The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-08-08 00:00:00

THE DEVIL IN HIGH LIFE.
(From Ma World.)

It is possible to sit under the plane-tree in the Park
from four o'clock till seven, and never hear &single squeak
from the well-oiled wheals that roll continuously
The panels of the cart-Meg, polished to the last -...—,
reflect the very handles of the doors, and the roofs shine
like glass in the sun. We know something now of the
properties of antimony when used in the stable; at all
events these prancing high-stepping horsas exhibit no
traces of illness or weariness. Full-fthsed, spirited yet
quiet, proud in their paces as if conscious of their beauty,
what can be more delicious in tate life than to lounge on
soft cushions and be drawn with stately motion before the
ease of the admiring plebeian.? The silver harness
glistens, the very lea sr shine.: the footman sits like •
statue, yet at • wave of the hand files as the Genii of the
Lamp to execute the order. Not all the engines and
wonderful constructions shown in the engeerang depart-
ment of the great Centennial Exhibition can compare in
smoothness, ease of motion, perfection of parts, and adapt-
ation of means to an end, with the fashionable carriage
and its freight To dwell therein must be to dream life
away in godlike peace. Not • single squeak from all these
reeding wheels.
But riding urs each and every one of these divine
chariots there site a more attentive servant than is visible
to the casual eye. Sometimes this aerial ' Joames ' perches
himself upon the mikes behind, dreading no bact of
of the whip. Sometimes he squats upon the step. Occas-
ionally his shadowy form, astride postalhou-wise upon the
leader, whirls the carriage along whithersoever be will
Now and then he trots underneath in the guise of •
netted dog. Nay, he will oven curl up under the rug, or
float in the air, holding by one hand to the feather in my
lady's bonnet But he is never absent. Whether the
vehicle contains an ancient dowager, a newly-married
couple, or a quartette of eligible maidens, this dumb
and patient Demon is ever as its side, and is particularly
amef ul always to accompany it home.
When one reflects upon the charming ways of ladies
towards gentlemen, one cnnot help wishing to be a lady,
and thus receive from one', own sex the delicate politeness
and appreciative admiration only to he got from the other.
Our friend the Demon thinks otherwise. He has an idea
that • ruthless warfare is carried on between the quartette
of charming maidens. He has seen fierce blowy delivered
with • tan, and savagel stab, with the tip of the tiniest
glove. A voice that was soft and low in the tenderest
words has cut • dear friend to the quick with the merest
commonplace remark. Placing his unseen hand upon
that beautiful bust, he has felt the heart within give
rifwedtthrobs and bound with passion, while a smile
upon the lip, and the brow was clear and open.
Slipping up to the throat, he has noted a convulsive
swallow, as if something hard had suddenly risen there.
It is the great heat which causes faintness and the pallor
of the face—nothing more. It is
.retayk that the best-
regulated hearts will sometimes sigh
e for the unattain-
able, and, hoping against hope, down for •
moment, when some affectionate sister announces that
Captain So-andwo or Lord This or That is (Infinitely
another person. The Demon saes to these
=d to
with assiduity. It is his business to adminieter
consolation--sweet task I Has whispers something like
this—not all at once, an idea or two now and then sog ;
gestimely : 'You an tied down from birth: runs hi
sang; you never canhave your freedom, no not in the
most innocent matters; even when, a child, you rode
your pony you were obliged to follow the formal roads
with • guardian behind. They never let you gallop un-
restrained over ths wild downs, nor linger to muse
rwootly alone in the hawthorn lanes. The *octal corset
was laced tighter and tighter round you Si you pew. tip.
Your mind was full of many quiestioteo, it ma mot wholly
Mon up with dress: thoughts of life and its problems,
crude idea. of the wonders of the Mars and the universe,
gosied dimly through it, and you longed for an explana-
tion and a guide—• guide which instinct told you could
only be found among the other sex. But intercourse
with them was so rostrictod—confinod entire!y to on.
moaning nothings; to go farther was pronounced
like, mg you were taught that your solo object=
111. was to obtain a satisfactory marriage-settkunent
Whether it was your vanity or your natural emulation,
you certainly did . honestly try your best—and failed.
Two, three mom pawed, and still no surging sound of
marriage-bells; your heart secretly Veer • nu.
and you did not greatly care now what happeLdvelLia6
ae came. sad you loved. You saw that he sag free and
unattached—perhaps a trifle too ingenious for your—well,
your clever six. He wavered from one to &nether. You
ow how they followed him; you were behind the miles
As You many loved. you mold not do as they did. He is
.... i,„ aiartioa—a you? You know your sister theirs
..
....ist, , iii „miring because your face is • trifle min
alal—you complain of faintness from the Mt
Your mart is very bitter, and justly. Have your
revenge. Make one more effort. TOW' sister impolite
Is angling. for • man in the decline of life, with
WWI and title- You are romps and far more
handsome; take him from bor. The D• 0100 adds diw
by drop to the gall and bitterness of the girrs heart. He
I. at her elbow always, suggesting. Shift*" scene to the
lama season, when she rides with her aged and feeble
linsben&—and opposite sits the sister. The Demon is
the, gm 'This is worm.' he whispers; 'this". hstsful.
IN, low Aini again last night. He kas.taarted from kor ;
he rosily oared very little for her. His We, like yours, has
been a Mint ; try and dim it for him. It
would be As • wife you have greater liberty;
you can oak him to your home You can have the carriage
when you please (that infection of machinery), and go
where you please—meet him where you wce. Poor
fellow ! he evidently loves you now. What harm to spaaM
few hours with him in those elegant chambers? As
Piano Bonaparte said of the sculptor who carved her
nude form - The artist is • gentleman.* Ile is • gentle-
man' neither by word nor deed will he insult you. What
rapture la your head upon that shoulder, feeling his
hand playillig your luxuriant hair? One kias I there is
no harm in it. Has not your poor heart been beaten
down, stifled, repressed, these years and years? Have you
net a riptt to be happy just for ono hour ? And you do no
real ,
Thewmaduous Demon unman guides the carriage to
KW shoi, and tells the coachman not to wait—madam
will walk home, He walks with her and calls a cab, and
tells the driver where to go. In that oonipany he can
leave bee safely awhile, to return and whisper suspicion in
the sister's ear, doubt and rage in the husband's. He
ZUgelto them first one circumstance and than another.
tscarry the revelation farther? Finally, when the
prod is over, he whimpers once more In the diagram's es;
t n was aocialg's fault, and not yours. Morally you are
Dot to bhune. Harden your heart md. Whit fmo now,
as do you plows When it saes you facing It hodly, the
worta_-abat is, the gentleman's wee-Id—will be at your
feet.'
Most busy Demon ! It is not only to matters of this
kind that your attention is Must There are mailer
dim& in We roommate natures which vibrate to your
Ftouch. The aged pair rolling in their chariot
wady penes ; neither love, ambition, nor avarice can
........; those gray locks are as a erownttallogi
mud go all evil. But it so happens
al ii-..4.isosir, and his wif • attends chapel, and
does of tha two eCeMe•lg•••ooe 'gambling do not
MThe Demon foments the uarrel as to which is
U', carhop on the
slurp innuondom minded uapuoiragiy yaw,.
with sach other's hidden
iiiiie to side, and the Dunces saes tl:atiteirAr farlis
to the
happy-looking children, beside whom on the
seat the Maltase terrier lona his out at the
ars quarrelling atathionseut4he posy. =rho shall hai
~ tiM AAA mamma I W the Demon to hoer
MgA she is seism well ss the gengraliwita ; paps
Is go Masa.
Aaron tjuire, where the Aden pose to and fro, cantering
on the softer ground, whom all is life aud Myeas vitality,
mos* there Is no room forth. subtle Damn I There is
rs t sound thin the gneiss of a thonsond
knad =l_ „..- but the Shadow site 'Mind, and emu.
=Ma dead&
the inunorials it was not all mato, and
was divided against Waif over that
Mktgaktir at ; and Vulcan, with • carefullywnsde
set, contrived to 'prove Mama the thing he most
Ahmed: Bt the well-oiled wheels nem atm forth a
arra.