Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1891-04-18
"Ho,o charming you haze grotcn"

Cesca IL my name-Cesca .Mel1n. !
was born at Westerns, Sweden, not far
from Stockholm, in 1856. My father,
Grefve Carl Melin, was an officer of high
rank in the kings army. My mother,
Grefvinna Carlotta Bertha, descended
from one of the oldest families about
Waxholm.
Before had arrived at the Importance
Of 10 years my parents died.
Olef Olsen, the only son OF barrister,
was fiance to me. He begged me to stop
longer at Westerns; but had come into
possession Of the 100000 kronor left to
me by my father in his will, and being
seized by q sudden desire to see the
world and all that is in it Iuttered cry
Of delight upon the morning Of the Sd OF
June, 1SS-, when received letter from
America postmarked New York, which
upon opening found had been jointly
written by my great-great-uncle Ivan
Trolsky and his wife Vera, who had
gone from Cronstadt, in Russia, to the
states two years previous.
Ihad frequently been visitor at their
house at Cronstadt, my uncle and aunt
both being natives of Stockholm. And
being readers of the Swedish newspa-
pers, Ivan and Vera had come upon the
announcement Of my succession to my
fathers fortune-a fact which seemed to
highly impress them, for they congratu-
lated me upon it, at the same time ex-
tending a pressing invitation to pay them
an early visit, underscoring the assur-
ance that would be most affectionately
welcomed.
OF course I read this letter to Olef,
who, now that my parents were gone,
found no person sufficiently interested
in mo to interpose caste objections to our
suit Of wooing.
From the very outset Olef seriously
opposed my uncle and aunts invita-
ton. It was but quite natural that he
should, inasinuch as we were betrothed,
and the dea-, good lad wanted to possess
me wholly in person.
But in spite of Olefs protests my spirit
bent itself to my minds sel6shness, and
early in August l departed from Scandi-
navia by one Of the Swedish line of
steamships, arriving in New York upon
the 2sth day of the month, and was most
profusely welcomed by Ivan and Vera.
How charming you have grown!" ex-
claimed my aunt, after the salutations
had ended.
"But not half as charming as her
dot" cautiously whispered Ivan.
"Silence, idiot! The girl will hear
your protested Vera, angrily. Dear
niece" she continued anew, suddenly
turning to me, ''you won't mind Ivan's
and my little tete-a-tete now and then,
will you? We are both so deeply inter
ested in your welfare, you know, that
we find it hard enough to do for you.
To our great disadvantage we are far
from being rich in worldly goods, and
we fear that however great may be our
attention it will not comp b with your
surroundings at home"
"My dear aunt and uncle, replied, ''it
Is not in the quantity Of our efforts, but
In the quality, that the heart finds richest
enjoyment" And although l noticed
that Ivan WINGED as made the remark
I paid no further attention to it at the
time, but begging my aunt to show me
to my apartment I bade Ivan good night
and we left him.
Arrived at my room I kissed Vera,
and as she went away I bolted my door,
threw myself, exhausted, in my travel
ing gown upon the bed, buried my face
in my pillow, aad in spite of myself,
overcome by Olefs absence and my
great distance from home, now that the
stimulating excitement Of my voyage
was ended, l burst into tears, while be-
tween my sobs my sorrowing heart
again and again repeated Ivan's strange
words. "Not half as charming as her
dot!''
Was positively ugly, then9 began
to rummage the past. What If my dowry
had been Olef's sole motive for winning
my hand after all? Was it his main rea-
son for wishing me to stop in Sweden?
Am ugly? repeated. To which Truth
gave me but one answer. My mirror
had never turned from me with disdain-
What, then, did Ivan mean?
Surfeited by them, lost in Curious sus-
picions, fell into bothered sleep. Nor
did l recover consciousness again until
morning dawned, when my eyes were
Jared open by sound rapping at my
door and voice that softly aslked: