The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1889-11-22

into theatre one evening on general adj
mission" ticket, which entitled him to the
privilege Of leaning against q wall, he saw
quite number Of men In evening dress, and
he improved the opportunity to study the
comparative effects Of different styles Of col
lars and shirt fronts. Finally he ventured to
appear at the theatre In evening dress him.
self, and from the lack Of special attention he
justly hattered himself that he did not carry
himself unlike other men. He also made the
important discovery that Judge Dickman's
custom Of buttoning his swallow tailed coat
at the waist, and displaying yellow silk
handkerchief in the fullness thereof, had been
abandoned in the metropolis.
AT last the long hoped for evening arrived,
and Phil was fully dressed and uncomforta-
BILE before sunset. He had already learned,
by observation, that we'll dressed men kept
their faces closely shaved, and he had ex-
perimented, not without an inward groan at
his extravaganza, In what to him were the
mysteries Of hair dressing. He ventured into
the streets as soon as darkness had fairly
fallen, made his way to the vicinity of the
Dinon residence, and from a safe distance
reconnoitered the house with the purpose.
|. quite as common in the country as In town,
Of not being among the earliest arrivals So
single person or carriage approach the door
that there came to him the horrible fear that
perhaps for some reason the affair had been
postponed About o o'clock, however, his
gaze was rewarded by a single carriage; an
other followed shortly, and several others
came in rapid succession; so quarter Of an
hour later he made his own entry. On this
occasion he was not unable to translate the
Instructions, as to the locality Of the gentle
mems dressing room, impaired by the serv-
ant at the door; but, having reached the
general receptacle of coats, hats and sticks,
he was greatly puzzled to know why q num-
Der Of gentlemen were standing about doing
nothing.
BY the time he learned that most Of them
were merely waiting for their respective
feminine charges to descend with them, q
clock In the room struck ten, and as Phil
counted the strokes and remembered how
often he had been half reused from his first
doze beneath his bed clothes at home by Just
that number, he yawned by force of habit
and half wished he never had left Haynton.
But suddenly drowsiness, melancholy and
everything else uncomfortable disappeared
in an instant, and heaven-Phil's own, new
est heaven-enveloped the earth, for as he
followed two or three bachelors who were
going down stairs he heard a well known
voice exclaiming:
"Oh, Phil Isn't this meet Just as IL you'd
been waiting for mel l haven't any escort
tonight, SO you'll have to take me down.
Papa will drop In later. after he's tired of the
club"
Oh, the music In the rustic Of her dress as
1t trailed down the stair Oh, the gold Of
her hair, the flush Of her cheek, the expect
ancy in her eyes and her parted hpsl And
only twenty steps In which to have it all to
himselfl Would they had been twenty thou
sandl
At the foot Of the stair Lucia took Pills
arm, and together they saluted their hostess.
Phil felt that he was being looked at by some
one besides Miss Dinon, and indeed he was,
for handsome young strangers are quite as
rare In New York as anywhere else in the
world. Nevertheless his consciousness was
not allowed to make him uncomfortable, for
between long trained courtesy and intalli-
gent admiration Miss Dinon was enabled to
greet him SO cordially that he was made to
feel entirely at ease. Other guests came
down In a moment, and Lucia led Phil away,
presenting him TO some Of her acquaintance
and keenly enjoying the surprise Of those
who recognized In him the awkward country
10y VI q Weoh DelOTc. lucu OHc BeutleInau
after another engaged Lucia In conversation
and begged dances; other ladies with whom
he was chatting were similarly taken from
him; and Phil finally found himself alone on
a sofa, In a position from which he could
closely observe the hostess.
Miss Agnes Dinon was very we'll worth
looking at Mrs Trsmlay may not have been
far from right IN fixing her years at thirty
six, but there were scores Of girls who would
gladly have accepted some Of her years IL
they might have taken with them her superb
physique and some of the tact and wit that
her years had brought her. Gladly, too,
would they have shared Miss Dinon's super
fuous age could they have divided with her
the fortune she had In her own right. No
body knew exactly how much it was, and
fancies OH the subject differed widely; but
what did that matterf The leading and in
teresting fact was that 1t was large enough
to have attracted pleasing variety of suit
ors, so that there had not boon time since
she ''came out" when Miss Dinon might not
have set her wedding day had she liked
What detriment is there in ago to girl who
can afford to choose instead Of being choseni
Is not the full blown rose more satisfactory,
to many eyes, than the budi And how much
more charming the rose whose blushing pet
ais lack not the CLINT Of gold!
Phil had about reached the conclusion that
Miss Dinon was a woman whom he believed
it would do his mother good to look at, when
his deliberations were brought to an end by
the lady herself, who approached him, and
said
AT last can take time to present you to
some of my friends, Mr.. Hayn. May have
your armr
Phil ut once felt entirely ut ease 1t was
merely a return Of an old and familiar sensa-
ton, for no had always been highly esteemed
by the more mature maidens Of Haynton,
and generally found them far moro inspiring
company than their younger sisters Phil In
formed himself, In the intervals Of introduc-
tions, that Miss Dlnon was not like Lucia In
a single particular, but she certainly was a
magnificent creature. Her features, though
rather large, were perfect and her eye was
full Of soul, especially when he looked down
into It, as from his height he was obliged to,
and the pose Of her head. upon shoulders dis
played according to the prevailing custom Of
evening dress, was simply superb
> She found opportunities to chat a great
deal, too, as they made the tour Of the par
lors, and all she said implied that her hearer
was man Of sense, who did not require 10
be fed alternately upon the nusks and froth