The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1902-05-02
GIRL WAS TOO RICH.

Nobody who hasn't gone through it
knows how horrid it is to be rich. |
mean very rich-so rich that people
say: "There goes the rich Miss Ell
lice" Not ''pretty Miss Ellice" or
"nice Miss Ellice," though it does
seem to me that | have some claim to
both those descriptive adjectives, but
always that inevitable erich Miss Ell
lice"
was as nearly born an orphan as
anybody could be, for my mother died
when | was a day old and my father
a few months later, leaving me with
all those oppressive millions and no
blood relations Il always hated that
expression, it sounds SO murderous)
to look after me, so l was made
ward in chancery.
My nurse used to toady to me, and
as for the children | was allowed to
know, several Of them admitted re-
garding me as a kind Of natural curl
osity because | was IAN heiress."
When | was 10 a chaperon was en-
gagged to live withme and travel about
the world. | had longed to travel, but
| soon found out it was just as bad
being abroad as at home.
How the facts about me leaked out
everywhere l don't know. | wanted
to take a false name and have lit
tie peace, but my chaperon, who was
bishops widow and rather rigid in
her ideas, would not hear of passing
under false pretenses" as she called 1t.
If the truth were known | believe that
Mrs. De Selwyn in her quiet way en-
joyed the kind Of triumphal progress
we made wandering about Europe.
People never failed to find us out
at hotels. Whispers and glances went
round, and mothers with sons scraped
acquaintance with us and were un-
pleasantly maternal, In England and
France l was fairly mobbed with i'm
pecunious young noblemen and OIL
GERS, and would have been amused If
I hadn't been furious. In Germany
it was much the same, and in Italy
narrowly escaped being kidnapped.
When l couldn't stand it any longer
we went back. 1t was just at the be-
ginning of the season, and Mrs. DE
Selwyn was determined that | should
be presented. | was presented, and
the inevitable consequences ensued.
In the first month | had 48 proposals.
By the end of the season | had quite
lost count, and l was so sick Of it all
so deadly sick, knowing only too
well that not one of the men who
had asked me to marry them would
have dreamed of doing it if it had not
been for my millions.
| could have been two duchesses-
l mean, that two English dukes were
among the moths who burned their
wings at the golden lamp; and there
was even lesser oyalty-but it seems
like boasting to enumerate them;
whereas, in reality, with each pro-
posal I had one more point Of my van
ity broken off until finally l had none
leftat all
Things went on in this way, grow
ing worse instead Of better, for two
years. | felt old and had lost my
faith in the disinterestedness of men
and women. l was not intended by
nature to be cynical, but experience
was thwarting nature, and the peo-
pie who made themselves so charm
ING must often have disliked me in
\ tensely, though all the while | was
starving for loye--honest love with
out the suspicion of a mercenary twist.
When was 21, and free-as much
as a girl can be free-to do as l chose,
Mrs. De Selwyn and I had a quarrel.
1t was silly quarrel about an equal
ly silly young man, my chaperon's
nephew, whom she'd been scheming
for years, it seemed, to have me mar
, ry. I was so disguised that I threw
over a lot of country-house engage
ments and rushed off to the only per
son whose love had ever been proved
to be for myself and not my money.
She was dear old proud thing who