The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-11-05

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| ure will not take a high finish. and was
| 1t not possible that the material was finc,
| but that circumstance had fashioned It
| into futile shape?" @a s
That was 1t. woA think, pfccisciy.ss Ma
ture had made LILY Of finegstuff, which
all the associations and Instincts of her
life had done their best to ruin Much
later, seldc,'s discriminating eye took
note of Lily again. at that dinner party
at Monte Carlo which was 50 uncxpect-
cdly destined, for her, to be the bvsin-
ming of the end.
ut was one OF the days when she was
so handsome that to he handsome was
enough, and all the rest--her grace. her
,quickncss, her social fclcitics seemed
| the overflow of n bounteous nature. But
what especially struck HIN was
the way In which, slies9 detached
herself. by n hundred indef,n-
able shades from the PERSONS who most
abounlcd in her own stylesIt WIS in Just
such company, the flneYflower ana COM
plcte expression Of the state she asplred
TO- that the differences came out with
special poignancy, her grace chenpenng
the other woman's smartness,a as her fine
~ Disseminated silcnccs made their chat
ter dull
Living In the midst of a wealth and
hurry 1t was MISS
Bart's misfortune to be herself poor.
Fatherless aud motherles. she lived ns
extensively rs she could rpon IN allow
ance from her aunt: but she had been
brought up with the steady understands
Ing that hor aunt's fortune wns some day
to be her own. Her aunt dies however,
mislcd by some unpleasant rimors, and
Lily finds herself cut or with n sum
barely sufficient to meet her rather large
debts. and this at u time when only a
brave and amrly-moneyed front could suf-
fec to bring about her social rehnbilita
tion. For Lily had another misfortune
this ono not material but ten1pernmentnl.
She had reserves and moral restraints
which made her incapable OF protecting
herself, among a coterie whore these
things were virtually unknown phrases.
quite innocent OF wrorgdoing, she allowed
herself to be hopelcssly compromised.
too proud to explain where she felts that
explanation should not be necessary. Cir
seemed to be in league to ruin
her.
She bore the unhappy consequences Of
being as bad as people thought her, with
none of the compensations. She was
Killed by the lie worse woman told to
save her reputation, and she declined to
clear herself More than once she was
tempted with the chance Of regaining her
old position by the use of means far less
questionable than what most of her So
called friends would have embraced
without a scrlple: but something within
her made it impossible for her to take
advantage of them. It was her invari-
able lot in Mrs. Whartons words, to
Withdraw from an ambiguous situation
IN, time 10 save her self-respcct.N but too
late for public vindication." That. ina
sense, is the keynote of all Lily's mis-
takes. So. deprived at once of both
friends and money. she gradually drop
red out of sight from the world of fash
ion. and was not long in being trcdden
under in the stress OF making a living
The vagueness and vacillation of Sell
denis attitude to Lily, though he Is
scarcely TO blame for It, is rather hard
TO forgive, Lily wished TO marry him..
aud in the last corner of his heart, we
take it, selden wished tl,-T too But
there We're features about her position
which repealed his fastidious and some