Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1888-02-03
THE MASCULINE DECOY.
Colonel Cadder's Tale of Modern
Society.

piano, and almost hidden from the
rest of the company by flowers ant
drapery. 1t was possible to converse
in an undcrtono without annoying
Others, and as | am not "up to" the
severe species of music now in vogue
encouraged my companion to talk
about the people whose faces attracted
my notice. think he found me salts.
factory listener. | chuckled at the right
places, but said nothing myself, except
what was necessary TO draw him on.
He had pretty well gone the rounds
of the company, mentioning some in
teresting detail about each one, calcu-
lated to impress mo with the tritc fact
that this is very queer world, when a
young man walked slowly down the
staircase and seated himself facing us,
but at considerable distance.
Colonel Cadder started as he cspied
him; and said: "Aha! There is Went
worth!'
l observed the new conner carefully,
but said nothing.
The Colonel was silent for minute
or two, stroking the gloves which lay
upon his knee.
"Therc are only few men," he said,
presently, "who have any suspicious of
that young mans true sphere in life.
He is the most interesting and mys-
terious character that / know. Inquire
about him at random, and you will bc
told that he is the son of the late George
Wentworth, well known in Wall street
ten years ago, who left snug fortune
to his widow and this youth. His
mother, they would explain, lives in n
quiet sort of way on Thirty-eighth
street, and Hugh himself passes the
easy, indolent life of the average So
ciety young man. You will find him
well liked everywhere, and those who
know him well would, perhaps, speak
enthusiastically of his brilliant conver-
sation and charming manners"
"Yes, Iassented; "he looks all that
you say"
| scrutinized the young mans face
more carefully. l call him young,
though / suppose he was in the neigh
borhood of thirty. TO man who has
toiled through half century of cx-
istcnce, every man not forty is juene
encore. His countenance showed more
character than was TO be observed in
most of the young men who frequented
Mrs. Vanderbrink' parlors, but it was
not striking in any way.
''And wherein is the world laboring
under an errorp" | asked.
"In supposing that he has any prop
erty. Old Wentworth was not as rich
as people imagined, and what money
he left was SO ill-invested that it finally
all disappeared-by evaporation"
$50 this elegant young man is COM
PEELED to live upon the charity of his
relatives?" said !, enquiringly.
mo his degradation is infinitely
greater than that. He has no wealthy
relatives, and is, therefore, forced to
earn a living for himself and those de-
pendent upon him. No one suspects him
of it, yet he enjoys handsome income
from profoundly mysterious source"
as he private detective?" l haz-
arded; this being the only mysterious
business l knew any thing about.
The Colonel shook his head.
Perhaps he leads germans for the
nouveauX riches" | continued, "or
begs Wall street pointers from the wives
of brokers who talk in their sleep"
Neither of those" said the Colonel.
Then, leaning over, he whispered in my
car, 'He is Decoy."
'Indeed" ] said, with fortunate
presence of mind. II would not have
expected it."
Presently, as the Colonel showed no
disposition to proceed, was compelled
TO ask humbly for explanations.
''Ihe Decoy is a new idea" he said,
''recently introduced from Paris, where
all our bright ideas originate. Society
in Paris, however, does not present the
opportunities for the display of the De-
coy's genius which are offered here. In
France a girl marries to suit her pa
rents; in America she arbitrates her
own destiny. The French girl has
plainly the advantage, because shc has
some one else on whom to lay the
blame"
"of course" / said; "but the De-
coy?"
1.-The Decoy," repeated the Colonel,
impressively, sit is the business of
the Decoy to prevent those mesalli-
ances which are the bane of our social
system"
| continued to look mystified, and the
Colonel resumed:
at is safe to say that out of every
five engagements which take place in
society, two on an average are unsatis-
factory to the parents. Let us have
statistics. IN one of these two cases.
we may refer the disapproval to the
mans side of the house; in the other,
to the woman's. For the man, nothing
can be done; but for the girl, there is
always hope-that she may change
mutabilc semper you understand"
Exactly" l assented; land the De-
coyP"
"Thc Decoy does the business grace
fully and pleasantly, without attract
ing attention or hurting anybody s
feelings, except, perhaps, those of the
supernuous lover who proceeds TO get
over it with the promptness character
istic of his sex.''
"But the modusr' exclaimed. 81
don't comprehend how all this is ac-
complished.
"You must understand, in the
first place, that the Decoy is man who
possesses yeritable genius for making
love. and to this is added unlimited ex-
pelience in afIaires de coeur There
Is no field, by tho way, whore expori-
spce ought 70 ase0unt tOr loss, and