CHAPTER V.

THE SEVENTH BUTTON.

On the second floor of the apartment-house in East Thirtieth Street
lived Mrs. Mortimer Remsen, and her two daughters, Emily and Dora.

Mrs. Remsen's husband had been dead more than ten years, but he had
amassed a handsome fortune, which left his family able to maintain the
position in New York society to which they were heirs by birth and
breeding. They lived in the most commodious apartment in the magnificent
building in Thirtieth Street, and were surrounded by an elegant luxury
which results from a combination of wealth and refined taste. They
entertained frequently, and Mrs. Remsen, still a handsome woman, was
always a conspicuous figure at the most notable social and charitable
events of the season.

Emily, the eldest daughter, was a woman of twenty-six, who commanded,
rather than attracted, admiration. She was of admirable proportions,
easy and regal carriage, with a fine head well poised on magnificent
shoulders. As to her face--well, I cannot describe it better than did
the eminent artist Gaston de Castilla, who was requested to paint her
portrait. "Madam," said he, to her mother, "I do not like to undertake
your commission. Your daughter has one of those marvellous faces which
defies art. Every feature is a departure from recognized standards, and
yet the result is nobility and beauty of the highest type. Only Nature
herself can produce such effects. Through an imperfect countenance she
sheds the rays of an illumined soul, till all faults are obliterated,
forgotten. We poor artists cannot hope to supply on our cold canvas what
so singular a face must have, to make it beautiful." Nevertheless, he
did paint the portrait, the one which the detective had seen in Mr.
Mitchel's room, and he had succeeded at least in suggesting the
marvellous effects of character, revealing itself through the features.
Other painters had failed, perhaps because they appreciated less than he
what they attempted.

This description also gives a hint of the woman herself. A combination
of all the softer emotional elements, she dominated self and others by a
supreme will. She was rarely disobeyed by suitor or by servant. That she
had engaged herself to marry Mr. Mitchel had surprised the entire circle
within which she moved, and yet perhaps the secret of his success lay in
the simple fact that he had had the courage to ask for her, and to do so
in a loving but masterful way which plainly show