Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-01-29
CHAPTER XVIII.

be ruined if I failed to get it! That Lide
Halstead, with her magnificent hair reaching
nearly to the ground, and her white, statu-
esque limbs, will carry everything before her
She cannot sing as we'll as I do, nor is she so
magnificent an actress as am but her act
ing is 'on the boards where the whole world
can see and applaud; mine is in the salons,
among the chosen few She sets her audi
ences mad about her beautiful hair and her
exquisite face I craze mine with my singing
and with my brilliaucy."
"And yet, madam, though she may be
young and beautiful, and though men may
90 mad over her, and rave of her grace and
loveliness, in not one thing can she compare
to your gracious self!' said Ola, admiringly
"That is all very true, Ola; but when am
not near her to show the difference which ed-
alcated social culture imparts to woman
in fact, to me-why she triumphs, as if she
were a new Hypatia !! Go to Stewards direct
", Ola, and deliver my message On the
first of next month she is to appear in new
opera, and by that time must procure what
1 want, and outshine her. Co."
And Mrs. Vaughn Fessenden waved her
hand with an air of impatience as Ola, her
maid, left the apartment for the store OF the
great New York merchant.
"Well, Ola, will obey the order Of your
Mistress" replied the clerk, who received the
commission for Mr. Stewart. eve will send
forthwith to Paris but am not sure we will
succeed in our endeavors; the goods Mrs.
Vaughn Fessenden requires is very rare, and
almost priceless"
"Well, sir, if you do your best and fail, of
course no more can be done. But l shall
pray that you will succeed for my mistress
will be out of temper with me, and with every
body else, until she obtains exactly what she
wants! She seems half crazy on the subject.
l Just wish Miss Lide Halstead was gummed
fast with bitumen to the bottom of the Red
Sea /" And with that, Ola Aounced out of
the store, and directed her steps homeward.
AS she was passing along, she was accosted
by a decrepit, odd-looking old Jew.
Ola paused. There was something in the
appearance of the man very different from
that of the common Jew; and something ar
rested the attention of the serving.girl and
made her stand still.
"What do you want with me? demanded
the saucy Ola, impcriously, eyeing the man
narrowly and suspiciously all the while.
"You are, 1 believe, in the service of Mrs.
Vaughn Fessenden, the celebrated and beau
tiful widow"
"Well, suppose I am? What of that p
asked Ola, insolently.
"Perhaps you could tell me whether your
mistress could make any use of this. 1t is
her color to a shade, I fancy he said, draw,
ing from beneath his cloak a leathern bag.
Look here, my pretty girl, and be you the
judge" he added, as he opened the receptacle
and displayed a dress pattern that shone and
shimmered and sparkled like spun.glass, at
the sight of which Ola made, unguardedly, an
exclamation of delight, and afterward uttered,
soto voce, an inward thanksgiving at the piece
, of funhoped-for good fortune that she had come
across. O, blessed chance! The dress was
exactly the shade that Mrs. Fessenden want
ed Ola, in her joy, could have hugged the
old Jew but she was discreet, and refrained
from demonstrating her pleasure too strongly
"Why, it is spun-glass, l declare! p she cried
with an air of well-acted disappointment; 81
didn't know that. 1t was so soft and pliable
in texture-and then it is bright as the rain
bow; it has all the seven colors shimmerlng
in it. What do you imagine Mrs. Vaughn
| Fessenden could do with it ?" she added
affecting an indifferent manner.
"What should the beautiful Mrs. Vaughn
| Fessenden do with it?" echoed the Jew "why
wear it, to be sure. Not woman in the
world has dress like this! l bough it in
the far East, beyond the seas, from all orient
al bazaar, the owner having bought it, by
chance, from some other man who had pill
laged it from the curiosities of a royal house
hold in Persia. I heard you talking to the
clerk at Stewards about rare robe your mis-
tress wanted and resolved to show you this
l had Just entered the store to try to sell it.
"And you count upon selling this spun glass
as dress pattern ?" interrupted Ola.
"Of course | do! Its color is so rare and
beautiful, and its texture as fine and pliable as
silk. 1 want to sell it to your mistress"
"Where did you get it? Are you quite
sure your story is true one? Are you very
certain it it not property stolen by YOU"
The old Jew shrugged his shoulders and
made an ugly grimacc.
81 am afraid that it is p. added Ola.
"At any rate, came by it honestly"
"Well, that is something. How much dc
you ask for it? ?"
The man hesitated.
"Mind now," said Ola "if buy it, it is
only on speculation. Mrs. Vaughn Fesscn
den has the most magnificent clothes in the
world, and she may laugh at the idea of wear
ing dress made of fine spun-glass p
The Jew, sighiug, said-"Give me what
you like for it,
"No; set your own price!'
"A thousand dollars, then. You surel y
would not offer me less than that, pretty one.
Ola's heart beat fast! What profitable
bargain she was about to make! Why, hcl
mistress would be transported with JOY al
thus obtaining what far surpassed the fabric
she was so earnestly desiring to possess.
ga thousand dollars - repeated the serving
| -;-l MNon Oh ho II EnllnW me- and | viii