Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-12-21

cent, and the employees would take TWEEN
ty-six and a fraction per cent, and tbs
author would take sixty-four per cent"
And here an interruption occurred. IL
came from No. 2, who could no longer re-
strain his disgust.
"Tu resign" he said-'TIl resign, Nee
sons content with ten per cent, when an
author-a mere author-get. sixty! It's
shameful-shameful!'
IF You choose TO resign, you can" said
Eustace, sharply, but / advise you to
take time to think it over. Gentlemen"
went on Eustace, Il dare say that this
seems a great change to you, but / may rs
well say at once that / am no wild philan-
thropist. l expect to make it pay, and
pay well. To begin with, / shall never
undertake any work that l do not think
will pay-that is, without an adequate
guarantee, or in the capacity OF a simple
agent; and my own ten per cent. will be
the first charge on the profits; then the
authors ten. OF course, If | speculate in
n book, and buy it out and out, subject to
the risks, the case will be different. But
with a net ten per cent. certain, | am, like
people in any other line of business, quite
prepared to be satisfied; and, upon those
terms, l expect to become the publisher of
all the best writer's in England, and ! also
expect that any good writer will in future
be able TO make a handsome income out Of
his work. Further, it strikes me that you
will most of you find yourselves better of
at the end of the year than you do at pres
ent." (Cheers.) lone or two more mat
tiers | must touch on. First and foremost
the Hutches, which l consider n scandal
to a great institution like this, will be
abolished"-Shouts of Joy from the tame
authors)-"and a handsome row of brick
chambers erected in their place, and. fur
ther, their occupants will in future receive
n very considerable permanent addition to
their salaries" (Renewed and delirious
cheering.) Lastly, | will do away with
this system-this horrid system-of calling
men 10y number, rs though they were con
rictsa instead of free Englishmen. Hence.
forth everybody in this establishment will
be known by his own name" loud
cheers.)
"And now n thing more: | hope to sec
you all Mt dinner at ~Pompadour Hall this
day next week, when we will christen our
new scheme and the new firm, which,
~ NV iuAAAAt 30 III lhC DdSls Will
be known as Meeson a. Co, for. as we are
all TO share in the profits Of our undertake
ing, | consider that we shall still be "a
company, and / hope a prosperous and an
honest company in the truest sense of the
word" And then, amidst "A burst of pro-
longed and raptuross cheering, Eustace
aud his wife bowed, and were escorted out
20 the carriage that was waiting TO drive
them TO Pompadour Hall.
In half an hours time they were re-en-
tering the palatial gates from which, less
than a year before, Eustace had been
driven forth TO seek his fortune. There,
on either side, were drawn up the long
lines of menials, gorgeous with plush and
powder Gor Mr.. Nelson's servants had
never been discharged, and there was the
fat butler, Johnson, at their head, the
same who had given his farewell message
to his uncle.
Good gracious!" said Augusta, glanc-
ing up the marble steps, there are six of
those great footmen. What on earth shall
/ do with them alp"
"Sack them" said Eustace, abruptly;
"the sight of those oyerfed brutes makes
me sick"
And then they were bowed inland I'M
der the close scrutiny of many pairs of
eyes wandered off with what dignity they
could command to dress for dinner.
In due course they found themselves at
dinner, and such a dinner! 1t took an
hour and twenty minutes to get through,
or rather the six footmen took an hour
and twenty minutes to carry the silver
dishes in and out. Never since their mar
riage had Eustace and Augusta felt so
miserable.
Il don't think that / like being so rich"
said Augusta, rising and coming down the
long table to her husband, when at last
johnson had softly closed the door. 1T
Expresses mev
$50 it does me- said Eustace, "and
tell you what it is, Guss:e," he went on,
drawing her on to his knee; II WON'T stand
having all those Internal fellows hanging
round me. shall sell this place, and go
in for something quieter."
And at that moment there came a dread
full diversion. Suddenly, and without the
slightest warning, the doors at either end
of the room opened. Through the one
two enormous footmen laden with
coffee and cream, etc, and through the
other johnson and another powdered
monster bearing cognac and other lique-
urs. And there was Augusta sitting on
Eustace's knee, absolutely too paralyZed
to stir. Just as the men came up she
struggled of somehow, and stood looking
like an idiot, while Eustace colored to his
eyes. Indeed, the only people who showed
no confusion w5rG those magnificent
menials, who never turned a single pow
dered hair, but went through their solemn
rites with perfectly unabashed counten-
ances.
II can't stand this" said Augusta, fee
bly,, when they had at length departed. II
am going to bed: / feel quite faint"
"All right" said Eustace; II think that
1t is the best thing to do in this comfort
less shop. Confound that fellow Short,
why couldn't he come and dine, / won
der if there is any place where one could
go to smoke a pipe, or, rather, a cigar-I
suppose those fellows would despise me If
l smoked q pipe. There vas no smoking
allowed here In my uncle's time, SO / used
to smoke in the housekeeper's room, but I
can't do that now"
"Why don't you smoke herea--the room
is SO big 1t would not SMELL" said Angus
ia.
'Oh, hang it all, no." said Eustace;
stink of the velvet curtains. / can't sit
and smoke by myself in q room fifty feet
by thirty; / should get the blues. No, ]
shall come upstairs, too. and smoke there"
And he did.