Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-07-18
THE VANITY OF MAN.
BY A. j. DUANE.

BY A. j. DUANE.
Mrs Van Colt went by in her pkae-
ton-the three ponies jingEng their
Russian harness, and the fresh salt air
doing its best to curl Mrs. Vans white
p1umes the wrong way. 1t was early
for her to be out in her thin morning
hite. All the other jewellers at Craw
ford's FONT wore the flannel dresses
that were $50 free and SO sensible"
The wide porch of our habitation was
criss-crossed with long Mexican ham,
mocks, and we were lying about IN
all sorts of graceful and graceless atti-
tudes, with the appetizing odor of broil-
ing fish coming gratefully in from the
board kitchen in the corner of the
yard. The gay awning of the most de-
sirable city make and texture, put to
shame the rough boards of our shell,
but found congenial companions in the
two black walnut steamer chairs that
held two flannel shirted young men,
that the gilt-painted lanes on the
board above their heads seemed TO la
bel, only unfortunately the labels were
mixed.
The A. G. Hunter belonged to the
short smooth dark fellow who lay in
the chair calling attention to Henry S.
Messersmith, who in his turn lay at full
length in the sparse patch of weeds.
dlgnltied by the name of lawn.
Henry S. Messersmith was worth look
ing at. Long-at least six feet one, as he
Law stretched-with the close-cropped
head, the golden mustache, long, thin
nostriled nose and shapely chin. of one
of the thousand society men that leave
college every year. Before he opened
his eyes he looked like very hand
some anybody-else under %, but when
Mrs. Van Colt went by in her phaeton
aud he raised his head to look at her,
the long black eyes, heavily lined I'M
derneath, made you fairly stagger into
a wondering addition of another ten
years.
We all raised to look..at Mrs. Van. We
always did. Maize Messersmith raised
her fuzzy brown head from the end ofthe
largest hammock, where she and her girl
cousin George Cole, swung most of the
day, and called over to her half broth
er:
Harry, didn't you know Mrs Van
Colt when she was girl ?'
''Sli2htly,' answered Messersmith in
an indifferent tone. Hunter, can't
you and Cole go out in the yawl this
morning? l should like to use the
"My dear fellow, take 'em both =?
We've given up the idea altogether.
Cole isn't equal to the eXertion," and
then we all laughed, because everybody
knew that Hunter was too lazy to
move, and Ernie Cole the most ener-
getic of boys. It takes a little thing to
make one laugh on an early morning at
the shore, Just as you are going into
brea kfast too.
It was late that afternoon. I was sit
ting on the rocks where Maize and
George we're lying talking over plans
for next winter, while the hot sun
dried their hair and Drowned their
plump arms and legs, exposed by the
most modern bathing suits. [ was be-
ginning to feel pretty tired of my book
and my own society, when / heard a
slow sauntering step on the cliff above
me, and turning, saw George Hunter
climbing down. | didn't want him to
see the girls, although they were used
enough to watering-place undress not
to see any improperly, SO L began
walking up to meet him. There was q
sort OF natural sofa made by three rocks
fallen together, and shaded by a
gnarled Tree. Hunter stepped down to
the lowest ledge and laid himself down,
Messersmith's dory had come in. He
was Messersmith's dearest friend, but
only one who was with them day by
day would ever have suspected it.
Presently he asked how I liked Mrs.
Van Cott the other day when she came
to call. [ said that l liked her very
much She was the most beautiful wo-
man | had ever seen, and her manner
was lovely.
f., L.
At last he raised his head and sup
ported it on one hand, with his face
looking up to me.
Miss Alice, did you e yer hear OF
Messersmith's acquaintance with Genie
Hall, Mrs. Van Colt that is %
| should not have been at all sur
prised if anyone else had asked me that
question, plainly a prelude to a conf
dence, because [ was the repository of
everybody's secrets, but / was sur
prised at Hunter, and little battered.
too.
Hunter hardly waited for my muir
muir, but went on.
Henry and were visiting my aunt
near Richmond, Va, and went to a
girls school dance. We had not ex-
pected anything but bread and butter,
but to tell the truth we were not tai
enough from that stage ourselves to
have lost all zest for the article. We
had plenty of it, but from the time
Messersmith saw Genie Hall, then child
that she was, he lost his senses. He
told me afterward that a girl whose
fatl er had been rich before the war
told him that Genie Hall was only toll
Grated; that she was of a common fami-
ly, and hadn't even money to recon-
mend her. But of course. you know
that Messersmith is not the sort that