Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-07-26

many things II oniy S"oy -.
the army alone. am sure you must DC
right. How can civilian minister
know any thing Of military matters! l
read your speech the other day about
the difficulty of getting cool non-com-
missioned officers, and, ignorant as l
am. could not help seeing that your
facts are unassailable. And is 1t really
the case that our poor army is going rom
bad to worse?" | said it was--and 80
il is. That is perfectly true. II | am
asked for my opinion, Of course must
give it; but / would not have ii sup
posed that am so simple as to be
taken in by every lady who has found
out my hobby and chooses to simulate
an interest in it. Very nearly all OF
them do this, and hope | know their
ways we'll enough to be aware that they
act in precisely similar manner when
they have to deal with my friend Adj
miral Bunting, or with Drinkwater, the
great temperance advocate, or indeed
with any individual who happens to be
more or less of specialist. Ncverthe-
less, am quite willing to admit that
fattery soothes me, even when l
know it to be fattery, and that to
be listened to with respect and every
appearance Of pleasure by q pretty
woman is a great deal more agreeable
to me than being contradicted and
pooh-poohed and snarled at, as ] too
often am by certain other hearers Of
mine. | certainly enjoyed my visit,
and when Mrs. Wilkinson invited me
to dine with her quietly on the
following Thursday / accepted with
out hesitation. Why shouldn't dine
with her? She lived in a remark
ably well-sppointed little house in
South Kensington, and, from the general
look of her surroundings, l judged that
she would give me q good dinner. |
thought her very nice, and said so can
didly to Pole as we walked away.
But you know, my dear fellow" /
added, it is one thing to make friends
with a pleasant, chatty woman from no
one knows where, and quite another
thing to marry her. you will be adj
yised by me you won't drop her sud
denly, but 90 on visiting her just as
usual, and gradually let her see that
you don't intend to propose. Then if
l know anything of women she will
drop you"
THAT" said Pole, rubbing his head
rather ruefully, will be most salts
factory, no doubt"
Very evident it was to me that Pole
stood in sore need Of q staunch and de-
termined friend to look after him. |
suspected as much then, and l was
quite certain Of it few days later,
when the little dinner to which had
been so Hospitality invited took place.
Estimated by the number Of guests who
sat down to it, it was very little din
ner, for these consisted simply Of Pole
and myself. So long as We remained at
the table the conversation was general.
and indeed could not very well have
been anything else with only four peo-
pie present. 1t was in the drawing
room afterward that / discovered how
serious matters were. | found that |
had to talk to Miss Warde (who is
twenty-five years younger than | am,
and may possibly think me an old hero,)
while the other couple withdrew to a
remote corner, and conversed together
in an undertone. Pole was sitting very
close to his fair hostess; | saw him
gazing at her with an immense admirs-
ton in those sleepy eyes Of his.
1t was clear that he was no
more able to escape than mouse
with whom cat has begun to
play. can't say that Mrs. Wilkinson
flirted vulgsrly, nor perhaps was she
flirting at all, in any offensive sccepta-
ton of the word; but | could not doubt
that it was her purpose to change her
present name for that Of Pole, and felt
sure that if she were not intetfered
with she would do it, too. | was not
long in arriving al the conclusion that
no account Of her was obtainable from
Miss Warde. That young lady was 50
reticent. when casually questioned upon
the subject, that at first suspected her
of having something to conceal; but |
satisfied myself after time that she
only withheld particulars from me be-
cause she did not happen to be in pos
session of any. I elected the fact that
the Wardes had spent the previous
summer in Switzerland, where it seemed
tolerably safe to assume that they had
picked up Mrs. Wilkinson; and that
the latter should be anxious to estab-
lish a connection with people Of such
undoubted responsibility was compro-
hensible enough.
at was so very kind Of her to ask
me to stay with her." Miss Warde said
gratefully. II had made up my mind
that Twas to have no season this year /;
for pspa's govt has been so bad lately
that be hated the idea Of leaving home,
and mamma would not consent to come
up without him." 1t struck me that
both papa and mamma would have been
more prudent if they had not consent
ed to let the young lady come up with
out them; but that was just what
might have been expected Of the
Wardes. They are simple, inno-
cent old pair, who would fol-
low the absurd rule Of trusting avery
one who has not beer proved unworthy
Of trust, and | was not at all surprised
that they should have confded their
daughter to the chapeyonsge of a total
stranger.
However, that was their affair, not
mine. My business was to get upon
Mrs. Wilkinson's track, and follow il
back TO its stsrting-point. When
say that this was my business, mean
that l had resolved, in poor Poles in
terest, to make it 80. He honestly
avowed to me, after we had
left the house, that he distrusted
himself. ats all very. we'll to
tell me that I'm thinking of doing q
confoundedly foolish thing" he said
"but between you and me, my dear
old chap, I've been doing foolish things
all my life long, and l suppose shall
keep up the same game to the end Of
the chapter, unless somebody is kind