Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1905-03-16

and two slim, patrlcian greyhoundS
arise from Persian rug in front of
the wood fire. which burns in the huge,
dog-ironed chimney-place, and come
shifting inQuiringly.
MIR. Dalton looks around and feels as
if he had entered cathedral; Carrie
edges close under Mays protecting
wing with supreme awe, and May
even May the dauntless, realizes that
she has passed the boundary of the
other world and is within the sacred
precincts of the aristocrats.
Like flash of lightning, the remem.
brance of all the crimson and gold in
the brand new hall at home arises be-
fore her eyes and makes her blush in.
wardly. A gulf between the Daltons
and the Letchfords. 1t is not gulf,
but an ocean, that divides them. A
ladylike young woman, dressed in
black and wearing a plain mob-cap,
comes downstairs and drops them a
courtesy 1t is Lady Letchford's own
maid.
The two girls follow her up the
broad stairs and along the corridors to
a large guest-room, in which every
chair and table and picture seems to
whisper, haughtily; Il am of the old
nobility" And the maid relieves them
of their cloaks, intellectually kneels
and arranges their dresses, and then
with another curtsey. conducts them
down to the hall again, where Mr.. Dial
ton awaits them, feeling as if he had
just undergone cold bath. He had
been prepared for magnificence and
grardeur-a kind of Guildhall splendor
and he could have borne up under
it, however splendid 1t might have
been; but this vast oak-paneled hall
the dim light falling on the portraits,
the battered flags oyerwhelm him. At
that moment he wished himself back
in his own gorgeous drawing-room.
The servant, too, oppressed him fear.
fully. he stood so still and solemn in
his dark livery his eyes fixed on the
ground, his whole bearing eloquent OF
his surprise at the presence of such a
common mortal in the sacred house of
! the Letchfords.
On May and Carries temperance
this somber official leads the way TO a
pair of heavy tapestry curtains, draws
them aside and, opening a door, an
nounces, in a subdued tone:
Mr. and the Misses Dalton"
1t is long room, filled with a sub
dued light, that harmonizes with the
furniture of dark oak and ebony; here
and there are patches of crimson and
gold but only just sufficient to relieve
the warm sOlemnity of the whole.
/ The tall stately black-satin clad
figure of Lady Letchford arises and
comes toward them with white out
stretched hand, on which glitters three
hoops of diamonds and emeralds.
How do you do?" she says, hadrly
suppressing the shudder that runs
through her as Mr.. Dalton's large hand
hot through his glove-incloses her
own thin one Your eldest daughter
and | are already-acquain Civ.
ing her hand TO May, who takes 1t and
does not inclose It. much to the old
ladys relief and this is your young
Iest-Miss-Mi Miss"
Carrie" says Mr.. Dalton. his voice
sounding coarse and hard, though ii is
only half its usual volume. "Christen
ed Caroline, my lady, but girls are
never satisfied with the names their
godfathers and godmothers give EN-
Carrie is much prettier than Caro-
line" murmurs the old lady, as she
fixes her glance upon poor Carrie; but
as the halfclised eyes rest on the
sweet. childish face, downcast and
frightened, something Of the cold steel
drops from them, and the thin lips
close with a smile. you must be
cold, my DEAR she says; come to the
fire; this is Miss Vayasour."
Then the beauty comes forward-she
is dressed in some material which Is
neither silk, nor satin, nor velvet, a
soft kind of plush, in color neither
maure. nor blue nor gray, but a neu
trail tint composed OF all three, which
sets off her fair, regular loyeliness to
the fullest advantage an embodiment
of perfect grace and breeding. Placid
and serene as a sonata of Schuberts,
or a landscape of Canaletto, she seems
part and parcel of the stately room.
and fit companion to the patrician old
lady who rules In 1t.
May takes II all in--the beauty, the
grace, the patrician air-at a glance,
and then. for the first time, uneon.
sciously perhaps. buckles on her ar.
NOR. RECEIVERS her self-possession, and
grows courageous and at her ease, and
! gives back smile for smile.
For Rose vayasour is too clever to
spoil the play by undertaking her part
II Is no part Of the play to freeze these
plebians into good behavior, and so
make them appear passabIe-no, they
must be encouraged to show them.
selves in their true colors; they must
be lured into displaying their vul.
garity 10 the full; Sir Heron must be
clearly and Enthusiastically made to feel