The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-04-18

! she was resolved to SLIT 1t to the bottom
and to ask Ralph himself.
aBe kind enough, Hattie" she said to
the girl, who was still kneeling by her
| side, "to ring for the servant"
| Hattie rose to obey. In the meantime
| Mrs. Warringham brushed the last
traces of tears from her face, assumed
an upright position, and when the young
| lady returned was again the naughty,
cold and dignifed woman she was In
ordinary life.
The footman noiselessly appeared ut
| the door. He was splendid specimen
| of his kind-English from the top OF his
| head to the soles of his feet, well trained,
without a muscle moving in his rigid
face, without hair awry in his care
! fully trimmed whlskers.
"Be pleased to see whether DR.: War:
ringham is at home, and tell him l
I would like to see him." she said. Not
vibration of her voice indicated the
strong emotions under which she was
| laboring.
The footman left the room as noise
| lessly as he had entered. A few minutes
after Hattie Beckford also retired. She
hsd an inexpressible desire to be alone
to think in the privacy OF her chamber
over the terrible blow that had fallen
on her, and to talow her tears to flow
freely where no profane eye could OBJ
serve her pain.
Mrs. Warringham remained alone.
The mask of cold unconcern she hnd
worn in the presence of the servant, and
for a moment unwillingly cast of be-
fore ner niece could no longer De
sustained. Her tears had ceased to flow
but grief and anger traced deep lines
upon her features and almost contorted
them into the face OF q Medusa. he who
could have seen her in these minutes OF
lonesomeness, as she reclined on the
cushions of her chair, her eyes liked
upon space, her fingers nervously play
ing with her watch chain, would have
been appalled, at the change that had
come over her.
Mrs. Warringham was nearly IS years
old, but she still retained great comeli-
ness of appearance and even certain
youthfulness of feature. Her dark
brown hair, crowning her head with a
profusion that needed no artificial as
sistance, did not yet show the slightest
admixture Of gray. There were no
wrinkles to ruffle the smoothness OF her
skin, and her complexion, which had
never known the ravages Of artificial
cosmetics, was as fresh as that OF
any maiden. Her figure had the
fullness of maturity, but without un-
necessary embonpoint. With an in
describable, graceful, and aristocratic
dignity idealizing, as it were, her
whole appearance, she might have stood
the model for any artist whose chisel was
to create the statue Of Juno. Such she
appeared ordinarily, bat at this moment
q strange shadow surrounded her eyes
and deep lines Of care furrowed her
brow. She appeared twenty years older
than usual.
Could it be possible, after all, that
Ralph would seriously think of marry
ing such q woman? Mrs. Warringham
was the daughter Of one of those old
families that were OF note already dur
ing the colonial period, and OF whom
only a very few remain to-day. Their
ancestral pride constitutes q strange
anomaly among the. democratic sur
roundings Of the present day, but 1t
is perhaps so much stronger for
that very reason. Mrs. Warringham,
her late husband. although he could not
boast of such illustrious descent as his
wife, vet was q gentleman Of excellent
connections and ample fortune. All her
life she had moved only in the most e1-
elusive circles OF society, and it was SIM
DIV impossible for her to conceive OF such
8 person as an actress as her equal
Moro or less consciously she had always
entertained sentiment that people who
worked for a living, and especially women
who did SO, were class Of creatures with
whom she had nothing in common. And
now she was to be asked to receive =
person of that class into her house as her
daughter-in-law. It was intolerable.
She thought Of the sneering smile OF
Mrs. Cabling when that lady asked her
whether she might congratulate her on
her sons engagement
SPray, and to whom is my son engag-
ed?n she had asked her visitor, half
amused, half annoyed at the insinuation
contained in the question. OF course
she expected to hear the name Of one OF
the many society bellies who, she knew
well, were casting longing eyes on the
handsome, clever, and wealthy young
doctor.
She was LnunQeISITu uCh "uou hiS D
Cabling replied, with that same sneer'
ing smile on her lips:
"Why, is it not true, then, that DR..
Warringham is going to marry Miss
Lucy Lyon, the celebrated actress9
Everybody was talking about 1t at Mrs.
Corydon's reception last night
Everybody might have had something
better to talk about" Mrs. Warringham
said, with forced laugh. She would
not for the world let her friend see how
the news affected her. @Of course there
is lot syllable of truth in the report
aOh, I am discretion itself. I under
stand, it is to be kept secret for while
yeti"
With this parting shot, and an affec-
tionate embrace, Mrs. Cabling had taken
her leave, no doubt, in order to dissent
nate the piqua little scandal among as
many of her acquaintances as she could
visit in the course Of day.
This painful scene recurred vividly to
Mrs. Warringham's mind as she sat
waiting for her son.
CHAPTER III.