived in a large 

 and beautifully furiiL-hed house calli d 

 The Ctdars in the- best part of the town. 

 Bhe -was kucwn all over the district for 



her charity, kindness of heart and purie 

 life. Everybody had a gcco word for 

 her. Nor was her niece. Miss York, 

 any less ]jopular. Peojile in Lowmarket 

 fairly worshiped both of them. 



"I was 28 when I first saw Ella York, 

 and at once succumbed to her charms. 

 For weeks her praises had been in my 

 ears, a)id now, on acquaintance, I found 

 her beauty, her manners, her kindness 

 of heart not one whit less than report 

 stated. I loved her. Of course I could 

 not say so at once, and whether, after 

 two or thrre meetings in the course cf 

 my work — tcr Miss York the elder took 

 great intejcst in our sphere of labor — 

 she guessed xiiy love and reciprocated it, 

 I could not then say. I found upon ju- 

 dicious inquiries that Miss York — Ella 

 — had lived with her aunt from child- 

 hood ; that she was now 24 ; that her 

 mother was dead, and her father lived 

 on the continent for his health; also 

 that she was her aunt's sole heiress. 

 These facts were, of course, only learned 

 by degrees, as one cannot go to the 

 fountain head for such information. 



"After much heart searching and de- 

 bating within myself I thought I saw 

 that Ella York was not wholly indiffer- 

 ent to me, and I resolved to ask her to 

 be my wife. I need not go into details 

 as to how I did it beyond saying that it 

 was one summer morning, rather more 

 than five years ago, when, having gone 

 to see her aunt, who was out, I met El- 

 la in the gruunds, and, nfter talking, as 

 V?? walked along, on various subjects, 

 somehow it came out unexpectedly, and 

 almost before I could comprehend what 

 it all meant Ella Yovk had promised to 

 be my wife, subject to her aunt's con- 

 sent. 



"But her aunt didn't consent. I re- 

 ceived a dainty note that night — how 

 tenderly I regarded it, Howson — from 

 Ella, saying that she had spoken of my 

 visit to her aunt and had told her I was 

 coming tomorrow for her approval. 

 Miss York had been very kind, but act- 

 ed rather strangely and said she would 

 see me, but she could not consent, as 

 she did not wish tc lose Ella. My dear 

 girl w ent on to say thut she had in vain 

 tried to get from her any more than this. 



"I was in a curious frame of mind 

 as I went next morning to see MisS 

 York. What could her objection really 

 be? Surely i,ot to n:e. My position, n,y 



