The Carlisle independent., 1915-02-11
CHAPTER XVIII.
Paying the Price.

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 With all their money and all Mrs. Brands charm the Brands were not within the inner circle of New York society. Just what the circle Is. is hard to say. Those who try to define 1t are generally those who know little about it. CT who at least are not part of it. The circle is composed of many segments. There are times when these segments vie with others so that it is difficult to tell where the one begins and the other ends. But the bounda- ries are there, and. generally speaking, they may be determined by the hori zontal and vertical lines New York has grown vertically; its skyscrapers stand as monuments to millions, but from the Battery to the Bronx it measures the same number of feet and inches as in the day of Peter Stuy- yesant. and 1t is the landholders of New York that dominate the circle. Within it's circumference there have been many eneroaehments. Savants are welcomed, toasted and forgotten. Marriage and intermarriage have brought many newcomers; million aires and billionaires have been toler- ated, but the oligarchy remains.
 The Brands had neither antecedents nor matrimony as passports. Brands wife had beauty, culture, wealth; all. the reciprocal means that society loves, but she lacked incentive and ambition. Her nearest approach to the inner circle was the Long Island hunting set. She was an ardent horse woman and rode and drove admirably She had been received by some very smart people of the younger set in the hunts at Hampstead and Meadow brook and If she had pursued these ac- quaintances, might have found an en- tering wedge to the sacred sphere But the Brands lived on Little Rock Bay and it was something of a hard ship for Mrs. Brand to shift her mounts from her stable half way across the island. An ambitious wom- an would not let such little matter as that stand in the way of social pre- ferment, but she found the effort irk- some. She entered few of her favor ties in the horse show, but more from pride for her horses than in social quest In fact, Mrs. Brand was not society mad. She courted comfort and liked her own amusements
 When Jane came upon the scene the situation changed. What Mrs. Brand lacked in way of aspirations, Jane sup piled. and what young Mrs. Reynolds lacked in matter of means was amply furnished by her new friend. And Jane wanted all or nothing She craved not only entree to the circle, but ad- mittance to it's most sacred confines She urged Mrs. Brand to seek every possible avenue of approach to social recognition and influenced her to at- tempt lavish entertainments. Brand was agreeable enough. He rather en- toyed the energy and zeal that Mrs. Reynolds displayed and approved of the effect it had on his wife He as- sisted with supply of unlimited cash. Jane's only sesame to her goal was through her friend and by the means of her own personal attraction. She udQ6 IUS Ol tue tdlL6f anu the bills from her modiste and milliner caused Bob many a misgiving, despite the abandon with which he made and spent his money. He liked to see his wife look as good as the best and he plunged harder and deeper so that he could gratify her every wish without the semblance of question. Economy was word that he had banished for ever and If their house had permitted it he would have urged her to attempt some of the prodigious affairs that she shared at the Brands.
 Yet while Reynolds indulged and encouraged his wife he found himself often assuming a care free spirit that he did not feel. There came moments when the false glamor of his life palled and he gave way to deepest melan- choly. More and more he resorted to the bracing influence of stimulants and cessation from this practise only accentuated his morbidness.
 For long time he kept the real state of his mind from Jane and the necessity for the deception carried him farther and farther away from her. In