The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-08-06

her husband. Jairus Bedding. the famous
bridge builder. had persisted of a maIa-
ria fever caught in the swamps of the
Wabash. and left her with one daugh-
| ter and a large tin box full of good
securities. She never afterward altered
the style of her dress. and she took
much comfort in feeling free from all
| further allegiance TO nlflIiners. In
fact. she had nature which
was predisposed to comfort She
had been fond cf her husband. but
she had been little afraid of him and.
| when she had wept her grief into trans
| guilty she felt certain satisfaction
! in finding herself the absolute mistress
OF her income and her bedroom Her
/ wealth made her the object of matri-
| monial ambition once or twice. and she
| had sufficient beauty TO natter herself
that she was loved more for her eyes
/ than her money but she refused her
| suitors With an indolent good-natIre
| that did not trouble itself with inquiries
/ as TO their sincerity. 4 have been mar
ried once. thank you, and that is
| enough this she said simply without
! signing or tears Perhaps the unlucly
| aspirant might infer that her heart was
! buried IN the grave of Jairus But the
sober fact was that she liked her break
| fast at her own hours. Attached to the
spacious sleeping-room occupied in joint
| tenancy by herself and the bridge-build-
or were two capacious closets After
] the funeral of Mr.. Bedding, she took
/ possession OF both Of them, hanging her
/ winter wordrobe in one and her summer
rainent in the other, and she had never
| met man so fascinating as 70 tempt
her to give Up TO him one of these rooms.
She vas by no means a fool Like
many easy-going women. she sia6 AZ
| enlightened se1fishness which prompted
| her to take excellent care of her a ffairs.
As long as old Mr. Farnham lived, she
] took his advice implicitly IN regard 10
her investments, and after his death
| she transferred the same tInquestioning
| confidence TO his grandson and heir. al
| though he was much younger than her
| self and comparatively inexperienced in
money matters. 1t seemed 10 her OILY
natural that some of the Farnham wis
| dom should have descended with the
Farnham millions. There was a grain
| of good sense in this reasoning. found
! ed as it was upon her knowledge of Ar
| thurs good qualities; for upon a man
| who is neither a sot nor a gambler the
| possession Of great wealth almost al
ways exercises a SOLDERING and educating
| influence. So. whenever Mrs Bedding
was in doubt in any matter of money,
| she asked Arthur to dine with her. and
settle the vexiug questions somewhere
| between the soup and the coffee 1t
was neighborIy service, freely asked
and willingly rendered.
| x y
| As Farnham entered the widows coy
! library, he saw a lady sitting by the
/ fire whom he took TO be Mrs Belding;
/ but as she rose and made a step toward
| him, he discovered that she was not in
1
| thickening into night, and the rich glow
! of the flaming coal in the CRATE deepen
| Ing the shadows in the room, while it
prevented him from distinguishing the
features of her face, showed him large
! full form with grace of movement
which had something even OF majesty
| in it.
/ Il see you have forgotten me-" said
| voice a. rich and full as the form from
which 1t came. Il am ALICE Bedding
! ''Of course you are. and you have
grown as big and beautiful as you
| threatened to, said Farnham, taking
! both the young girls hands in his, and
turning until she faced the freight. It
was certainly a bonny face which the red
I light shone upon, and quite uncommon
! in its beauty. The outline was very
| pure and noble the eyes were dark
| brown and the hair was OF tawny gold,
| out the complexion was OF That clear
and healthy pallor so rarely met with
among blonde women. The finest thing
! about her face was its expression of
| perfect serenity Even now. as she
stood looking at Farnham, with her
| hands in his, her cheek flushed a little
| with the evident pleasure of the meet
| ing. she received his gaze of unchecked
admiration with a smile as quiet and un-
abasned as that Of mother greeting a
child.
Wei. well.' said Farnham, as they
seated themselves, how long has 1t
taken you to grow TO that stature7
When did I see you last?"
Two years ago" she answered, In
that rich and gentle tone which was g
delight to the ear. = was at home last
summer. but you were away-in Ger
many, l think. ="
Yes. and we looked for you IN vain
at Christmases and Thanksgiving.
Mamma came so often to New York
that there seemed no real necessity of
| my coming home until I came for good.
I had so much to learn, you know.
was quite old and very ignorant when
! l started away"
And you have come back quite young
and very learned. dare say
She laughed little, and her clear and
quiet laugh was as pleasant as her
| speech.
Mrs. Bedding came in with gliding foot
steps and cap-strings gently huttertng
Why. you are all in the dark! Ar
thur, will you please light that burner
nearest your
y y
| In the bright light Miss Alice looked
! prettier than ever; the jet of gas above
her tinged her crisp hair with a luster
of twisted gold wire and threw tangled
shadows upon her low smooth fore
head
I'VE have to thani Madame de Veau-
drey for sending as back a fine young
woman. said Farnham.
yes, she Is improved" the widow
| assented calmly. Il must snow you the
letter Madame de Feaudrey wrote me.
Alice is first in languages, first"
In peace, and first in the hearts OF