New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-06-29

good riding Is one OF the qualihca'ioh' ioi "'s
at Oxford"
"Oh. bless my soul, no But Ferguson-that was
his name. Ferguson, an awfully good chap-wash
merely n scholar you know.
"Ah"I murmured. with q sly emphasis tlat
doubtless passed unnoticed, " not merely scholar,
en-"
"Oh Lord. no He was frightful sport lie
hadn't a shlin of his own, poor devil, and had TO
caoach us VARSITY men for a Twin"
"And to pass your final examination, ! suppose
Won were reouired TO be conversant with the most
diGicrht Of the classic authors -Tacitus Terence.
Sophocles, Rschylus, Theocritus and othersV
schenectady crossed his legs He was IN evening
dress and rs he made this slight motion little
simmer of light went down the broad silken braid
that overlap one seam of his black trousers meet
ing with sort Of tributary sympathy the luminous
shoe at its limit
"Oh. yes" he said a teller's got to be up on
lot o. stuff like that. / carnt think haoV quite
managed il, now it's all over
Have You retained preference for any one par
ticular auhor ?" / relcntessly inquired.
He burst into a laugh, which was very dulcet and
mellow. and showed his white teeth most advan-
tageOusly.
"Oh, by Jove they're all the same to me-" he
iovially declared say, carnt remember one
from another, now Eve done with EN- all"
Really ?" interpolated, with amiable gravity.
"Quite so. ] ASHORE you | slipped through, some
aOugh ] carn't think, now it's all parst inst haoW
did it. farncy it was Fergusons extrawdnerry
caoachin' We had an American chap in my yeah,
however, who carst nearly all of us into the shade
He took double-ferst. / used to tell i'm he d re-
deemed the country and arsk him for a hit of his
laures to weah in NEE caout. ] said it for chart,
you know. His name Pratt; he came from
somewer in the West-I think il was CINCINNATI.
He was awfully clever. but most horrid duher-
not q gentleman a bit, don't you know lie used TO
wear false cuffs and collars to his sherts, and
change EN- Of a mornn' without changn' the shert.
The other chaps would chart i'm abaout that, but |
never did. used to tell 'em it was none OF their
business whether he were derty or no. But, on NEE
werl, never saw i'm derty though they said he
read hard that he couldn't spare the time Tor dis
barth-and q lot o. rubbish like that"
off he took double-first," said with perhaps a
little UNCONSCIOUS fatigue that some Of my ac-
ouantances have construed as irony let MS hope
he is now remorsefully bathing thrco or four times
a day.'
From that evening gave up Schenectady in de-
spair satisfied myself that all the historic lowell
ness of Oxford had fallen as fat upon him as the
night-dews of Parnassusi might fall. upon browS-
ing goat After this got to asking myself how the
girls of New York society would receive MN.
Would he be able to hold his own among those five
or eight elect bellies who were in the habit of ift
Their pretty noses disdanfully ut every male adj
mircr except a scant and superfne twenty Would
BE take" as the phrase goes7 There have been
cases where millionnaires did not take ran over
in nv mind such cases, and found that could re-
member only five. One suffered agonizingy an
other lisped abnormally, third was seml-idiotic
fourth suffered from partial blindness. and NTH
limped with hereditary chronic govt. Schenectady,
I concluded after mature reflection would stand
chance of at least fair social success.
But soon found myself keenly in error. Sche-
ncctady began his career of fashion at a small ger
man. given by his august regning aunt, Mrs.
Poughkeepsic. lie had not been in the rooms more
than half an hour before saw him vsibly beamed
upon by the one supreme belle of the season. After
this he did not merely succeed; he literally
overwhelmed with admiration. Femininity laid its
choicest tributes at his shining feet lie was
thought faultess, exquisite, delightful, superb. He
never dned at the metropolitan; invitations to dine
elsewhere were shOwered upon him. lie rarely had
occasion to do more than exchange a civil word or
two with a wall-hower: the splendid exOtlcs, the
Mareehal Neils and JacqueminOts of enchanting
maidenhood were bat too happy to bend toward
him the full favor OF their exceptional and brilliant
bloom He had come he was seen, and he had con-
ouered | should also add that he was heard before
conouerng | often marvelled how he could have
been heard to any conceivable advantage But
marvel as would, his victory in every sense
certainty.
1t was "A victory that SET me thinking. had con-
clusively proven to myself that apart from his
happy, graceful air, this young gentleman was
mental vacancy. He expressed nothing, he repre-
scented nothing. he impaired nothing. he decided
nothing All that sways and impes our great cen
fury was sealed )ok and a dead letter to his
4. xie
in near contact with great minds, and had brought
away not even a glimmering reflection Of their
greatness. How scorching' unused. " is the com
ment his income of lattcry makes upon the tone
and quality of that social body which 50 bows Le-
fore him. If he is the man who succeeds In New
York society, bow worthless are the equipments
ouired for success. In Europe this triumph of
manner over matter. this petty surrender of sense
to superficiality this worship of natal accident and
physical dantineSs in the place of solid merit and
mental superiority, might be well enough. They
have crinced so long. over there to mindless des-
potism and titled incompetence that all the follies
they commit are clothed with sort of indulgent
romantciSm, like the ivy on their feudal prisons
and the gloom about their great ecclesiastc paint
ngs But don't think that the brave little May
flower steered its pale half-starved inmates through
bleak storm of angry to help them found an
cestry for such idle dallyers as Nerpanck Science
tadv | think we meant more than this when we
bed at Lexington. | am sure we meant more when
we held our own ut Yorktown. But. after all.
Americans have grown old enough 10 have learned
about the ingratitude of republics. Perhaps Schc
nectady-thc man who succeeds-is one of its living
ncarnatons. EFF.
Copyright 1884. by Edgar Faweett