An Original Belle | Page 3

face, her violet eyes,
so dark as to appear almost black at night, had given no token that she
could amuse herself with feelings that touched the sources of life and
death in such admirers.
"They should have known better, that I was not in earnest," she would
say, petulantly, and more or less remorsefully.
But these sincere men, who had been so blind as to credit her with
gentle truth and natural intuition, had some ideal of womanhood which
had led to their blunder. Conscious of revealing so much themselves by
look, tone, and touch of hand, eager to supplement one significant
glance by life-long loyalty, they were slow in understanding that
answering significant glances meant only, "I like you very well,--better
than others, just at present; but then I may meet some one to-morrow
who is a great deal more fun than you are."
Fun! With them it was a question of manhood, of life, and of that which
gives the highest value and incentive to life. It was inevitable, therefore,
that Marian Vosburgh should become a mirage to more than one man;
and when at last the delusion vanished, there was usually a flinty desert
to be crossed before the right, safe path was gained.
From year to year Mr. Vosburgh had rented for his summer residence a
pretty cottage on the banks of the Hudson. The region abounded in
natural beauty and stately homes. There was an infusion of
Knickerbocker blood in the pre-eminently elect ones of society, and
from these there was a gradual shading off in several directions, until
by some unwritten law the social line was drawn. Strangers from the
city might be received within the inner circle, or they might not, as
some of the leaders practically decreed by their own action. Mr.
Vosburgh did not care in the least for the circle or its constituents. He

was a stern, quiet man; one of the strong executive hands of the
government at a time when the vital questions of the day had come to
the arbitrament of the sword. His calling involved danger, and required
an iron will. The questions which chiefly occupied his mind were
argued by the mouths of cannon.
As for Marian, she too cared little for the circle and its social
dignitaries. She had no concessions to make, no court to pay. She was
not a dignitary, but a sovereign, and had her own court. Gentleman
friends from the city made their headquarters at a neighboring summer
hotel; young men from the vicinity were attracted like moths, and the
worst their aristocratic sisters could say against the girl was that she
had too many male friends, and was not "of their set." Indeed, with
little effort she could have won recognition from the bluest blood of the
vicinage; but this was not her ambition. She cared little for the ladies of
her neighborhood, and less for their ancestors, while she saw as much
of the gentlemen as she desired. She had her intimates among her own
sex, however, and was on the best terms with her good-natured,
good-hearted, but rather superficial mother, who was a discreet, yet
indulgent chaperon, proud of her daughter and of the attention she
received, while scarcely able to comprehend that any serious trouble
could result from it if the proprieties of life were complied with.
Marian was never permitted to give that kind of encouragement which
compromises a girl, and Mrs. Vosburgh felt that there her duty ceased.
All that could be conveyed by the eloquent eye, the inflection of tones,
and in a thousand other ways, was unnoted, and beyond her province.
The evening of our choice is an early one in June. The air is slightly
chilly and damp, therefore the parlor is preferable to the vine-sheltered
piazza, screened by the first tender foliage. We can thus observe Miss
Vosburgh's deportment more closely, and take a brief note of her
callers.
Mr. Lane is the first to arrive, perhaps for the reason that he is a
downright suitor, who has left the city and business, in order to further
the interests nearest his heart. He is a keen-eyed, strong-looking fellow,
well equipped for success by knowledge of the world and society;
resolute, also, in attaining his desired ends. His attentions to Marian
have been unmistakable for some months, and he believes that he has
received encouragement. In truth, he has been the recipient of the

delusive regard that she is in the habit of bestowing. He is one whom
she could scarcely fail to admire and like, so entertaining is he in
conversation, and endowed with such vitality and feeling that his words
are not airy nothings.
He greets her with a strong pressure of the hand, and his first glance
reveals her