Evening star., 1914-04-12

sat Mary Middleton. her eyes Spdrkled,
the old smile was on, and in reply to some
thing the Prince Just then had asked her she
must have said something quite original and
funny, as he laughed great deal and seemed
highly amused.
"How did she do it?' exclaimed Mrs. Boil
ton-Brown Indignantly. "To think of that
woman down there supping with royalty,
while we are starving and looking at her
through window She never forgave her.
1t was all very simple. The Prince was
always bored at these perfunctory cere-
monials. He had none of his own set there,
and was obliged to sup with dreary dowagers
and stupid women. The vision of Mary
Middleton took him by surprise. She was
so different. and her very Inconsistencies
added to her attractions Who was she?
None of the patronesses seemed to know.
There was an American on Lady Wessex's
list, and that dowager, quite unwillingly,
was obliged to send for Mary to come to the
dais and present her The equerry had
brought to her the invitation of the Prince
to the royal table. 1t was within etiquette
for him to choose his own guests.
l have no doubt that Mary saved the
evening, so far as royal prestige was con-
cerned. She amused the Prince, and she
was certainly young and charming. Lon
don heard of her good fortune thenext morn
ing, and Mary had made such a good i'm
preston that it was not the only oppor
tunitv she had to meet Edward, and she be-
came quite the fashion that year. Mrs.
Bolton Brown insists to this day that she
planned the whole thing out, and she con-
siders Mary Middleton scherning climber
But do not believe her.
IN New York matters were not going so
smoothly. Mark Middleton was becom-
| ing more and more 1morose. The following
winter he kept himself completely hidden.
l think he was bitterly grieved at the ab-
sence of children in his home. Once saw
him in an elevated train watching eagerly
the antics of three dirty urchins who were
giving their mother, woman OF the work
ing class, much trouble to keep them in order
When he saw me looking at him he came over
to me and said that he would give a million
dollars if he had family at home like that.
Mary Middleton regarded it all as a joke,
and she kept great, waxen-faced Paris doll
in her drawing room. She would introduce
new callers to this toy, which she named
miss Middleton" 1 was present at per-
Torrance of this foolery the Sunday after I
had seen Mark in the elevated train. I
caught his eye, and | must say that do
not like to remember the expression that
came over his face.
ton had long been interested in expeditions
to the far North, and had fitted out several
That spring he determined to be one of an
exploring party to Labrador. His physi-
clans had prescribed it. The tragedy of the
Middleton expedition is well remembered.
Mark was anxious to get up to the great
falls; then practically undiscovered except
| by tradition. He set out alone with a native
guide
Weeks afterward the guide returned to
the camp alone He told a story of an upset
canoe, shooting treacherous rapids. He had
saved himself but Middleton was lost
He had waited around the place; but there
was never any trace of the body. The story
created a sensation in New York Mary i'm
mediately sailed for Europe, and did not
come back for many years. The town house
was sold, and we heard of her only occa-
sionally somewhere on the Continent and
occasionally in England in the hunting
country.
A SHORT time ago l again met Mary
~ Middleton. 1t was in the tearoom of
the Hotel Excelsior in Rome. She had not
changed in the least. She was just as gra-
cious, as amiable, and as mysterious as ever.
There was a devoted courtier, one Count
Sivola, of most ancient Roman lineage. I
had known him since my first days in diplo-
T / Il. j Al. IL