The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1890-05-15
MRS. 80 b
BY JOHN STRANGE WINTER,
Author OF "BootteS' Baby" "BeautDul
JtnI," Etc, Etc.
CHAPTER Ia SERIOUS QUESTION.

CHAPTER IA SERIOUS QUESTION.
After Mrs. Trafford's niece was married
to the Honorable Marcus Oxford of the
Black Horse and her daughter to Sir
Anthony Staunton of the same regiment,
she declared to everybody that she no
longer intended to live in Blankhampton.
There were ill-natured and env ious peo-
pie in the Town who remarked that
Blankhampton had done uncommOnly
well by Mrs Trafford, and that for her to
betake herself out of it as soon as she
had secured the two best matches of
that year was a regular case of burning
her boats behind her and kicking down
the ladder by which she had climbed to
fame and fortune
Mrs. Trafford was resolute however and
actually before the Stauntons had return
ed from their honeymoon she, with her
eldest and only unmarried flower, Julia,
packed up their boxes and went off to
London town for the ostensible purpose
of finding what Mrs Trafford, like good
many other people who do not wish to
set up large establishment called a
Iied-G-teTTe.
It was an innocent pilgrimage. They
put up at the Grand and worked from
to be nearer the Park than Charing Cross,
and in fact to be in the best part of May
fair, part of London in which it is not
easy to establish pied-G-te7Te on reason
able terms. They were really very I'M
lucky-they just missed a charming little
bijou residence over saddler's shop in
South Audley Street. what in prosaic Ian
guage is called an upper part" but, con-
sidering the tiny rooms, the bad lookout,
the narrow passages and stupid twisted
stairs, it is not very likely that Mrs Traf-
ford would have consented to change her
smart commodious house in the best part
of Blankhampton for which she paid a
modest fifty pounds year, for the bijou
residence in South AudIey Street at
yearly rental of two hundred pounds.
At all events she did nothing of the
kind: after thoroughly searching over all
the best districts in town, after interview
ing innumerable house-agents, worrying
a greater number of caretakers visiting
quite quantity of flats large and small,
and generally having an uncommOnly
good time, Mrs. Trafford and Julia went
back to Blankhampton and took up their
quarters again at No. z st. Ewes. ''Wel,
| had not quite decided to leave" Mrs.
Trafford explained deliberately during the
next week or two, Though l had more
than half mind to live in London in
future as being nearer my young people,
or at least as being always likely and
convenient centre for all of us. But we
did not see anything that we liked, and
dear Laura and Madge begged us SO not
to leave St. EYES till the regiment goes,
that Julia and 1 thought we would let the
question rest for the present. Besides
that" Mrs. Trafford added, with the little
candid laugh that hitherto had stood her
in such good stead 81 am not million
aire, but poor little widow who has just
had two smart weddings to drain her
purse, and really house rent in London
means quite an income-tWO hundred a
year for little hole could not get my
piano into"
So the question remained in allegiance
and Mrs. Trafford and her eldest flower
took up the thread of their old life once
more, and the people who had said dis
agreeable things about burning boats had.
of course, nothing further TO say
But although life in Blankhampton is
of the dullest, and you may go dreaming
on from day to day until you begin to
and why you go on living, to woman OF
Mrs. Trafford's temperament there is al
ways more than enough to fill up the day.
She had her house, as heretofore, all her
old society excepting such as she had
judiciously weeded out), and q great many
new friends whose acquaintance she had
made after or about the time of the two
smart marriages which had so drained her
An in n n q
great many other provincial towns the
keeping up of society is a very serious
matter. Almost any afternoon between
the hours of three and five you may see a
dozen old ladies sallying forth in all the
glory of their best bonnets, holding in
their pale kid-covered fingers a resplen-
dent card-case. If it is a silver one, SO
much the better, or it may be of carved
ivory hailing from China or of ivory and
silver from the far off Indian strand.
Failing these comes in the useful and
highly ornamented mother-o'-pearl which
is sometimes made up with little squares
of shining green substance, some kind OF
shell, fancy. Ahl dear, dear, it is all
very funnyI
Mrs. Trafford was great on calling, and
she was also one of those little friendly
women who make virtue of calling out
side the regulation hours-at some houses,
that is to say. And also she had besides
her house and her acquaintance to keep
up, great and serious object in life, an
object which was she very well knew not
to be entered on lightly or with frivol1ty,
an object which in plain language was to
get her remaining flower, Julia, suitably
settled in life.
In the case of Mrs. Marcus Oxford mat
tiers had arranged themselves-and Lady
Staunton's marriage had undoubtedly
come about by reason of the other; but
with Julia it was rather different. Julia
was no longer in her first youth, and she
was not pretty, neither was she an inter
esting or particularly accomplished young
lady. She sang little. it is true, but,
somehow, her singing did not seem to
''catch on" with the Blankhampton peo-
pie, who rather pride themselves on their
taste for music. Nor was Julia Trafford
popular in the town; she had high-pitch-
ed somewhat cracked voice and laugh
that did not ring true.
IT.