Waverley Library (Quarto Edition) (no. 190) (1883 07 03)

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The € \ 7 . heapest and Eest Library 9 . — rt 7 i oy ha a Yo ons ae aE” TT “SST c oe ese eh oe oe ee ee | @"e tee eaeseepecewroee eee ie __ $2.50 a year. cua) Lill, | Entered at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., at Second Class Mail Rates. The Cream of Aiiefican, and Foreign ~~ Copyright, 1983, by BEADLE AND ADAMS. Noveis No190. VoL. VIII. PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY BEADLE AND ADAMS, 98 WILLIAM ST., N.Y. Pretty and Proud; THE GOLD-BUG OF FR’ISCO. A Story of a Giri’s Folly. BY CORINNE CUSHMAN, AUTHOR OF ‘‘ BLACK EYES AND BLUE,” ‘‘ BRAVE BARBARA,” ‘‘ A WILD GIRL,” ETC. CHAPTER I. ROSEBUDS. THAT was a bewitching day for Mercedes, A irl can never have more than one eighteenth irthday; and seldom is even a girl’s eighteenth birthday attended by such a lovely and splen- did train of circumstances. All her friends had | Sent presents and congratulations; Aunt Esther had read to her a will, drawn up the previous ®Vening, giving her all the property; and now | | : ssa OY ap | AHO DED gs OO she was to formally “come out” ata rosebud dinner-party that afternoon, gotten up by this same Aunt Esther for her benefit, and after- ward the whole little party was to occupy a box at. the opera. It was February, but it was not winter in Miss Silverman’s beautiful house, which was as fra= grant as a garden in June, with the thousands of cut flowers which decorated it. Rosebuds and smilax were twined together all over it; beds of them on the mantle-pieces, sprays of them drooping from the chandeliers, wreaths of them creeping along the cornices. Up-stairs in the room where Mercedes was dressing, the ta- ble was loaded down with ravishing bouquets, in which the loveliest rosebuds were conspicu- ous. One of these bouquets was the most ex- quisite, where all were beautiful. It was formed solely of just-opening creamy-white buds—each bud a wonder of perfection—set about with a delicate fringe of maiden-hair fern. The card attached to this box bore the name Sitting before the long of Lord Henry Essex. pigs! i site v lath a | i =—=—SS In, Cae Mh i NAMA TT “HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME $0? YOU KNOW THAT i DO NOT CARE FOR you!” ‘ PRICE, 5 CENTS mirror while Rosine, her aunt’s maid, put up her wonderful hair, Mercedes was thinking: “T have beauty and style; I ought to be a success,” But this was only one of her thoughts. Paint a sunrise over a May landscape and you may paint a girl’s fancies on the day of her ‘‘ coming out.” ercedes was not very vain, considering bow pretty she was, but she was ambitious. She wanted to be herself—distinguished for something. ’ Nature had already selected her as one born tobe noticed. Her beauty was peculiar. Along with an olive-pale complexion, and the darkest ric hazel eyes, it had given her bright gold air. Mercedes took a good look at herself when | Rosine had given the finishing touches to her | toilet. She looked very tall and slim, with her hair arranged high on her head and worn with a crimpled fringe across the forehead, and the long train of ber white dress twisting about her fect. Thetea-rosebuds in her hair and seattered