The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1905-01-04
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DRIDE OF
ANCESTRY
Ioriginal.l-

lOriginal.1
Stephen King, retired pork packer,
having made a fortune, turned his at
tention to ancestry. He built him an
ancestral home and desired to fill it
with the portraits of his ancestors.
Furthermore, his daughter Alice being
q young lady of rare good sense, some
from her mother, Mr.. King hoped that
she might marry into some old family
either AMERICAN or foreign. Europe
was the place to find ancestral heir
looms and husband. Mr.. King went
with his family to London and took
house there.
In England Mr.. King met middle
aged man, Francis Howard Cressy,
who, though he was not titled, claimed
to be connected with one of the oldest
families in England. Mr.. King intro
duced him to his daughter, but with
little hope of a match, for Mr.. Cressy
had great pride of ancestry and de-
clared that his wife must equal bin in
the matter of descent. Meanwhile Alice
King had met abroad George Levan 8
young American who had worked his
way through college, studied law and
managed to scrape together sufficient
funds to give him short trip abroad
before entering upon the practice of his
profession. Levan antagonized Mr.
King at once by admitting that his ia
Their was a farmer of little or no educa-
ton and his grandfather was an I'M
known quantity.
One morning Alice King found on
the table of the drawing room an adj
vertisement of curiosity vender. She
took a fancy to visit this SHOP, and
when George Levan called again they
went there together
They We're received obsequiously by
the vender, who limited that he would
furnish them with an ancestry, includ-
Ing heirlooms. The portrait of
Norman baron in chain armor and one
Of lord mayor Of London of Queen
Elizabeth's time struck them as espe-
cially ancient and curious. Levan took
q fancy to a pewter platter and mug
about which there was an attractive
LONELINESS and bought them Not
wishing any ancestors their purchases
were confined to few trinkets. which
they afterward suspected had been
manufactured especially for the shop.
Levan and Alice went about together
a great deal visiting the sights" Of
london. One day Mr.. King warned
his daughter that since he thought
there was chance of her allying her
self with an ancient family she must
not become otherwise entangled Soon
after this warning George and Alice
came in one day and We're surprised
to so the portrait of the lord mayor
they had seen at the curiosity shop
hanging on the wall.
Nothing was said about the pur-
chase, and Alice was far from suspect
Ing that the lord mayor was to become
one of her ancestors until she over
heard her father, while showing the
portrait to Mr.. Cressy, tell him that
such was the case Alice, who possess
ed great deal of tact, held her
tongue and awaited developments.
Then came an invitation from Mr.
Greasy for the King family to inspect
his ancestral home near Twickepham,
suburb of London. They found a ram
shackle old structure, with worn furni-
ture and musty smell Mr.. Cressy
did not live there; he preferred apart
ments in the city. He showed them
through the rooms and in spacious
drawing room paused before a portrait
hanging over an open fireplace.
"This is my most remote ancestor,
founder of the family" he said, Hugh
Crecy, knighted for bravery at the ia
nous battle of Crecy. His sovereign
insisted that he should take his name
from the struggle in which he had dis
dnguished himself, name that has
been corrupted to Greasy"
Alice looked at the picture thunder
struck. Sir Hugh was the Norman
baron in chain armor she and George
Levan had seen in the curiosity shop.
But, as has been remarked, Alice
was not girl to blunder into a quag-
m1re or run up against stone wall. |
For the present Mr.. Cressy and her
rather might purchase all the ancestors
they pleased She looked admiringly
at the portrait and. being shrewd and
practical, wondered how the effect of
age had been produced Mr.. Cressy
remarked that his ancestral pile was
In need of repair. and he hoped some
day to fix it up and live in it. This
some day" Alice understood to mean
when he married her and received her
fathers settlements. Then they all re-
turned to the city, where Alice talked
the matter over with George Levan,
and they concluded that the Cressy
manor had been hired for the occa-
sion