Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-03-19

&AAEA 3
Glass of Fashion.
An amusing story is told in Illus
tration of the zeal with which some
ladies go through this sO-called pen |
ance of morning calls, which APP !
parently fills in their lives a place I
second only to pleasure of shopping.
Lady y. was living in a part Of
Scotland where country houses lie
scattered a considerable distance
from one another, and the round of
visits she had marked out for her
self would clearly occupy a whole
day. To this plan her daughters
objected, alleging that fasting for so
many hours always made them ill.
"Ah," replied Lsdy B., 81 have
guarded against that difficulty bv
arranging 10 reach Castle L. at ,
O'Clock. The TBS will then be at
luncheon, and will certainly invite
us to partake of some.n
Lady b. had her way she and
her daughters started, called on two
or three " friends" with whom
they exchanged the usual conven-
tiOnal eommOnplaces, and arrived
at Castle It. exactly at the calculated
hour. Mrs. T. was delighted to see
them and entered on an animated
conversation, but spoke no word of
luncheon. The visitors felt the
pangs of hunger so acutely that
they could scarcely bear their part
i'm the lively talk, and eagerly
awaited the expected invitation.
Half-past 2 came-a quarter to 3.
Lady b. could no longer prolong
her stay, and took leave of her host
ess. But in doing so she betrayed,
to Mrs. IT'S establishment and the
intense delight of her daughters,
the subject of her secret thoughts.
Goodbye" she said, ''dear Mrs.
Luncheon ~ After a moments
wonder Mrs. L. took the hint, and
invited her guests to take some re-
freshments. As she was really a
very hOspitable woman she would
not be refused, and explained that
for the convenience of some menu
bers of her family the luncheon
hour had been changed to one.
Lady D., on her part, made a full
confession, and the whole party
collation., which proved n OF the
most successful repasts ever served.
Another story, of a different kind,
may be acceptable to the reader. A
worthy but somewhat punctilious
gentleman, no longer in his robust
youth, was persuaded by his wife to
call upon some old friends of hers
who had just come to settle i'm Lon
don, but with whom he was unac-
quainted. He at last gave his con-
sent, after inquiring particularly
where they lived, and whether his
wife was certain as to the street and
the number of the house.
"Oh, yes" saidsAIrs. D.; 81 was
there only last week. 1t is No,
in - street, Cavendish Square. |
know the house perfectly we'll"
1t was the flush and maturity of
summer, and the weather being
hotter than we have any idea of in
these degenerate days, Mr.. and
Mrs. ID. resolved to start early and
visit their friends before luncheon.
When they entered the street Mrs.
d. felt a moments hesitation, but it
vanished on her ~recOllecting that on
her previous visit she had not
crossed the park, and had struck
the street at the other end. She
was very careful to say nothing to
her husband, and moreover, she
felt assured that she remembered
the exterior of the house too well to
fall into any blunder.
"That is it, | suppose, Mr.. -,
did you not say?" grOwled her hus-
band, irritated at his hot walk, and
resenting his foolish consent to I'M
H.. IL ,G1saA.1- - n,N-nsncr
call.
"Oh, yes, certainly"
Mrs. ID. spoke with assurance ;
did she not remember the flowers in
the windows and the creepers in
the balcony?
When the door opened she felt
some misgivings. The servant, the
hall, the staircase, seemed to have
undergone a change; but she was
reassured when, on asking if Mrs.
Y. were at home, a reply was readi-
" given in the affirmative. On
being shown into the reception
room her doubts returned, for the
apartment was different in every
respect to the one in which Mrs. Y.
had greeted her a few days before,
and two gentlemen Were there
whom she did not know. Present
ly the servant came to say that
! Mrs. Y. was dressing, but would be
down in a few minutes. There vas
nothing to be done but wait, and no
virtue to be cultivated but patience.
| Suddenly the door "a thrown
open, and a lady with flowers in
her hair and wearing a low evening
dress entered hastily. Mr.. ID.
looked up astOnished but his gaze
grew more bewildered when he saw
his wife and her friend stop shOrtin
their swift advance to perform the
usual feminine salutatiOn.
Mrs. ID. did not knOw-had never
before sepn-this Mrs. y.
Mrs. Y. did not knOw-had never
before heard Of---this Mrs. D..
At last there came some hastily
murmured apologies and an expla-
nation. Mrs. y. had been expect
ing an early visit from Mr.. NJ, the
| great artist, to take her portrait,
| and had dressed accordingly. An
other family of the same name as
her own had recently bought a
house a few doors lower down, and
the circumstance had already
caused some awkward mistakes.
This family, of course, were Mrs.
DIS friends, and she had blundered
about the house not an unforgiva-
BILE blunder in London, where n
house reflects another, and the de-
mon of uniformity reigns in street
after street. To the comedy of err
rurs, however, a pleasant conclusion
was furnished by Mrs. KS earnest
request that the visitors mdLgre e1tr
would stay to luncheon, and in this
way began an acquaintance, which
rapidly ripened into a warm friend
ship.