The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1893-04-22
HER COMPLEXION.

III OOM1 ALA4OANs
Mrs. Redmayne was decidedly pretty.
She dressed well and was very careful
in wearing only the colors that suited
her She was a fragile, delicate looking
little woman and affected half lights,
like rare fern; the strong sunlight with
it's fierce glare did not suit her Her
little drawing room-'my little nest,
as she used to call twas shaded by
heavy lace curtains; stained glass, jap
anese screens and a thousand and one
pretty things, each interesting and beau
tiful in its way, were crammed into it;
but not one of the pretty trihes was half
so interesting and beautiful as pretty
little Mrs. Redmayne herself.
She was pathetic creature, too. dou
bly, fascinating, doubly dangerous, when
narrating the troubles and trials she had
experienced during her married life, and
with her troubles and trials she was &C
customed to entertain her numerous
adorers in the drawing room of her little
biiou residence in Blank street, Mayfair.
There was something almost intoxicat-
ing in the heavy odOr of sandalwood
and potpourri mixed which pervaded
the apartment
Mrs. Redmayne herself, like most emf
nent consulting physicians, never re-
ceived more than one patient at time.
Her visitors were all men-not that there
was anything shady about Mrs. Red
mayne, but she did not encourage lady
callers. She invited few female in
Inmates to dinner, but she took very
good care that those ladies whom she
distinguished by her friendship should be
good takers and at all events plain
enough to act as foils.
The real fact is that Mrs. Redmayne
had married the justice because he was
reputed to be a very wealthy man, and
Gssy Redmayne herself, as a girl, had
known all the real bitterness Of poverty,
| being poor curate's daughter. Justice
| Redmavne's income was very large when
| he married the pauper curate's only child.
| Though he was go, and an experienced
| man of the world, it was purely love
| match on his side. Till she was II Miss
| Cissy had dreamed of pretty frocks and
a pretty house, of good living, of an end
| less succession Of balls and entertain
ments and Of the public recognition of
her own beauty.
In marrying Justice Redmayne she
secured all these things and escaped
| from cold mutton and perjury. But the
| Justice, though he fondly loved his peck
ct Venus of wife, loved old port wine
| still better, and after 10 years of hap
| piness the justice fell victim to his
| favorite poison and left Cissy $4,000 in
| hard cash and the freehold of the little
house in Mayfair And then Mrs. Red
mavne made the following simple calcu-
lation. Il can live at the rate of 5000
a year for three years, somebody worth
having will marry me in that time, and
if fail to find the somebody must
throw up the game and go back to papa
and cold mutton"
From this it will be seen that pretty
| Mrs. Redmayne was practical minded
little woman. She had been quite right.
Several somebodies and good many no
bodies had paid her a great deal of at
tention, but not one Of the somebodles
got half so much encouragement as
Lieutenant and Captain StronSithear7n
of her majesty's Carpet Warriors. TO be
a Carpet Warrior nowadays needs con-
siderable deal of money. blood or inter
est; Jack StroDgithearm had money and
interest too.
He was fool, but the mere fact Of his
| being a fool by no means disqualified
him for the Carpet Warriors. They have
their own special club, where they drink
magnums of costly dark and peculiarly
dry champagne for lunch; they play
whist there ON an afternoon and bac-
carat. nap and nlarmora until the small
hours of the morning, and good deal OF
money changes hands. AS rule, save
for the wealthy. three years as Carpet
Warrior is seldom exceeded-a man
either marries, exchanges into cheaper
regiment or bursts up. 1t is short life
and a merry one, and it is very great
privilege indeed to be Carpet Warrior
at all
Now. Lieutenant and Captain Strongi
thearm. being wealthy, was quite vet
er-an among the Warriors; he had been II
wears in the regiment, and he was de
servedly looked ND to by his brother OF
Ulcers as a connoisseur and JudSe o.
beauty. He was very critical and terri
blv hard to please. He it was who hac
, blasted the chances of Lady Dorothy
Fitz-Urse when he gave her the nick
name of Dolly the Dairymald" anc
likened her lovely pink and white com
plexion to Strawberries and cream
Many had been the nets laid by Willy
mothers for that too wary bird, Captain
, Strongithearm, but no one, till he me-
: Mrs. Redmayne, had succeeded in put
ting salt upon his tail. But Strongithe
arm was very far gone indeed upon TIT
u-idorr-