The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-12-23

For many years the many branches
Of the Parker family had lived on an
oft-chance. The Parkers were none OF
them blessed with an over-abundance,
no, nor for the matter Of that, an album
dance Of this worlds goods; and 1t was
therefore in sense unfortunate that
they all were possessed OF positions
which needed keeping up.
There were many ramIflcations of the
Parker family. There were the Jex-
Parkers, who lived at Addington lodge,
an old and rather dllapidated manor
house which had been the original era
die Of the race There were tine Wallis
Parkers, at the rectory; the ormOnd-
Parkers, in Regents park: the welles-
ley-Parker1, who had a small property
IN suftoik: and the Graham Parkers,
who put in time by living in more or
less fashionable places out Of the sea-
son, and pretended that they did it be-
cause they hated socEsty.
The Graham Parkers were only n
mother and two daughters, no longer
very young, and certainly neither very
progressing nor very pleasant. The
Wellesley-Parkers were quite the best
on Of the whole family, Their property
was small and their income not large,
but they only had one child. son, who
had done we'll in his youthful days and
was now fast showing himself credit
to his kInsfolk in the calling of a bar
rlster.
The ormond-Parkers lived in Re
EsneS place. Captain ormond-Parker
had IN his youth been in a line regi-
nent for short time. had then mar
rled. and. finding married cares and re-
responsibilities incompatible with the ex-
penseS OF military life had retired and
had afterward amused himself for
short time by playing at soldering in
The militia. After n time this palled
moon him, and he, with his wife and
four daughters, withdrew from the gid
az mazes of country society to u life
In London, Regents park being their
stronghold. AS their train was small
nad they knew spare bedroom would
be an expensive luxury in SO large o
family as the Parkers. they did not
keep UP very much intercourse with the
rest Of the family, excepting young
Trevor Wellesley Parker, whom they
welcomed with open arms to their
hearth and home, which they persist
ed in calling airly "a pled-a-terre. In
deed, to be quite candid, from the be-
ginning, only the brothers at Adding
ham, of all the large Parker family,
were on anything like intimate terms.
There were, as I have said, the Wallis
Parkers at the rectory, and the Jex-
Parkera at the lodge. AS they were
brothers, and all the others were but
cousins, both to them and each other,
Il was not unnatural that, being so
near to each other. these two of all the
clan SHOULD have been near in heart
IS well as in domiciie.
Now, as I said just now, all these
branches OF Parkers had an Off-chance.
One day they might all be rich beyond
the dream Of avarice, or II not rich-ac-
tually rich, and rolling in money-they
might each and all OF them find them
selves one day in comfortable and easy
circumstances. For they had an aunt.
She was Parker, too. Plain Mary
Anne Parker, as she was fond OF say
Ing, trimmed up with no fine first name.
MARY Anne Parker was born" this
lady said more times than once, and
Mary Anna Parker 1 shall die. II you
think It makes Parker sound better to
favour 1t with ormund, or Graham,
or Jex, way. 1t won't hurt anyone; only
don't expect me to follow the fashion.
that's all"
Now. plain Mary Anne Parker was
old; she was also rich. A convenient
and obIIging godmOther had. some thir-
" years before the time at which this
story opens, left her a tidy sum-Just
over a m!lllon-and Mary Anne had
lived her own life without troubling
about her relations ever since. She
had, curiously enough. fancy to live
entirely out Of England. She had fine
villa on the Riviera. a Nat in Paris and
a slim yacht, called The Fly, in which
this Indomitable old lady went whittier
her fancy carried her. She never In
vIted any CT her relations to visit her,
although there we're seven girls at the
lodge and three others at the rectory,
10 say nothing Of all the other branches
Of the family, who would dearly have
loved TO iii the position OF fayorite
niece to so gilded and powerful an aunt
Only one Of the four girls in Regents
park limited as much when Aunt Mary
Anne was paying flying visit to Lon
don. my dear" returned Aunt Mary
Arne in definite tones which were un.
Inlstakabic in their sincerity. you
wouldn't like 1t at all: you would hate
Il. In the first place, never by any
chance speak a word OF English.
haven't a single English servant. an
occupied from morning tin night. In
my own way, and have neither time MOI
inclination for entertaining. There are
no young gallants coming gnIllvantIus
about the chateau, ard my yacht mas
ter Is sixty and Is as grumpy as a
bear. II my money was Parker mon
ey," abe added significantly. Il should
fel II my duty to share 1t with all thu
other Parkcrs; but not penny Of ms
money came from the Parkers, but al
from n friend Of my aainted mothers
who ioathed every Parker that even
was born. excepting the one that sht