Mexico weekly ledger., 1890-11-20

1t So happened that while the abomin-
able conspiracy Just described was being
Matched in st. James street two ladies',
seated comfortably before the fire in a
l~uxuriously furnished drawing room in
Carlton house terrace, We're discussing
the chief consIirator after a fashion
which it may safely be assumed that
that self satisfied n"bleInan would not
have liked if he ,ould have heard it.
Lord Guise,' Lady Belvolr was say
ing, = is one of those unfortunate men
who fiatter themselves that they thor
oughly understand ONE | have
noticed that people of that kind invari-
ably end Ivy coming To signal grief. Some
times they marry their cooks, sometimes
they dc even worse: but they always
marry. Lord Guise has a holy horror Of
me, and loses no opportunity of telling
me 50. If it were at all worth the trouble
1really think | would marry him myself,
just to show him how very easily the
thing can be DONE"
Lady Belvoir was under the impress
sion that she could marry anybody; and
it is not for a very humble member of the
opposite sex to assert that she was mis-
taken. That she had not married Percy
Thorold was doubtless due to the cir
cumstauce that, after full considera-
ton, she had not chosen to do so; that
she had married that utterly disreputa-
BILE and almost unciyilized parsonage,
the late Lord Belvoir, was a proof that
her powers of fascination We're of no
mean order. The power of beauty at
all events she possessed to its fullest ex-
tent. Tall, superbly modelled and gifted
with "A pair of large. liquid brown eyes,,
which We're of a nature (as eyes so often
are) to mislead plIysiognomists, h had
shone without a rival during her first
season, and now. at the age of four-and-
twenty, was very generally spoken of as
the handsomest wo1nan in London.
Her mouth was perhaps a trifie hard
at times. though rather in expression
than in form, and it might have been
predicted that in another ten years her
nose would be too decidedly aquiline
and the line of her jaw too strongly de-
fined. However, as she herself would
have said, it really cannot matter much
what a woman's nose and jaw maj look
n iLt sto hdS phSoVt 1V thtSi
year. She was believed to be extremely
wealthy, but as a matter of fact her
~jointure did not reach the figure common
1y ascribed to it and she lived extrava-
gantly. OF suitors she had no lack. nor
was she likely to lack them for a long
time to come.
''But of course it wouldn't be worth
while" her companion said quickly. Il
don't understand why you ever think it
worth while to make conquests of men
whom you don't care for. The process
must be very ~disagreeable for you, l
should think, and everybody knows that
you can do it if you like"
"Oh, the process isn't SO disagreeable,'
answered Lady Belvoir laughing; and
as for Lord Guise he doesn't know that
Icould do it if | liked. That's just the
point"
Are you really going to take the
trouble of convincing him Them Miss
Leslie asked with il somewhat Disguised
look.
Dorothy Leslie was a girl of IS, who
had been brought up to London by her
mother to be presented at one of the
first drawing ON of the year. and to
make her debnt in society. in SO far as
society might prove willing to open its
doors to people who had not a great
many influential acquaintance. Wheth.
er Lady Belvoir ought or ought not to be
included in that category Mrs. Leslie
was not quite sure, nor had she felt alto
gether easy about the intimacy which
had sprung up between her daughter
and the notorious lady whose dover
house was situated near their home in
the north.
Dorothy. however, was given to form.
ing her own opinions and choosing hel
own friends. and Dorothy liked Lady
Belvoir. although she so little resembled
her. What was perhaps more to the
purpose was that Lady Belvoir liked
Dorothy. Lady Belvoir may have had
her good qualities-if So, they were moi
very perceptible to the ordinary male
intelligence: still. she may nave had
them. because almost everybody has
and it is conceivable that freshness, can
dor and an unquestioning faith in the
precepts and doctrines of the Established
;hurch may have been attractive to her
as reminding her of days when she her
self had been equally unsophisticated
In any case she had made "a friend oil
this girl. who. it would perhaps be botf
ungracious and unfair to remark. wa
not pretty enough to be her rival.
The standard of beauty seems to var,
rs much and as often as do the points OF
n dog, So that it is really impossible t,
tell from year to year what will take ;
prize: but even in these DAYS. when ir
regularity of feature is esteemed a charm
it is probable that few people woult
have said in SO many words that they
considered Dorothy Leslie a pretty girl
On the other hand. a great many people
admired her very much. Her iron gray
eyes, at all events. We're worthy of ad
miratiori. and her dark hair grew abun
dainty. She had. moreover, a neat littl,
figure and a singularly pleasant voice.
In answer to her question Lady Bel
vOir said:
"Oh. l don't know: most likely not.
have known him for a long time with
out having taken that trouble. Just a
present l am rather provoked with hin
because he is under the impression thai
it was he who broke up my engagement
to Percy Thorold. and l am sure he il
limiting as much to everybody who will
listen to him
Had he. anything to do with it," Mis-
Leslie asked. after Il pause.
-stNot he! He did his best-for Percy
sake, of course-to persuade ME that
was going to make a very great mistake
lint I. had found that ont without hi
aelp. There was a time continued
Lady Belyoir with a retrospective yawn
~.when I was seriously enamored o
PERCY. He was a good many year
younger then, and l was very young in
deed-a mere child. in fact. l reInembe
promising in a vague sort of way to MARI.
him some day. Well, then marriet
poor Belvoir. and Percy. like a goo'
many others, was shocked. l didn't Sc
much of him until | was free again. an
then he came back. and | was touched D.
his oonstancy, and 50 before ! knew wher
/ . 10 and behold, ! was engages