The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-09-17

agains
Jessie lay on the lounge . shapeless
mass of wrapper and shawls, as usual.
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."
.sGOing to some fashionable place, l
suppose, with some Of his fashionable
friends!'' cried the invalid. Then, As
her sister made no reply: IF 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
awaY?''
Nothing" replied the girl. YEARLY.
"Let Bell alone, Jess said Tom
soft, slow voice. from the depths of an
armchair, in which he sat in state of
neglige equal to his wife's. 1.-THE child s
tired; let her 60 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 a 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 q band within was
playing dance music. Vane repaired
the damages inflicted upon his appear
ancc 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,
IS 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
French dressmaker had once remarked,
with the approval of an artist whose
efforts are too often wasted upon pur-
blind generation. that Miss Lawton had
the govt somewhat tapageur, but that
she was interesting to dress, neverthe-
less. because she was 80 responsive.
In some way Vane felt grateful to her
at that moment for looking so well. 1t
seemed to put him more at rights with
himself.
II did not expect you," she said with
a little laugh that in subtle fashion con-
tradicted her words.
Ibid you not?" in his impressive
tone. "You might have known ]
should come-after you had said /
would not be quite unwelcome.
She sat down and drew a gaudy ORR
entail shawl about her shoulders She
was quite harmonies from the top of
her artistically coiffed head to her mar
row slipper-tip. A delicate suggestion
OF perfume-so few women know how
to use scents-was waited toward him
by each slow motion of her scarlet
feather fan. Voices and subdued laugh
ter came from the other end of the pi-
AKA, mingled with the strains of the
waltz then in vogue. Up in the sky q
full moon was hanging and low wind
blew from the south. It was very
pleasant altogether. So pleasant that
the city, with its hot pavements and its
din, its harrassing documents from
picture dealers. and its unpaid bills.
faded quite away into the dim recesses
OF Beauty Vain's" memory. His
monetary complications, in fact. seemed
to assume far less pressing aspect-in
the propinquity of an heiress kindly dis
posed.
There are certain potentialities of
riches in the atmosphere that make
poverty, to the most INDECENT artist, ap-
pear altogether q far less present and
personal matter. Not that Vane Ste
phenson directly contemplated the pos
sibility of ever proving untrue to Bell.
Bell was dear little thing, and there
was world of character hidden be-
meath that delicate body Of hers. She
was wrapped up in her love for him
also. No; he would not wrong her.
But his ease and pleasure-loving artists
temperament was agreeably caressed
and stimulated by that atmosphere of
luxury and artificiality in which the
Lawt0ns and such As they moved and
had their being. The fiattery his talent
and his personal good looks brought
him in such circles fed his vanity de-