The morning call., 1893-10-01

llpht cnrlad mn in a. chair: that had been
her m tber,s. In her heartwas a@question.
She wanted TO be alone. she n eeded:to un-
derstand herself=-to be honest with the
doubts that beset her. Twenty years ana
three weeks old to a day. lt:was sher tenn
perament to take life seriously, but no 1or-.
rier experience had ever involved such re-
sponsibilties as the question nat neW con
ffonted her. Thereon a sIna lftaDie lay the
cnrTant issue Of The. World, containing.
an announcement that MARI age had:
been arranged between Jacqueline. daugh-
for Mr.. :fsfore Sin, the well-kh own.
:: aa,lpr in curfos~ and ~obiets dart, and: the
!. DnEe :. Q +: Perth. Two years she had
:. Known. him, and. for the past twelve
mon tbs it had been. clear that be was very.
much in earnest, but this man. with: the
sharp features and: the foolish sporting
iargDn was so absolutely the commor
type, was so.different from any ideal
her dreams, that Jacqneline was quite nt:
of concsit with the honor of calling herslI
Duchess OF PERTH. H.
She would be. rich. and the Dule Of
Perth was. notoriously insolvent.1 HIS
estates were mortgaged to the lastfarIp,
his pictures and tile more valuableof. MS
chattels had passed. batch by bach, INTO
Mr.. Isidore Sims possession. ant yet his
pursuit of jaquelne had ret been
prompted by avarice. Her fotune ger
tainly made the alliance possible. p9. ne
was also very devoted. In face the DUKE
was more in love than he hal been with
any woman in his life.
The engagement made littladltference 10
Jacuueiine She knew mining aoout
horses or dogs, her fiance rTely opene ed
book, and yawned before PICTURES. so tney
went their separate WAYS dimly fancying
that some day somehow their interests
might cGmmingle. In this mean: time MS.
Grace was shooting in Ytkshires = "
Al the end of the FOLLOWING JacQue-
lines engagement, Mr. Sim gave small
dinner party, which Included Edward
Dowie. the portrait painter. who took
Jacqueine in to dinner. and found her
charming. She was gvscous and nlmb!e-
witted, with flashes Of. feeling shat re-
minded him. poignantEy,; as he told her, of
a lady whom he had known many years:
before, #e:
:: In the course of the evening Mr. Isidore
Sim said to his Sster.a plump, elderly.
bigoted little woinapt who superintendent
The domestic arrangements of his house
hold Mimi, [ intend that Mr.. Dowie
shall paint JaQueliDe. No, no, no; don't
tell me- hings Really. my mind is made
up. TIN amuse y6uto chaperon her during:
the sttings."
: Aunt Mimi flushed. but wears had taught
her the policy of standardization when her
brother chose ITO be masterfu. She sank
back helplessly into the chair. her req
braceeted arms fell 10 her side she looked
the personidcatiOn of petulant reSlgna-
tion. :.
= When Jacqueline observed her sGnt's
collause she left OOwie, with whom she
had been sitting in the window seat and
RI tom a
the poor lady. for JaCQueiine knew that
she must be the cause OF her aunts dis
comfiture His daughter was the only
subject on which Mr.. Sim troubled to dis
agree with Aunt Mimi. Dowie was. lit
tie piqued by her desertion, and did
not look : vastly pleased when lie
became aware that his host was
the two Men faced one another. Mr..
Sim gazing inQuiriDgy at the painter.
Then clearing his thr0at-"Edward." be
said, II want bygones to be bygones. A
touch of the cd enemy The other day
warned me to put my house in 0fder-ta
make nv peace with all men. won-you
lost. If it's anything TO you. I'm confident
1t would have pleased her TO know weare
friends, and 1t would have pleased her To
know that yen are TO paint Jacquellne.
GIVE me your hand.
His friend smiled grimly. "As you will.
as it's time 10 he going"
Dowie lived in a little house in Kensing-
ton, little house with large studio on.
the ground floor; in fact, be possessed two
studios. divided by curlOusly carved Oaken
srchway that he had bought from a barber
In Tunis. In the rear of the second studio
an oblong corrugated-irOn structure had
been built, abutting upon il. Covered with
q net of treliswork, up and over which
Virginia creepers cOiled their tendrils, the
building was presentable enough; but the
plants were tended and their tendrils en-
eoursged to clinb and clasp one another
overhead Onlv ferthe owners qualification.
For the building was not visible from the
road, and nobody who entered the studio
cues ed the existence of the little door,
concealed by an arc of dried palms that
LED to this chamber.
Dowie looked in at bis club on his way
home, and by the time he arrived al Ken
singtOn Gardens dawn was breaking.
Holding lighted candle bove his head,
H. passed through the two studios and I'M
locked the dG0r Of the Sequestered room,
blowing out the candle as he crossed the
threshold. The faint light made it diff
cult to follow his movements as he lifted
some thing from a pedestal and passed his
fingers gently, reverentlv over the contours
OF its form. Tie clock struck two quarters
before DOwie ieft this dark chamber.
The following Sunday afternoon be called
upon Miss Mimi Sim. A talllamp. crowned
By fluffy. yellow shade, played dazzling
ticks with his eyes as he entered the
drawing-roOn, SO that be could hardly
distinguish one object from another.
Jaequeline. who was alone. watched him
curi0usy. then she rusJled from the chair
with outstretched hands. The greeting
over. be bowed. much 10 her astonishment,
in a direction a little 10 the lett OF the
chair where she was seated.
Nobody else is there" she said smi-
ing; then with a sudden ripple of laughter,
''0h, you wasted that greeting on piece
of wax LonkI' She lifted a lamp high
above hef head till the rays shone on the
bust If a young girl. deiicately wrought.
with half-closed serious eyes. "a present
from my-frcm the Duke of Perth. They
ascribe it to Leonardo. Beautiful, isn'tlit ."
''Yes, it's very beautiful" he answered,
"very beautiful, indeed"
Jacoueline observed with some surprise
the effect of his momentary error upon her
visitor. He was troubled and distract; she
1elt mis- effort to regain self-possession.
The mistake WAS quite excusable. Jacque-
line was dressed IN green gown, which
fell in folds 10 her feet: the torso of The
bust was green likewise. Her crinpled
hair wound under fiIlet of flowers to the
top of her head. in that way also was the
hair of the Leonardo bust m odeled. Dowie