The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1900-08-24


She had been born of noronts -,
boastcd n lineage that reached hoo,'
inc crusades. family whose men I'm
pcch 'o!hi ana true to country and
nome ana whose women had been r.,
ana chaste without exception throne,
| o"' 'he records Of many gcncrotion
| moreover she had been born TO wcnIt
! "hich Afforded every luxury that h,
man heart could crave, all sovc on
perhaps. And with the pcrvcrsitv q
mes fortune which is so common ds
spite her heritage, despite her wco,tl
INC dearest wish OF her heart had bcc
"'h!cu hcr. She had ever been rotbo
'oihan'icahy inclined. strange chor
"c'cr'S'ic when the phlcgmatIc tenn
p"ramrntS Of all the members of no
nome circle are remembered. Indoc,
sentiment was so foreign to her hom,
,hat hcr own feelings had ever beer
"c"' III chccE' hidden within her OWL
bosom and unsuspcctcd by those who
'houSht that they knew her best.
on'c puttcr of hope had eptcrcd
W. h'art. She had met one around
"ho'il hcr rancy formed n halo wh,c,
transformed the man into n god h,,,
the lover that might have been wns ST.
lent. Another, with n longer nurse
came into her life and won tho CON.
sent of her people even before con.
SultinS her. The loved one made NO
protest, but offered conventional ploti.
tudcS by way Of congratulations ond
so the dream faded, crushed out of ber
ncart by maidcnly resentment and tho
rear that her unrcquitcd affections
might have been suspected. So this
page of her life. the only one unon
Which romantic paragraph had been
Wr'ssch' was turned down, occasional
iy' Mt long intervals, to be opened and
rcrcad.
uer marriage to young Gabriel Van
Cortlandt, scion Of n family Ms orIs.
tocratic as her own and with wealth
mat even exceeded her fathers. had
been one Of the gay fctes of n CAV sen.
son In the metropolis. The honeymoon
Dcing oyer, they had settled down to n
nome life in which the entertainment
Oh the best people was the most con.
spicuous feature. Thousands enyIed
the beautiful bride her possession of
her handsome husband and bor Inv.
urlous home. Yet once again xx.oI,,,
failed to procure what her soul most
sought. The years passed, and no
offspring blessed their union.
Disappointed In the first instance
she determined that in this second she
should not be entirely unsatlsfied. So
plans were made and dei.ffls arranged.
In which respect Mt least her money
aided her, and when at length the ar.
rival OF the infant was announced
none doubted that genuine Van Cort-
andt had been born into the world
none but that honest old matron nt
the maternity hospital and that other
woman, the patron Of the institution.
who had indeed suggested the scheme
o the young couple and had lent them
ler aid.
At the appointed time n closed car
'iage had been driven to the hospital.
rom which emerged two yelled wo.
nen. Who hurried into tha- -hniLdina nnd
where they were Joined by the matron.
N n few moments three tiny little
candles were brought In. One contain
I'd boy baby.
"No, nor said Mrs. Van Cortlandt.
4 want girl. The boy will be able
% make his own way in the world
when lie grows to manhood. wish
% save one of these little helpless ba-
)ies Of my own sex"
Then the matron showed two others,
both girls. One was large and round
md rosy, with eyes wide open and
staring at those about rs though in
Iuiring why she had been awakened,
FOR very wide awake she was. The
other was tiny and pale and asleep, one
arm hidden beneath her wrappings,
the other limp and lying In view, the
fingers now stretched wide apart. now
closing again into little fist that was
but a weapon with which to
light the world. This nervous twitch-
ng Of the hand was al that showed
that she had been disturbed by remov-
al from her crib.
Mrs. Van Cortlandt leaned over and
looked ut the children, gancing anX-
Lously from one to the other.
(Which should she select" q Ques-
tion Of vast Importance to these two
little ones.
She gently grasped the twitching
hand of the sleeping child, and imme-
diately its nervous movement ceased,
and 1t lay ut rest. Her heart was
touched as she thought that the con-
tact with her own flesh had impaired
peace to the sleeping babe. Then her
eye fell upon the little finger, and her
heart beat faster. 1t was curiously
curved. She remembered one other
whose fingers were thus fashioned.
A deep crimson flushed her cheek as
she thought that this slight deformity
in the child would keep fresh within
her memory that one bright dream OF
her life, and. hastily dropping her veil
as she arose, she said simply:
81 select this one."
Shortly after this her husband he'd