Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-04-23
Gales aud Sketthes.
TIE BEST IAN
rLondon World

Il
Let me introduce you to two men.
First. to old Lord Arthur Lanton; a
well-to-do. fashionable. clubable, bien
soigne bachelor. Somewhat old-fashioned ;
he called yellow "yallar." and always
dropped his final g's when talking of read,
| ing or dining out. He wore blue spotted
cravat. buff waistcoat, geranium in his
buttonhole, and gold mounted eyeglass,
which he held to, but never stuck in, his
left eve. At the time of which write he
| was SO and a-balf. equity. crackly as to
voice. and rather affected IN manner. lie
had vecued considerably about the time
of the Crimean war, and now he played
piquet, and belonged to all the clubs that
are called after the names OF the defunct
coffee house keepers.
| He lived in Flat A. Regency mansions;
Victoria street; and his rooms. decorated
| with old prints, we're filed with baths and
pipes, and tubes for carrying up roast
chickens inside the walls, and things tor
talking to people ever so tar away. and
ether evidences of confirmed luxury and
he was on good terms with his brother,
the duke eff Dorset.
Secondly. the Young Lord Arthur Lam
ton generally called "Art" for short by
his own set. He wore high collars.
black satin scarf. with pearl in 1t.
white waistcoat, a gardenia in his button
hole, and an unmounted eyeglass. which
he never held to, but always. even when
asleep, it is said, stuck in his right eye:
He was 26. muscular, good-looklng, and
winning in all his ways-except at waist.
He played polo, and shot pigeons, land be-
longed to the New Club. and various
Juniors" He lived in Flat b, Regency
mansions: and he, too. had baths, and
tubes, and many modern photographs, and
cavern full CT soda water, and other
things, and he was by no means on good
terms with his father, the duke of Dorset.
From all which things can DO gathered
his differentiation. as scientists say, from
his uncle. who lived in the fiat below him.
Art Lanton had been scrapsh, not to
say scampsh, and rumor had 1t that he
had offended the ducal head of the family
bv giving a mixed and somewhat dramatic
character at Dorset house, into the middle
of which the duke had most unjustltlably
popped. However, his chief ground OF
offense was that he had recently been at
fectionately. affiched. and. indeed. openly
devoted to Miss Harry Horton. Her
name was Harriet; but everybody had
called her Harry ever since she was
schoolgirl.
To describe with anything like fidelity
dear Harry Horton would take up Sc. eral
consecutive numbers of this journal which
might possibly irritate the solvers of the
aerostics and the people who read the city
articles Suffice it that she was graceful
and svelte that she had tossed brown
hair. violet eyes--bg. deep-lashed, rather
mournful. soul destroying, real violet
ewes that from mouth that was rather
mutine, she was wont to laugh, as it were.
with tiny peal of silver bells; that she
had hosts of adorers that she rode with
perfect hands and danced with perfect
feet; that she was brave, girlish girl,
and that she was the most down.
right, audacious and deliberate flirt
in London. This tendency of Harry's
arose from buoyant animal spirits, quick
sense of humor. and perfectly innocent
desire to please people. This. however.
is subtle matter of psychological analy-
sis and metaphysical chemistry. and be-
longs in no way to this veracious chroni-
Gle.
Art" and Harry" certainly made a
pretty pair wherever they went. Ascot,
birmingham and the Row knew them
well and there was a firm and close ALI
ance between them, spite of the many
keen encounters of their wits" which,
regret to say, frequently led to rude things
beng said. to plque and petulance on one
side, and to growing and going away at
ter grouse on the other. For all that, they
never sent back photographs or did any
thing so absurd as to ask for old letters to
be destroyed, or to ''bury the past" as
sentimental folk and poet people do in
like cases. They simply sulked, longed
for reconciliation, and made no move till
picnic or water party brought them to-
gether, and then it was either, Harry,
was beast" or cart, | am so sorry,"-
sometimes only glance from the violet
eyes, or an abrupt, ring crushing grip
Harry's make up" Ct don't imply, mark
you. that the lady had studied the mystic
ries of macquillage) and Arts uncondi-
tional surrenders were always full and
complete.
They were not engaged, nor had they
ever spoken of such thing; but they
were chums. or at least, so they said to
each other Their sympathies lay chiefly
| in mutual dislikings of certain people and
ways of life. High art in all its forms,
creative. critical and emotional. they were
wont to make almost malicious fun over
Shakespeare. Burne-Jones, Wagner. the
Society for Psychical Research, melancholy
bards, earnest actors with purposes, and
generally the group that Art Glow Art,
she calls him) was wont to irreverently
allude to as 1.-THE Serious Johnnes." were
their pet aversions; but there were GER
tain players and playhouses, and newspa.
pers. and race meetings, whose names
forget. that they sedulously patronized.
They also liked each other in which par
ticuar must admit that they were not to
blame. particularly at the moment of ten
der truce making referred to. They were
both poor; for Art, a younger son, had
but small allowance from the irate duke
and Harry was the youngest of the five
unmarried daughters of an admiral Ga re.
tired rear-vice-commodore of the Pes
Green. or something of the kind. Art al
once called him) who was an irascible
old sailor of ancient family, who sat a.
director all day, on the boards of "dicky'
companies in the city. and sat at his clut
all night. telling stories of all the sea
fights from Salamis to Alexandria.
Every wise man has, at some time OIL
another in his life, been struck with thu
I a 4 l. l. Al l.