The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1908-12-03

THEY TRIED TO MAKE
HER A DUCHESS.

"a social idea"
Bother yer social idea. You and
bear too plain the marks O the sow's
ear. Y can't make silk purses Of u.s."
Its not us I'm talkin' about; it's
the kid Haven't y heard O. all these
women goin' over to Europe and mar.
ryin' princes and jukes and lords!
Since we got all these millions together
I've been thinkin' we moight do the
to give her up"
After desperate struggle between
love and ambition little Nora. then |
three years old, was sent away from
home to be educated for an American |
title catcher. She was to forget her |
father and mother and assume new |
name. She was entered as an orphan,
and a guardian was appointed who
was to turn over to her a fortune
of $5,0O0.00O when she should marry
with his consent.
Fifteen years later Mrs. Van Val
kenburgh of New York opened a house
in London for the purpose of introduc
ing her niece. Winifred De Witt into
society Mrs. Van Valkenburgh took
no care to conceal the fact that her
niece would receive comfortable dot
at her marriage, and there was a
pricking up of ears of the young bloods
of London.
Mrs. Van Valkenburgh proceeded
methodically, procuring an introduc
ton for her niece at court and giving
splendid coming out ball. at which
many of the nobility We're present.
Winifred was rather pretty girl, OF
fair complexion and subdued reddish
hair. and bore the marks of having
been brought up to associate with the
most arstocratic American girls
OF the many suitors who appeared
the Marquis of Crowehurst. heir to
the dukedom Of Nfarlebut, and vii
liam Pitt Bureigh, rising member OF
the house of commons, We're the most
conspicuous for the reason that the
former would surely have the sane
| ton of Miss De Wits guardian and a
marriage with the latter would be q
| love match. The marquis father was
| in a dying condition. and certain obi
| cations on the part of the estate We're
| being STAYED off till after his death
with the hope that his son would sue
| coed III marrying a fortune with which
to pay them and build up the estate,
| though it was feared that Crowelhurst.
who was of the smart set and typical
London swell, would spend any for.
tune he could get on himself rather
than on his estate.
Mrs. Van Valkenburgh engineered
matters so that the suit of the mar
quis was successful Winifred De Witt
told her lover, Burleigh, that her whole
fortune was involved in her choice Of
| husband. II she married him she
would lose it, Why, she knew not
Her parents she knew nothing Of. She
had vague remem brance of a woman
who had the care Of her baby days
| who could not possibly have been her
mother. Burleigh was affected just as
she was. He wanted her. but did not
| want her to lose her fortune. After
many signs and tears on her part and
heartbreakings on his they decided
that they must give each other up.
Winifred accepted the marquis. but
his father at the time was at the point
of death. and for various reasons con-
nected Herewith the marriage was put
off till after the sons expected acces.
sion to the title. Indeed. Winifred's
guardian, whose instructions were that
she get duke, insisted upon this
But the old man was such long
while dying that when he did die the
new duke was Informed that owing
to recent financial panic in America
Miss De Wits fortune had been so fal
reduced that no settlements could be
made-at least not for some time.
This was the end of the proposed
marriage. Mr.. Bureigh returned to his
allegiance, declaring that since Wini-
fred would not suffer financially by a
marriage with him he wished her to be
his wife. But meanwhile Mrs. Flana-
at her husbands plan for their daugh.
ter, and one day the couple appeared
at Mrs. Van Valkenburgh's London
residence, announced themselves as
her niece's parents and gave away
the whole plot. Fortunately more than
twenty years Of intermingling with
wealthy people had rubbed much OF
the rust off Pat and Bridget. and they
did not appear at so great disad-
vantage as one would suppose. Wini.
fred, who had always been lonely as al
orphan, gladly accepted them. Besides
there was something touching as well
as amusing in their sacrifice to make
her duchess. Furthermore, there was
good individual stuff in Nora Flana
gan that seemed to belong only to her
self, and she made up her mind to try
to repay some of her parents sacrifice
even if it had been unsuccessful at the
last moment To cap the climax she
was glad to be relieved Of Crowel
hurst.
She gave the whole story to her low.
er, telling him that if he could accept
her with her parents, whom she would
in future stand by, she would marry
him. Burleigh was introduced to Mr.