Middletown transcript., 1906-06-09
4 GIRL FROM OVER THE SEA
By FRANK Il. SWEET

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And Mrs. Van Maurice had a.
wondering conviction that the IN
taglio at the throat would be a
rare addition to even a virtuoso's'
collection of gems.
But the girl was undeniably
prepossessing, and she had the
very air that was the delight Of
Mrs. Van Maurice's fastidious
soul. She was young, Of course,
but her eyes were so clear and
selfpossessed, and so utterly un-
conscious of their own attrac-
tions, and well. Mrs. Van Maur-
ice did much of her business on
impulse.
After they had entered the car
riage, the exponent Of Advanced
Thought suddenly turned to her
companion with the air OF one
who was conscious of having
omitted something.
believe | forgot to ask your
name, my dear ? Mrs Van
Mauricehad a habit of addressing
her friends and servants indis-
criminately as my dear. 1t was
just as easy to say that as some
thing less agreeable, she ex-
planned.
It is Geraldine Esther Ger
aldine.
AHA very pretty name. And
you said that you had had exper-
ience in managing a large estab-
lishment-looking after servants
and the table decorations and
kitchen purchases, and-and all
that? May | ask where you were
last ??
The girl hesitated a little, then
looked at her companion blankly.
At home. I have been my
fathers housekeeper nearly four
years. Recently IL had occa-
sion to come to America.
All Mrs. Van Maurice pos
sessed an extensive vocabulary
in her abs, and the modulation of
this one intimated that her ques-
tioning was at an end. And, in
deed, she believed that she un-
derstood the whole situation
good family death-inyolved es-
tate supposed;heiress seeks en-
ployment. That was all, and it
was SO simple she Immediately
dismissed the matter from her
mind and began to point out the
places of interest along their
route.
The Van Maurice mansion was
generally an object of awe and
curiosity to new servants, but
Miss Fsther-as she came to be
called-took it as a matter of
course. She was keenly inter-
ested IN everything around her,
and was exceedingly fond of ar
tistic effects. Before the end Of
the second day she had all the
details Of the menage at her COM
mand. and Mrs. Van Maurice
was already congratulating her
self on her acquisition, the only
drawback to her satisfaction be-
ing that said acquisition refused
to engage herself for more than
two months.
But while the new housekeeper
was showing such marvellous ap-
titnde for her situation, there
were some few details which it
seemed impossible for her to
grasp. For instance, when she
came in from the street she in
variably ran lightly up the broad
marble steps, and only reeol-
lected herself as she reached
out toward the knooker. Then
she would make wry grimace
and slip back to thSlittle gate
which led around to the servants
entrance. Again, she found it
impossible to go past the doors
of the drawing room and library
without an almost irresistible i'm
pulse to enter. Sometimes she
found herself seated in an easy
chair in the library, examining
some of the rare editions, or lux
uriously enconsed in the draw
ing room. gazing dreamily at the
storytelling Goals in the CRATE.
Occasionally Mrs. Van Maurice
and even the master of the
house himself-was drawn into,
the music room by some weird
improvisation Of rollicking Irish
melody only to be confronted
by their embarrassed, apologetic
housekeeper,
OF course she knew it was
contrary to the rules Of the es-
tablishment. It needed not the
sudden gathering of wrinkles
between the eyebrows of Mrs.