Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-11-20

Answer me that Why can't ladies 20 wher
gentlemen gol What is proper for gentlemen
is proper for ladies. Very well, then, wan,
to go somewhere every night 1 want to SEE
everything there is t. see, and to hear al
that there is to hear"
I'VE shall 60, presently, a good deal into
society, said Clara timidly. Society viii
come back to town very soon now--at least,
some Of it.n
"oh, yes, Idare say. Society No, thank
you, with company manners. / want t.
laugh and talk, and enjoy myself"
Inc champagne, in fact, had made her
forget the instructions Of her tutor. At all
events, she looked anything but /" Quiet
with her face flushed and her eyes bright.
Suddenly she caught Arnold's expression
OF suspicion and watchfulness, and reso-
lutely subdued a rising inclination to get up
from the table and have a walk round with
a snatch of a topical song.
Forgive me, Clara" she murmured in
her sweetest tone; "~forgive me, cousin.
feel as II l must break out a bit, now and
then. Yankee manners, you know. Let
me stay quiet with you for a while. You
know the thought of starched and stiff
London society quite frightens me. l am
not used to anything stiff. Let me stay at
home quiet, with you"
Dear grip cried Clara, her eyes filing
with tears; she has all Claude's affection
ate Stiffness of heart"
II believe" said Arnold, later on in the
evening, that she must have been a circus
rider, or something of that sort. What on
earth does Clara mean by the gentle blood
breaking out2 We nearly had a breaking
out at dinner, but it certainly was not due
to the gentle blood"
After dinner Arnold found her sitting on
a sofa with Clara, who was telling her
something about the glories of the Degeret
family. he was half inclined to pity the
girl or to laugh-he was not certain which
for the patience with which she listened,
order to make amends for any bad i'm
preston she might have produced at dinner.
He asked her presently if she would play.
She might be, and certainly was, vulgar;
but she could play well and she knew good
music. People generally think that good
music softens manners, and does not permit
those who play and practice it to be vulgar.
But, concerning this young person, so much
could not be said with any truth.
'You play very well. Where did you
learn3 Who was your masterF' Arnold
asked.
She began to reply, but stopped short.
de had very nearly caught her.
"Don't ask questions" she said. II told
you not to ask questions before. Where
should learn, but in America? Do you sup
pose.no one can play the piano except If,
E~ngland9 Look here" she glanced at her
cousin. "Do you, Mr.. Arbuthnot, always
spend your evenings like thisT'.
"How like this!"
"Why, going around in a swallow-tail 30
lrawing-rooms with the women, like a
anna tom-catl If you do, you must be a
truly good young man. If you don't, what
10 you dor
every often I spend my evenings in a
lrawing-room."
"Oh, Lord! Do most young Englishmen
carry on in the same proper wayp
''Why not?"
Don't they go to music-halls, please, and
dancing cribs, and suchp
"Perhaps. But what does it concern us
to know what soma men do"
"Oh, not much. Only if I were q
man like you l wouldn't consent to be a
tame tom-cat-that is all; but perhaps you
ike it."
She meant to insult and offend him so
That he should not come any more.
But she did not succeed. He only laughed,
feeling that he was getting below the sur
face, and sat down beside the piano.
"You amuse me-" he said, and you
Estonish me. You are, in fact, the most
astonishing person l ever met. For instance,
you come from America, and You talk pure
London slang with a cockney twang. How
lid it get there9'
In fact, it was not exactly London slang,
but a patois or dialect, learned partly from
her husband, partly from her companions.
and partly brought from Gloucester.
81 don't know-I never asked. 1t came
wrapped up in brown paper, perhaps, with
a string round it."
"You have lived in America all your life,
and you look more like an Englishwoman
than any other girl l have ever seen.n
$40 II So much the better for the Eng
lish girls; they can't do better than take
after me. But perhaps-most likely, in fact
you think that American girls all squint,
perhaps, or have got hump backsl Anything
elseY
"You were brought up in a little Ameri.
can village, and yet you play in the style of
a girl who has had the best masters
She did not explain-it was not necessary
to explain-that her master had been her
father, who was a teacher Of music.
~ can't help it, can II" she asked; 81
can't help it If | turned out different to what
-, ,-.oAfaI Do,-1A
know. And when you don't approve of a girl,
it's English manners, l suppose, to tell her SO
kind OF encourages her to persevere, and
pray for better luck next time, doesn't itl
It's simple, too, and prevents any foolish
errors-no mistakes afterwards, you see. l
say, are you going to come here ofteng
Because, if you are, l shall go away back to
the States or somewhere, or stay up stairsin
my own room. You and me won't get on
very well together, Pm afraid"
II don't think you will see me very often"
he replied. THAT is improbable; yet | dare
say shall come here as often as I usually
do"
"What do youmean by thatr She looked
peated his words, and she perceived that
there was meaning in them, and she felt
uneasy.
81 don't understand at all" she said;
''Clara tells ME that this house is mine.
Now-don't you know-I don't intend to
invite any but my own friends to visit me
in my own house."
'That seems reasonable. No one can
expect you to invite people who ara not
your friends"
"Well, then, l amt likely to call you my
friend"-Arnold inclined his head-"and l
am not going to talk riddles any more. Is