Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-11-29

kH pnrture 1fOn lue holel 1T IA
early hour. Her son went with
k.Me her. Their house was situated
on the outskirts of the town. and, al
though Stanhope would gladly have re-
manned with the two men to discuss
the events Of this night Of surprises.
he felt that his mother demanded his
present attention.
Indeed. her ladyship had much to
say to him. She, like the others, had
been impressed by Mrs. Vansittart's
appearance. even under the extraordl-
narily difficult circumstances of the oc-
casion. The feminine mind judges its
peers with the utmost precision. It's
analytical methods are ptlessly sim
pie. 1t calculates with mathematical
nicely those details of toilet, those
delicate nuances of manner which dis
tinguish the woman habltuated to re-
| flncment and good society from the
interloper or mere copyist.
1t had always been matter Of mild
wonder in Penzance how Constance
Brand had acquired her French trick
of wearing her clothes. Some women
are not properly dressed after they
have been an hour posing IN front of
full length mirror; others can give
one glance at costume, twist and pull
It into the one correct position and
walk out perfectly gowned, with hap
! by consciousness that all Is well.
Every Parisienne, some Americans,
/ n few Englishwomen, possess this
I gift. Constance had 1t, and Lady Mar
| garet knew now that It was lineal
acquisition from her mother. The dis
covery enhanced the belief, always
prevalent locally, that Brand was a
! gentleman born, and her ladyship was
now eager for her sons assistance in
looking up the LANDED Gentry" and
other works Of reference which define
and glorify the upper ten thousand of
| the United Kingdom. Perhaps that way
! light would he youchsafed.
| Being little narrow minded, the eH-
celcnt creature believed that scandal
among good" people was not half so
scandaous as an affair in which the
/ principals were tradesmcn cor worse"
! She conlided something of this to her
son as they drove homeward and was
very wroth with him when he treated
the idea with unbecoming leviN.
"My dear boy" she cried vehemently
"you don't understand the value of
such credentials. You always speak
and act as if you We're on board one Of
your hectorlng warships, where the best
metal and the heaviest guns are all i'm
portant. 1t IS not 50 in society, even
j -. Ill,
Although l am an earl's daughter, |
cannot afford to be quietly sneered at
by some who would dispute my social
supremacy"
AS each complaisant sentence rolled
forth he laughed quietly in the dark
ness.
Mother" said he suddenly, "Mr
Trail and I have had lot Of talk
about Enid during the past two days
l have not seen you until this evening
before dinner, 50 ! have had no OPP
portunity TO tell you all that has oc-
! Cured"
Some new imbrc@llo. I suppose"
she said, not at all appcased by his
seeming carelessncss as to what the
dowager Lady Trcgarthen or Mrs.
Taylor Smith might say wher gossip
started
"Well. it Is, in a sense" he admitted.
"Iou see. we are Jolly hard up. 1t is a
squeeze for you to double my pay, and,
as happened to inform Mr., Trail that
| was going TO marry Enid, long before
he knew she was his daughter, it came
as bit OF shock aftorward to hear
that he intends TO endow her with
100000 on her wedding day. Now the
question to be discussed IS not whether
the adopted daughter Of a poor light
house keeper, who may DO Lord This
and-That in disguise. is a good match
for me, but whether an impecunous
lieutenant In the royal navy Is such n
tremendous catch for Il girl with =
great fortune"
Lady Margaret was stunned. She
began to breathe quickly. Her utmost
expectations were surpassed. Before
she could utter word her son pre-
tended TO misunderstood her agitation.
"Of course il was fortunate that Enid
and l had jolly we'll made up our
minds somewhat In advance but it was
n near thing, IA matter of flag signals
otherwise | should have been com
PEELED to consider myself ruled out o!
the game. Therefore, during your tea
table tactics. if the dowager, or tina.
old spittire, Mrs. Taylor-Smith, says &
word TO you about Brand, just give EN-
rib roaster with Ends two hundreo
) thou, Will you' While they are reel
ing under the blow throw out gentle
hint that Constance may ensnaro
Trails nephew. 'Ensnarc' is the right
word, isn't it? The best Of it is,
. know they have been worrying you for
months about my friendship with girls
Of their class Oh, the JOY OF the en-
counter 1t must be like blowing up
: a battleship with a tuppenny hapenny
torpedo boat"
So her ladyship--not without ponder
ing over certain entries in the books
of the proudly born, which recorded
the birth and marriage of Sir Stephen
Brand. ninth baronet. present where