The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-01-18

bOt IA Va NIeS
supposed to have been q gift of Shah
Jehan, the Mogul Emperor, to his be-
loved Sultana, Moor Jehan, over whom,
it will be remembered, he erected the
world-renowned mausoleum, the Tai
Mahal. Iii believed that after herdeath,
in a transport of gratitude for his faith
full services to the deceased, he bestowed
this ring upon n of her eunuchs, and
h%enceforth, in some mysterious way, 1t
came to be associated with the practice
of virtue"
ssOf course 1t had become impossible
now for Irene to return at once to Phila-
delphia- She wrote to Elmer Paulson,
telling him of all she had done and still
hopedto do. His answer Jared strangely
upon her mood. It had q far-of tone
she had never noticed in words OF his
before. Was it that his epistolary style
was new to herp With, regard to the
matter of the ring" he said, with what
seemed to her a chilling reticence, "you
must continue to act as your Judgment
dictates" This surely was not disap-
proval, but it was equally remote from
enthusiasm, and the unpleasant impress
sion ofdistance between them remained
Will 1EtuG. cuC was wv L4uSh HAO-
occupied to analyze it very closely, but
it was due to the fact that his letter was
addressed to her spiritual standpoint OF
several days ago, and her horizon had
changed. She had travelled too fast for
him.
MI. Seabright so thoroughly enjoyed
a genuine antiquarian problem that he
was more than willing to thicken the
atmosphere of mystery which already
hung around the ring. One morning two
small black diamonds were by its side,
which no one remembered to have seen
there before.
singular, is it nota", remarked the
lapidary to a gentleman of his acquaint-
ance, who was studying the phenome-
non. There is a legend to the effect
that a certain kind of diamond has the
property-supposed to pertain to living
things-alone-of reproducing species"
"a kind Of crystalline budding, you
might call it. I seer' said the gentleman
addressed, gemm1tion. That must be
where the naturalists get the word.
Very clear, indeedp'
They both laughed at their own face
tiousness, and Mr.. Wellington Gordon,
WHICH, NC IOdCuCu nLo OSou6 Lou4O hOak
the Park. told his wife Of the converse
ton he had had.
"Welly." said that lady, after reflect
ing a moment, 81 do believe this Irene
Van Wyck is my cousin"
cit occurred to me at the time, though
I didn't tell old Seabright."
'.Poor, dear Cousin Harmanus! He
used to say Irene was his favorite name.
1t means peace
IAN excellent thing in womanr' in
terrupted her husband.
"1t must be his daughter. There are
not many Van Wycks,r she sighed. II
was a tribute to the ''long ago." the
secret summer half hours in leafy paths,
stolen from his studies in Hindustanee.
Go with him to lndiaP" OF course
not, but she could cherish his memory
always. That involved no sacrifice.
ITO think how he yearned over those
horrid Raiahs a I'd Sepoys" She spoke
this aloud. Twas surprised they lei
him die in his bed, that they did moi
chop him to pieces at Cawnpore."
"Small credit to the rascals," returned
Mr.. Gordon. He would have been
chopped fast enough if he had beer
GlOkOs l. IL VOAI Suk "0 Ob PkoNS o.
alibi to account for their tender mercies.'
The result of this conference was tina
Miss Van Wyck was called upon in her
obscure retreat, the cousinship substan
tiated, and she was swiftly transferred
from the protection of the Reverend
Talbots to that of the Wellington Cor
dons.
When the carriage was sent to convey
her away to another sphere, the minister
himself helped her in, waving aside tn
important footman. He retained he
hand a moment in his parting salutation
"God bless you, my child" he said
| solemnly. "Take care of your SOUL"
II will willr" And the tide o
emotion swept owe her, which Seemed
to come over warm sea from afar, ant
rise in a holy spring out of her father
grave.
In the week which ensued, Irene
little craft was ever touching upon for
| cign and enchanted shores. Her expe
rience might have been confined to Mrs
| Gordon's select circle, had not an I'm
foreseen incident widely spread it
boundaries.
A talented artist sat near her one nigh
at the opera, and fascinated by the pos
sibilities of her face, with a ready pencil
caught it on his libretto. Soon after,
highly suggestive picture appeared a
the academy, called, "a Charm agains
the Evil Eye" 1t represented a womal
in the soft clinging draperies of tn
Orient, and wreathed about her were tn
tender hued blossoms of the sacred lotus
She was standing in the columned shad
of a banyan tree, through whose branche
vivid red CLEANS fell upon her face an,
form. The white silk folds of tn
''cbudder" were thrown back from he
head, disclosing, not, as n might eS
pect from the surroundings, the dark
dreamy lineaments of the East, but tn
fair, golden-haired beauty of Irene Va
Wyck, idealized to an almost superns
~lustre, such as might be hers in som
rare moment of exaltation. 1t had tn
effect of a glorious sunrise out of a troy
ical midnight. Round one of the roote
branches of the banyan, a serpent wa
coiled, and the woman with an ANGEL
gesture of command was holding up
warning finger, on which was recos
nized the ''Brahmin's ring then o
exhibition at the bazaar. In the very CO
of the serpent, the expression of his dirt
full head, the artist had subtly depicte
awe and submission. The genius ha
contrived to suggest to the mind of tt
imaginative observer. not only the spe
of the talisman, but the idea as old
the world, of beauty's power to subdr
all things unto itself, and to disarm eve
the most malign influences. The arts
besides increasing his W fame, ha
inspired every one with a desire to 81
the original Of his picture.
Miss Van Wyck became the roman
of art circles in New York.
She paused sometimes in her deligh
full course of art receptions, ''atternoo
teas" and Evenings at home," to wo
der why Elmer Paulson did not come
see her. he who had the first claim upe
her-Philadelphia so near. too-even b
!. letters were growing fewer and colde
s.What has came over him?" she askt
with a proud instinct of self-appreci
: ton. She forgot to easur the tone
her own letters of late. 1.-The viii