The record-union., 1897-04-11
JANE.
A SOCIAL INCIDENT.
1.
THE RUSTIC JANE.

| The RUSTIC JANE.
| 1t was very odd thing. Some peo-
| pie declared it was the oldest thing
] they ever heard of. Nevertheless, odd
or even, the fact remained; Jane had
resolved ito go into society" Jane
| "came OUT at 81, and everybody knew
| it.
| Jane-otherwise known as Miss Jane
IBelmOnt-was a Sweet-looking, placid
faced lady of the purely old-fashioned
| type. She was altogether behind the
| time in her notions of life-She was not,
and never could be, up to date" She
lived on in the peculiar belief that God
was good; that the world was a pleas
ant place; that life and health were ex-
cellent things and that men and women
were, taken altogether, much more full
| of virtue than of vice. And thus
lovely benevUlence ennobled her feat
Ures and made them attractive, despite
| the wrinkling of the pale, delicate skin
near the eyes and mouth--the inward
| grace of charity gave luster to her
calm eyes and bestowed a magic
| brightness on the silver threads in her
| soft parted hair-and there was not a
| man, woman or child in the village
| where she dwelt that would not have
| willingly testified to the sweetness of
her smile 1t was a smile that warmed
the heart and fingered in the memory
and young girls who came with their
mothers to call on that old maid" as
some Of them profanely styled her be-
fore they knew her. went away charm
ed and enthralled by Jane and her
beautiful manners. carrying bouquets
of roses she had herself gathered and
given to them, with kind and pretty
words from her own carefully kept and
deliciously scented: garden, where all
the "old-fashioned' flowers grew in
profusion, making a paradise of en-
chantment for bees, butterflies and
singing birds.
| Ashleigh-i n-the-Dell was a charming
little English village nesting among
the hills and sheltered by deep wood
lands, and there Jane had lived ever
since her earliest childhood. Her
father had been the rector of the parish
and had died full of years and honors
after a well-spent useful life in which
he had conscientiously striven to do his
utmost best to follow the divine teach
ing of the Divine Teacher the world
had ever seen or ever will see. And
when the new rector was installed,
Jane finding herself possessed of a
sufficient income wherein to live be-
comingly, if simply. purchased the cot
tage where she now dwelt, which for
some private reason of her own she
called "Restful Harbor." There she
stayed year after year, without taking
any change or seeming to require one.
She had no recollection Of her mother,
who had died early; though there was
a picture of her in the charming draw
| ing-room Of "Restful Harbor," which
Jane was fond of looking at because it
was a beautiful face-almost the face
of what one might expect an angel to
be. THAT was my mother" she would
say to the inquiring visitor. And on
one such occasion, when a caller, wish
ing to be complimentary, replied, you
are very like her, Jane flushed with
surprise and answered eagerly, ooh,
no! 1 was never in the least like her.
She was a great beauty, have heard
and l was always plain"
Taking all these premises of James
| uneventful history into due conSidera-
ton, it was not wonderful that the viii
lage of Ashleigh-in-t should ex-
perience a violent thrill, somewhat of
the nature of an earthquake or thun-
derclap, when it heard the news that
Jane had all at once become a great
| heiress in her own right-and that
henceforth her yearly income would
average nearly 10000. A relative of
whom she had never heard, a cousin Of
her beautiful dead mother had sudden
ly gone to his account, leaving every
thing he possessed to Jane Belmont,
only daughter of the late Reverend
Hugh Belmont and of his wife, Janet
Evelyn Pierpont first cousin to me, the
testator." She-Jane-was the Jane
Belmont in question-so she was told
by the two legal gentlemen who called
in person one day at Restful Harbor to
break the good news to her gently
For said they, with much feeling,
looking around the simple little country
parlor she called her drawing room, lit
must be very overwhelming for youi"
But Jane was not exactly overwhelm-
ed; true, few tears trickled down her
cheeks, and her thin, well-shaped white
hands trembled little, but otherwise
she showed no sign of feverish excite
ment.
What am I to do with all this mon
in her voice as she put the question.
Spend it, my dear madam Spend
it," exclaimed one of the legal gentle
men, smiling at her naivete THAT is,
spend the interest and reserve the CAPT
tai. Amuse yourself-go about the
world a little-enjoy your hfe!'
Il have always enjoyed it," said Jane,
simply.
We'll, well, enjoy it a little more,
Money can do anything for you; you
can have fine house, a carriage and
pair, a box at the opera, plenty of
dresses and jewels--in fact, everything
in the world it at your disposal. You
have only to express a wish and you
have the means to crafty it,
A bewildered look Swallowed James
peaceful countenance, and she folded
her delicate hands together more close
ly, to hide their nervous trembling.
Il am too old for such pleasures, SIR
she said gently.
Too DID, Nonsense, my dear ma
dam" And the lawyer quite bounced
in his chair at the very suggestion. II
never heard of such a thing. Nobody
is old in our days-nobody ever intends
to be old. / know a lady of your age
who passes very we'll for 80 at this
very momentum fact, she is much
more lively and smart than she was in
her teens. With your fortune, / assure
you, my dear Miss Belmont, that you
can have a pleasant time of it-ahi-
and l shouldn't wonder if you made a
very excellent marriagel''
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