The daily Alaskan., 1912-11-08
LADY AMELIA P0INDEXTER An Experience on an
 Ocean Liner
By RUFUS B. HENDERSON


 The food of the tidal wave Of tour ists to Europe had ended and the ebb had set in Reginald FairchId, an American gentleman of means, had been spending the summer and part of the autumn abroad and was return ing on an ocean liner. Mir. Fntrchld' though he had reached middle age was stu unmarried He had been much abroad, where society is made up. or at least led by aristocrats.
 Mir. Falrchild was coming home from his trip especially dissatisfied at being obliged Co resume his position with what he called the commercial aristocracy of America. This was the more garing because in his veins ran the blood of that older aristocracy whose members had been leaders m 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 where he spent hundreds
 One day when thc wind was fresh Mir. FairchTd was walking the deck. A lady sat In a steamer chair wrapped fin rugs with a lit,le writing case be- fore her. evidently getting mp her cor rcspondcucc. Shc w0s perhaps tweu- ty-four years old and very pretty, with light English hair and rosy complex ion. There was about her thc air of one who had mingled with we'll bred persons. As Mir FalrchNd passed her she very naturally raised her eyes from the paper before her, but, seeing his gaze fixed upon her, immediately lowered them
 Mir. Falrchild walked hack and forth past the lady a number of times. and every time he thought hor more charm ing She faced the bow of tho vessel, the motion Increasing tho force of the wind. Walking aft. Mir Falroh'd saw a sheet Of writing paper blown past him and become pinned by thc wind to the stern raIl When hc reached it he took it up. It was partly fn- ished letter-a family crest stamped on the pnper-and be could not help sec ing the first worls, which were My Dear Duchess"
 Mir FaIrchUd. assuming that the lady engaged at her correspondence had written and lost the paper, turned to- ward her. Her back was Go 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 Ccntil- ity was too strong In him, and without again looking 8t it he walked back Co the lady and with a courteous bow asked her 1T it was not her property. She took it from him. glanced at it seemed surprised. thanked him and asked him where he had found it
 The incident broke the fee for an ac- 0uaintance Later. when they were talking about the lost letter, F0irchUd admitted that he had felt strongly moved to read it, whcreupon the lady, remarkiug that there was nothing in It to be concealed, took it from her writing case and handed it to him.
 Fairchld declined to read it but the lady Insisted SO he ran it over. lt proved Conclusively that she was Of a noble family. her elder brother being an earl and her nephew and nieccs be Ing lords and houorabIes Further more. the lady left lying on her lap several letters, on one Of which Fair- child read the address Lady Amelia PoiudeNter."
 One feature grated a hit on Fair child. While the composition of the letter he read was such as a titled lady would write the chirography was defective. there were one or two CT 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, a genius of literature has admitted that he was unable Co learn the correct use ot "shalT and twill"
 Falrehid remarked upon the crest and the lady admitted that strictly considered. her brother, the Earl of Entwater. alone had the right to use it. When told that in America, where there were no patents of nobility, al- most any family adopted a crest who could afford Co pay for the stamping of lt on his or her writing paper. Lady Amelia was astonished and said she didn't think she would like America at an.
 Falrchild had a few acquaintances among the nobility In England and spoke of them Co his new acquaintance. She seemed to know an about most Of them and told him things concerning them he dId not know himself Nat urally refined, not caring to boast ot his acgu8iutanCes, he refralned from telling her how intimate he had been with them. But she had no such oualms herself This was not surpris ing to Fairchlld, for he had noticed that persons of rank considered them selves as good as other persons Of rank and were unconscious Of anything boastful In speaking of them famil-