Never did womanhood in advanced years offer a more striking contrast
than that presented by the woman of fashion and the recluse. Lady
Maulevrier was almost as handsome in the winter of her days as she had
been when life was in its spring. The tall, slim figure, erect as a
dart, the delicately chiselled features and alabaster complexion, the
soft silvery hair, the perfect hand, whiter and more transparent than
the hand of girlhood, the stately movements and bearing, all combined to
make Lady Maulevrier a queen among woman. Her brocade gown of a deep
shade of red, with a border of dark sable on cuffs and collar, suggested
a portrait by Velasquez. She wore no ornaments except the fine old
Brazilian diamonds which flashed and sparkled upon her slender fingers.
If Lady Maulevrier looked like a picture in the Escurial, Lady Kirkbank
resembled a caricature in _La Vie Parisienne_. Everything she wore was
in the very latest fashion of the Parisian _demi-monde_, that
exaggerated elegance of a fashion plate which only the most exquisite of
women could redeem from vulgarity.
Pages:
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232