Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1933-01-26
CHAPTER III

Violet Manning was an extremely
pretty woman with an Infinite capacity
for doing nothing. She had been the
only child. much spoiled and petted,
of shopkeeper In White Water, the
next village to Hamstead. who had
stinted himself to give her "advan-
tages." She was sent away to would
e-but-didn't-quite-ma Questionable
boarding school, and acquired veneer
of culture, and a contempt for her
parents, her neighbors, and her home
town, but not very much else. On her
return to White Water. after she was
'4hnlshed' at school, and had taken
three months trip to Europe she
might have been the belle of the coun.
tryside II she had only been as pleas
ant as she was pretty. But her would
be SWANS fell Off. one by one. before
the disdain of her manner, and It was
with secret relief that. at the age Of
#tWenty-five,she accepted Martin Man
ming, and went to live on Lady
Blanche farm. She was careful to
convey the impression, to him and to
everyone else, that she was doing him
a great favor to marry him. and he at
least. believed her. A sturdy couple
from 'out-back" or as he
was more frequently called, "Hod"
Evans and his wife Myra--were in
stalled in the big brick house as
@help." And Violet lay In bed late In
the morning, and sat In the north par.
lor-heretofore used only for weddings
and funeraIs-embroide center
pieces, and went to church on Sunday,
dressed considerably better than any
one else In Hamstead A woman with
more brains would soon have been
bored into activity by such an exist
ence. But Violet was not bored. She
was supremely satisfied at the easy
and pleasant lines into which her life
had fallen.
When she was little over thirty,
Martin, who still worshiped her blind
iy, died, leaving her with two small
children, and enough money to live on
comfortably II simply. Every Sunday
morning she went to church with
heavy black silk dress trailing down
the aisle behind her. Every Sunday
afternoon she went to the cemetery to
place flowers on Martins grave, TAX
Ing the children. When the role of
bereayad and sorrowing widaw began
to pail little, and no one sfepped
forward to relieve her of 1t, Violets
iaziness took refuge In that of the
model housekeeper and devoted moth
er. Fortunately, with contentment
rare In New England, Myra and Hold
stayed on; Myra ran the house to suit
herself. Hold helped the Woodworking
and plodding Seth with the farm labor
which Paul was supposed to be too del
icate to perform, since an attack Of
scarlet fever, which had left him In a
weakened condition, had given his
mother the fixed Idea that he had
heart trouble. To be sure, Paul moved
the lawns and weeded the garden, but
always under her careful supervision.
He had been away to nearby semi
nary to school, and drifted half way
through a course at an agricultural
college; but he was not a natural
student, and the farm ran along well
enough" without his help. When for
no very clear reason, he stated that
he had decided not to finish his course
his mother did not try to force him to
do so. More through lack OF vital
interest than through vIciousness, he
became dssipated. Violet excused
him. There were some things. she
said, that she couldn't, with modesty
discuss with him. Boys always sowec
wild oats for time, and then settled
down and married some nice girl, just
Us Paul was going to settle down By
and by and marry dear Mary. There
was no use worrying or making vul
gar fuss over what was doming out al
right In the end, anyway And mean
while Blanche was such comfort
Blanche had also inherited her moth
which the latter had felt in her youth
but there was more Manning" tt
her, as Hamstead said
At ten O'Clock In the morning fol
lowing Philips unceremonious arriva
at Lady Blanche farm, Violet wa
lying In bed with a new novel, still
unopened. Nbesfde her, when there wa
brisk, II gentle, knock at the door
and Mary walked In.