"MY DEAR NIECE:--Knowing you had always a strong desire
to travel and see something of the world, I know of no
better time for you to travel than now, on your wedding
tour.
"In the bank book you will see a sum deposited in your
name, sufficient to take you and Penloe around the
world in first-class style.
"Wishing you much joy, dear, with love to you both,
"YOUR AUNT HELEN."
Stella opened the bank book to see the amount deposited to her credit,
and to her joy and surprise there were five figures in the amount. Such
a handsome gift touched Stella very much. She realized then the
genuineness of her aunt's interest in her material welfare and the love
she bore her.
When Stella returned to the room where the company was she went to her
aunt, and put her arms round her and kissed her affectionately, and
said: "How good you have been to me." Her aunt looked at the beautiful
girl with pride, and seemed delighted to see her so happy. She said:
"Stella, dear, I have only you to love, and you deserve all I can do for
you."
Mr. and Mrs. Wheelwright were very much gratified by the handsome gift
Stella received from her aunt, and Penloe, whose face was always the
picture of repose, had now an unusual bright smile as he saw Stella's
delight. He went and sat beside Mrs. Marston, and entertained her with
his brilliant conversation, much to that lady's pleasure, for she
enjoyed receiving attention from Penloe.
In course of conversation with Mrs. Marston (while Stella was absent
from the room), in a very becoming and graceful way, he paid a glowing
tribute to Stella's nobility of character and her intrinsic worth, which
pleased Mrs. Marston greatly. Stella's aunt could not think of sitting
down to a very plain meal on such an occasion as her niece's marriage,
neither did she wish to see her sister or Stella with flushed faces
through being over a hot cook-stove. So she had her caterer come from
Roseland, with everything necessary, and take charge of the wedding
dinner. They all had a very sociable time at the table, the topics of
conversation being general, such as Mrs. Marston would be interested in.
After dinner, Stella had a few words in private with her aunt before
leaving for Roseland. The gist of the talk was that she, when speaking
of them, was not to say, "'Mr. Penloe Lenair' or 'Mrs. Penloe Lenair,'
or have inserted in the newspapers 'Penloe Lenair, Esq., and wife, are
visiting you, but always speak of us as 'Penloe and Stella,' because we
wish to live in the realization that we are all members of one family,
and to say Mr. or Mrs. is cold, formal and distant; but in being called
by our given names we come near to those who are talking to us, and they
come near to and in touch with us."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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