The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-09-29


her passing face.
AS quick as fash that day his eye, trained
in country fashion to first identify approach
ing riders by then. horses. had scanned tn,
animals that drew the carriage, so that h,
might know them when next he saw them
But again and again was he disappointed, fol
spans on which he would have staked his repu
tation as being the same were drawing car
riageS that did not contain the face he sought
He might have been spared many heart sink
ings, as well as doubts of his horse lore, had
he known that the Tramlays did not keep 8
turn out, but had recourse to livery stable
when they wanted to drive
He had even sought Lucia at church. He
had known, since the family's summer at
Haynton, the name of the church which they
attended, and thither he wendell his way
Sunday morning; but their pew was appar-
emily farther back than the seat to which he
was shown, for not one member of the Tram
lay family could he see in front or to either
side of him, and when the service ended and
he reached the sidewalk as rapidly as possible
he soon learned that the custom of rural
young men to stand in front of churches to
see the worshfpers emerge was not followed
at fashionable temples in the city.
Another comforting hope, which was sooner
lost in full fruition was in the early arrival of
his dress suit Fully arrayed, he spent many
hours before the mirror in his room at the
hotel, endeavoriug to look like some of the
gentlemen whom he had seen at the TramIay
reception. Little though he admired Marge
on general principles, he did not hesitate to
conform himself as nearly as possible to that
gentlemans splendid composure. oUron1ng
into a theatre one evening On general adj
mission" ticket, which entitled him to the
privilege Of leaning against 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 Dickmans
custom of buttoning his swallow tailed coat
at the waist, and displaying a 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 well dressed men kept
their faces closely shaved, and ne 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
| long did he watch without seeing even a
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 Q o'clock, however, his
! gaze was rewarded by single carriage; an
! other followed shortly, and several others
came in rapid succession; so a 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 sery-
ant at Ga" door; but, having reached the
/ general receptacle of coats, hats and sticks,
he was greatly puzzled to know why a num-
I Der of genIlenei were standing about doing
nothing.
By the time lie learned that most of them
were merely waiting for their respective
feminine charges to descend with them, q
clock III the room sti'ucl; ten, and as Phil
counted the strokes and remembered how
often he had been half reused from his first
doze beneath his bed clothes ut home by just
that number, he yawucd 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-Phils own, new
81 e., 10
followed two or three bachelors who were
going dove stairs he heard well known
voice exclaiming:
"Oh, Phil! Isn't this nice? just as if you'd
been waiting for me! | haven't any escort
tonight, SO you'll have to take me down.
Papa viii drop in later, after he's tired of the
club"
Oh, the music in the rustic of her dress as
it trailed down the stair Oh, the gold of
her hair, the flush of her cheek, the expect
ancy in her eyes and her parted lips! And
only twenty steps in which to have it all to
himself, Would they had been twenty thou
sand!
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 III New York as anywhere else in the
world. Nevertheless his consciousness was
not allowed to make him uncomfortable, for
between long trained courtesy and intelli-
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 u moment, and Lucia led Phil away,
presenting him 10 some of her acquaintance
and keenly enjoying the surprise of those
who recognized in him the awkward country
boy of a week before. Then one gentleman
after another engaged Lucia in conversation
and begged dances; other ladies with whom
he was chatting were similarly taken from
him; and Phi finally found himself alone on
a sofa, in a position from which he could
closely observe the hostess
Miss Agnes Dinon was very well worth
looking at. Mrs. Tramlay 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 if
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
huous 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 on the subject differed widely; but
what did that matter2 The leading and in
teresting fact was that it was large enough
to have attracted pleasing variety of suit
ors, SO that there had not been time since
she ''came out" when Miss Dinon might not
have set her wedding day had she liked.
What detriment is there in age to girl who
can afford to choose instead of being chosenl
Is not the full blown rose more satisfactory,
to many eyes, than the budi And how much