Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-09-17
A Story of
Heredity
By EUNIcE BLAKE

who was not only cOmelys Out tncEo
was about her an air OF one to the
manner born. So impressed was
the lady with the belief that Silvia
had good blood In her veins that b
asked the girl to tell her something
about her origin. Silvia refused.
"Where did you spend your child
hood7" asked Mrs. Waterbury.
~ cannot tell you." was the reply,
while Silvia hung her head.
"Don't you remember your parentsr'
81 do not"
How long have you been In serv-
ice?'
1.-TWO years."
Mrs. Waterbury gave up trying to
find her maids antecedents, but she
was not convinced that she had been
born a servant. Silvia's cast interest
ed her the more because she reminded
her Of a woman she had met when she
was entering society. This Mrs. Mar
shall had been at the time a woman OF
forty and had become a social leader
from the fact Of a certain courtliness
there was about her.
What it was In the servant that re-
minded her of the high bred woman
Mrs. Waterbury could not tell. Mrs.
Marshall had been socially prominent
a quarter of a century before. Mrs.
Waterbury, who was twenty years her
Junior, had not been intimate with her
and had seen her only at certain fun
tons.
Silvia came to be an important per
son to her employer other than as a
servant. Arthur Waterbury, the lat
ter's son, came home from college and
had not been In the house a day before
his mother noticed that he had become
engrossed with her maid. Arthur
struggled against the passion till with
holding expression of 1t became un-
bearable, then confessed 1t to Silvia.
His mother overheard him doing so.
"You were not born a servant" said
Arthur. mo such high bred manner
could come from a plebeian; it is hered-
itary."
81 am a servant and nothing else"
Silvia replied.
whatever you are | cannot help low
ing you. / do love you, and you shall
be my WIFE,"
az will not be your wife. because to
marry me would deprive you Of the
social position which is your right.
You would always be ashamed Of me.
and / would drag you down"
Mrs. Waterbury heard no more. She
said nothing to her son about what
cA~ hnA oxxnrhonr1 h.4A AhA xa~k AoU
did all she could to save her son from
a misalliance. She sent the girl away
and did not tell Arthur where she had
gone.
Several months passed. Mrs. Water
bury saw that her son was not the
same man he had been before he came
home from college. Ambition had left
him; he took no interest in anything.
He had experienced a grand passion,
and the breaking with his mate had
blighted his life.
Then came a coincidence-a chain of
condolences. If there were no coinci-
dences there would be no stories.
DR.. Shotwell, Mrs. Waterbury's fam
lily physician, one day drove up to her
house. rang and was admitted.
"Why, DOCTOR said the lady. what
brings you? We are all well here.
Surely you must have called socially
and are welcome socially"
~ have called to tell you of a singu-
lar happening"
LET me hear It"
"You remember the pretty maid you
had here for a time. l have often cen
her here and noticed how little like a
servant she appeared-that ladylike
air.
"Yes, we all noticed that" interrupt
ed the lady somewhat impatiently.
well. ON leaving you she at once
found a position In a family l also at
tend professionally. She Is III, and /
was called in to treat her. In applying
a hot poultice between her shoulder
blades l noticed a birthmark shaped
something like a Maltese cross. l had
reason to remember hat birthmark,
for / had attended the mother of the
child who bore it eighteen years be-
fore under peculiar circumstances. The
woman was the daughter of a social
leader, and l had not heard that she
had been married, though / was after
ward furnished with proof that she
was. At any rate, the ACCOMPLISHMENT
was secret"
The name Of this family, doctor?"
Mrs. Waterbury broke In.
Marshall"
Marshall! Do you mean to tell
me that Silvia is the granddaughter of
Mrs. James Osgood Marshall, who
fiourished socially twenty-five years
ago?"
81 do. Julia Marshall, the daughter,
married clandestinely. There was trou-
BILE in the family, and her mother with
drew from society. Julia's marriage
wal never published. The child was
,eoncfOnad IN a foundlinQe' homa and