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Show kMG MIDAS I I j ' , ' ( f - . , ' Copyright. ; , . - ' ' I a " 1 if "5c Im to marry a plain, Miuible mwM sue Mid. CHAPTER IV. (Continued.) "OJi, that's all right, Auntie," said Helen; 44 he really can't help it, you know." She paused for a moment, "nd then ahe went on: "Such things used to puzzle me when I was very youne, and I used to think them quite exciting: but I'm getting used to them now. All the men seem to fall in love rrith me they do, honestly; and I don't know how in the world to help it. They all make themselves wretched, I'm sure it isn't my fault. I haven't told you anything about my German ing to make your mother happy; she was cut off from everything she had been used to she could, not even keep a carriage. And, of course, she could not receive her old friends. Very few of them cared to have anything more to do with her, and so ahe simply pined away ia discontentment and miserable poverty. You have had an easy life, Helen, and you have no idea or what a horrible thing it is to be pvor. You have had the best of teachers, and you have lived at an expensive school, an 1 of course you have always had me to rely upon to introduce you to the right people; but If you married a poor nin you couldn't expect to keep any of those advantages. . I don't speak tf make you ill 1 Why should you have the humiliation of being looked down upon and scorned by other people f Are these other people more entitled to luxury than you, or more able to enjor it, or could any one do it more honor than youf You are beautiful beyond telling; you have every gift" that a woman can aak to complete enjoyment of life; you are perfect, Helen, you are Teally perfect: per-fect: You must know that; you must say it to yourself when you are alone, and know that your life ought to be a queenly triumph. You have only to stretch out your arms and everything will come to you; and there is really and truly no end to the happiness you can taste." "Gracious, sol" said the . other: 'were there, any!" ... ; "Anyf " laughed the girl "I might lave robbed the Emperor of a whole 1 Colonel's staff, and the Colonel at the head of it. But I'll tell vou about Jo- ! ' hann, the funniest one ol alL I think be really loved mc more than all the rest." "Prav. who was Johanu?" asked Aunt Pbliy, thinking hew fortunate it was that sho learned of these things civ after the" danger was over. '"'I never will forget the first time I met him," .laughed the girl, "the first .taw I went to the school. Jokann was your fnarrying a man svho had no money at all. for that would be too fearful fear-ful to talk about; but suppose you wore to take any on of the young men you might meet at - Oakdafe even, you'd have to live in a mean little house, and do with one or two servants, and worry yourself about the butcher's bills and brush your own dresses and drive yn ur own horse. And how long do you'suo-pose you'suo-pose it would be before you repeated of thatf Think of having to be like those poor Masons, for instance? The; are nice people, and I like them; but I hate to go there, for every time I can't help seeing that the n:rW tur Helen was gazing at the other with real earnestness,., and the words were sinking deep into her soul, deeper than words generally -sunk there.- Sbe'felt her cheeks burning and her frame stirred by a new emotion; she had seldom sel-dom before thought of anything but the happiness of the hour. 'SJust think of it, mv love," continued contin-ued Mrs. Roberts, "ana know that that is what your old auntie was thinking of when you -were only a little tinv girl, sitting upon her knee, and when you were so beautiful that artists used to beg to have you pose for them. I never taid anything about it then, because a little bov who opened the door for me, and he 6tared at me as if he wnre in a trance. He had the most wonderful wonder-ful round eyes, and puffy, round cheeks that made me slwavs think I'd happened hap-pened to ring the bell while he was eating. And every time after that he aw me for three years he used to gaze at me in the same helpless wonder, with all fingers of his fat little hands wide apart." . "What a disagreeable wretch!" said the others. i "Not in the least," laughed Helen; "I liked him. But the funniest part ame afterward; for when I came away Jobann had grown a whole foot, and was 'quite a man. I sent for him to put the straps on my trunks, and guess what Lc did? He stared at me for a minute, '3'jst the same as ever, and then he ran it of "the room, blubbering like a jvby; and that's the last I ever saw of Helen was laughing as she told the story, but then she stopped and looked - a little conscience 6tricken. '.'Do you know, Ant Polly," she said, "it is really a dreadful'thing to make people unhappy like that. I suppose poor Jobann" had spent three whole years dreaming about the enchanted castle in which I wii to be a fairy princess." mture is more dingy, and thinking bow misnrjhle they must be, not to be able to buy new things. And their servants' liveries are half worn too: and when you dine there you see Mrs. Mason is eating with a plated fork, because sKe has not enough of her mest si'vr to go around. All those things sr trifles, Helen, but think . Of the worry they must give those poor people, who are pinching themselves and w-earinj themselves them-selves out soul and bod, trying to keep in the station where tbey belong, or used to. Poor Mrs. Mn U pale and nervous and wrinkled at 40, and those three poor girls."who spend their time making over their old dresses, are so dowdy-looking and uneasy that no man ever glances at them twice. It is such rniitery as that which I drcstl for you, Helen, and why I am talking to you. There ia no reason whv you should take upon you suck sorrows; y.u have a clear head, and you cpu think for yourself and make up your wind about things if you only won't blind yourself by foolish sentimentalitv. Yoj have been brought up to a tcrtiin elation ela-tion in life, snd no man has a right to offer himself to you unlet he can maintain main-tain you in that station. -There is really no scarcity of such wen, Helen, and vou'd have no trouble in rinding you were too young to understand these things, bdt now that you are to manage man-age yoursolf,-1 have been waiting for a chance to tell you, so that you may see what a prize is yours if you are only wjse. And if you wonder why I have cared so much and thought so much of what might, be yours, the only reason I can give is that you are my niece, and that 1 felt that any triumph you miht win would be rqine. I want you to win a higher place in the world than mine, Helen; I never bad such a gift as yonrs, ' ' Helen was silent for a minute, deeply thoughtful. "Tell me, auntie," she askod, "and is it really true, then, that a woman is to train herself and grow beautiful and to have so much trouble and money spent upon her only for her marriage!"' mar-riage!"' "Why, of course, Helen; what else can a woman dot Unless you have money and a husband you cannqt possibly pos-sibly hope to accomplish anything in society. With your talents and yonr beauty you might go anywhere and rule anywhere, but you have to have money before you can even begin." - "ut where am I to meet such g rich man. Aunt Polly t" asked Helen. "You know perfectly well where. Do York who are worth millions, and who would fling themselves and their wealth at vour feet if you woM fcnvo them. And yov. would find such a difference between be-tween the opportunities of pleasure nd coiiimsnwthat such a -hance woull give yr.u and the narrow li'e thai ynu leid 11 this little town 'hst you wonM wonder won-der how you could ever have been it-isfied. it-isfied. It is difficult for yon to realize what I mean, ray dear, because you have only a schoolgirl's knowledge of life and its pleasures, but when you are in the world, and have learned what power is, and what it means to possess such beauty as yours, you will feel your heart swelling with a new pleasure, and you will thank me for what I tell you. 1 have figured a wonderful triumph for you, Helen, and it is time you knew what is before you. Of what use is your beauty if you do not carry it in- you suppose that after I have worried myself about you all this time I mean to desert you now when you are at the very climax of your glory, when vou are all that I ever dared dream eft "My dear Helen, I am more interested in you just now than in anything else in the world. I feel as a card player feels when millions are at stake, gnd when he knows that ha holds the perfect hand." "That is yery nice." said Helen, laughing nervously. "But there is always al-ways a chanee of mistake." "'There is none this time, Helen, for I am an old player, and X have been picking and arranging my hand for Jong, long years; and you are ibe hand, my love, and the greatest glory of it all must be yours. ' ' (Te Bo Continued.) "It was a good chance tor a ro-' ro-' inantie marriage," said the other. "Yes," said the girl, laughing again: 'I tried to fancy it. UeM have kept a Wirthshaus, I suppose, and I'd have served the guests: and Arthur might have come, and I'd have cut fcutter--fcrod for him,aa"d be could have been iny Werther! "Wouldn't Arthur have ' wade a fine Werther, thouU, Aunt Tolly? " And blown Us brains out afterward," after-ward," added the other. . ,!Jo," said - Helen, "brains are too e;aree; I'd rather have him follow Geothe's example and write a book - about it instead. You know I dca 't b- lieve half the things these poets tell j vo-g, for I think they put themselves through their dreadful experiences just to tell about them and make themselves famous. Don 't you believe that, auntie?" "I don't know," said the other f riatement which she seldom made). "I don't know much about such things. Kobodv reads poetry any more, you . know, 'Helen, and it doeta 't really help oEe alorg very much. " .."It doetn't do any harrn, docs itt" iaouired the girl, smiling to herself, "just a little, once in a while I" ." "Oh, no, of course, not," said the other. "I fcolieve that a woman ought to have a broad education, for she - never knows what may be the whims of the men tslio meets, or what tarn a conversation may take. All I'm afraid ' cf, Helen, is that if you fill your mind with scntir-'tental ideas you might bo ,", sally s to fancy that you were doing ptking romantic in throwing your fle great chnnce awey upon some v.-orthlis nabody. I want you to realise real-ise what you are, Helen, and that you ewe soctethutg to yourself, and to your family, too: for the Rohenses have al-v.Bysnad al-v.Bysnad wealth and iositiu until your mother chose to marry a poor man. What I-warn yoa of" now is exactly what warped her of. Your father ij a ooi man, but he had absolutely noth- -. i to a wide enough sphere, where it can bring you the admiration and homage you deserve! You need such a field, Helen, to discover your own powers in. Believe ine, my dear, there is really I a higher ambition in the world than to be a country clergyman's daughter."" - "Is there any higher than being happy, auntie J' ssketl Jtelen. The importance of that observation was beyond the- other's ken, as indeed it was beyond Helen also: she had thrown it out as a chance remark. "Mr. Roberts and I were talking nbout this last night," went on Aunt Polly. x"ttnd he told me that I ought to talk -seriously to you about it, and get-you to realize what a golden future fu-ture is beforevyou. For it is really true, Hc-len, as sure as you can truat whtt I know about the world, that you can have absolutely anything that von want. That is the Jong ana short of the mtitter-anvthing that you want! And why should you not have the very best that iiro can give you 1 Why sbbuhVyou have to know ihat other people dwell in finer houses than yours, and are free from cares that I |
