The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-01-24

I sighed aloud. Twelve hundred a
year is certainly very comfortable. |
said. "But it's COMPOUNDED bore that
one should have condition tackled on to
it which will make one laughing
stock for life to all the bufoons and idi-
OTIS of ones acquaintance"
Blenkinsopp nodded in modified as
sent. AFTER ALL he answered, Il
wouldn't mind taking it on the same
terms myself
''Well, $" said |, ''che sara sara. If it
must be, it must be; and you may put
an advertisement into the Times ac-
cOrdingIy. Tell the executors that l
accept the condition.
81 won't stop in town." said to my
self, Ito be chalfed by all the fellows at
the club and in the masters room at
st. Martins. I'll run over on the Con-
tinent until the wags (confound them)
have forgotten all about it. I'm a sensi-
tive man, and if there's anything on
earth | hate it's cheap and easy joking
and punning on a name or personal
popularity which lays itself open obvi-
ouSly to stupid bufloonery. Of course
| shall chuck up the schoolmastering
now;-it's an odious trade ut any time
and l may as well take a pleasant
holiday while I'm aboutit. Let me see
Nice or Cannes or Florence would be
the best thing at this time Of year. Es
cape the November togs and January
frosts. Let's make it Cannes, then,
and try the first effect of nv new name
upon the corpus rite of the Cannois."
So packed up my portmanteau hur-
riedly, took the 7,45 to Paris, and that
same evening found myself comforta-
bly, ensconced in a UGgOn LIT, making
my way as fast as The Lyons line would
carry me, en- rORte for the blue Medi-
terranean. The Hotel du Paradis at
Cannes is a very pleasant and well man.
aged place, where ! succeeded in MAX
ing myself perfectly at home. l gave
nv full name to the concierge boldly.
Thank Heaven" | thought, "Aikin
PAYNE will sound to her just as good a
label to ones back as Howard or Chol-
mondely. She won't see the absurdity
of the combination" She was fat
Vaudoise Swiss by origin, and she took
it without moving muscle. But she
answered me in very tolerable English.
me, who thought my Partisan accent
unimpeachable Vary well, SIR,
your lettares shall be sent to your
apartments" 1 saw there was the
faintest twinkle of a smile about the
corner of her mouth, and l felt that
even she, mere foreigner, a Swiss
concierge. perceived at once the incon-
gruity of the two surnames.
However. l changed my tourist suit
for black cutaway and made my way
down TO the SGLie-d-m0nger. The dim
ner was good in itself and was enliv-
ened for me by the presence of an ex-
tremely pretty girl of. say nineteen,
who sat just opposite. and whose
natural protector | soon managed to
draw casually into a general CONVEX
sation. | say her natural protector. be-
cause though | took him al the time for
her father, discovered afterwards that
he was really her uncle. Experience
has taught me that when you sit Oppo-
site pretty girl at an hotel, you ought
not to open fire by directing your OBJ
seryalions to herself in person; you
should begin automatically by gaining
the confidence of her male relations
through the wisdom or the or
thodoxy of your political and social
opinions. Mr.. ShacKleford-that, l
found afterwards, was the uncle name
happened to be fiery Tory, while |
have the personal misfortune TO be an
equally rabid Radical; but on this occa-
sion l successfully dissembled, acquies-
cling with vague generality in his de-
nunciation of my dearest private con-
victions; and by the end of dinner we
had struck up quite an acquaintance
with one another.
Ruby said the aunt to the pretty
girl. as soon as dinner was over, shall
we take a stroll out in the gardens"
RUBY! what a charming name really.
| wonder, now. what is her surname?
And what a beautiful, graceful figure,
as she rises from the table and throws
her little pale blue Indian silk scarf
around her pretty shoulders! Clearly,
Ruby is person whose acquaintance l
ought to cultivate.
Uncle won't come, of course" said
Ruby, with a pleasant smile (what
teethD The evening air would be
too much for him. You know" she
added. looking across to me, 'almost
every body at Cannes is in the. invalid
line and mustn't stir out after sunset
Aunt and l are questionable enough
to be quite strong and to 90 in for
stroll by moonlight"
81 happen to be equally out of the
Cannes fashion, l said, directing my
observation with great strategic skill.
rather TO the aunt than to Miss Ruby in
person: land if you will allow me
should be very glad to accompany
you"
So we turned ont on the terrace of
the Paradis and walked among the date
palms and prickly pears that fill the
pretty tropical garden. 1t was lovely
moonlight evening in October; and Oc-
tOber is still almost Z summer month on
on the Riviera. The feathery branches
of the palms stood out in clear-cut out
line against the pale moonlit sky; the
white houses of Cannes cleaned with
that peculiarly soft greenish Mediter-
ranean tint in the middle distance; and
the sea reflected the tremulous simmer
in the background, between the Jagged
sierra of the craggy Esterel and the
long low outline of the lie Ste Mar
guerite. Altogether, it was an ideal
poets evening, the very evening to
stroll for the first time with beauti-
full girl through the charmed alleys of
a Proyencal garden!