The Democratic advocate., 1907-08-30
Selett Sturp.
FANNY'S STRANGER.
BY HERO STRONG.

II tell you, Fanny Shawmut, you were
made for each other!''
"And | tell you, Aunt Hildred, [
would sooner die than marry himr'
"You are fool, Fanny! You are as
headstrong and self -willed as your father
was before you!'
"Please leave my relations entirely out
of the discussion! am my own mistress,
21 years old last June, and free to refuse
the emperor of Russia, if | choose to !!
And l tell you, Aunt IIildred, once more,
that will not stay here to meet Earle
Rochefort, to be inspected like a, cow or a
horse just up for sale! So there!'
And Fanny Shawmut left the room,
and shut the door behind her in way
which showed that she had a temper, as
it was right and proper she should have.
For a woman without a temper would be
as insipid as broth without salt Or pepper
Aunt Hildred Ames put her smelling
salts to her nose and took long sniff.
Such contumacy in Niece Fanny was ex-
asperating. If she had dreamed that the
girl would ever have developed so much
obstinacy, she would have declined to be-
come her guardian, even to please her dy-
ing brother.
A very few words will explain how mat
ters stood.
Earle Rochefort was a young man of %
or 80, native of Mrs. Ames' own town,
and prime favorite with the good lady.
According to her idea, there Was not
another man in all the world worth naming
beside him. His father had been Aunt
Hildreds first love, but treachery on the
part of somebody or other, it does not
matter whom, had separated them; and he
had found another woman, and Aunt Hill
dred had found another man. But when
Earle's father died, an explanation had
taken place, and Aunt Hildred had prom
ised to love the son for the sake of the
father. And indeed, she found it not very
difficult to love Earle for his own sake, for
he was gentle and affectionate, and won
the regard of all with whom he came in
contact.
But he did not marry, thoug h great
many beautiful young girls would gladly
have accepted him, and so it happened that
at eight -and-t twenty he was still bache-
lor; and about that time Aunt Hildred' S
brother John died in Madeira, and left his
daughter Fanny to her aunt's care.
Fanny, pretty, spoiled, an heiress in her
own right, and accustomed always to troops
of servants to order about, did not fall
readily into the groove her aunt had pre-
pared for her. She made up her mind
that she would not love and marry this Earle
Rochefort, of whom she had heard so
much.
AS vet, she had not met Mr.. Roche
fort. He was absent in California, where
he owned some mines, and had been there
nearly a year, perfecting some arrange
ments for their improved working. But
he was expected home daily, and Aunt
Hildred was continually agitating the SUBJ
jeet nearest her heart. She had likewise
written to Earle, over and over again,
glowing descriptions of Fanny, and had
dwelt largely upon her favorite plan of a
union between her two children, as she
called Earle and Fanny. Young Roche
fort, with all mans aversion to having a
wife picked out for him, began also to fairly
hate the name of Fanny, and to feel very
much averse to meeting the paragon.
In fact, so strong did this feeling be-
come that he decided not to 60 to Elm
wood, Aunt Hildred's town, but to spend
the winter at Derby, place some hundred
and forty miles distant.
He could make ''business' an excuse;
for, in addition to his other advantages,
Rochefort was wealthy, and man of prop
erty is always supposed to have plenty of
business on hand. So he wrote to Mrs.
Ames to that effect, promising to run down
and see her some Saturday night at the
very first opportunity.
Fanny, meanwhile, had packed few
dresses, and as little tinery as it is possible
for young lady to exist with, into cou
pie of trunks, and, in spite of Aunt Hill
dred' remonstrances, had departed to make
a long visit to her Cousin Bentley's folks
in Derby.
The very day of Fanny's departure,
Mrs. Ames received Earle's letter, and
when she had read it, she executed pas
de seul which would have done credit to
French dancing master.
ssGlorious p she cried; "things couldn't
have happened more to my liking. I'll
write to Cousin Martha this very day, and
get her on my side; and so, Miss Fanny
we shall see you Mrs, Earle Rochefort yet,
in spite of yourself. For | know he will
fall in love with you, if he meets you, and
don't believe you can help falling in love
with him.
Aunt Hildred capered around the room
so gayly that the staid old cat fed under
the sofa to recover her equanimity, and
the very canary in the cage stopped his
singing and contemplated his mistress in
silent awe.
The letter to Cousin Martha was written
and dispatched, and Aunt Hildred felt
willing to await the course of events. She
felt moderately sure that all would be just
as she wished it.
Fanny Shawmut looked very pretty in
her dark blue travelling suit, and her CO.
quettish round hat, with its white feather,
as she took her seat in the cars the morn
ing she began her journey to Derby,
More than one gentleman looked visit
fully at the unoccupied seat beside her,
but she spread out her skirts in way that
lady travellers have, and put her muff on
tba oush;ane and nnna IF than yuoro hald