Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1886-08-19
BLANCHE MARVIA'S DEFEAT.
BY DWIGHT WELDON.

| Iuo bpehkcf WAS DlunclO MArVln,
handsome brunette, and her elegant dres
and aristocrafio bearing generally accorde,
but strangely with her surroundings.
BY her side stood man whose hand
some, earnest face won her admirin,
glance every time she looked mt 1t.
They stood in an untenanted room in
crowded, broken down tenement house, til,
man gazing refiectively out at the wilder
ness Of roofs and chimneys before them
the woman listening intently 10 the soft
mellow notes OF song, which echoed from
the hallway without.
It's rare harmony impressed the man a
last He aroused himself from his reverio
and looked at his beautiful companion in
wonderment.
Not word was exchanged until the last
note Of the song was completed. Whoever
the singer was, her voice was one of mar
velous scope and sweetness, and a mutual
appreciation showed in the rapt faces OF
the two listeners.
Maurice Arlington's usually calm fea-
lures wore an expression of curiosity and
interest rs he started to leave the room.
"This is another surprise" he said. ave
expected to find the tenements here model
home for the poor, instead of which they
are pile of struggling, ill-kept barracks.
Then, when We pause to reflect over the
famous as that of n cantatrice startles us.
Come, Miss Marvin, must know the pos
SCISSOR of that voice."
Mr.. Arlingtons companion frowned
slightly. The voice belonged to a woman,
and she was naturally jealous.
Besides, she did not like Arlington's deep
interest in the beggarly tenants of the house;
it distracted his attention from herself, an
attention she was exerting all her siren
like wiles to secure.
1t was a strange combination of circum-
stances that had brought these two togeth-
er, and to the block of dilapidated tene-
ments known as Rossiter Row.
Two months previous Maurice Arlington
was poor and struggling artist in New
York City, living on the bare pitiance his
avocaiion afforded him, and the beautiful
Blanche Marvin was secretary to n parsi-
monious old money lender named James
Rossiter.
james Rossiter died. In his will he be-
queathed to his nephew, whom he had
sdfpnse % Mfaiurice tAflI6gDdn, ana 4 source
of great disappointment to numerous dis
tant relatives of the dead miser.
So Arlington had come into his for
tune. he had found Miss Marvin in charge
of the little Office where his uncle had
transacted his business, and had learned
O proficient and reliable empluye.
She was the sole support of an invalid
mother, and he was interested in her from
the first.
"You shall retain your position, if you
choose" he had told her. "The numerous
tenement leases demand some clerical su-
pervision, and you seem TO thoroughly un-
derstand them"
And now he was visiting his property,
and was amazed at the misery and wretch
edness of the habitations from which his
uncle had made his immense fortune.
Secretly he resolved to better the condi-
ton of his tenantry, and it was OF this he
was thinking when the incident which opens
our story occurred.
Miss Marvin had accompanied him in
his visit to the tenements, and they had
rfeGhed theO gaESet tfdo01. OF I'll the rRJlHHsong
room near by, there issued the song al
luded to.
II was plaintive, tender love melody,
and even Blanche Marvin, her mind filled
with scheming thoughts concerning her
wealthy employer, was momentarily en-
tranced.
She followed Arlington TO the hall, and
then TO the open door of an apartment
near by.
There she paused, for Arlington had
halted and stood surveying homely but
touching picture within the room.
The apartment was meanly furnished,
and showed evidences of extreme poverty.
It held two inmates, an old man half re-
clining on a couch, and beautiful girl Just
blooming into womanhood.
Upon her the attention of Arlington was
centered. Her perfect face and full, ex-
pressive eyes looked down tenderly upon
her companion, whose aged features were
pale and emaciated and careworn.
She held in her hand the manuscript
music of the song she had been singing.
Neither she nor her companion noticed
the silent watchers at tho threshold.
"Will il do, cara miaI" the old man wns
saying.
"Oh, my father, it is beautifulr'
The old man sighed despairingly.
"Your lovely voice makes il so, then"
''No, no. II sthe very soul of express
sion. the melody and words"
"Then why does not the stage-m manager
give me hearlng2 All, Inezl the years
are heeting, the dream OF my life is broken.
I shall never live to see the one labor of
my existence bringing joy to those who
love music"
Blanche Marvin's dusky lips trembled
with suppressed passion as she noticed by
hrlington's face that he was deeply af-
fected.
"Let us CO." she said, almost hnrshly.
Without another word Arlington left the
place, and descended to the ground floor.
In the weeks that ensued Blanche Marvin
forgot the incident of the beautiful singer
in the events of the days as they passed by.
She attended to the routine OF her busi-
ness tasks as methodically as ever, but her
mind was ever fixed ON the man she had
learned to love, Maurice Arlington.
She hoped to allure him by her beauty;
she believed she would yet be his wife.
Day by day she sought TO become more
valuable TO and more esteemed by him.
He scarcely noticed her. His mind
seemed of n naturally melancholy cast, and
he devoted most of his time to art, TO
music, and to making plans to better the
condition Of his tenantry.
She did not know also that he very often
visited Rossiter's Row. She supposed he
had forgotten the song and the singer of
the day Of their mutual visit TO the tene-
ments.
The picture Of the old composer and
his lovely, faithful daughter had haunted
Arlington.
He had made visit TO their rooms, had
interested himself in the musician, and
had learned all their sad, strange history.
Alvin Vincent was an artist, like himself.