The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-06-08
THE PRESS.
The Lord of HarpingtOn.
BY JAMES PAWN.

Society is not very exacting in the matter
OF personal responsibility; but there are GER
tain important occasions, such as the night
OF the Botanical Fete in the Regent Park
which Is 10 her what some nocturnal festival
of the Church is to the religious world-on
which she demands the production of vouch-
ers. don't know that anything, comes of
this precaution except polite lying; but she
has, as she fatlers herself, discharged her
conscience Though as matter of fact it left
her, without warning, many generations
ago. and washed her dainty hands of the
matter. Now, If ever society should require
permanent personal guarantee of this kind
say, a season ticket to be renewed every
year when Rotten Row begins to fill-in my
own case should know where to 60 for it.
My dear friend-ill-natured people call her
my patroness-Lady Paragon, of Eccleston
Square, would give it me. Sir Charles, her
husband, some folks may think, should be
the more proper person to be applied to, since
am of the male sex, but then those people
don't know Sir Charles. Nobody does know
him except the croupiers at Monaco, the
touts of EPSON, and the members of the
corps de ballet of her Majesty's theatres. To
ask him for voucher for responsibility would
be like requesting reserved seat at the
Evangelical Conference from the Pope of
Rome, or medical certificate from an elder
of the Peculiar People. He has not known
neutrality-suspicious. we might date back his
ignorance even further still-but that does
not prevent his wife and family from being
the very pink of social perfection.
Most fortunately for Lady Paragon she has
money in her own right, secured to her un-
der the most stringent conditions. know
lady who took the same precautions, and had
her very pony carriage settled upon her.
One day she was driving with her husband
miles from home, yet managed to fall out
with him as though they were beneath their
own roof-tree.
'sYour companionship is hateful to me-"
said the gentleman frankly.
very good returned the lady; "this car;
rage is mine, be so good as to get out of it,"
True" said he, obeying her. "The po-
mics, however, are mine," and he unhar-
messed and walked off with them, leaving her
seated on her property.
In Lady Paragon's case carriage and
horses were her own property. Sir Charles
had come to her, mot indeed without ''trous-
seau," lit gentleman's equipment can be SO
termed) TOR he. possessed most elegant
wardrobe, but without penny. His per-
sonalities consisted of magnificent dressing.
case, a hunting watch and little betting
book bound in morocco, which had cost him
more than any firm of publishers had ever
paid for an Encyclopedia. Why she married
him is one OF those questions which, like the
animate objects when we want them, and
what is to be done with the Irish, will con-
tinue to puzzle the world till there's an end
OF it. He cost her about 100000 during the
first year, and then she got rid of him for an
annuity of $4,000 paid monthly. In his
application for this stipend he exhibits
punctuaity which was the only thing for
which he had hitherto failed to obtain credit.
At forty-ive, when 1 last saw him in the
ring at Epsom), he had youthful figure, the
face of an angel on gurgoyle, and voice lit
was offering shade under the proper odds)
that for sweetness and harmony was not to
be found out OF cathedral choir.
That wife like Lady Paragon should
have only taken year to find him out was
proof Of his utter worthlessness indeed; and
the discovery was quite complete. His name
never passes her lips, nor those of her only
daughter. Miss Helen, of course, knows of
her fathers existence; she has access to the
daily papers, in which the heading, ''Sir
Charles Paragon Again." in connection with
various disreputable occurrences, is by no
means unfrequent, but she ignores the fact
with that innocent calmness with which all
unpleasant matters are laid aside BY those
who have acquired the manners of the best
circles.
Perhaps it was this terrible domestic expe-
rience that rendered Lady Paragon SO extra
ordinarily sensitive to what was right and
proper; but, at all events. her recommends
ton in society went further than that of most
leaders of fashion to which, however, she
made small pretense. Only-what seemed to
mere outsider like myself as very strange
she set almost the same value upon birth and
rank as upon talents and virtue, and treated
myself, for instance, with no greater respect
than any titled wording that came in her
way. With so striking an example of scoun-
drelism as her Baronet husband, with his
long line OF ancestry with brute at the end
OF it, always in her memory, one would have
thought that the guinea stamp world have
no great influence with her; that she would
have looked only to the ring of the metal.
But this, as have shown, was far from be-
ing the case.
Indeed, she paid what venture to think a
ludicrous attention to little accidents of birth
and position, and looked on the possessors of
them, not only as fortunate but merItorious.
She made point of knowing nobody who
could not boast of having at least grand
father-and thereby made me, for the first
time thank my stars that happened to have
one, though l don't say to boast of, for he
was an attorney. She believed in the saying,
ut takes more than one generation to make
gentleman concerning which / can only
say Tor certain that 1T sometimes takes a
great many more. We used to have many
arguments together on this matter in an
amicable way; in which am bound to say
she always acknowledged my great abilities.
"Iou are dear, clever creature; but if YOU
talked from now till Doomsday, you will
never alter my opinions, nor catch me OPEN
ing my doors to any connected with trade"
e 'She even one day, when I had really
shaken her upon this point, went the length
OF stating that she was too old to change her
views.
"What, too old at thrty.fye?'
"ThIrty-flve! How dare you, with Helen,
there, just of age?"
had Inadvertently pushed compliment 10
the verge OF improperly; but she was far too
good woman not to forgive me.
Though forty. or even year or two more,
Lady Paragon was still beautiful, some para
doxical folks averred, more beautiful than her
daughter, though she was the belle of that
very season. For my part, was content, in
my quiet way, and without any comparison,
to be in love with them both
In consequence of the large slice of her in
come thrown to that Unsuitable dog, Sir
Charies, Lady Paragon was unable to occupy
her own ancestral mansion in the country,
which was let for term of years; but every
summer she was accustomed to hire resi-
dence for herself and daughter, for three or
four months-a plan which 1 never ventured
to tell her was Infinitely more pleasant than
ii she occupied the family seat. For in this
manner she got the pick and choice of the
prettiest districts in England; and though
she pitched her tent in the four quarters of
it, her good taste never led her into a mis-
take Her mode of procedure was this !:
After conference with some London house
agent, Miss Helen would run down, under
convoy to look at the ''Hall', s'House''
"Park" or whatever ambitious title the place
had, and if her report was favorable, her lady
ship in person would pay it visit, which
was generally final, for to say the truth
it what satisfied the young lady failed to meet
with the appreciation OF other people, they
must have been rather difficult to please
Not only did the the mansion need to be
upon considerable scale, with the mellow
flavor of antiquity about it, but it had to be
furnished with all the modern improvements,
and the agents phrase of ga thorough gentle
mans residence went very little way with
her unless it was in the occupation of bona
fide county family" This charming phrase
has no counterpart in the metropolitan vocab-
ulary, THAT of carriage people, being but a
very faint approach to it. J and was to Lady
Paragon one OF intense significance.
When she took her temporary quarters