Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-25

tlremcnt and lett her IN possession. mistress
of her warmly glowing kingdom.
Yet she dared not and could not expert
ence sense of ownership either in the walls
and furnishings or in all the dainty finerv, cx-
quisite gowns. the costly furs and sparkling
gems. already secured and bestowed upon her
as the mere first requisites of her ward
robe, new purchases which Alice had as
Sured her were soon to be supplemented
properly. when modisteS. tailors, and others
of their ilk should have time to prepare
things to order.
feeling OF strangcncSS pcrvadcd the
thrills she underwent as she once more eX-
plored her gjded bower by herself. From
the splendid Spaciousncss and delicate per
fections of her drawing room. through her
lofty blue and gold chamber and her wholly
enchanting dressing room, to the fairy grotto
of bath and back, she moved with the lin
gering appreciation of a Princess Who after
long Punishment, Is once more restored to
her own. She opened the wartlrobes one by
one and gaZed at their treasures in JOY. The
Jewels that cleaned from her golden casket
were reflected brilliantly in the rapture of
her eyes
. All her old dream OF the conquest of Man
haitian had contained no such clement as
this. 1t had faded like a tawdry thing in the
light of this dazzling reality. All the old re-
sentiments felt against Acton Gaillard and
his sort, together with desire for swift re-
taliatiOn, had gone with the grimv fog of for
mcr days. Exultation and pure girlish &C.
stasy, with love of all the lovelier phases of
existence, possessed and thrilled her being.
1t was hers. this world of beauty!
Perhaps for an hour she moved about the
place, now sitting i'll thronelikc chair, now
contemplate its charms. At last she pushed
button in the paneled wall and the soft
rose lights of her fairy land faded in their
crystal spheres.
mellowed twilight crcpt through the
windows westward, where they overlooked
Fifth-ave. She went there happily and by
habit ran up the shades Below the pave
ment duly reflected the scattered lights
widely dotting out the long perspective. A
hanson went by, the horses hOOfs unsteady
clOp-clopping as he trotted briskly toward
the Plaza.
Across the way loomcd the wall and the
half denuded trees of Central Park Here
and there starlike lamp glowed steadily be-
tween dark masses of foliage, increasing the
sense of peace. The sky was clear and the
consultations swung brilliantly across the
armament, 1ustrous with cosmic magnifi-
cence.
But Thurley's eyes beheld again a man
falling forward in the rain. She saw him
presently seated by her side, and the pulse
of mighty motor shook her being. She
Wonderland she wondered. At last, with
a sigh of new found rapture, she returned to
the wholly Intoxicating luxury of her couch.
What pity it seemed to waste moment of
a world SO marvellous in sleeps effacing OBJ
livion!
Yet when she awakened by the morning
light, the wonder was fresher than before.
She had barely entered the hallway of mira
Giles to which, in the way of her kind, she
would presently grow amazingly accus-
toned.
NEVERTHELESS for the two or three
~ days next succeeding her emotions of
bewildermcnt increased Neither her mind
nor her nature could grasp the full signif-
icance of Alice Van Kirk s prodigious wealth.
She could not behold the prodigality of
spending upon herself and avoid feeling stag
gered and appalled,.
Alice induced her gently. with skill and
finesSe of the utmost art, toward the non
chalance, poise, and department of those
long accustomed to the favorS of the gods.
Her pupil was apt and plant Her natural
grace, plus her exceptional powers of obser-
walton and intuition, rendered Thurley in
Stantlv amcnable to the slightest desires and