Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1881-09-08
MARIoN's ROMANCE.

MAh1ON , hOMANCE.
: The beauty of Marion Marlborough
had certain stately guise to it, despite
her youth, that made her seem like q
young queen, while its chief charm was
her complete Inconsistencies of it.
That she had lover in almost every
youth who was brought within hen
sphere was matter of course, but that
she should fail to be attracted by any
one of them herself was perhaps slight
ly a matter of wonder. Her mother, In
deed, thought it very much SO, and often
allowed Marion the benefit of her opin-
ion, and of her opinion in especial con.
cerning girl who had it in her power
to be OF immense benefit to her family,
and resolutely ignored the possibility.
"When Amelia Tanhurst was mar
ried," Mrs. Marlborough would con-
tinue, "there were few poorer than the
Tanhursts were; and look at them now
Her marriage put all the sisters into a
society where they also married rich,
instead of having to earn their own iv-
ing or starve, and both of her brothers
are in first-class business, and on the
way to millionairedom."
suppose all this means, mamma,
that if Mr.. Adriance Desmond should
throw me his handkerchief, you want
me to be as eager and alert as the rest
Of
:" I want you simply not to take it for
granted that he is wretch of the black
est dye, but to treat him with civility,
and ct him take his chances"
Very we'll, mamma, will treat him
with civility. I hope treat every one
o."
"You are fearfully toploftical to some
of them, Marion" said her second Sis
ter, Charlotte.
Well, hate them all. 1 hate men
who are looking you over, and taking
their fancy to handsome cheek or a
rich color"
There, there, there, Marion Peo-
pie will think you shrew instead of a
beauty. And as for Adriance Desmond.
he is charming fellow, for know him
of old; and when he brings his yacht
here next week, you may be as ready to
own it as anybody. I'm sure if you, OF
Charlotte, or Emily, or Anne, should
marry any one half so agreeable
Which MEANS" whispered Marion
to Charlotte, with sparkling eyes and
color, sany one with half SO much
money"
would marry any one half SO
agreeable, it would be godsend for
your family"
And all the rest Of the week Mrs.
Marlborough was cutting and fitting,
and getting her ssgoods ready for sale, .
as Marion Indignantly called it. For
the Marlboroughs had just enough in
come to get along with narrowly, and
some of the gauds and glories of the
wealth to which she had once been ac-
customed the mother longed that her
children should have, if she might not
have them herself and she made a
good deal of moan to herself that her
choice child, Marion, the beauty of the
whole Marlborough race, should be
such rebel in the matter, and aunts
and cousins and intimates one and all
agreed with her.
It was, however, the only thing where
Marion was rebellious. Anybody
sweeter, gentler, more helpful, than
she. it would not be easy to find. Her
laugh, her voice, her step, were music !;
she was sunbeam wherever she went
her little world felt it would be a des-
e1t if Marion were taken from it, and
yet felt that the queen must have her
kingdom, let what would happen-in
other words, must marry, and marry
well. And of course they had all been
interested when they heard that the
Desmonds-Adam and his half brother
Adriance-were to bring the steam
yacht round to Parvispoft, and spend
part Of a season on the water there; for
Adam himself was a capital fellow, and
would make almost any girl good hus-
band, al hough the vast wealth belonged
to Adriance, who had inherited it from
his mother, and they were both q sort
OF cousins by marriage. There had al
ways been more or less correspondence
in the family, and they really knew
eackothef, although owing to the long
European residence of the Desmonds
they had never met The brothers had
seen Marion's picture, at any rate, and
she had been set up in a shrine, as it
were, by one of them at least.
The last raveling of the dressmaking
had just been gathered from the carpet,
when Aunt Anne saw the yacht at anchor
directly beneath the windows, with her
flags flying, and boat putting off to
shore. You may be sure she had her
hosts marshaled before the new comers
could mount among them; and if Mar
ion, in her half-indignant sense OF the
barter end sale that Mrs. Marlborough
and her Aunt Anne were making, was
the last to present herself, il only made
the effect more vivid when she did.
The other girls had been like garden
of flowers, but here was the rose her
self. Such damask on the velvet cheek.
such velvet in the blackness Of The eyes,
such blackness in the shadows of the
hair whose ripples took the sunshine Oh
their crest, sach sunshine in the smile
that did not come at once 6 Helen OF
Troy" thought Mr.. Ad1iance Desmond
-" Helen Of Troy could not hold q
candle to her.
But for her part, she did not look al
either OF The Desmonds at least moi
consciously at Mr.. Adriance. What
prejudice she could possibly command
in their favor she felt for the youngel
and poorer brother, cut off BY q whin1
Of fate from the good luck of fhe other
and she was glad when she found her
uo7t afAa,s fho Ill .;,.l s1 "A I41r.xr ~ r>s151