The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1886-08-13

despite the sultriness of the night
She had had one of her ''attacks" dur
ing the day and was more querulous
than customary.
"Vane is going away for a little
while-out of town."
"Going to some fashionable place, l
suppose, with some of his fashionable
friendsn' cried the invalid. Then, as
her sister made no reply: "1f he saved
up his money instead of spending it
this way you could have been married |
before this. But always told you, Bell,
you were too weak with him. What |
did you say to him about his going
awayp"
Nothing" replied the girl, wearily.
'Let Bell alone, Jess" said Toms s
soft, slow voice, from the depths of an
armchair, in which he sat in state of
neglge equal to his swife's. "The child's
tired; let her go to bed"
Bell cast grateful glance toward her
brother-in-law's large, mild face. She
and poor, unlucky, always-out-of-a-posi-
ton. and if the truth must be confessed,
lazy Tom were the best Of friends. 1t
was not the first time that he had
shielded her with delicacy that never
failed from her sisters well-meant but
narrowing onslaughts
Bell crept up stairs. Oh, those golden
simmer days down by the sea when
first she and Vane Stephenson had met
and where he had asked her to be his
wife-how far, far off they were!
When Vane Stephenson alighted at
the little station of -- Springs the fol-
lowing evening his spirits rose with a
sense of pleasurable exhilaration. He
had had some doubts and also some
compunctions about coming-for what
what reason he himself best knew-but
, they evaporated now. The piazzas of
the hotel were full of graceful forms in
thin dresses and band within was
playing dance music. Vane repaired
the damages inflicted upon his appear
ance by travel and then sent his card to
person registered, with his mother, as
"Mrs. and Miss Lawton and maid"
Miss Lawton was dressed that evening,
as was customary with her, into the
nearest approach to beauty in any way
compatible with the materials granted
her (not too lavishly) by nature. Her
I French dressmaker had once remarked,
with the approval of an artist whose
| efforts are too often wasted upon a pur-
blind generation, that Miss Lawton had
the gout somewhat tapageur. but thai
! she was interesting to dress, neverthe
I less, because she was so 'sresponsive.' =
{ In some way Vane felt grateful to hel
: at that moment for looking so well. i
seemed to put him more at rights will
himself.
: II did not expect you," she said will
a little laugh that in subtle fashion con
q tradicted her words.
"Did you notp'' in his impressiv
9 tone. ''You might have known
S should come-after you had said
would not be quite unwelcome.
She sat down and drew q gaudy Ori
. entail shawl about her shoulders Sh
: was quite harmonies from the top o
> her artistically coiffed head to her mar
7 row slipper-tfp. A delicate suggestio
Z of perfume-so few women know no,
L to use scents--was waited toward hir
II by each slow motion of her scarle
\ feather fan. Voices and subdued laugh
> ter came from the other end of the p
J, azza, mingled with the strains of tn
waltz then in vogue. Up in the sky
!. full moon was hanging and low win
i blew from the south. 1t was yer
u :. pleasant, altogether. So pleasant ths
"a the city, with its hot pavements and il
~ din, its harrassing documents fror
. picture-dealers, and its unpaid bill
4 faded quite away into the dim recesst
T. of Beauty Vain's'' memory. H
y monetary complications, in fact, SCENE
- to assume far less pressing aspect
., ., the propinquity of an heiress kindly di
4 posed
- There are certain potentialities
= riches in the atmosphere that nal
w poverty, to the most INDECENT artist, al
- pear altogether far less present al
personal matter. Not that Vane st
phenson directly contemplated the pc
a. sibility of ever proving untrue to Be
a. e Bell was dear little thing, and the
~, was world of character hidden t
tlo meath that delicate body of hers. S
y was wrapped up in her love for hi
,'s also. No; he would not wrong he
w. W But his ease and pleasurc-loving artis
no temperament was agreeably caress
of and stimulated by that atmosphere
,ra luxury and artifciality in which t
al Lawtons and such as they moved a
r rat had their being. The fiattery his tale
D., and his personal good looks broue
ho him in such circles fed his vanity I
;st lightfully. 1t was in his nature to
m ar with the current. And the current HI
No. happened to exercise particula
pleasant compelling power.
pe. The next day was one of these YOU,
i'm safed occasionally to mortals that Il
m may know how the earth looked WI
the world was young and "sang W
m. her sister spheres. A day of loi
| L A L.,sz.