The Press., 1912-11-13
LADY AMELIA AlM.EI| ': POINDEXTER... ;. :. 5 " i@ :..s. !. .3 + , An Experience on an < Ocean Liner ..-a..a -.---- 70. .:> zre..~s
 :t' -zse>:, ..:.. By RUFUS B. HENDERSON,
By RUFUS B. HENDERSON.

| AOSA
 lsts to Europe had ended and the ebb
 had set in. Reginald Fairchild, an American gentleman of. means, had
 been spending the summer and a part
 of the autumn abroad and was return i Ing on an ocean liner. Mir Fairchfld,
 though he had reached middle age,
 was still unmarried. He had been
 much abroad, where society Is made
 up, or at least led, by arlstocrats.
 Mir. Fairchild was coming home 1 from his trip especially dissatisfied
 at being obliged to resume his position
 with what he called the commercial .aristocracy of America. This was the
 more galllng because in his, veins ran the blood of. that older aristocracy
 whose members had been leaders in
 colonial times. His family had felt themselves better than soap boilers.
 Now, there were soap boilers who felt
 themselves better than he. Some of
 them at least lived in far better style, spending thousands. whose. he spent hundreds. ... -f. ... s.*...,;J;; One day when the wind was fresh MT. Fairchild was. walking the deck. A lady sat in a steamer chair wrapped. ln rugs with little writing case be- fore her, evidently getting up her cor. respondence. She was perhaps twen--
 ty-fOur years old and very pretty, with.
 light English hair and urosy complex
 ion. There was about, her the air of
 one who had mingled with we'll bred
 persons. As MT. Fairchild passed her
 she very naturally raised her eyes
 from the paper before her, but, seeing his gaze fixed upon her, immediately.
 lowered them. '''' '. .-. .'' :
 Mir Fairchild walked back and forth
 past the lady a number of times, and
 every time he thought her more charm
 Ing. She faced the bow of the vessel 2
 the motion increasing the force of the
 wind. Walking aft, MT. Fairchild saw
 a sheet of writing paper blown past
 him and become pinned by the wind
 to the stern rail. When he reached
 1t he took it up. It was partly f1n7
 lshed letter-a family crest stamped on
 the paper-and he could not help sec
 Ing the first words, which were My
 Dear Duchess"
 MT. Fairchild, assuming that the lady engaged at her correspondence had
 written and lost the paper, turned to- ward her. Her back was to him. and she did not look around. He hesitated, being tempted to read the letter with a view to discovering the social status of the writer, but the habit of. geptil. lty was too strong in him, and without again looking at 1t he walked back t0 the lady and with a courteous bow asked her if 1t was not her property; She took 1t from him, glanced at 1t, seemed surprised, thanked him and asked him where he had found 1t.
 The incident broke the ice for an ac! quaintance. Later, when they were talking about the lost letter, Fairchild moved to read it, whereupon the lady; remarking that there was nothing N 1t to be concealed, took it from hde writing case and handed 1t to him, .i
 Fairchild declined to read 1t, but the lady insisted, so he ran 1t over. It proved concIusively that she was of R noble family, her elder brother being an earl and her nephew and nieces be- ing lords and honorabl@s. Further more, the lady left lying on her lap several letters, on one of which Fair child read the address "Lady Amelia Poindexter." E.,
 One feature grated a bit on Fair child. While the composition of the letter he read was such as a titled lady would write, the chirography was there were one or two er- TOTS in grammar, and here and there word was spelled wrong. But the world is full of bad writers, bad spoilers, and, as for grammar, genius of literature has admitted that he was unable to learn the correct use of "shalP' and twill"
 Fairchild remarked upon the crest, and the lady admitted that, strictly her brother, the Earl of Entwater, alone had the right to use 1t. When told that in America, where there were no patents of nobility, al- most any family adopted crest who could afford to pay for the stamping. of 1t on his or her writing paper, Lady l Amelia was astonished and said she | didn't think she would like America at all. ...:
 Fairchild had a few acquaintances among the nobility in England and spoke of them to his new acQuaintance.. She seemed to know all about most of l them and told him things concerning ! them he did not know himself Nat urally refined, not caring to boast of ! his acquaintances, he refrained from telling her how intimate he had been with them. But she had no such | Qualms herself This was not surpris-l ing to Fai"child, for he had noticed that persons of rank considered them l selves as good as other persons of rank | and were unconscious of anythfnEl hnastfnI in sneakin9 of them famil- larly.
 Before the voyage was half com Dleted Fairchild saw that he had met the opportunity of his life. pleasing vision came up before him. If he | could win Lady Amelia Poindexter he would place his property in America Tn the hands of an agent, go to Eng and to live and resume a position that had been held by his ancestors several ago. Then he would not be by American soap boilers md shopkcepegs assuming airs of su- ,eriority over him. ,..~.
 Of course the sister of, g. British earl vas not to be won during a voyage, cross the Atlantic ocean, but Lady Amelia showed. Fairehild an invitation rom Mrs. T. V.' ". .Harker Boyington f 0 visit her at Newport and he might ollow her there. His family had three enerations before, when New York nd New England persons had begun 3 build cottages at Newport-they gere really cottages then-spent their there and owned a cottage. any of those now inhabiting palaces :. Newport had sold Ash and vege-
 bles to his ancestors, but the present n.Q. q q