Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-07-31

me report that the Smedlar Brown fam.
My aged their wardrobe on the prin.
etp.e OIL the old-fashloned provincial the
aud one room was set apart for clothes,
garments as in a hlcky-beg. This, il
crue, might account for the fact that the
MSS omedlar Browns were frequently
s sea IN mannish coats and jackets, while
straw hats. e"sA
Two months ago William and Frederick
we're placed in the following dilemma.
age rather than hard wear had placed
nU'n tnelr dress suits hors de combat.
iney could rub on no longer, for all
Sne nap had rubbed off long ago, and the
i net tIS OF buying new suits stared them
~ 1ne lace. Their funds were low, so low
That they heartily wished that the fashions
or Adams time could be revived, and a
nanusome fg-leaf be considered full
aress. Unfortunately for them, and luck.
NY Tor the ~tailors, this was out of the
ge ertae SO they took to studying the ad-
deep calculation they found that for four
SHINING images of our gracious queen,
they could be provided with swallow
talls, though the quality of the garments
would probably leave almost everything
to be desired. 1t was in cases like this
that F~reddy's talentshowed itself. Struck
with Q brilliant idea, he proposed that
they, should club together, buy a really
good dress suit. and share it as the
brothers Box and Cox shared their apart
ment. This plan was t~riumphantly car
ried out, and the brothers soon had the
satisfaction Of being the proud possessors
OF the latest novelty, 'tthe new elastic
dress suit" as advertised in all the society
| papers.
As neither brother cared much for the
joys of society, the dress suit had an
easy time. Probably. it THOUGHT that
Freddy did it the,most Justice. For Fred
erick had picked up a large bunch of seals
with which he walked delicately and
janglingly after the hammer Of popular
beauty. actor; while William adorned
himself with a large tawny silk handker-
This was merely for ornament. as he
kept one for business in his tail
pocket. While the dress suit was in its
first bloom,a card for an "At Home" came
for both brothers from the wife of the
eminent Academician, Mr.. Mungo Brooke.
Everybody. who was anybody in the
musical, dramatic and artistic world
would be there; so the Smedlar Browns
naturally did not want to be out of it.
Then the awful question arose as to which
OF the brothers was to sacrifice himself.
Freddy, being the younger. was expected
to jump into the breech, Blu here again
he was blessed with an idea The house
was near at hand, why not divide the
evening into halves, and let each of them
enjoy the privilege of being u member OF
the aristocratic mob? William, Of course,
could not object to this obviously fair ar
rangement; so he agreed that one should
go from nine to twelve o'clock. and then
return to make room for the other to en-
joy the tail end of the night, or more prop
erly morning. Not knowing how much
depended on his choice, the elder brother
determined to take the first half.
Never had the Mungo Brooke mansion
in the Grove End Road looked more ar
tistic than on the night Of this CAT Home"
Shadowy lanterns illumined the hand
somely furnished rooms, and deep
was the murmur OF voices as the
aesthetics crushed up the stairs to greet
their hostess. There was q dimly lighted
but warm and comfortable conservatory
where an artificial butler had dispensed
tea and coffee earlier in the evening, but
which at 1880 was occupied only by the
zie Dreggs, the heiress. Miss Dreggs, q
pretty girl, with dark eyes and black hair,
was leaning back in a deep Liberty arm
chair in u corner of the room, glad to be
out of the noise and heat of the other
rooms, and Sleased also to have a young
Mss Dreggs was twenty-eight, and, in
spite of her fortune, was stunned by the
majority Of the assembled jeunesse doree
on account of her singularly bitter tongue.
Tonight, though, she felt romantic. She
had been thinking that in two years she
ans life, her thirtieth birthday, and that
it was a duty she owed to society to marry
before hat awful crisis; SO she was in
clined to listen to the pearls that fell from
Williams lips.
"How terribly hot those rooms are get
| ksn-( T .1,r.,a ~-1nl1p 1uh,, vo@,,1~ @~s1,
listening to Italian songs they don't half
understand, packed like the poor wretches
in tue Black Hole at Calcutta, with the
temperature equal to the last room in q
Turkish BATH" remarked William, as he
famed the heiress with one of the Japan
csc fans which formed the chief mural
| decoration of the room.
"By the by, talking of hot rooms, have
you read those Letters from Help"
Miss Dreges was not intellectual, and
loved not reading; she thought William
meant some sort Of a joke, $, she said:
You ought to write for Punch"
mo, 1 don't scribble at all; ! only paint.
All, Miss Dreggs, if you would only sit for
me some day, l should be so delighted. l
am doing a picture now, a jewish slave
market, that I think will be rather like
is the very ideal Of Oriental beauty"
AS Miss Dreggs wned a thoroughbred
cockney countenance, she was pleased
with this compliment. She looked down
and murmured: II should like Of all
things to be painted. Pa always said l
was to be lone by Millais some day.. But
1 am sure I had rather have you do it.
Your brothers. an ARTIST, too, isn't he?"
ayes, he's ut home now, working at a
picture for the G%rosvenor. He's coming
on here soon, l think" And William So
cretly looked at his watch. His time was
nearly up; it seemed hard to have to go
just as he had captured Miss Dreggs, but he
could not break faith with his brother. So
he resolved to make the most of his
next ten minutes. On the mantelpiece,
which was bright with many-colored bits
of artistic china, there was q clock which
| showed exactly the same time as Will
liam's t%urnip-like watch-ten minutes to
twelve. A vision of the other brother, not
a quarter of a mile off, counting the min
| utes by the dining-room clock, the only
one that condescended to &c in the Smed-
lar establishment, passed before his minds
eye as no racked his brain to find some-
| thing pointed to say. Miss Dreggs was
pretending to listen to a recitation goln;
on in the next room, an occasional word
making itself heard now and then across
! the buzz of the conversation of the people
Just out of reach of the hostess reproving
| eve, so she would not help him.
'IkI hovo rot I'm on IN to another crush ~