The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-11-27

her fair friends and neighbors had con-
trlved 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 avocation of ''bear" in
wall street, caused several enormous
trunks to be packed, and, arming her
sell with 1ntroductions 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.
1t was rather an amusing table.
though it somewhat shocked Mrs. Mos
tyn's fastidious sense of the social pro-
prleties. 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
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
irrevereDt modern journalist had not
inaptly called mixer. She would
send down famous poet with an Am
bassadress a Cabinet Minister with q
pretty actress, or consign great lady
to a fashionable singer. It was social
salad, and people were pleased, once in
a way, to meet celebrities of whom they
had heard a 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 Lii Sing, her Chinese laundry
man, tc dinner as some of the actors,
journalists and painters whom Lady
Kendall liked to see occasionally at her
table. Tonight for instance, across
the banks of mauVe and white orchids,
Mrs. MOstyn could catch the profile of
her Grace of Liverpool. smiling on a
handsome Polish tenor who had turned
the women's heads in half the opera
houses in Europe; while opposite her
sat the celebrated biologist, Prof. Lyn-
dali, who was apparently delighted
with his neighbor, little Virginian
beauty who had written some rather
erotic novels.
''Why couldn't Lady Kendall have told
me what his line is?" thought Mrs.
Mnstyn, glancing at her partner as she
settled herself in her place. 81 hate
talking toa man know nothing about!
Sport-art-the Gaiety? What shall it
be? l know-poIo! All Englishmen
play polo, or if they don't they like you
to think they do"
But it was not, after all, of polo that
Mr.. Algernon Upham conversed. He
had hundred amusing stories to tell
stories of the theatrical world in Lon
don, of great people in Vienna. of the
ateliers 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. I spent five de-
lightful years working in the Paris
studios, and at the end of that time l
came to the conclusion that knew al
most nothing about it."
''Ah, that is your modesty. I am sure
you do know all about it," replied the
lady, sweetly; and then there was lit
tie pause, during which the young man
smiled and hesitated, as if he were
about to say more. Mrs. Mostyn, feel
ing that she had unwi ttingly touched
on personal matters, adroitly turned the
talk into another channel. The Amer
lean was charmed with her neighbor.
He was not only young, handsome and
amusing, but he seemed (no slight vir-
tue in the eyes of Mrs. Mostyn) to be
connected with various smart and i'm
posing English families. With the en-
terprise of her sex and nation, she de-
termined to annex Algie. ''What a
charming young man," she thought, ''to
take to the play to squire one in the
park, and to hand cups of tea on ones
'at-home' dayp' He had such perfect
taste, and such an eye for color, for
when the talk, as it sometimes will,
turned on chiffons, Mrs. Mostyn was
astonished to hear her neighbor give an
almost subtly feminine opinion on some
point in dispute.
''Why, believe you know more about
it than do" declared the lady, laugh
ing.
''Well, l ought to, suppose"
Mrs Mostyn was so mystified that,
for perceptible instant. she found alb
solutely nothing to say He evidently
imagined that she knew all about him.
With the tact of her sex, Mrs. Mostyn
promptly turned the talk into generali-
ties again, determining to ask her host
ess all about her fascinating neighbor
as soon as the ladies reached the draw
ing-room.
But the Fates were against her.
Lady Kendall was monopolized by an
elderly matron, who never let go her
hostess till the men appeared from the
and when they did so it
was Algie Upham who slipped into the
vacant chair by Mrs. Mostyn's side.
This was maneuver that is not in the
nature of woman to withstand.
''Come and dine with me on Friday
night" she said, when she at last rose
to go; 400 Lowndes square, eight