The record-union., 1892-06-11
THE ELEVATION OF MRS. TIMBURY.

1t is never worth while to waste time
in rejecting upon what might have hap
pened if we had done this, or what tre-
mendous consequences must have fol-
lowed if we had done that, for the most
trivial circumstances are constantly al
tering the whole course of our lives. It
was the sudden death of respected and
lamented Deacon IN Connecticut, for in
stance, combined with the severe illness
of young gentleman in New York, that
changed plain Mrs. Timbury into Lady
McCurrie. Yet neither of these persons
had ever seen Mrs. Timbury, and neither
knew Of her existence.
When the Deacon died he must perforce
be buried, and the Rev. Howard Titus,
mis- pastor, felt it privilege as well as a
duty to make long prayer, with uncov-
cred head, before the Deacon was laid in
the tomb. That exposure cost the worthy
clergyman a lit OF illness from WHICH he
could not fully recover, the physicians
SAID, without spending some weeks in
warm climate. Hence the name OF the
rev. Howard Titus on the passage list OF
the steamship Amazon, about 10 sail for
the Windward Islands, as well as those OF
Mrs. Titus and two young Tituses.
Il don't know how l shall ever man
age with these children" Mrs. Titus had
said. Il shall most likely be seasick,
and we cannot think OF taking a nurse
along. II only Mrs. Timbury were go
ing with US this time"
Possibly we might induce her to CO."
the clerical parent had replied. "At any
rate, it will do no harm To write and ask
her."
This was the first connecting link be-
ha Of fha
con and the elevation of Mrs. Timbury.
Two years before, that lady had accom-
panied the Titus family on journey to
The Holy Land, and her qualities as "a
good sailor and a useful hand with the
children were understood and appre-
ciated.
The ministerial letter from Connecti-
cut was delivered TO Mrs. TimDury at
the dinner table in the fashionable board
lng-house in New York in which she
lived.
Dear me-" she exclaimed, upon read
ing it, this letter has put me in such a
tlutter l shall hardly be able to finish my
dinner, Mrs. De F0ntaine. Such sur
prise! Do you know l have to start right
off next Thursday for the WindWard
Islands. My friends the Tituses are GO
ing with the children, and Of course L
shall go along. Where are the Wind
ward Islands, Mr.. st. Genevieve? Some
4
Mr.. st. Genevieve explained their To-
cation, and of course asked as many
questions as Mrs. Timbury desired he
should.
''Oh, 1 must CO." the excited lady went
on. You know Ive travelled with the
Iituses before, in Europe Asia and
Africa, and | couldn't think of letting
them go alone. But it's so sudden; only
three days to make my preparations.
Well, that's longer notice than / had
when we went from Gibraltar to Algiers,
and we were week in Constantinople
without our trunks"
The entire population of the boarding.
house having thus been skillfully in
formed of her intended journey, Mrs.
11mbury began to make preparations.
There was no time to order new cos
tunes, but vast numbers of old ones We're
inspected. There was one dress in par
ticular that she had taken pains to wear
at least once in each country she visited,
which was capable of bewildering trans
formations by the pinning on of new
trimmings, the drawing in or letting out
OF mysterious strings. This dress must
go, as a matter of course, and dozen of
others, and a fancy store of rubbers, wa
terproofs laces, ribbons and ornaments.
The jewels there was no question about
and they were valuable Jewels, gathered
IN various parts of the world, diamonds
and rubies, cats eyes, sapphires, pearls
and emeralds.
When Mrs. Timbury, in the earliest
stages of her toilet, looked in the mirror
TO admire the set OF q gown or the pecu-
liar sparkle OF ring, she saw pretty
much the same faded little woman of 80
or thereabout who had been left discon-
Solate widow five years before, with
wrinkles to match the thin, gray hair,
with complexion to match the wrinkles
and with crows feet around the eyes that
ralNgA oil flNn fl
which were too brilliantly white and
even to match anything but set of por-
celain saucers. After an hours strug-
gle with art however, Mrs. Timbury in
Variably saw in her glass the reflection of
plump and buXom little widow, not a
day past 40, with a wealth of coa-black
hair, remarkably clear complexion and
the faintest shadow Of rose in each
cheek, sometimes stealing coyIy upward
toward the temples.
Ten years earlier Mrs. Timbury had
been content to pass for the quiet little
middle-aged woman she was, the faithful
wife Of an unassuming physician III a
small town, with no cares beyond her
own threshold, no greater ambition than
decent Sunday gown and black bon
net. But change came over her life
when the regretted Timbury was called
To his fathers. Among other papers of
importance he left life insurance policy,
a
wealthy widow-wealthy, at least, COM
pared with anything she had known be-
fore. She soon developed a taste for
travel, for fine clothes, for jewels, and for
life-and in five years she came to be the
dashing and somewhat giddy person we
und her IN the New York boarding
house. For the conSummate skill with
which she wiped out at least fifteen years
of her life, in reforming her appearance.
she is entitled to our admiration. But in
the reformation of her manners she met
with a misfortune. Here she used such
terrible pressure that not fifteen years
only did she annihilate, but fifty. and
appeared thenceforth with all the blush
ing and gushing shyness of a maid o. 10.
Before the snip drew away from her
wharf the Rev. Mr.. Titus was reminded
of some little traits in Mrs. Timbury's
character which he had not particularly
admired on the former occasion. hnt
which with the passing years he had for
gotten. Prominent among these traits
was tendency to fussiness, which made
Mrs. Timbury perpetualiy uneasy, and
was not soothing TO her companions.
When her trunks were so clearly IN their
Droper places that she could exhibit no
further anxiety about them she Giscoy-
cred that her Stateroom was on the wrong
side of the ship, where she would have
the morning sun in her eyes. A change
being made, the new one was too near a
hatchway, and was consequently noisy.
When at length she was settled TO her
satisfaction she also found an excuse Tor
worriment about her probable seat at the
table.
1.-The Captain is such dear, jolly-look-
ing old Scotchman, / do hope they'll put
us at his table. He ought TO have us next
10 him, you being clergyman and bring
ing letters of introduction TO him. | shall
be very much disappointed if we are not
at least at his table,