Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-02-22
THE BEST MAN.
london World.l

bachelor Somewhat old-fashoned: he
called yellow ~yallar," and always dropped
his final S'S when talking of readin' or dinin
out He wore "A blue spotted cTavat, a buff
waistcoat, a geranium in his buttonhole, and
agold-mountei eyeglass, which he held TO,
but never stuck in, his left eve At the
time os which | write he was IS and
a-hslf, guty. crackly as TO voice, and
rather affected in manner. He had veCued
considerably about the tino of the Crimean
war. AMI now he played piquet and be-
Iunged u ali the clubs that are called after
the nanIos of the defunct coffee house
keepers.
He lived in Fiat a. Regency mansions
Victoria street; and his rooms, decorated
with rl1 prints, were filled with baths and
/, pipes, AMI tubes for carrying up roast chick
eus inside the walls, and Things for talking
to people ever so far away, AMI other evil
aences of confirmed luxury; and he was on
good terms with his brother, the duke of
Dorset
Sec,nlly, the young Lord Arthur Lanton
generally called Art for short by his own
set He wore high collars, a black satin
scarf, with pearl pin in it, white waist
coat, garienIa in his buttonhole, AMI an
unmoun.ei eyeglasS, which he never held
to, but always. even when asleep, it is said,
STUCK III us El-nb eye. ne was -,
muscular good-loozing, and winning in all
his ways-except at whist. He played polo
and shot pigeons, and belonged to
the New Club, and various "Ju-
niorsr He lived in Flat b, Regency
mansions; and he, too, had baths, and tubes
and many modern photographs, ami cav
ern full Of soda water, and other things, and
he was by no means on good terms with his
father, tie duke of Dorset From all which
things can be gathered his differentiation, as
scientists say, from his uncle, who lived in
the fiat below him
Art 1anton had been scrapish, not to say
scampish, and rumor had it that he had Of
Tended the ducal head of the family by Civ
ing mixed and somewhat dramatic charac-
Ter at Dorset house, into the middle of which
the duke had most uniustifabiy popped.
However, his chief ground of oifense was
that he had recently been affectionately
sffichcd, and, indeei, openly devoted, to Miss
Harry Horton. Her name was Harriet; but
sverybo iy had called her Harry ever since
she was schoolgirl.
To describe with anything like fidelity dear
Harry Horton would take up several con-
sscutive numbers of this journal which
might possibly irritate the solvers of the
scrUsticS and the people who read the city
article Suffice it that she was gra ,eful AMI
svelte; that she had tossed brown hair,
violet eyes-big, deep -lashed, rather mourn
ful. soul-lestroying, real violet eyes; that
from 4 mouth that was rather mutine, she
was won't to laugh, a. it were, with tiuy
peal Of silver bells; that she had hosts Of
adorerS; that she rode with perfect hands
and danced with perfect feet; that she wasa
brave. girlish girl, and that she was the
most downright, auiacious and deliberate
airt Ia London Tnis tendency Of Harry's
arose from buoyant animal spirits a quick
sense Of humor, and a perfectly innocent de-
sire 10 please people. This, however, is a
subtle matter of psychological analysis and
metaphysical chemistry, and belongs in no
way to this veracious chronicle
Arr and Harry" certainly made q
pretty pair wherever they went Ascot
birmingham. and the Row knew them well;
and there was firm and close alliance be
tween them, spite of the many "keen en-
counters of their wits, which, l regret to
say. frequently led to rude things being said,
TO pique and petulanoe on one side and to
growlngs and gong away after grouse on
the other. For ali that, they never sent
back photographs or did anything so absurd
as to ask for old letters to be destroyed. or to
bury the past 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 together, and then it was either,
Harry, l was beast" or art, Pm so
sorry, ,"-sometimes only a glance from the
violet eyes, or an abrupt, ring-crushing grip
from big brown hand; but at all events,
Harry's makeup Il don 'timply, mark you,
that the lady had studied the mysteries of
macquiilage) and Arts unconditional sur
renders were always full and complete.
They were not engaged, nor had they ever
spoken to such thing; utthey were chums,
or az 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 emo
tional, they We're wont to make almost ma
Hcious fun over. Shakespeare, Burne-Jones,
Wagner, the Society for Psychical Re-
search, melancholy bards, earnest actors
with purposes, and generally the group that
Art low Art she calls HIM was won't to ir-
reverently allude to as "the Serious
Johnnies,' were their pst averSions; but
there We're certain players, and play
houses and newspapers, and race meetings,
whose names l forget that they sedulously
patronizsi. They also liked each other, IN
which last particular must admit that they
were not to blame, particularly at the mo-
ments OF tender truce-makng referred to-
They were both poor; for Art, younger
son, had but a small allowance from the irate
duke; and Harry was the youngest of the
five unmarried daughters of an admiral Ia
retired rear-vioe-commodore of the Pea
Green, or something of the kind" Art at
once called HIM, who was an irascible old |
sailor of ancient family, who sat as director
all day on The boards Of "dicky" companies |
in the city, and sat at his club all night tell
ing stories of all the sea fights from Salamis |
to Alexandria.
Every wise rLan has, at some time or an |
other in his life, been struck with the folly |
he has committed by the simple act of a So |
cial introduction Thin edges of wedges, |
fractured friendships, nay, murderings of |
loves, have sprung from the fatal little |
formula, Don't you know each otheri |
Really, you ought! Allow me TO present."
and then the eternal mischief is done. |
There is little devil called the "Introduc- |
ton Demon" and when the wrong people |
are introduced to each other, he always |
chuclleS over his victim-the introiucer. |
He (the little demon) has a real good crow |
when Art Lanton, climbing up Jim Trip |
pers' drag at the last meet of the Coach |
club, in company with his uncle, to hi US u |
disguised delight discovered Harry Horton |
In the freshest and frou-frouest of rustling |
white frocks, and then, in obedience to a |
gentle avuncular murmur behind him, duly |
presented the elder lord to his-weIl, to his |
chum.
The old gentleman was in amazing form
He doffei his broad -brimmei white hat |
with Chesterfield courtesy, promptly in
stalled himself beside the rustling white |
frock, and laid himself out to regale Miss |
Harry with somewhat obvious compliment |
and somewhat reckless anecdote of his own |
early cos shing days AMI nights ("sugar and |
spice" sort OF conversational pudding) all the |
way 10 Richmond. His nephew vainly at
tempted an occasional cut in from his seat |
Sehini. No use; and the moment he per-
nIttsd himself to wear but for an instant |
certain Irown that Harry well know, MS /
fate was sealed. Why men will put theiI
l. li.aI.a-soS