Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-06
THE EVENING STORY.
The Weddinq Gown.
Copyright, 1s1a, By W. werner)

Copyright, 191a, By W. Werner)
In her shabby, rented room Nancy
Ferry sat sewing on g white satin
dress.
It was q golden May morning. sun
light streasned in across the worn
mating, the poor furniture There
was a group OF jonquils in cheap
vase on the sewing table, hooking the
sunshine with their gloR. BEHIND the
room and over it were the sounds or
woman's noisy early morning WARFARE
with disorder. Doors slammed, dishes
ratified. heavy steps pounded back and
forth. Mrs. Couse was busy with ner
Homework. Occasionally she urseo
herself on with song.
"oh. you beautiful lady; I raise my
eyes"
As the strong, not unmelooious VOICE
brought In the words Nancy signed.
She was making the satin dress Tor q
very beautiful lady, and she never TOOK
q stitch upon 1t without mental pic
ture of the way that lady would LOOK
in the dress when 1t was done IL
must be wonderful to be SO beautl1ui'
to have rich, dark hair and skin as
pink as the dawn. But on, Tar, Lar
true lover-one who raised his eyes
whose heart few to ones heart as the
waltz song had it. Nancys beaut1Iu,
lady had such lover, and. as II GOO
were not content with that one most
perfect gift, He had showered her with
others-riches, many friends. beauty
and the prospect OF q happy future. Ine
dress Nancy was making was wed
ding dress, and the wedding was very
near at hand.
Sometimes Nancy dreamed dreams
about herself, which were like tran
silent reflections Of something bright
and good that had been long ago In
her own life. For Nancy Ferry, little
with her red hair fading at her blue
temples and her threadbare black
frock, and her dle-pricked fingers
had once been touched by the divine
into her life and gone; had come with
awakening joy and hope and promise
and had gone. leaving the ashes OF
these things behind him. 1t had all
amounted to so little. hand clasp OF
two, a few conscious smiles and
glances, kiss. vow to return. Then
the long, long waiting, at first hap
PLY, then hopefully, then despairing-
ly, until at last she knew that she
was never to see him again: Had he
enough. or had there been some other
woman? She did not know. She only
knew that he had taken her heart and
the best of her life away with him
and had not brought them back.
A long time had passed. Nancy
came to be alone. She was very poor,
and she had to work if she would
eat. There was one thing she could
do-she could sew. She hired Mrs.
COuses front room to work in and a
smaller room behind it to sleep in.
and announced herself ready to make
dresses. But in the old, Indifferent,
questionable town WomenfOlk wore
their clothes a long time, and most of
these they made themselves Nancy
did not have many dresses to make.
But the dresses she did make were
exquisite. There was such merit in
them that one. day the great Miss Ten
Brock stopped Mrs. U. J. Gransbury.
Nancy's hands. and asked graciously
who her seamstress was.
Nancy Ferry, Nancy Ferry" re-
peated Miss Ten Brock, laughing I
like the sound Of that odd little name.
And l very much like the looks of
your new foulard. / think I'll see if
your Nancy Ferry won't make a dress
for me-
So she rode down all the way from her
big summer house on the hill, which
she had come to early that summer,
and asked Nancy to make a dress for
her.
"A simple little silk frock rather
like Mrs. Gransbury's. 1 don't as q
rule copy other peoples clothes, but
that dress pleaser me nightly
Nancy had no sewing to do and this
order was God-send. When the silk
came she learned that there were
varying qualities of foulard, just as
there were varying types of women.
Nancy was happy working upon the