Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-12-29
KEN
A Broken Wedding Ring
Z3ET78z3
By Bertha ". Clay.

cat some future day you will be
sole mistress Of this beautiful place,
Leah said the duchess, as they were
walking one morning on the great
terrace.
q suppose So" she replied; but L
never like to think Of the time.
wish that my uncle could live as long
if not longer than, shall She
seemed anxious not to continue the
conversation, for soon afterward she
clasped her hands in delight. 20,
duchess!" she said, what quantities
of my favorite passion-fower! And
what colors-purple, scarlet, and
blue! What rich clusters [ must
gather some; .ney are like the faces
of old friends smiling at me-"
''You have brought passion-f1oWers
into fashion," the duchess said smil-
ing; 81 never saw you without them.
Why do you like them better than any
other flower, Aeah?'
II do not know. I think it is be-
cause they are mystical flowers; they
are full of mystery and passion and
sorrow"
You ought to like red roses best,
said the duchess; ''they suit you
mo-" returned Leah; give me
scarlet passion-f1owers; they seem to
me choicest of all"
Il suppose" laughed the duchess,
that when the ideal he comes it will
be discovered that his favorite flower
is the passion-flower?
81 should not be surprised replied
Leah, gently.
THAT will be one Of the signs by
which you will know him. said the
duchess, mockingly; but afterward
the words came back to her, and she
maryeled at them.
What the duchess had said was
true-Leah had brought the passion
flower into fashion. 1t was her favor
ite. If in a fashionable crowd one
saw the CLEAN of scarlet passion
flower, it was certain that beautiful
Leah Hatton was there, This -ancy
of hers was we'll known when Millar,
the great artist, painted her portrait
that year the loveliest picture on
the walls of the Royal Academy. He
carried out the poetic idea; he painted
her, in all the pride OF her girlish
beauty, in dress of superb black
velvet, with scarlet passion-fowers in
her dark hair, on her white brCa1t,
and shining like fame in her shapely
hand. The picture created quite as
great a sensation as the c-:3inaI had.
people crowded to see it. The artist
had named it THE Passion-fower,' .
and those who saw it felt that there
was some strange affinity between the
beautiful face, with it's dark eyes and
wild-rose bloom, it's ripe, scarlet lips,
it's dawn Of passion, and the passion
| flower. ne critics all raved Of it,
society journals praised it, and it
! brought the mystical flower into
fashion; and during the third season
Miss Hatton spent in London she was
known as the "Passion-fower."
4 have had an adventure this morn
inG," said Sir Arthur, as they sat
down to luncheon. 81 find that the
! young master of Glen is expected
home during the week. l lost my way
in the woods, and came out quite close
to the manson; have been all over
it,"
where and what is Glen?'' asked
the duchess.
And Sir Arthur smiled as he said:
81 ought to be a poet to answer
you; it is almost impossible to do so
in prose. Glen is simply one of the
most lovely spots know in England"
More beautiful than Brentwood,
uncle?" asked Leah.
! quite different, Leah. Glen was
once the dower-house Of a queen;
three hundred years ago it came into
possession Of the Cartons, and has
Teen vneirs ever since. It is simply
perfect. Your eyes are almost daz-
zled by the CLEAN OF sunlight in the
waters of the many fountains, and
| by the bright colors of the flowers.
The surroundings, too, are most
picturesque"
81 should like to see it," said the
duchess.
$50 should |, added Leah.
Fair ladies" cried Sir Arthur, you
shall see it whenever you will. The
house itself looks so cheerful, no one
would ever think that it had once been
the scene Of a tragedy"
WAS it?" asked the duchess. "Ten
it to us.
q am a newcomer" said the gen
eral, 'and naturally enough, / know
! but little about it. But one of the
! gardeners at Glen spoke of the story
this morning. l asked him how long
the house had been closed, and he
said fifteen years. Of course, l asked
him how that was, and he said thai
Lady Carlton could never lear to en-
ter 1t again, and that after the &C.
cident, she had taken her son, Sir
Basil, to Italy, where she spent the
remainder of her life, but that he,
now that his mother was dead, was
coming back to live here"
What was the accident?" asked the
duchess.