Evening journal., 1900-03-08
THES1LvER BROCADE


alone. The groundwork was as white
as alabaster 1t was powdered with
argent dots placed so closely together
that the effect wac a shimmering. sill
very surface. indescribably beautiful
Lady Betty Dufferin wore II first at
one OF George Tvs levees. Her por
trait was painted in IT, A cherry-lip-
ped, saucy-nosed. iusolent-eyed beauty
was Lady Betty, and a flame. II was
said, OF His Royal Highness.
Her descendants brought Il to Vir-
ginia, where it was rustled through
many a stately minuet over polished
floors under the soft light of waxen
candles in sconce and chandelier. II
nnally came into the possession Of the
famous Dufferin twins, who fought
desperately over it, and were con-
sumed with vexation because their
mother refused to allow either to ap.
pear in il, inasmuch as II was her hob
Dy TO dress both these beautiful girls
exactly alike, and there was not
enough OF the brocade to go round
One Of Alva Dufferin's daughters,
however, wore II at White Sulphur
springs one summer in the sixties.
aad created havoc wherever she
stepped. She was the counterfeit
representation of her illustrious an.
cestress, Lady Betty. and appeared to
have inherited many of the traits OF
that frolicsome dame. Il was she
who, clad in the silver brocade. pulled
on her satin slipper and, filling IL with
champagne, gave It to one Of her
adorers. while the rest nearly came
to blows over the question who could
secure the other tiny fagon Thus
Betty Dufferin had a famboyant and
checkered career. The least said
about it here the better.
Her grandchild. an exquisite slip of
a girl, ran away with a strolling actor
pictureque vagabond, and went upon
the stage. She made over the silver
brocade, which had fallen to her. into
stage gown for a society play. She
wore it with great eclat on the open.
ing night and the leading man walked
up the back breadths and tore It of
the waist. Thereupon Miss Julia
Devereux tainted with vexation and
the curtain was rung down
Next day, in fret, the actress gave
the still beautiful fabric to her maid.
who promptly took it to a funny little
shop near Varicl1 greet and concluded
a bargain with a daughter of Israel.
And here Dick" Fanshaw found IL.
No one ever knew from what corner
of the habitable globe came Dick"
Fanshaw and his beautiful wife. They
spoke as familiariy Of Monte Carlo
and Paris as they did of Mexico and
the Klondike She had been used to
luxury-that was apparent-even II
now she did not possess il. She car
ried about her an air of faded splen.
dor and the somewhat passe costumes
Of the lovely woman always retained
q vestige Of elegance.
Mrs. Fanshaw was one Of those
splendid creatures for whom superb
dress would seem to have been invent.
ed. She was a veritable Juno with
wonderful hair the exact tint of old
copper and eyes the exact tint of old
blue china. She was far more refined
in her manner and bearing than was
her husband. Her proud. sensitive
face grew often scornful and mutinous
as she regarded her swarthy, evil-lool.
ing lord That she barely tolerated
his presence was plain enough to see.
One could not blame her when ona
seriously studied the face of Dick"
Fanshaw. He had the air Of a brigand
His hair was the coarse blue-black OF
the Orient, and his eyes were like
smoldering fires. A frightful mus.
tache, ocstentatiously and deliberately
curled, and short, thick nose, added
to his forbidding and sinister appear
ance. He was addicted to wearing
fiashy jewelry when he could afford
1t, and his slouch hats and vivid neck
ties were awful to behold.
But there was one thing about
Dick Fanshaw that all the men
agreed that sat at the card table with
him. He had the true gamblers nerve.
He was just as cool and self-contained
when he was losing as when he was
winning. In fact. his apparent indif.
ference to money was magnificent.
One watching his inscrutable face
and coldblooded manner as he shufFied
and dealt a hand that meant defeat
for him would have said: why.
money means nothing to this man.
He is playing merely for the fun o.
the thing"
But in Fanshaw's circle It was quito
well understood that the gambler was
in desperate straits. For months he
had lost steadily, recouping now and
then enough to keep him still in the
game
The Fanshaws had modest apart
ments half way up town, in a neigh
borhood of not unblemished reputa-
ton. They lived-Heaven knows how.
There were frequent quarrels between
the handsome. high-spirited woman
and the heavy-browed fiery-eyed hus.
band. Mrs. Fanshaw often carried
traces Of tears upon her face, and
sometimes a red mark upon her cheek.
as from five angry fingers. The go5'
sip Of the house ran that men came
to the apartments as much to look at
the beauty as to play cards with the
beast
At all events, the Fanshaws be,
longed to that strange intermediary
world where everyone lives by his
wits. That the husband was a rank
adventurer it needed no profound sa-
gacity to discern. That the wife was
a beautiful, unhappy woman, immeas-
urably his superior, was also apparent
at a glance.
Night after night Mrs. Fanshaw sat
in her tiny sitting room watching a
group of gamblers through the cur
tanned doorway that led into her hus.
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