The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-08-10

q of the street
behind was only two hundred feet, bu
the social distance could not be ex
pressed by a string of figures mile
long. On one street the people were
swell" with all that the word implies
on the other was an occasional flat
house and even several stables. The
people who lived in the humber row
were good enough, perhaps; indeed,
Mrs. Ulstone, who resided in the hand
soonest house in the better street, and
had as much good will rs money, freely
admitted to herself and her family that
difference in the social positions of peo-
pie was often due only to the accident
of wealth, which sometimes befeu fam
ilies not entirely deserving of it.
Still, when one day her only son, who
was self-indulgent and masterfuI as
well as very fine looking, astonnded the
family by declaring that he would marry
that handsome girl who lived just
across the back fence, Mrs Ulstone
vowed to herself, by the blood Of all
her ancestors, that no such girl should
profit by the accident of the Uistone
wealth. She didn't know the girl from
Adam, or any of Adams somewhat nu-
merous feminine progeny, but of course
she had other designs for her son. To
be sure, there wasn't much to the young
man but his hooks and name, but these
amour ted to much IN the social world,
and she intended to make che most of
them Her son had been trial to her
almost from his birth; he had Inherited
his fathers nature, which was AFRO
giant, uncontrolled and rather coarse.
He drank too much, kept bad hours
and never did anything entirely to his
credit; but his mother knew OF half a
dozen prominent families that would
gladly accept him as a son-in-law. If
they were satisfied, who could blame
her for wanting him to make good
match?
What provoked Mrs. Jlstone most
was that her sons lniatuation came
about through the back fence itself
When Ulstone, ST., who had been
brought up in the country. bought the
lot on which he built his new city
house. he noticed that his neighbor in
the rear had a very pretty garden.
Gardens are about as scarce in New
7 ork as In the desert of Sahara, SO old
Elstone obtained permission to put up
n new division fence, which he made as
light and open as possible, and then
had men plant his own back yard re-
gardless of expense The neighbours
gardener proved to be his wife, and as
time went on the little girl who often
assisted her became q slightly young
vvoEan-a fact which soon III ade itself
known to the younger Ulstone, whose
tastes in this respect were as broad as
itself.
But how was Mrs. Ulstone to prevent
the match, if her sons heart was set
upon it? The young man was a verit-
q BILE ladF-killer; his eyes alone, when
he was moved to use them, had made
dozens of heart-aches in succession,
each for the sake of 4 few weeks amuse-
ment. He was quite equal to introduc-
ing himself, carrying everything before
him, running away with the girl, mar
rying her, and trusting his family to
receive the bride when the storm Of in
Eiignation had spent itself. He had had !
his own way all his life; he was not
likely to fail now, for this was the first
time he ever had spoken of marriage. |
Oh, that fateful fence! But something |
must bc done at once, for the young man /
never allowed the grass to grow under /
his feet when ho had set his heart on
anything.
AS she unused, and tormented her
,SJ.A r,;vI Hn ,rin fhrD,,rrh I
the back window OF her drawing room |
through the misunderstanding fence,
md saw a youthful figure going FROM
one fOwer-bed to another. The fea-
lures she could not distinguish at that
distance, but she bethought herself of
her opera-glass, which she quickly
into service.
Really" she informed herself, my
son has taste. The girl has a good face
md figure. SO much the worse for us
81 suppose that is her mother, COM
ing from the back door; yes, I can see
the family resemblance. What moth
srly face she has. She doesn't look a
bit proud or ambitious, either. She is
not the woman to let another mothers
heart be broken"
Mrs. Ulstone confirm ed for some mo-
nents to study the mother and daugh-
,er through the best glasses that money
lad been able to buy for her son, but
she stopped and exclaimed:
There's no time like the present"
Within fifteen minutes Mrs. Ulstone
vas attired to make call, although
nv member of the family would have
believed she was starting for one of her
reuuent charitable visitations of the
lex poor, for her dress, cloak and ha,,
hough costly and entirely becoming,
we're severely plain. She went into the
,aclI street, rang the bell of the house
Il her neighbor Of the garden, and was
by the young woman of the
amily, before whom she actually
rem bled as she said:
.'Can / see the lady of the house?"
She was shown into coy little par
Or, furnished in quite as good taste as
er own, although everything in it-so
quick mental estimate concluded
ost less than the po-tieres which d.
ided her parlors. For several minutes
he heard quick steps overhead; then
here was \ rather heavy tread on the
tairs, and the lady of the house en-
cred with dignity. although with some
-onder in her counten2pce. Mrs
Tlstone had carefully rcfrained from