Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-10-09
A SOCIAL SHOCK.
Why Mrs Mostyn Fled from q
London Dress-Maker.

sfeer Mrs. Washington Mostyn entered
the drawing-room, and, indeed, 1t ap-
peared that the party were only waiting
her arrival to put an end to the classic
bad quarter of an hour.
"My dear" whispered Lady Kendall,
81 am going to send you down with
most charming young man, Algie Up
ham, q cousin of the Duchess Of Liver
pool; l think he's quite one of the
incest men in London, and so artistic,
don't you know"
Mrs. Mcstyn raised her tortoise-shen
lorgnette in the direction of the gentle
man indicated, and was pleased to make
An inspection and give an opinion in
not moro than two seconds:
Charmed, ! am sure. What good
looking young man All, l see-race
and intelligence"
Eyes, both. But allow me to intro
duce you," said Lady Kendall In an
other minute Or so the women were
trailing their silken and velvet skirts
downstairs to the dining-room. Mrs
Washington Mostyn belonged to the
'four hundred" of New York, II not by
birth, at any rate by wealth. Her hns-
tions in Wall street most of the year
round, was wont to leave the cultiVa-
ton of society to his handsome wife.
Their brown stone mansion on Fifth
avenue was as gorgeous as many OF
their richer neighbors, and no one I'M
derstood better tho art of blooming" an
entertainment and getting herself
talked about than Mrs. Washington
Mostyn, of New York. And then, her
cottage" at Newport, was it not cele-
brated in every paper throughout the
length and breadth of the continent? 1t
was there that she entertained ]avishly
migratory members of the English aris-
tocra0y in quest of amusement, wives or
sport, thereby forming connections
which she meant to push vigorously
now that she had actually arrived in
London. Had not Lord Birkenhcad,
the Duchess of Liverpool's eldest son,
been ono of these feted and fiattered
youngsters? And was not the dear
Duchess proportionately grateful, and
inclined to open the ducal arms in q
manner that she was not wont to do
with certain dear friends and rivals
from New York and Washington?
But Mrs. Washington Mos tyn had
still one unsatisfied ambition, and that
was to become as much a Londoner as
her fair friends and neighbors had con-
trived to make themselves. To London,
Of course, like every other self-respect-
ing American, she had been, but it was
with the London of hotels, parks and
theaters only that she was familiar.
Into its society she had never pene-
trated. And so it came to pass that
Mrs Mostyn, leaving her husband to
perform his ayocation of bear" in
Wall street, caused several enormous
trunks to be packed, and, arming her
self with intro1uctionS to some of the
best people in London, betook herself,
her maid and her courier by the next
steamer to Liverpool landing on these
shores by the beginning of May. Lady
Kendall, who loved above all things a
new face, had been one of the first host
esses to make much of her.
It was rather an amusing table,
though it somewhat shocked Mrs. Mos
tyn's fastidious sense of the social pro-
prieties- Looking round, she was struck
with the familiar look of the faces, and
as matter of fact she could have seen
most of the persons present by taking a
walk down Bond street and glancing in
the photographers windows as she went
along.
Lady Kendal's parties were celebrated
In their way, for she was what an
irreverent modern journalist had not
inaptly called 4 mixer" She would
4
bassadress, a Cabinet Minister with
pretty actress or consign a great lady
to . fashionable singer. 1t was social
salad. and people were pleased, once in
q way. to meet celebrities of whom they
had heard s great deal Now Mrs.
Mostyn, like others of the -four hun
dred," knew little, and approved less,
OF mixing" She would as soon have
asked Ii Sing, her Chinese laundry
man. to dinner as some of the actors,
journalists and painters whom Lady
Kendall liked TO see occasionally at her
table Tonight for instance, across
che banks of msuve and white orchids,
Mrs MOstyn could catch the profile Of
her Grace of Liverpool. smiling on
handsome Polish tenor who had turned
the wouen's heads in half tho opera
Aosses in Europe; while opposite her
sat the celebrated biologist Prof. Lyn-
DALI, who was apparently delighted
with his neighbor, little YirginiaB
beauty who had written some rather
erotic novels.
''Why couldn't Lady Kendall have told
me what his line is?'' thought Mrs.
Mostyn, glancing at her partner as she
settled herself in her place, 81 hate
talking to man know nothing ebouti
Sport-art-the Gaiety? What shall it
be? I know-polo! All Englishmen
play polo. or If they don't they like you
20 think they do"
But 1t was not, after all, of polo that
Mr.. Algernon Upham conversed. He
had a hundred amusing stories to tell
stories OF the theatrical world in Lon
don, of great people in Vienna, of tho
steliers in Paris.
"You paint then?" asked Mrs. Mos
tyn. when the talk turned on the last
subject
81 used to-" said Upham, modestly.
81 have almost given it up now; in fact
think it gave me up. ] spent five de-
lightful years working ia the Paris
studios, and at the end of that time I
camo to the conclusion that knew al
most nothing about it."