The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1890-09-20

termined to annex Algie. What Q
charming young mf-a, 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 chifons, Mrs. Mostyn was
astonished to hear her neigh Dor give an
almost subtly feminine opinion on some
point in dispute.
| s'Why, I believe you know more about
| it than do" declared the lady, laugh
! ing.
SWELL, I ought to, I suppose"
Mrs. Mostyn was so mystifed that,
for a 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 lnatron, who never let go her
hostess till the men appeared from the
dining-room, 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; 900 Lowndes square. eight
o'clock Don't say you can't; one or two
nice people are coming"
IT shall be more than charmed" re-
piled the young man, bending, in his
pretty half-foreign way, over the ladys
hand; "but you'll come to my place one
day, won't you? Lady Kendall is COM
ing tomorrow"
| ''Why, yes; I think could go to-mor-
row." said MIS-. Mostyn, and so the
thing was settled.
On the following day Mrs. Washing
! ton Mostyn, who had put on her most
gorgeous attire-not having been long
enough in London to know that here
women do not bedeck themselves in the
! Acknowledged down to her little
coupe and directed the man to drive to
Lady Kendaps, thoroughly pleased with
herself and the world in general She
was going 30 see the charming young
man of the night before, and the charm
ing young man was going to dine with
! her on Friday. Moreover, she had on
her most becoming bonnet.
The two ladies chatted costly as the
carriage bowled along,
| I'm SO glad you could GOMEZ said
Lady Kendall; ''l'm sure you'll think
! his taste perfect. He has such lovely
things"
"Lovely things?" inquired Mrs. Mos
! tyn, with rising enthusiasm. She was
one of those women who like their
heroes of the moment to be set, as it
were, in framework of luxury.
| Eyes; brocades SUCH as you can't get
for love or money. He has them special
ly manufactured from his own designs .
'He must be very rich," said the
American. s'That's the sort Of thing our
nillionaires do at home"
! "Well. Algie must make three or four
thousand a year, [ should think, re-
joined Lady Kendall, thoughtfully.
''You see, he's so we'll connected. AL
the smartest women in London go to
Algie''
If Mrs. Mostyn wondered for all in
slant how the society of smart women
| justified such reckless extravaganza,
she said nothing, having horror OF ap-
nearing ignorant of London or the ways
| of London.
'sYou got on capitally," continued
Lady Kendall; "Algie is so fond of
Americans You see, they don't mind
what they spend.''
MOP" said Mrs. Mostyn, who was
now thoroughly mystified; and just
! then the carriage drew up at a smart
looking house in a Mayfair street-a
house all painted white, with yellow
silk curtains and blinds. and daisies
! and spiraea in the window boxes.
The door was opened by a man
servant in livery, and the ladies were
| shown upstairs into a large room like 3
studio The walls were Of golden
leather, with draperies and curtains of
| dull gold silk, and here and there a
| touch OF turquoise-blue or faint pink in
wrought with gold added another note
to Che harmonious picture, in which the
| white wood mante}.piece, the soft Per-
sian carpet and the exquisite old mezzo-
tints on the walls each played their
| part. One or two Chippendale cabinets
displayed specimens CT rare Nankin,
the easy-chairs and lounges invited you
| to chat, and on every table and in every
nook stood flowers and palms.
| His master was engaged for the mo-
ment, the man announced, but would
| be with the ladies in few minutes.
| ''What perfectly charming studio!'
cried Mrs. Mostyn, peering round in
her pretty, short-sighted way: ''only J
don't see any canvases or the usual
artistic mess"
s'Canvases why should there be, my
| dear?"
| "Well, but isn't Mr.. Upham an art
] ist?"
| Artist cried Lady Kendall, "whatan
idea! Why, don't you know?--l thought
everybody knew-Mr. Upham is the
fashionable dress-maker. His profes.
sional name is Eugene, but we all call
him Algie. Why, Pm going to try on
my new Court bodice directly, and the
| dear boy will tell me exactly what's the