Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-04-10
Written for THE EVENING SrAR.
A LITTLE TALK.
A STORY.
sY HARRIET PRESCOTT spoFFoRp.
ICOpvrighted ISSG.l

copyrighted, 1861
such a lovely thing it was, that house on
ferncroft Hin, with its lawns and gardens and
groves about il, you could never fancy evil
coming near It. Such lovely atmosphere OF
peace and beauty there, such lovely
women were sitting in their wicker chairs on
the tagged space under the shadow of the lofty
group of iaterlseing eIms, surrounded by the
brilliant BEDS and great vases of flowers fam
Ing In the sun beyond, For all the world such
innocent ideal life IL seemed, this life of theirs,
In such "a place, as that life pictured the
Vatican fans. But after all was that Vatican
life anything but wolfish guilt and conspiracy
incorporating under Iamblike fleece with pas
toral gamboIse
Yet, to say truth, there was never woman
made with less conspiracy and guilt about her
Than Mrs. Louie, the responsible life and soul
OF the place. doubt If she was ever acquainted
with artince before that cruel Decemb er
day; certainly she never afterward. And
surely her paler shadow, Miss Margaret, had
less of earth than Heaven in her composition,
and the breath of reproach III any sort had
never touched the stately Laura, nor the pretty
Rose, nor Julia. nor Virginia, any of the
ret OF the sisters and sisters-in-aw and cousins
VIC made the place gay and helped live this
life of a perpetual pleasure party. 50 why did
speak of the Vatican life of guilt at all? When
Francis and Russell aud Herbert me home in
the afternoon from the hot and dusty city 1t
seemed to them that they came to Il lite above
the clouds, course left after Eden, and
they grumbled all the morning at going away,
and felt rs though there were wings on their
feet, hurrying. impatient wings, all the after
noon in thinking of coming back. 1t was so
cool there under the trees, sweet, so far from
turmoil! No thought of trouble there. Ioud
voices or bitter words, nothing more noisy than
the bees and breeZes in the tops of the trees.
nothing, at least, until Mrs. Flossy Nenning
came. and then 1t was ripple of laughter and
w~fa md al
long. breaking in Juias song, or Roses
guitar, or Laura's slow reading OF some verse
she loved. or Mrs. LOuie'S iUllabies; and when
IL was not laughter 10 was deep, absorbed inter
est in the last thrilling recital of the strange
Venning knew or heard about, but who tor the
most part seemed to be sort that never en-
tered into the innocent circle of Ferncroft Hill
except through Mrs. tlossy Nenning's gOssips.
She did not come there every year, however,
and when she did come she brought such word
OF the outside world To these gentle people who
knew so little of IL that she like the open
pages OF fairy book 20 them. Their own life
was quiet that personal news OF those whose
names they heard i'm dull rumor far remote or
read of in the Journals, gave sort of enIarging
acquaintance with them, and Mrs VenninS
found herself encouraged till word of the great
players domestic meannesses, and of the great
novelists private jeaiousies. and the great poets
her acquaintance that had the least piquancy
flavor. II they had known 1t was gossip,
how Mortified they would bave been. As it was.
they considered it only Flossy Venning's little
talk. To-day 1t was the story of the way Gen.
IOil11er abused MS vile ana the way that woman
held up her head and called him Dear and
smiled mt people when everybody knew her
arms were black and blue. and her spirits. oh,
her spirit, were black and blue. too. "Ah. how
thankful i ought to be, thought Mrs. Louie.
"that Francis is the perfect character he is!'
And tomorrow il was the story of the way in
which Maria Burns srIuggled her diamonds
through the post Office, woaId You believe it?
pin alter pin. with a diamond in the head of
Il, just pinned into a letter. the officials think
Ing nothing of much value would be sent
carelessly. "And when you see Arietta at Il
nlh mat III DCtar a. S1ss hRrI Rose
it's Roses turn to go somewhere now, isn't 1t,
since Laura went to Florida last year?-when
you see her with perfect choker of diamonds
round her throat, you'll know now she came by
them"
'.But, don't see," asked Laura looking up
from her book and her hammock, "are things
OF that sort so much cheaper Abroad
things ID ,s sse4 pWn sb Ana get 1
turquoise once in pawn shop a, Munich as
big as the end OF your thumb. for forty
escaped the duties, too. On, YES. there never
was so cheap necklace in this country as
Kirke Outerbridse sold tor his sisters, and
that. well that was such an outrage on de-
on that na had ee beq
mothers, given to the eldest daughter for
Tour generations, and that brother OF hers
sold them for a song and spent the money on
How shocking, Whom did you say he
was2" -s-s--s-
"Why,I told you-her brother Kirxe. And
you never could believe it 10 see him, continued
MIS- Nennlng- superb fellow, tall
and bright faced-just like ones ideal OF I,
Il never had any ideal of a Greek god, said
Mrs Louie, feeling blindly that the cherisking
OF such an ideal was like the tacit countenanc-
ing Of such person as this man who defrauded
his sister, il may be.
well, should be sorry to have my ideal do
such thing as that" said Rose. taking new
needleful OF her arrasene. and happy in the CON
seriousness that sucn people and such things
were far outside their sphere.
Nv asn't il dreadful? You know their father
a " m, ma RI al-.
them all very rich-the Outer6ridges He
must have left million dollars worth of
eutOr and manager, and all that. don't know
whether SO much as that, all at once. turned
heard OF him every where, they say; one wild
whiri of dissipation; and house after house
went. one piece OF property ar; after another and
tune but the old homestead mansion in what
had beeons a cheap out-ofthe-way street,
elry. He refused TO sell that old man
sion-house, TO my certain knowledge, be-
cause the buyer insisted upon settling
the price upon the girls: and they had to give
mortgage on The house, in order to live and
then TO redeem the mortgage in time to pre-
diamonds. and handed them over to Kirke.
and instead of pledgIng them he sold them out,
right and that is the last they ever heard OF it,
never quite understood about the mortgage
and all that, perhaps; but know the woman
who wears the diamonds-at least I've had
them pointed out To me on her. 1t wouldn't be
50 bad. you know, If he hadn't been living a
nights, as they say, till he Is completely worn
Out with his dissipation by this time Never
I1s DythIng but what they call "a man about
town, anywa L do pity those Outerbridge
giris!'
Poor things. it's shame wicked shame ~
said Mrs Louie, cant anything be done to
save what they have left and keep that out of
his clutcheS?"
IL don't suppose there can. They adore him
you know and believe in him. for ALL He is
just the sort OF man some women adore. de-
spise the sort?'
-And so do /. What q despicable wretch,
And such "A sacred trust-his own young sisters
bis dying Iather's charge. How could he? Oh
fiOs>v, IL seems to me the world out there il
To- iull Of wIckedness To continue-somethiDg
must happen-the way il did to- the five cities
OF the pain. can't be thankful enough that
We arc shut in from il here. IL makes me
tTetnble 10 think how superior Francis is to all
that Kind of men-how good he Is never 10
bring nome anything OF that corrupt world.
PeFnap> he never sees anything OF 1.-THE never
mentions such things, that / remember I
should teel rs II the slime Of the serpent had
sol.ets "a, al ii such a man slept one night be-
Meath the roof here"
We'll, he isn't likely to come this way"
laughed Flossy. Your life would have
no attraction for him. And IL he did you would
az DC captivated with him. He knows how to
WI thS heart out of your body"
stop moment, ElOssy," said Laura, who
W. NOW sitting up in her hammock, with a
ahtte, set FACE; II think il right to say 10 you
70 LDule, 10 all the rest, that I know this gem
tIehlsh concerning whom such extraordinary
sI1tSnien's are made. know him very well