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THE ROSE AND THE LILY. 92
Nothing happens to break up the dull monotony of
his life, or put a fee into his lank pockets. .-True, invi- —.
tations pour in upon the “ handsome rising young law-
yer,” but these he declines on the score of his mourning.
The city wakes up to the gayety of its winter season,
but the ripple of joyous life flows past him unheeded.
The lethargy of a hopeless grief is upon him. At last,
with something of a shock, the vulgar and prosaic ques-
tion of: “ What shall we eat, and what. shall we drink,
and wherewithal shall. we be clothed?” forces itself
upon his consideration. . . a
For Vane, handsome, careless, ease-loving Vane, has_
suddenly and thoughtlessly come to the end of his re-
sources. : °
Bills, formidable, some of them, begin to pour in. Our
-hero, anxiously debating the question of “ ways. and
means of raising the wind,” begins to realize that busi-
ness is strangely dull, and himself placed in a dilemma,
You understand that Vane Charteris. is. no_ perfect:
hero, my friends, you have seen that from the first,
Self has in almost every instance ruled his thoughts,
he has yielded to temptation, he has shown himself
‘daily one of those petulant, faulty, yet daring types of
men whom, after all, women cannot help loving ,
So in this instance, instead of loftily adhering to his
stubborn rejection of Maud Langton’s offer, Vane Char-
teris suddenly remembers, with a sensation of relief,
that all this while, a long month, indeed, the offer has
lain in abeyance, waiting on his pleasure. Maud, like a
skillful general, having made one artful move, is now
waiting to see what the enemy will do. — ;
Vane, like the thoughtless and innocent fly that heis,
walks straight into the trap she has set. He decides to
call. After all he may be forced to accept the manage-
ment of her property. At this critical period of his fate,
he cannot afford to be proud. oo
Yet it is with strange reluctance he climbs the marble
steps and rings the bell; .A memory of the dead seems
to hold him back. The perfume of a white rose he has
- purchased and. placed in his coat in passing: a little
flower shop, rises strong and sweet, thrilling him
with the thought of her who has been like a rose hers
self, - ,
“A rosebud set with little, willful thorns,"