Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-08-15
"SHE WAS A BEAUTEOUS LADY,"
l OFT, velvety carpets; rich drap
\ cries; rare old paintings In dec

S&o~exoxoxrex.esAsnAoSA'
I@ OFT, velvety carpets; rich drap-
~ cries; rare old paintings In deep
" gold frames; quaint cabinets. rich
" carved, filled with treasures from
many lands. The air was heavy with
the fragrance Of dollhouse flowers; the
distant murmur of fountain made
low. dreamy melody.
A woman reclined in q wide easy
chair. She was in perfect harmony
with the beauty Of her surroundings.
Her exquisite face. outlined against the
dark background, looked like a rare
cameo. Jewels cleaned at the snowy
throat and in the golden hair, dressed
high and looking, in the dim light, like
a queens corOnet.
The pOrtieres parted and q little girl
came dancing into the room; a little
girl with such blue eyes, such golden
curls. and such tiny, satin-shod feet.
that she looked more like fairy than
human child. As she rested her dim
II pied elbows on the woman's lap and
looked with childish eyes into the face
SO like her own, one knew at once that
they We're mother and daughter.
Mamma, hasn't Annette made me
look pretty?'
Yes. dear"
Wont papa and the company come
soonY
Presently"
"And, mamma, may 1 have all the
creams I want? oh, dear! It's so stupid.
wish they would come. Mamma
fretfully, as the lady did not speak
what are you thinking about? I'm SO
lonesome. Annette said we would have
lovely time; but. The blue eyes
were full Of tears.
Don't CRY, dearie; they will come
soon. Shall tell you a storyT
please do, mamma"
"Well, sit here-so Once upon a
time." began the lady. in a low, musical
voice, there lived little Girl who had
blue eyes anc yellow curls. like yours.
dear, but she didn't have such pretty
gowns. No; she wore little gingham
aprons and sunbonnets, and ran all day
with her little feet bare"
"Oh, mamma" Interrupted the child
petulantly, Il don't want to hear about
poor little girls"
".Ah, child, she was not poor, but
fich-oh. SO rich"
But she had bare feet!
'True. But she was rich, for she pos
sessed earth's rarest jewels-youth and
innocence and love. There was boy
q dear, noble little boy-who always
played with this little girl. He always
knew where the first spring flowers
grew. The violets came first, in the
back pasture, where an old, messy log
sheltered them from the wind. And
the buttercups! How they grew around
the spring"
Mamma, what did the little girl dor
interrupted the child.
"Ah, Mignonne, mother forgets. Well,
the little girl loved the little boy. He
had such a great, good heart. And the
brownest eyes-oh, such beautiful
eyesI'
Were they like Mr.. Barnett's, NAM
ma"
The lady started, and soft pink flush
crept into her cheeks. She glanced
quickly at the child; 1t was only 4
child's thoughtless question.
Yes, they were like-and yet 80 un-
ukey'
Ibid the little boy love the little girl,
mammal"
"Oh, so much, MiRnonnel But the lit
lie girl grew up, and every one told her
that she was beautiful. And-and-
child, when she looked at other girls.
and then at her own reflection in the
mirror, she saw how much more beau
tiful she was than they. Well, one day
"a prince came, and he told the girl
tat she was too lovely to stay on the
farm with the brown-eyed boy He
asked her to go with him, and promised
that she should have every pleasure the
world held; gowns and laces and jew
els, and operas and balls-everything
that her foolish heart longed for And
so, Mignonne, she married the prince
and went away with him. far away
from the boy. and"
Ibid the prince give her the nice
things. mamma"
"Oh, child, they were not nice! The
pure gold was In the buttercups by the
old spring; the real diamonds were the
dewdrops that grew along the lane; the
sweetest music was the singing of the
little brook over the pebbles; the only
happiness was by his side"
Whose? The prince'sY'
mo; there was nothing there but mis-
cry, baby, misery! She saw always the
boys brown eyes; she listened always
for his voice. Oh, child! To think that
he is famous now; anc She"
wasn't the princess happy. nam
MAJ
mo! Oh, no, Her heart was always
aching. She would laugh and dance.
and dress in costly laces and jewels:
but she never could forget the ache. be-
cauSe@
why"
Because her heart was broken"
"Oh. mamma! Here they Gomez ex
claimed the child, forgetting all abOu,
the story, as a murmur Of voices broke
the silence Again the portiere parted.
and a lady entered. followed by two
men in evening dress; one was thick
set man. with cold, gray eyes and iron
gray whiskers-the master of this pa
latial home; the other tall, distin
guished-looking man, with dark. curl
Ing hair and deep brown eyes.
The lady arose as they entered AMI
advanced to greet them. She was love
ly before; she looked radiant now. The
blue eyes shOne, and the fair face
glOwed with pleasure or perhaps ex-
citement-for her hands trembled.