The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-01-02
THE MAJOR'S LUNCHEON.

~ - 49, =
and although people seemed to find i,
hot. yet to me the atmosphere had only
just the chill off, for I was lately home
from a heightened s%ojourn in Bombay.
l had been to the India Office to see ONT
of the officials on a little matter of de-
tail connected with my Through, and
had two or three hours to spare before
my train-I live at Sevenoaks, and had
o return ticket by the London, Chatham
and Dover-was due to start, and ]
didn't exactly know how to employ the
time. Istrolled cross the parade, as.
cended the steps by the Duke of York's
column, and stared at the statue they had
just put up of Outram horse standing
on three legs, and Gntram looking back
leaning Q N the flank this horse. Well,
hadn't much fault to find with the
statue. e-rept perhaps as to the horse
being u little heavy, and that I'd have
made him splsshing out with his near
fore leg, seeing that his riders leaning
over the flank; but, notwithstanding,
its o spirited thing, and that's a good
deal to say in these days. When I had
q good look at Outram l turned into
Pail Mall and took a long stare at the
print shops, and her I sauntered along
the opera colounade, q fragrant Whit of
. some cooking going on at the restaurant
there making me all of a sudden feel as
i'll was hungry.
Perhaps You will say I was in the
right quarter to be satisfied, but I didn't
feel so. / am, like John Gilpin, of q
frugal mind. haven't toiled all these
years in a foreign land under a blazing
sun to dissipate my modest hoard on
cooks and restaurants; moreover, nv
appetite is a masculine one, and is not
to be appeaaed by outlets as big as half
crowns. Should I take the "bus" to
Paddington and lunch with my Sister
Emily? Paddington is long way; EN-
lily as likely as not wauld be out, and if
at home she would probably be lunch
ing of cream cheese and Osborne bus
cults and a glass of Gladstonian claret.
Should l retreat to my station, and re-
fresh myself calmly at the dining-room
there and await my train? There was
something ignominious in the idea.
Here was / in one of the most wonder
full cities in the world, and all 1 could
find it in my heart to do was to get out
of it as quickly as possible.
Irresolute / stood at the corner of the
Newmarket, not having made up my
mind which way to go. I hadn't stood
there before an old Irish-woman asked
me the way to Bethnal green. 1 was
rather furried at this, as, although I
have a good general idea of the direc-
ton OF Bethnal-green, I found it diff
suit to methodize in with sufi-
ient rapidity for the old Irish
conan, who gave me a glance Of
contempt and passed on. Before I had
recovered from this, two very nice-look-
ing girls, moved, l supposed, by my
fatherly appearance, besought me, with
charming smiles, to direct them to the
academy. Now, in my young days the
academy used to be at the national gal
lery. and although ! ought to have
known very well that it was O at
Burlington house, yet I somehow never
realized the fact, and 30 I sent off these
two very nice young creatures entirely
in the wrong direction. MY heart
smote ME the next moment, and I was
about to rush across the street to stop
them and put them in the right way
when l was seized by ford young
Irishman, with all the superfuous en-
ergy and fuency of his country who in
sisted upon my directing him to the
chief commissioner of the civil service,
and was very angry with me when I as
sured him there was no such function
airy. He insisted on producing an Of
fetal envelope addressed to Michael o.
Donovan, Esq, at some bowling will
derness in Tipperary, which certainly
bore in the corner the words Civil Ser
vice Commissions"
"And would there be a commission
widout q commissioner" cried Michael
trinmphantly, but scornfully; and then
l saw what he wanted, of course, and
sent him to Deans yard, but l don't
know after all, whether he wouldn't
have committed an assault upon mo
with the idea he'd got that I was .desa-
wing him. hope to goodness the civ
il service commission hasn't moved too,
Or | shall fear to find my tall Irish
friend waiting for me at the corner Of
the Haymarket with a big stick next
time j pass.
But next minute I was paid for all,
when such a sweet voice fell upon my
eur, and a lady with a little boy in her
hand asked me the way to Regent street.
She had one of those softly moulded
sympathetic faces that give one a heart
ache when n finds that the owners of
than are married, not with any idea of
selfish appropriation, but with the
thought that such sweet candid Great
res should be set apart for the love
and alteration of all mankind, and not
monopolized by some n unworthy
wretch. She asked me the way to Reg
emit street and happy was l that / knew
it.. After that / deserted my post and
darted across to the other side.
/ hadn't got more than half a dozen
yards when / felt q hand laid upon nv
arm, and saw at my side q very good
looking, well-dressed man.
aMy dear fellow" lie said, chow are
you?"
I didn't know but what I knew the
man, for n meets SO many people of
his kidney and for eught I could tell,
might have been Hospitality entertained
by him somewhere or other up the coun-
try, SO that I didn't like to confess my