Daily Kennebec journal., 1879-03-06


words indicated by the lips, but never
breathed by the voice.
was detained IN town until u late hour
g In the evening met a friend, DR., Robert
William Baird of Brixton. invited him
TO supper, and we turned into restaurant
in the Strand. AA1QN aI 4sE
After supper we lit cigars. | thought
noticed look of painful preoccupation ON
his face. "Has anything unpleasant hap
pened?" I asked; ''you seem out OF
Sorts
He shook himself smiled and reused
/ up. ..Oh, dear, no . Nothing the matter.
did not know / was looking blue. 10
tell YOU the truth, | was thinking OF
very unpleasant scene | witnessed to-day.
You know Langton, the SOLICITOR"
Mo-
..Michael Seymour Langton, you know.
.Eis name, no more"
s "a good fellow. A great friend of
mine you must know him some day, He's
always up to his eyes in work but unless
he has a client with him he's always glad
to see a friend. One of those free and
easy, good-natured fellows who, without
making you feel bit uncomfortable, will
tell YOU to be off the moment he wants
YOU TO go, so that you need never be afraid
of doing him grievous bodily harm by
staying awhile if he II let you
"Well?n
',ExactlyA But can't help telling You
about him, he's such a capital fellow. You
and he shall dine with me next Sunday.
Eh?''
IAN right as far as am concerned; but
about the Incident or scene?
"Quitc SO, sit down." he said. ''sit
down, old man." Then looking at his
watch, he said, "If you've got five or ten
minutes to spare. III show you the most
perfect development of the genus scoun-
drcl that ever met. >
II had the five minutes to spare, and
moreover / always am open to make a
sacrifice, il by SO doing can geta glimpse
at anything superlatively good or bad:
my liking for you, to illustrate what say,
arises from your superlative badness. y
''Al right. Baird but for goodness sake
go on," said Ia little petulantly fear,
for was not in very peculiar humor, and
the exnberant garrulity of the good little
doctor Jared against my nerves.
"Mv dear fellow, you know my motto,
slow and sure You can never get the
real flavor out of a story or port by gulp-
ing il down. Taste it curiously, and YOU
fill your whole body from your forehead to
your feet with delight, especially in the
ease of port--when it's good" f
expostuiated only by sigh. l knew
him thoroughly Had | exposulated in
words he would have broken out into fur
ther depression.
"Well. he resumed, after few solemn
puns at his cigar. IL walked, Now, said
Langton. A knock sounded at the door,
and a man entered At first I thought
Langton had made a false diagnosis Of his
visitor for anything less scoundrelly than
the appearance of the man ! never saw.
lie was of the medium height, well made.
handsome, with light blue eyes, straight
nose. straightforward clear complexion and
most winning and disarming smile. lie
appeared to be about thrtv-eight years of
age His moustache and whiskers were
brown, and the well-shaven chin was very
firm and clean in outline. Upon the whole
an exceedingly proper man, and one, ]
thought, likely to be very popular among
the ladies; in no way like you, my dear
Melton. .a..
'Well, he came into the room with
bow and a smile, holding his hat across his
waistcoat in a most genteel. humble and
HlduucI-tuus. Toi
he seemed in doubt.as to whether he and
Langton were to shake hands or not. and,
TO tell You the truth. L thought it both rude
and painful for Langton to thrust his hands
so emphatically into his trousers pockets
and straddle over the hearth-rug as he did.
'''Mr. Langton.' said the stranger, in a
very soft and winning voice. Il have come
on my wife's and my own business. You
remember me? l am Antony Ryland'
Measured | remember you, answered
Langton in a most impolite tone, and with
amost scandalously unprofessional empha-
sis on the word you. Why, that much i'm
polite emphasis on pronoun in the second
person would ruin first class medical
practice, l tell you. We have strychnine
and prussic acid in the pharmacopGia, but
impolite emphasis is q thing unknown to
the faculty. said Baird, drawing down his
waistcoat slowly with his left hand, and
solemnly raising his glass with his right,
keeping his cigar between the fingers of
his left hand the while, and looking into
my face with malicious delberateness.
"For goodness sake go. Baird. and drop
your hideous attempts at humor!'
'1mpetuous youth" he apostrophzed
me, ''of forty! do we not dilute ali good
things with something useless or stupid,
to wit whiskey with water. laudanum with
aqua, life with sleeping
laasa Continued Tomorrow