The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-08-17
The Enchantment of Merlin.
a Racy Story of English Life.

From the Boston Home Journal.
There are very few women who will wantonly
maltreat flowers, and it is not good sign with
them when they do so Vivien Vereker, as her
mother poured out the words of maternal wis
dom, had been deliberately beating the life out
of a bunch of Marechal Mel roses against the
ledge of the open window
sMy love, pick up those rose leaves, for
mercy's sake, unless you want him to see them
when he comes this afternoon" murmured
Mrs. Vereker, well-preserved woman of fifty,
on whose white forehead the perpetual strug
gle for life in that narrow world in which she
had made it her business to live had left an ex-
preston of utter WEAKNESS of all things.
Across the narrow strip of CLASSY that
divides the town of Cannes from the Isles des
Lerns the walls of the Chateau Ste. Margue-
rite glittered in the light of the southern sun.
Over the sparkling ripples of this strip of sea
Vivens beautiful violet eyes passed slowly on
ward to the far-off horizon before she spoke.
~ am tired of Lord Sarcenet and his flowers,
of Cannes and its people; am tired of life-at
least of our life. | should like to go away and
and hide myself forever in some forgotten cor
ner of the earth, where there were no laws, no
clothes and no bills''
"My dear Vivien, if you only knew how obi
Gus it sounds to hear girl talking like one
of Ouida's princesses, am sure you would not
do it, You are too old to talk of being tired of
lfe It's all very well in the nursery, but ri
diculous in woman of twenty-eight. Sarce-
net is most amiable young man, and means
husband really admires you. But l suppose
you will finish by frightening him away by al
lowing that hateful Maj Selbourne to be al
ways about with you. Oh, l wish that man
would go!'
''The man will go. He told me to-day that
he would not be able to face his duns this sea-
son unless something turns up. His wife won't
help him, so Tommy will disappear like so
many Others"
'l wish you would forget his Christian
name," said Mrs. Vereker piteousy
''He would like to get an appointment out
in the East" continued Vivien calmly. They
want a soldier for the governorshp of the Bo-
range Peninsula [ wonder If Sir Merlin would
give it to Tommy? He could if he wanted to-"
81 wish he would, | am sure; anything to get
rid of him. for he has destroyed chances that
you will never see again."
And it was true.
though nearer forty than thirty, still answered
to the name of Tommy. Everything that gen
tleman and a soldier may do without incurring
ostracism from his social equals Maj. Selbourne
had DONE In every place in which man of
the world may be seen without losing caste,
from the prize ring to the divorce court,
"Tommy" was well known and favorite. AS
good judge of horse as woman, utterly
reckless, as his friends admitted, totally un-
principled as his enemies declared "Tommy''
had contrved to play high and live hard in the
smartest and fastest set in England Oh, COM
paratively speaking, nothing year ever since
he Joined his regiment. Young men in their
first season liked to be seen about town with
him and were proud to call him by his Christian
name, but somehow SHE'D at introducing him to
their sisters.
Even in her second year, when Vivian We're
ker's position as one of the greatest beauties in
London unassailable, when her photos were
nearly well displayed in the shop windows as
those of the Gaiety ladies, when she was being
petted and courted by everybody, and the slight
est shadow of smile on her beautiful lips or the
faintest play of her lovely Irish eyes had power
to keep half the eligible youth of the season
dancing attendance in her train, she began to
let peoplesee that t6te-d-tete with loud-voieed,
rowdy ''Tommy'' was more to her taste than the
whispered alteration of all the rest Little by
little her timid suitors began to drop away,
scared by so strangely untattering preference,
and it became a recognized fact that Vivien and
the Major had entered into bond of fellowship,
Qt could never be anything more, for "Tommy''
was tied to languid consort, who overlooked
his little eccentrlctles on the tacit understand
ing that she was to be allowed to 90 on her Ian
guild course unmolested, y and it would have been
thought gdu9herie to come between Beauty and
the Beast-as somebody called them-when they
were sitting together under the shadowy elms al
Hurlingham or playing with their Strawberries
in some retired corner of the supper tent at O
midnight crush. Such platonic bonds were quite
permissible in the world in which both lived
one could name friendship of twentyyears' stand,
ing on which the breath of scandal had never
blown-and he would have been bold indeed who
yentured to whisper lightly of Vivien's fair name
At thepresent moment, after eight years of fash
ionable existence she was as well received as il
the days of her debut At no really smart func
tion were her pale Grecan face and stately figure
missing, only the odds on her making brilliant
match had slowly receded to the other side, and
a subtle change had come over the way in whict
her rivals spoke of her, until those who had once
been bitterest in their criticisms of her personal
charms now called her "Poor, dear ViYien, tho
most delightful, original creature, but not of the
marrying sort.n Hermother alone moaned oVel
the profitless association which had ruined hel
daughters matrimonial chances, for their world