The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-08-18

than customary.
"Vane is going away for little
of town"
'Going to some fashionable place, l
suppose, with some of his fashionable
friendSm 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 l always told you, Bell,
you were too weak with him. What
did you say to him about his going
awaV?"
Nothing replied the girl, YEARLY.
''Let Bell alone, Jess" said Toms
soft, slow voice, from the depths of an
armchair, in which he sat in state of
neglige equal to his wife's. "The child's
tired; let her 60 to bed"
Bell cast a grateful glance toward her
brother-in-law's large. mild face. She
and poor. unlucky, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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 Mt
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
computations 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
a 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
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 so 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.
81 did not expect you,' she said with
little laugh that in subtle fashion con.
tradicted her words.
did you not?" in his impressive
tone. ''You might have known
should come-aftcr you had said
would not be quite unwelcome. "
She sat down and drew gaudy ORR
entail shawl about her shoulders. She
was quite harmonies from the top OF
her artisticaIly coiffed head to her mar.
row slipper-tip. A delicate suggestion
of a 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'
azza, mingled with the strains of the
waltz then in vogue. Up i'll the sky 6
full moon was hanging and low wind
blew from the south. 1t was very
pleasant, altogether. So pleasant that
the city, with its hot pa7ements and its
din, its harrassing documents from
pcture-dealers, and its unpaid bills
faded quite away into the dim recesscs
of Beauty Vain's'' memory. His
monetary complications, in fact, seemed
to assume far less pressing aspect-ir
the propinquity of an heiress kindly dis
posed.
There are certain potentialities O
riches in the atmosphere that make
poverty, to the most INDECENT artist, ap-
pear altogether far less present ant
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. Sh'
was wrapped up in her love for hin
also. No; he would not wrong her
But his ease and pleasure-loving artist
temperament was agreeably caresse'
and stimulated by that atmosphere o
luxury and artifciality in which tn
Lawtons and such as they moved ant
had their being. The tlattery his talen
and his personal good looks brough
him in such circles fed his vanity de
liehtfully. 1t was in his A2ture to g
with the current. And theturrent her
happened to exercise particularl
pleasant compelling power.
The next day was one of these vouch
safed occasionally to mortals that the
may know how the earth looked whe
the world was young and "sang wit
her sister spheres" A day of long
rare, dream-like hours. A bright blu
morning, with a hazy veil over lake
and mountains, a drowsy noon, sti
afternoon, spellbound under its slantin
shadows; pale moonlit evening, redo
lent with faint odors and full of niyste
rious sounds, as of myriad OF voice
of whispering nature.
They had been off on a coachin!
party and gone all day.
When Mrs Lawton went to her roor
that night she was pensive and al
stracted.
"Don't flirt too much with Van
Stephenson, Rhoda," she said to he
daughter. "Of course he's a charmin
fellow-in his way-and all that. Blu
dom t push matters too far"
+ '.Flirt with him!' repeated Miss Law
ton in wide-awake wonder.
Eyes, fiirt with him. Don't pla
innocence. You tiirted outrageous
with him all day. If you lead him o