The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1916-07-28


His mother was Miss Addison. Pride
Of blood could ask no more.
To marry at one fell swoop into six
solid pages g. First Families of Amer
Ca" to say nothing Of the pages de-
voted to the Addisons. was glory and
honor beyond all whooping.
The passing of the weeks which fol.
lowed Rosemarys letter TO her parents
announcing her engagement did not
serve to decrease the perturbation cf
her mother.
| The more she thought Of the ultra.
marine blood of Addison Van Arte-
wade the more brilliant appeared her
own cardinal corpuscles. She gazed
about the walls of her rocco man
sion and beheld expensive examples of
modern art and one alleged old master,
but nowhere did there gaze down upon
her a family portrait by Sir Joshua
| Reynolds. Peale. Gilbert Stuart or Ben
| jamin West.
| In imagination Mrs. Tower wandered
through the stately galleries of the
Van Artevaades and saw upon their
walls portraits which stared down upon
her stonily because she could not point
to Tower pictures of an equal worth.
She felt keenly the humiliation Of
their scornful looks. She would give
anything to be on an equal pictorial
footing with her future son-in-law.
But what was there to do?
When the grand idea came to her
one might well believe that it struck
her amidships with great violence.
Down she dumped into q Louis
Quinze chair, almost SCATTERING that
fyail piece of furniture; grew red in the
face, gasped for breath and. notwith-
standing her delight, mentally consign-
ed her maid to torrid climate for
having laced all but a few cubic inches
of breath out Of her.
But she had laid violent hands upon
an idea which was well worth a near
stroke of apoplexy.
1t was this:
The Tower money would be sent into
the markets Of the world to buy credi-
BILE and creditable portraits in oil Of
That was the idea, an idea worthy Of
the progressive wife Of Peter Tower.
The money would not be poured into
pictorial channels in such streams as
to bull the market. That was not the
Tower way.
through alien hands. But. presto.
when the coup was accomplished the
barren Tower walls would blossom
with the fairest flowers!
The lady's only regret was that this
was one case where she could not call
in the reporters and give them the de-
tails with the usual Tower plenitude
and embellishments.
Plans for the wedding progressed
and with them progressed Mrs. Tow
er's plans regarding the ancestral por-
traits. An estate in Westchester coun.
ty had been purchased by Peter Tower
at his wife's solicitation and presented
to Rosemary.
Wishing to have as brilliant wed
ding socially as possible. Mrs. Tower
ruthlessly killed fictitious distant
relative. closed her western mansion
because she was in mourning and trans
ferred her activities to New York.
Being in mourning meant that Rose
mary was to be married quietly at
fashionable New York hostelry. The
real significance Of this was that the
western hoi polloi received announce
ment cards. ana the guests were limit
ed to Addison Van Artevaade's own
caste.
There had been another reason for
this move. Mrs. Tower had decided
to dover Rosemary with the new an
cestors. To have placed the portraits
i'm her 'own residence would have adj
vertised their falseness to those who
knew the Tower antecedents.
To hang them on the walls Of her
daughters new home would only invite
admiration and awe Oh the part Of her
daughters husband and friends and
relatives.
Several weeks before the wedding
Mrs. Tower had an interview with a
confidential agent who had learned
somehow or other that she was in the
market for colonial portraits.
He was dapper young chap, with q
sympathetic and intuitive understand.
ing. He had the politeness Of French
man. the artistic temperament Of an
Italian and the hustle Of an American
His calling card was graced with the
name of Sartoris Belmore. In those
circles wherein he INDUCED in the yul-
gar game of pinochle he signed to his
checks the unromantic name of Isadore
Feinsilver.
"You understand now. Mr. Belmore?"
came in rich, fluty tones from the mas
saged throat Of Mrs. Tower.
MADAM has been as explicit as only
she can be-" Mr.. Sartoris Belmore
bowed with the grace of a dancing
master. "Your husbands fad is the
collecting Of early American portraits.
You wish to surprise him on his birth
day by augmenting his collection. 1t
shall be as you wish"
One might think that Mr.. Sartoris
Belmore was ignorant Of the purpose
to which the pictures were to be put