Mademoiselle Aoremac; Or, The Power Of Song.

Mademoiselle Aoremac ; or , The power of Song .

Bv W . F R E D V E R N 0 N . Author of " 17 / - ' History of Freemasonry in Pio . rhurghshiri' and Selkirkshire , " " Tales from the Plan / of a Doctor , ' ' * ' Bared hy a , Sign , " S , 'c .

CHAPTER I . £ " She never fold her love . " f ^ J ^^ K N ordinary scene—a youth and a maiden together in a SKSjjSk parlour . . They had snug several songs , and played ir ^ lix various selections on the violin and piano , and during a JsfffSTr pause she observed'Ps ^ jjw " And so this is our last musical night , Jamie ; I shall J £$ 3 B miss yon xevy much , but I am glad your going away will y " bo to your advantage . There ' s not much scope here for any one who is ambitions , but in Edinburgh you'll have

more room and greater facilities for the expansion of yonr genius . " " Now , Peg , you ' re laughing at me ; I have nae genius , although I winna deny I hac ambition . "

"No genius ! Hav ' ut you read that genius is simply an infinite capacity for taking pains ? " "Then Auntie maun be a rale genius for she ' s aye takin' pains , they were in her shoothers yesterday , nn'tlic day—" " James ! No levity , please . 1 am surprised you could perpetrate such a heartless pun on this our last evening together . I ' m almost ashamed of you ; I was about to pay you a compliment—but I'll not do it now . "

"Thank you all the same , I ken what ye were gann tae say , it was about the pains 1 took wi' music ; they were necessary , as 1 am nae musician , its different wi ' you ; music ' s born wi' you , you ' onl y sing because you must , ' and yonr voice is the sweetest 1 ever "

" You ' re turning the tables with compliments now ; but , as 1 was saying , I am glad for your own sake that you ' re going away , lint sorry for yonr aunt ' s and my own , but its for the best ; you'll rise and be a great author sonic day , and ( hen you'll forget your old p laymate . "

" Diana say that , Peg , I'll ne ' er forget ye , we ' ve kont each other a' oor lives , an' noo I ' m gann away I feel my heart-strings drawn tig ht an' vibrating , Peggy , to one sweet song . " "You ' re quite pncfiYul fo-night , Jamie , " maliciously intci-riipted she .

"And what for nor * Why should 1 no be poetical when the fheme is the same flint has inspired a' oor poefs sin' poetry was gifted to man to express in beautiful language the intensity of his love , an' so I canna part without telling you how tlooply and ( rul y I loo ve . "

'' Thank yon , . lainie ( u-ant , but youre no lilate , and miiybe there ' s no call for you to bc , seeing we ' ve been us brother and sister this manv a year ; but we are both far too young fo talk about love and all that . ' " " You are far ower practical and prudent . "

"And vou are too precocious nnd poetical ; hut listen in what I ve got to say and don ' t interrupt . We arc both much too young to think nbout sweet hearting yet , . so let ns just be as we ' ve nl ways been , like brother and sister . You know I ' ve always liked you ncjif to my father . " " ' Oh thank 3 * 011 for th .-ie sweet words , they'll cheer nu > on when I think on them . Hut we can avc write to each other ? "

" No Jamie , I think we d better not . As I said we arc too young , and we don't know what ' s before . us . Wc are both poor , anil ( hough you are likely to rise . I — I can never be any more than what I am . " " There ' s ' nae saying ; ye mind what I rend tae ye in Shakespeare the other night '•* 'There ' s a divinity thai shapes onr ends , ROII K II hew them how we will . '

Mademoiselle Aoremac; Or, The Power Of Song.

And wha kens what either 0 ' us may bo . You may rise to bo a great singer some day , while I may never be more than a literary hack . " " That ' s nonsense , you are sure to get on , and I sometimes feel I might bc something , bnt , there ' s the stumbling block , Jamie , we ' re poor . Father has to work hard for his weekly wages , and has already

spent a lot ot money upon me , but to educate mc for a singer it would take a fortune . J 3 ut I am talking nonsense now , it is but a day-dream . Let us say no more about it , but have one more song before you go—what shall it ber " "Sing'Auld Robin Gray . '"

'' Very well , that ' s as good as any " said she , turning over the music , and having played the symphony and declaimed tlio opening stanza , was beginning the air " Young Jamie lo ' ed me wed , " when a consciousness of the nppositeness of the words struck her , and

stealing a glance at her companion she saw him smiling approval , and catching his laughing eye she stopped , shook her head , and said "' Jamie , you ' re an artful rogue , " to which he answered "The sang says true , Peg , " and then in the impulse of tho moment hc had the effrontery to kiss her , a liberty he had never taken before .

At this she blushed , anil said "And now for that , I shan ' t sing it , " but seeing the look of remorse and disappointment upon his face , she added " but I'll give you something else , " and forthwith she sang with thrilling pathos and earnestness the not inappropriate song of Burns , " "Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon . "

These two young persons , as will bc gathered from the above conversation , were enthusiasts in their way , and had high aims aud aspirations , and yet they belonged to the working class , and had had little more than the ordinary education as given in the parochial schools all over Scotland before the era of School Boards and tho

introduction ot " standards . ' They were natives of Inverness , where they had lived all their lives . "Neighbour ' s bairns " they were , anti had been brought up together , playing the same games , going to the same school , and learning the same lessons . In later years thoy had studied music together until they were fairly proficient , and sometimes when the girl was employed with

her necessary needlework or knitting , the lad would bring his books and read to her . And thus they had grown from childhood as brother and sister , and never thought of love until the coming departure of the lad had brought to him the discovery that he had more than an ordinary liking for his companion . The girl had long since made the same discovery as regarded herself , but never by look

or word had she betrayed herself , for , as she had told him that evening , they were both too young to think of courtshi p , being au eminently practical person , and of the mature age of sixteen , tho youth being only a few months her senior . He had been early left an orphan , and had been brought up by an aunt , whose source of income was a little grocery business , which she mannged almost

entirely herself , assisted onl y by an errand boy , for her nephew had no business *| ualitie ** , and would soon have ruined the poor woman by the recklessly liberal way he supplied customers , giving what he considered good weight or measure amounting sometimes to double what was charged for . Beside this , she saw the lad hud talent , and bad no desire to see him selling soap and sugar behind a counter , so

his school career was continued in the capacity of a pupil teacher , by which means his education was considerably advanced . He had a great liking for literature , and , having practised stenography , he used to assist tin- local newspaper reporter , and occasionally contributed notes and news to the Courier , and so graduall y drifted into

journalism . Ihe discriminating proprietor of that paper encouraged his literary tastes , and through his recommendation he ultimatel y got an appointment on thc stall' of ihe Edinburgh E . umiug C < tttr < titt , ' then in the height of its literary fame , and it was on the eve of his departure to this post that the scene we have described took place .

Margaret had lost her mother a few years before this story opens and although then a mere child she had realized what the I * iss was to her father , and had done her best to ( ill her absent parent ' s place by ministering to his comfort and attending to his wants , as she had been instructed by her mother . Perceiving that she had a strong prediliction for music he rewarded her attention b y presenting her on her thirteenth birthday with au old square piano he had purchased—in her eves it was the finest instru-

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