Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-07-15
NOT A COUNTESS.
why Miss Dulcimer Did Not
Marry Lord Lexicon.

Miss Dulcimer was q fashionable
beauty; her photograph was in all the
shop windows, and for several seasons
she had excited universal homage and
admiration. She was a strikingiy
handsome girl, fairly accomplished,
and clever beyond the conception of
most of her friends. For she affected
a stately and dignified repose of man.
ner. which suggested languid tenn
permanent, whereas, in fact, Miss Dul-
elmer owed the prominent position
which she occupied in society entirely
to her own energy and force of char
acter. Her mother, widow lady of
good family, would have preferred to
live quietly and unostentaticusly upon
her moderate income in some sleepy
provincial town, and would have been
quite content to see her daughter mar
Sied to curate, or any worthy young
man she honestly loved. But Hilda
Dulcimer had far different ideas from
these. She had been ambitious from
a child, and had early realized that she
could command the homage of the 9TH
er sex. She was no less romantic.
perhaps, than most young girls; but in
all her day-dreams the ideal lover was
invariably possessed of an immense es-
tate, a town mansion and box at the
opera. In a word, Miss Dulcimer had
always been ambitious of making a
brilliant marriage. and in due course
she deliberately set to work to affect
her purpose.
She induced her mother to take a
pill box of house near Park lane, in
an exceedingly unhealthy situation,
backing on to news. The rent was
ruinous, and the rooms were small
and stuffy. but, as Hilda pointed out,
the locality was undeniably fashion
able. She proved, too, that brougham
and dignified man-servant were abso-
lutely Indispensable adjuncts to the es-
tablishment, and completely destroyed
her mothers peace of mind by CON-
polling her to keep up appearances far
beyond her means. But though the
poor old lady lived in state of abiect
terror of bailiffs and creditors, Hilda
cOntrived that she should not be mo-
Tested. Her success in the highest and
most select circles of society was i'm
mediate and enduring. In many little
ways which her friends did not sus-
pect, she turned this to account. Her
gowns cost her nothing; her milliner's
bill took the agreeable and unusual
form of substantial check; and, in
fact, almost every article of attire was
supplied free by tradesmen eager to add
vertise their wares. She had no diff
Guilty in disposing of her cast-off ward
robe at highly satisfactory prices. and.
IN addition to money thus saved and
gained. she was always willing, for q
consideration, to bear public testimony
to the efficacy of somebody's patent
complexion-reviver, or somebody else's
incompatible tooth-powder.
By such expedients as these did this
clever young lady contrive to keep the
wolf from her mothers door and find
the means for those necessary expenses
which her career involved. Mean
while. without the slightest apparent
effort, she maintained the foremost
place among the beauties of society.
was present at all the state balls and
grand assemblies, visited at the houses
Of'the highest nobility, and received
marked attention from royalty itself
Many offers of marriage were made to
her, but Miss Dulcimer calmly and
disdainfully rejected them all. The
fact was, though she would no. have
confessed it even to her mother. eli21A
bachelors of the wealthy arisAe6snx5
seemed very shy of taking VIE out
1ide their own select circle. An En-