The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1894-12-27


ave have much pleasure in an
nouncing that the marriage of Lady
Gertrude V~erschoyle, only daughter
of the Earl of Melbury, and Mr..
Clement Dunraven, nephew and heir
of sly Louis Dunraven, is fixed for
the 10th Of January. The bride is
? beautiful and charming, the bride
groom handsome and popular. The
union of two of the leading families
in the county gives the very grea-
test pleasure to the relatives and
friends of the contracting parties.
Not one dissentient voice has said
them nay, AMI if their welded life is
as thornless as has been the path
of roses which has attended their
love, no pair in the length and
breadth Of prosperous England is
%efSto be env7et
"The bridal trousseaG~ has been
ordered with profuse generosity and
the greatest taste from some of the
leading firms in London and Paris,
while local talent has not been
entirely left out in the cold. And
the jewels, which have already
been bestowed by Sir Louis and his
nephew on the fair finance, are
costly and rare"
Such was the verbose and POM
pous paragraph which appeared in
the Coleshill Mercury, about two
days before Christmas, and to most
of the local readers the perusal
brought a glad feeling, they loved
to think that two young people who
had been brought up in their midst
should be on the high road to SO
much happiness.
But one or two of those who saw
it, shivered as they read. Elvira
Delane was II of these. The re
collection of how she had likeued to
a shroud the ball dres- Lady Ger
trude had worn at Lady Marcia
~Foljambe's ball, came back to her
with unpleasant ]vividness, for now
az then she had evil iorcbodings
as to how her friends marriage with
the mysterious Clement, would
urn out.
She had consented to be a brides
maid, and gave herself endless trou-
bic about the dresses, till her heart
mis- gave her.
Even az She read the paragraph
she wondered what Pierce Vaughan
thought about il. She often found
herself connecting his opinion with
her own even when She did not in
tend to do SO, since she had one of
these strange heart warnings to-
wards him, which clever, charming
women not infrequently have for
men who are not in any way worthy
of them.
By coincidence, affinity, Elvira
would probably have thought it,
Pierce Vaughan, though somewhat
distant, was reading the paragraph
at the very same moment that she
was. He scarcely smiled on the
marriage any more than did Miss
Delane, but from a very different
cause.
This projected marriage not only
put an end for ever to all chance
Pierce Vaughan once believed him
self to have, of becoming his uncle's
heir, but he himself had had aspira-
tons for Lady G~ertrudc's hand, and
consequently he regarded Clement
in the light of a hated rival.
Sir Louis always sent the Coles
hill Mercury to Pierce Vaughan,
and he had received it as usual that
morning in his Temple Chambers.
but as he intended to leave by an
early train, in order to 90 down and
spend Christmas at Aboyne Court he
thrust it into his pocket to read EN-
route. AS he did SO, his fists
clenched, and his brow grew so con-
tracted and dark that a solitary old
gentleman who was in the carriage
with him had serious doubt as to
his sanity, and contemplated chang
ing his seat at the next station. 1t
was Coleshill, however, and Pierce
Vaughan himself got out.
He looked about. There was no
trap awaiting him from Aboyne
Court. A mistake had been made
in the telegram, and he had not
been expected so early.
''Someone would call for his lug
gage later in the day, he would leave
Vt in the cloak-room and walk so
he told the station master. But he
looked so dark and angry that the
LA remarked to a subordinate
"y them as has made the
mistake. Ihey'n get it hot. Lucky
for us all a Mr.. Clement is to have
the Court, and not this 'ere London
scowler."
Pierce, however, was not thinking
about the mistake or the absent trap,
but was rather glad ON the contrary
to find himself alone, and with an
hour or two on his hands.
The announcement in that news
paper had 80 aroused his jealous ire
that he had arrived at a spiteful and
desperate resolution, namely, that if
lit Law within his nnwer ha mnnlh