The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-09-30

Il
ut is not quite finished yet, . said Por-
tie, aand Of course il is not sold yet.''
Then they wandered off into Discus
sion and criticism, which was mainly,
after all, enthusiasm; and presently q
shadow darkened the doorway, and look
ing around, they saw the artist himself.
oh, Philip!' said Portia, II am so
glad you have come. This is my brother.
Mrs. Barham, = she continued; sand Phil
ip, Mrs. Barham is saying such delight
tul things to about your picture. You
her heregn 81 : !.
There was indeed frown on Mr.. Pom
dexter's brow but he bowed politely to
Mrs. Barham, and Florence soon set him
quite at his ease by announcing her ar
tlstic antecedents, and her interest in art
Is pursuit.
Mr.. Poindexter was net handsome
man, but he had marked physiognomy,
and certain shy dignity, which, with
his perfect sincerity and plainness of
speech, made him attractive. He had
always, from the circumstances of his
life, little disrust of strangers, and it
had not been without annoyance that he
had discovered that his sister had been
speaking of his work to Mrs. Barham.
Portia meant no harm, he knew; in
deed It was only the overlooking
of her sisterly love that made her SO
ready to talk of him and his work, but
it sometimes hurt his pride, neverthe-
less.
II know very well,'' he said, ssthat my
work is very imperfect. am not so pre-
sumptuous as to suppose that the work
of man who has had so little real OBJ
portunity for training as have had can
have any permanent value; but then it is
impossible to improve except through
practice. But Portia need not take such
pains to display my failures"
"But this is not failure,'' said Mrs.
Barham. AT least it pleases me, and
] thong ht that may not be very d1stin-
guished success" she added, laughing
tit makes me feel sorry to hear YOU
speak Of the work as failure.'' -@5
BE bowed and smiled good-natured-
~. 49, ~
II never will again." he said, 'ssince
certainly the picture must have merit'if
it has found favor in your eyes" t:s
Florence left soon after, and as she
tlpped down the steps to her carriage,
she had only the taintest perception that
the world was quite different world to
her from what it was when she had gone
up those same steps. She persevered in
her intent, however, to become the pos
SCISSOR of the picture, and it was safely
hung In her sitting-room before she left
tor her visit to the Pentwaters. ...s
'Dear me-" said Mrs. Pentwater to her
brother, on the morning of the expected
ar!1val, "if you only knew how dread
''You will like Mrs. Barham, 1 am
sure said Mr.. Leicester.
"No, I shall not. She is a stranger, and
I hate all strangers
Mrs. Pentwater's home was not very
happy one, and there was reason for her
not giving strangers very cordial well
come in it.
"But,,' said Mr.. Leicester, "you should
remember the advantages of cordial rela-
tons with Mrs. Barham. From inoui
res which ! made, I judge that she must
be worth good deal more than twenty
thousand pounds. She is young and
and I think easily ruled. She
has lovely home, and in time you will no
doubt have the advantage OF it during
the summer season: and you must know,
Laura, that at Harry's present rate of
making away with money, you cannot
always afford to spend your summers at
watering places. I hope, indeed, that
Mrs. Barham will be induced, in some
perfectly discreet way, OF course, to Join
us this summer and contribute her quota
towards the expense. She evidently
knows very little of the world, and if
you give her the entree of society, of
course she ought to do something for
you in return" 81.
This was precisely the motive which
Mr.. Leicester had had in view in seeking
to make favor with Florence Barham.
His own funds were waxing low, his Sis
ter's husband was spendthrift, and the
family Golfers must soon be replenished,
or disaster would ensue. For years he
had said he was not marrying man, but
since he had met Mrs. Barham, he had
more than once declared jocularly among
his companions at the club, that while
there was life there was hope.
"But all these dlsagreeable things he
continued saying to Mrs. Pentwater,
must be kept out of sight as much as pos
sible. She must not be allowed to sup
pose that any motive was concerned in
our invitation other than the most disin-
terested regard for her as our cousin.
ooh, of course said Mrs. Pentwater.
Il am not an idiot"
When Florence arrived that evening,
therefore, she was not less surprised at
the elegance of Mrs. Pent-
waters establishment than at the cordi-
ality of her welcome.
Mrs. Pentwater met her with an en-
brace, and then holding her off at arms
length, exclaimed:
s'My brother prepared me to find YOU
beautiful, but did not expect to see a
revival of the old Leicester beauty. It
was something fabulous, and I, you see,
have no trace Of it. Look at this pic.
ture, and she led her to stand before
8 fine old portrait, SIT is the likeness of
our grandmother. She was wonder
f11l hol1o IN hor dow on1 va, 80 -. III.