The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-04-09
THE BEAUTY.

lane. She has villa on the Riviera of
which she Is immensely fond-when she Is
In England-and great estate in the coal
country which she always hates. She is
of the world, worldly. She Is so shallow
and brilliant that ono feels sho ought to
make great name. She knows something
about everything. She reads before she
comes down In the morning, during the
prolonged rest she always takes for tho
benefit of her perfect complexion. She
reads theology whom theology is the fash
ion She is Buddhist one week and a
mahatma the next, an agnostic pretty
frequently. Agnosticsm is SO convenient,
Sho talks over her beliefs with her admir-
ers. There is point and audacity about
her statements which make them infinitely
more telling than II they were the sound
est of arguments No one argues with
her, however. Her beauty, her perfect
poses, her wit, her brilianoy, her fine
sense of humor, her complete vanity and
self satisfaction make argument In some
sense impossible. Tho laugh is always
with her. To put her In the wrong is
quite out of tho question. She is so con-
foundedly clever, you know" some ono
says of her. That is it She is SO con-
foundedly clever.
Her beauty is perfectly preserved. An
excellent digestion and heart and con-
science which have given her no sort OF
trouble have contributed TO this desirable
result, Il shall be 3s next birthday, she
is in the habit of saying, with the most
delightful candor. And should bo con-
stantly mistaken for my own daughter II
i were not so very much bettor looking
Her vanity is as transparent as that of n
child adniring Itself in new frock In a
looking glass. 1t is, as it were, the weak
point in character that is otherwise
strong. Lena will lap up grcedily tho
most fulsono Of compliments. There Is
no flattery too blunt for her car. Her pride
and her cleverness cringe to It, Her wor-
ship of her own beauty would be ridicu-
lous If 1t did not strike noto that rover
berates In tragedy. 10 be lovely and nd
mired has been tho whole aim of her life.
She has sacrificed her soul to it aud
achieved It,
Lena was married at 10 II was the
handsomest girl in London" she says to
her husband, looking at him with perfect
scorn and good humor down table gilt
tering with glass and silver. II might
have married anybody And / married
you"
Her husband does not answer. He sell
dom replies to Lena's innucndoes. He has
a habit of sitting with his hands crossed
behind his chair and his gray head n little
bent He is n fool, of course. What could
he have been but a fool to think that
Lena, brilliant and 49, could be marrying
him for anything except his money! What
can he bo now but a fool to go on wor-
Shipping this woman who insults him
dozen times day with her scornful good
humor and her cruel wit! The world
the world always knows-says he has only
himself to blame for her treatment of him.
Tho world scorns scarcely less than sho
does herself his slow patience and long
suffering, his persistent kindness and for
bearance. My husband has no brains to
speak of, you know" says Lena conversa-
tionally Her husband can hear the re-
mark from the other end of the table.
'He wrote a prize poem at Cambridge,
she continues, enjoying herself very much.
"That speaks for itself" Lena Is wearing
diamonds which this fool gave her week
ago. Her bad tAste is sometimes 30 OK
eCrable that one wonders even society Ap-
plauds her. 1t 8 q dreadful shame" peO-
Pile say, and accept her invitations to din
ncr next month with perfect pleasure.
But there is indeed something about Lena
which leads the world as we'll rs hor hns-
band to forgive hoT. 1t may be her wit,
or her beauty, or her manner, which
makes some women and all men lose sight
of or care nothing for the nature which
thoy cover, or it may be that even Lena
is not so bad rs she represents herself.
There is good In her. There is certain
impulse and generosity which would 10
very good If they were not SO exceedingly
brief There are days and moments when
Lena is quite pleasant and civil to the
man who has married her and given her
great wealth, great falthfulness, great af-
fection. The doy ho brings her home the
diamonds She is surprised into pleasure and
gratitude. You can kiss me If you like, i"
she says. And lie is fool enough to touch
her check reverently with his lips. She
wears tho diamonds all day for nearly IA
week. Her pleasure over them is like the
pleasure of a child. She tries them first in
this position and then In that. She looks
at herself in all the mirrors in the draw
ing room They dine alone In the even
ing, and she Is wholly gracious and bril-.
liant and good hlInorod. She has put on
her very finest dress She has made the
maid do her hair hundred times "Dia'
munds suit mo exactly" sho says and
there ism t woman in 10, 000 who ought
ever to put them on" She has taken up
palmistry, and she reads her husband
character from his hand with entire good
nature, Her beauty is so rich and perfect
one cannot believe that she is nearly AZ
years old When she is good humorcd as
she is tonight, she looks younger than
ever Her dress is inimitably chosen and
suitable. She affects none OF the airs of Q
very young woman. She is too confound
edly clever, you know, for that,
But the next day she is less gracious
and in week is herself again.
Lena has few occasional plain lady
! friends, whom she loves passionately for
month and loathcs for the rest of hcr life
She has admirers. Every ono admiros her
! She has so little heart that her only dun
t ger from their society lies in her mos
gullible vanity.
It is in society that she shines most
She is incomparably brilliant and anus
ing She will question the theology Of al
artIei-s,lf, N,l,u ,r=f ~ s. ri au'
dacity nclosa - ar ar uinner table Of per
| sons who pause In their talk to listen tC
| and look at her, She Is the central figure
everywhere she goes. Her candOr and
frankness ARC inmitable, Her vanity Is o.
its kind perfect, and she is always com
fortably assured that every man in thu
room Is in love with her.
Her daughter who Is about II years old
usually goes about with her The contTas
between the two Is exceedingly otfcctiy
and wholly in Lena favor. The daughte
| is feeble and nervous imitation of man
ma and very much afrnid Of that lady
sarcasm and brillancy. Lena indeed i
very little troubled by maternal instincts
SheappropTiates her daughters lovers wit
delightful aplomb and brilliancy. Sh
is II hundred times better dressed and boi
ter looking than this girl Il have NOR
brains, my dear Mabel, she Is In til
habit of saying, in my little finger tina
you have in your whole head.
When Mabel has been married for fe'
years and is dcfying mamma from "a sal
distance, Sir George falls Ill. The Hines
is alarming 1t even alarms Lena. In II
very middle Of the season she goes dow
to the coul country to nurse her HUSBAND