Litchfield enquirer., 1880-08-26

duce her. Why, everybody wants to know
her. What fun it will be to have a celebrity
all of my own!" s.-at-,4-. s5.
Professor Paget was rather grim and unsym
pathetic; but still he agreed that his wife haC
better call upon her at once.
''The girl will certainly need friend" ht
said.
And thus while little Lila was working
away in her studio, and Mrs. Ashinton was
patiently mending and making, the fashiOna
Die world was preparing itself to descend upor
them.
The very next afternoon Mrs. Paget's
brougham, with its pretty pair of horses. stop
ped at the door of Daphne Cottage. Mrs. Ash
linton, who was sitting by the window stitch
ing, looked out in amazement at this granC
arrival. Lila was at the back of the house il
her studio, and neither saw nor heard any
thing of it, therefore she was much surprised
and startled when Mrs. Ashlinton came in te
her and said,
''Lilla, you must wash yeur hands and com.
into the sitting room; and bequick-Mrs. Pag
ct is here she is come to call upon you."
/ Lila was really startled at this visitor; fol
at the art school the Professors wife was al
ways regarded as somebody very grand in
deed. And moreover, Mrs. Paget was rather
favorite in society she dressed very splen.
ddly, gave grand sat ones and dinner par
ties; and any of the students who happened to
know her talked of her with a certain awe.
Thus Lila felt as if call from Mrs. Paget
was very wonderful and MOTTO. be-expected
honor. Mrs. Ashlinton was hurrying away
back to her visitor, but she turned at the door,
and said. s...s
''She has spoken very kindly of your pic.
ture, and says it has had quite success ; but
she willteA US more about it when you come,
so make haste" ...-s.,
Lila hurriedly washed off her hands as
much paint as she could and pushed back the
yellow hair from her forehead and then she
went straight into the sitting room, looking,
as Mrs. Paget afterward said, perfectly dell.
cious in her black morning dress, and with
her hair SO delightfully."- uDtidv. She was 60
desperately shy; but Mrs. Paget, who belong.
ed just little. to the frisky type. and was
quite a woman of the world. very soon put
her at ease; but still, what Lila felt during
that half hour which Mrs. Paget bestowed
upon her can be better imagined than describ.
ed. She sat there, her face flushing and pal.
ing by turns, listening in amazement and won
der to Mrs. Paget's account of the success of
her picture, which seemed more Ikea romance
or dream than anything which could really
have happened. What did it all mean? Lila
knew perfectly well that the picture was
nothing so extraordinary as to create all this
excitement; and yet 80 easily may we be shak-
en- in our right judgments that she began to
wonder to herself, as she listened to Mrs. Pag-
cts soft voice, whether she had really earned
all this fatterv.
Mrs. Paget left at last, having made Lila
and Mrs. Ashlinton promise to come to one
of her ''at homes on the evening of the next
day. ...... ......f.
''My DEAR" said Mrs. Ashlnton, as soon as
the door had shut and Mrs. Paget was fairly
gone. eff this kind of thing IS to begin, how
in the world am to dress your"
But it seemed as if magic was at work, for
the same day they heardthat Lilla's picture
was sold. The future was all altered, all made
bright and full of promise. If Lila had but
to work, and thus quickly reap the reward of
her work, there were no difficulties to look for
ward to. Lila fortunately possessed one
dress that was, at all events, thoroughly artis-
tic. 1t was made of Indian muslin, which
chung to her slender figure. Mrs. Ashlinton,
feeling the generosity of new wealth. added
to this cloud of filmy lace round the girls
neck and when Lila was dressed she looked,
in spite of the slightly scared expression in her
blue eyes, fresh enough and quaint enough
even to please her mother.
In Mrs. Paget's crowded drawing rooms she
appeared as a kind of revelation; something
50 new and bright and pure was there about
this beautiful young artist that she attracted
enough attention before it was known who
she was. But when Mrs. Paget had whis-
pered to number of people that this was the
wonderful young artist whose picture had
been admired by the great parsonage, and
when she had introduced her to select few as
Oh ;ntn ALL
you know" added in an aside, Lilla's triumph
was something tremendous.
Rather more frightened than anything else,
when she found that she was really the hero
inc of the hour, Lila shrank away into a cor
ner behind Mrs. Paget, and sat down in big
arm chair, half hoping to escape notice; but
moment after Mrs. Paget turned and intro
duced to her Mr.. Otto Wildair. That young
gentleman, tall and rather extraordinary look
ing, with very long hair and a peculiar lisp in
his speech, did not strike Lila as a very at
tractive companion; but he evidently thought
himself quite entitled to monopolize her He
stretched himself out upon an ottoman at her
side, and, leaning upon his elbow, stared up
steadily into. her face while he went on talking
His conversation did not interest Lila much;
and she did not at all care for his VI ry open
admiration. She was new to society; and she
was quite ignorant of the fact that she was
being honored by the attentions of the Poet of
Pretty Women. Mr.. Wildair wrote sonnets
with an admirable fuency; but he limited
himself to one subject. That subject was the
charms and graces of the successive ladies
VIII om he admired. His last adored one,
wellknown beauty, was completely taken
aback tonight by the very sudden desertion
of her poetic follower; but she soon found
out, as did good many other ladies, that
Lila was formidable rival. Rumor had run
wild about the young artist; and when she
made her appearance, looking SO young and
fresh and delicate, and with that pretty,
dreamy, half-frightened look in her blue eyes,
she brought to her feet a whole crowd of the
avowed beauty worshipers of the season. One
after another, quite number of people were
brought over to Lila and introduced to her
as sue sat there in her corner; but not one of
them had the courage to linger more than a
in conversation with her, while Otto
Wildair coolly retained his position He
could stare anybody away by the fixed gaze
of those great insane eyes of his Lila, being
quite UNCONSCIOUS of the honor being done
her, was rather alarmed by the resolute air
of possession put Oh by this Withholding per-
son. Had she understood the envious glances
cast upon her by some of the other ladies, who
would have given worlds to have been stared
at by the long haired poet, she would have
been none the less alarmed. Lila was much
too young to understand the full value of
being sonneted in society journal as the
flame of society poet 1t is
that she had no idea how terrible
were Mr.. Wildair's intentions, or that while
be was gazing thus vacantly upon her, and
falling into fits of silence, he was actually
stringing together appropriate epithets respect
ing her beauty. Had she been able even to
guess at this, she would have been more en-
under the innumerable attentions
which she received from the various other
gentleman who would much have liked to
Dust Mr.. w ildair from his ottoman. At last,
however, q heroic creature came to her rescue, 4
a certain Mr.. Maurice Liaiard, who, having
been introduced, courageously drew up
chair, and sat down so close as almost to in
sercept Mr.. Wildair's steady contemplation OF
Lilla's beauty. The poet, struet dumb with
at this audacity, simply lay still
and stared at his rival. But Mr. Lidiard was
quite equal to the situation; he rather liked
being stared at, even by man; for, as it hap
pened, he was very handsome, and knew it.