The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-04-22
I am not d person who easily becomes
flicnd MI I / did Nnf con-

luStu Will lH6 lbTBe IiL " III SuS AAiASSs
OF which we were now ushered. l soon
made out Sir George Danvers, delicate
but misunderstanding old gentleman, who
received me with digniffed cordially, but
returned Charles greeting with GER
tain Formally and coldness which was
pained to see, family affection being In
my opinion the chief blessing Of truly
happy home. Charles / already knew,
and with the second son. Ralph, rud-
tly, smiling young man. with any amount
of white teeth, had no difficulty; but
after that l became hopelessly involved.
was introduced to an elderly lady,
whom | addressed for tho rest of the
evening as Lady Danvers, until Charles
casually mentioned that his mother was
dead, and that, until the deceased Wife's
sister Bill was passed, he did not antici-
pate that his Aunt Mary would take up
on herself the position of stepmothor
to her orphaned nephews. Tho severe
elderly lady, then, who beafr1ed so sweet
~ upon Ralph. and regarded Charles
with such manifest GOODNESS, was their
aunt, Lady Mary Cunningham She had
known Sir John slightly In her youth,
she said as she graciously made room
for me on her sofa, and she expressed
a very proper degree Of regret at his
sudden death, considering that he had
not been a personal friend In any way.
eve all have our faults Colonel Middle
ton" said Lady Mary, with gentle
sigh. which dislodged little colony OF
crumbs from the front Of her dress
"sir John, like tho rest Of us, was not
exempt, though have no doubt the
softening influence of age would have
done much, since knew him, to smooth
acerbitics of character which were I'M
Fortunately strongly marked In his early
life."
She had evidently not known Sir John
in his later years.
AS she continued to talk in this strain,
+ endeavored to make out which of the
young ladies present was the one to
whom Ralph was engaged. was I'M
decided as to which 1t was OF the two
to whom i had already been introduced.
Girls always seem to me SO very much
alike. especially pretty girls; and these
were both Of them pretty. do not mean
that they rcsembled each other In the
least, for one was dark and one was
fair; but which was Miss AureAa Grant
Ralph's fancee, and which vas Miss
Evelyn Derrick cousin OF the FAM
ily, l could not make out until later In
the evening, when distinctly saw Ralph
kiss the fair one In tho picture.gallery,
and I instantly came to the conclusion
that she was the one to whom he was
engaged.
/ asked Charles II were not right. as
we stood in front OF the hall fire before
the rest Of the party had assembled for
dinner. and he told me that ] had indeed
hit the nall on the head In this Instance
though for his own part he never laid
much stress himself on sIh IN occur
renee, having found It prove misleading
In the extreme to draw any conclusion
from it. lie further Informed me That
Miss Derrick was the young lady win
dark hair who had poured out tea, and
whom no had favored with some or MS
| conversation afterward.
I admired Ralp1l's taste. as did Charles,
who had never seen his future sister
in-law before. Aurelia Grant was a
| charming little creature. with a curly
head and a dimple, arm a pink.and- bite
| complexion, and a suspicion of an irish
| accent when she became excited.
| Charles said he admired her complex
| ,on most because 1t was so thoroughly
| we'll done. and the colortng was so true
| to nature
did not quite catch his meaning. but
lit certainly was a beautiful complexion;
| and then she was so bright and liVeiy'
| and showed such pretty little teeth when
| she smiled! She was quite delightful. |
| did not wonder at Ralph's being so much
IN love with her. and Charles agreed
| with me.
| "rhere is nothing like good COM
| nlcxlon," he remarked, grnvely. one
| nav be led away to like q pale girl with
| n mind for n time but for permanent
domestic l,Gppiness give me q GOOD com.
plexion, and--a dimple.' he added. as ),
| it we're IN aftepst thought. u feel coulo
not bestow my best affections on wo,
man without a dimple. YES 'haeeu'
| Ralph has chosen WE'LL
Now T do not agree with Charles there.
ms I have always considered that wo-
man should have a certain amount OF
mind. lust enough. In fact. to enable her
Ito appreciate superior one, said as
much to Charles. but he only laughed,
and said 1t was n subject on "ll'ch
opinion had always varied.
"How did he meet herr lnqurea.
"on the Rigi last summer" SAID
Charles ~ am thinking Of going there
myself next year. Lovely orphan sat by
Lady Mary at table d'hote. Read tracts
presented by Lady Mary. Made acquaint-
ance. Lovely orphans travelling CONF
| panion or governess discovered to be live
sister of defunct travelling COMPANION or
governess of Lady Mary. Result, warm
lITlGTuslllp. 'iho - NS''t" 49, "
appears on the scene, Fortnight of fine
weather. Interesting expeditions. Ro-
mantle attachment. cemented by dla-
mond and pearl ring from Hunt and
Roskells. There Is the whole story for
YOU"
4 CHATTER VIII.
Evelyn Derrick joined us as he finished
speaking Sho was a tall, graceful girl,
gentle and dlgnifed In manner. with a
pale, refined face. She was pretty In 4
way, but not to compare to Aurella-
Evelyn had an anxious look about her.
too. Now do not approve of girl look
ing grave; she ought to be bright and
happy. with smile for every one. TT Is
all very we'll for us men. who have the
!, work Of the world to do. to look grave at
times, but with women It Is different;
and a woman always looks her best when
she smiles-at least, ] think so,
Then Aurclla came down. perfectly daz-
zling in white satin; then Sir George.
then Ralph, giving an arm to Lady Mary
who suffered from rheumatism In her
foot. Then came the gong, and there
was rustic down of moro people, young
md old friends of the family who had