The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-02-17

lounge reading all day long, except
when Aunt Marion couXcd her out for
little drive in the brougham, or the
doctor came, or few choice intimates
called, to whom she could lament the
state of her nerves and the dreadful
responsibility of being left with child
to bring up.
When the child came into the room
on her daily duty call, Mrs. Tainc in.
variably looked to see if her hands
were well kept and her hair brushed
becomingly, and then usually told her
to run away and be good, quiet girl;
and 1T was matter of perfect indiifcr-
.cnce'to her what books Marie took with
her, SO long as She was not reading
them herself. Marbles nurse had early
found out that a book could generally
keep her quiet, and leave herself free
to flirt with the men servants, and
though Aunt Marion had insisted on
her being provided with Il govcrness,
Mile. Duval had soon discovered the
same unfailing recipe to keep her
charge out of active mischief and herself
in ample leisure. There were certainly
many things i'll these books hat Mariic
could not understand, but this mystery
only made them the more fascinating.
So mamma continued to Nurse hc1
nerves. and Aunt Marion went on in
her bright, busy life of n society belle,
thinking her small, white faced, deep.
eyed niece in good hands, while Marie
watched her with profound admira-
ton. and made her the heroine of a
hundred romances, borrowed from her
books, until now that she had Il ro-
nance Of her own
It is true that even She was com
PEELED TO recognize Il dccioed difference
OF age: but, then, wasn't Strathnore
at least thirty years older than that
lovely Lucille whom lac adopted as a
baby and married nj seventeen? There
were less than twenty years between
herself aud Mr.. barrow; and this dis
parity seemed Slight by comparison.
She was also forced to admit that she
was rather young; but Juliet was not
full fourteen when she died for love of
Romeo, and was there not real prin-
cess of France who married Il real
English king when she was only eight
years old? Marie thought she was
quite old enough to marry ii that prin-
cess was.
ANCdooHihS iTOlIl these famous CN-
.amples, she dismissed the question of
age as certainly not the obstacle which
kept Mr.. barrow from Il proposal, and
cast about for it elsewhere She found
1T In her fortune. She knew she would
be rich some day; for, whenever she
cried over Il hard lesson or Il scoldinp
from madcmoiselle during that young
lady's occasional paroxysms of disci-
pine, nurse always comforted her with
assurances that it was a shame to
bother her with such things, SO it was,
when she was too big an hciress ever
to need to know anything hut how to
look pretty. and sure shed do that
same anyway, the beauty of the world
that she was! And she knew that Mr..
barrow was not rich, for she had once
heard Mr.. Rogers speak of him rs
nothing but Il beggarly lawyer; and in
how many of her mammals novels had
not the hero persisted in making tine
heroine and himself miserable, from
the first chapter till the last but one,
merely because she had money and he
had not? Sometimes this deadly diff
ference had been brdged by deter
mined effort on the part of the heroine;
and, after long thought, Marie de-
cided that such an effort was required
of her now
Priscilla proposed to John Alden in
Longfellow," she contidcd to Punch,
the pug, who heard more of her
fancies than anyone else in the house
land I've known several girls in stories
who did, too, and nobody seemed To
think it was awful of them. Wouldn't
you do it right off, before leap-year is
over, if you were me? Honest, now,
Punchic?"
Punch, thus appealed to, sat up on
her knees, begged with pendulous
paws, rolled his google eyes lovingly
at her. and kissed her hand with the
tip of his tongue, as in token of
sympathy and approval; and Marie
fcls strengthened in her resolve
She might perhaps have asked Aunt
Marion's opinion, too; but Aunt Marion
was dressing for Il ball. and Marie
knew that though she would run mp to
the school room for IL moment to kiss
her good night, and let her see her
pretty gown, She would have no
chance to talk to her till next day, at
her noon breakfast, and then it would
be too late. as for asking her mother
about anything whatever. that wild
idea simply never once crossed Mariie's
mind.
Therefore she wrestled with her
problem alone, but for Punch; and
therefore Mr.. Alexander barrow found
In his mail next day u small, square
letter with the well-known number on
Calumet avenue engraved across the
top of sheet which held brief,
straightforward offer of marriage,
signed Marion Leslie Tainc.
1t was the sweetest, strangest, most