Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-11-13
TESTING THE SPELL.
BY K. T.

BY K. T.
Almost uncanny, in her fresh, gypsy
beauty, looked Vivienne Harcourt that
night, when she came down the velvet
carpeted stairs and into the long, luxu-
rious drawing-room of HOLLYWOOD
The little groups, scattered there in
the brilliantly-ighted rooms, looked up
at her as she entered-a tall, queenly
girl, in a plain, ight-6tting dress of
ivory serge, that fell in heavy, creamy
folds behind her; dress that few wo-
men dare wear, unless they have statu-
esque beauty to challenge its severe
simplicity.
A gold cord and tassels were passed
around her waist, and hung, loosely
knotted, at her side.
All her blue-black hair was careless
ly coiled in Grecian knot, low, behind
her shapely head, with a jeweled dag
ger thrust through its dusky waves.
"Well, Vivienne, down at last?" her
aunt cried, as the girl came forward,
with little, sweet, naughty bow to all
present.
eyes. You must pardon me; I was
unavoidably detained
She moved round from one guest to
another in her stately, graceful way,
now with smile like sudden sunshine,
a few merry words, OF clear, Ginning
laugh.
The gentlemen gathered around her
eagerly, full of admiring homage, but
only daring to lay at the shrine of this
fair young princess polite, converse
tional remarks.
Only one fingered apart, content
with her first sweeping bow-only one
man, who loved her madly. passionate
", but whose heart was full of the bit
terness of blind, unreasoning jealousy.
1t had been but lovers quarrel, af-
ter all. She had only worn another
mans flowers in preference to his
Lord Neston's, who was old and wrink-
led, with false hair and false teeth, but
with real title-Lord Neston, who had
offered her the honor Of his name, but
for whom she cared no more than for
the bronze statuette on the mantlepiece.
Perhaps the flowers suited her toilet
better than his; perhaps it was through
a little girlish vanity; but most assured
ly it was not because she cared straw
for the title OF the Neston diamonds.
Still, little by little the chasm had
widened between her and her lover, till
now they were almost as strangers; and
the more that miserable pain kept tug
cling at her heart-till she grew almost
mad with misery for the touch of Ar
thur Beauchamp's hand, the glance Of
Arthur Beauchamp's eyes the more
blithely sweet her laughter rang.
And he, her lover, seeing it, crushed
back the hard lump in his throat, the
muttered word "heartlessr' on his lips,
and, turning, left the room.
A moment later, Barbara Morton, her
little, saucy, red-lipped cousin, came up
to Vivienne as she stood by the piano.
"Vivienne," she called out gaily, edo
you know what Major Forsyth is say
ing?"
"What? she asked, trif1e istlessly.
ut is an Infamous libel, which we
must promptly resent! He says that
women-al women-are towards, and
that not one among the-two, five, ten,
fourteen-among the fourteen ladies
present would dare to 60 alone tonight
to the Witches Wellr'
1.-THE Witches WellI'
my dear, you forget Vivienne is
stranger here, and does not under
stand,' her aunt interposed.
They all gathered round her in mo-
ment, eager to explain.
"You see, Miss Harcourt," Major
Forsyth said, '.on Hill about quarter
of mile from here stands an old ruin
"a tumble-down, deserted place. With
in there is a great, round, common
looking well; but the superstition is
that girl brave enough to gaze alone
into it's prophetic depths at ~ o'clock
precisely of any night-not Hallow Eve,
you understanding night-will see
reflected in the CLASSY mirror below the
face of her future husband. The peas
antry have blind terror of it, and
there is never a soul to be seen in the
ruin from years end to years end. 1t
is very easy to discuss in well-lighted
srawing room, and all that sort of thing,
Sut the weird reality of that uncanny
spot is something to shudder at, even
in the blessed sunshine
The valiant major paused, quite ex-
hausted by his oratorical effort.
Vivienne raised her head, quick,
scarlet glow on her cheeks, blaze of
feverish eagerness in her eyes, and they
all shrank back amazed, as she said,
resolutely-
81 will gor'
Then there was a general laugh.
You are only joking!" they said.
But the girl-losing all her cool COM
nonsense, in the agony Of this bitter
parting from her lover glad of any ex-
element to drown the pain at her heart