Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-08-27
MAKING A SHOW.
Young Men, Beware OF Sailing
Under False Colors.

Ny Uncle George was an old bache
lor. Why he preferred the state OF
single blessedness he kept a secret, but
at last he made me Il confdant.
One evening, as we sat together IN
my uncle's comfortable mansion,
found him in q very communicative
mood, and partalling rather freely Of his
choice old sherry, OF which lie kept a
good supply, and to my establishment
he preached the subject which l had
| promised to bring up.
''NIy dear boy" said he, Il sup
pose YOU have often wondered why
remained an old bachelor?"
Eyes, uncle" said l, in an airy, off
hand way which did not at all betray
the depth Of my curiosity. Il am sure
you must have had ample opportunity
TO see the cream Of society and make a
suitable choice of a companion"
"Well, :" said he, Il viii tell you, and
the story may be q good subject for
your dreams Of future speculation.
"When I was young man was
rather fond Of making a good show in
society. At times this was performed
on a very limited capital Shortly after
I settled in New York | made the &C
quaintance of Il beautiful and estima'
bic young lady, Miss CloriDda Swan,
and l lost no time in paving the way
for a matrimonial alliance with her.
cone evening the subject of con-
versation between us ran upon operas,
II . I 4
Clorinda to go to the Academy Of Mu-
sic the next evening. As | have said,
my means were then rather limited,
and now I had just enough left TO pay
for the tickets, but no surplus for car
plus for carriage, supper and etceteras.
With these 1 determined to dispense, as
l thought my fair Clorinda was too
sensible to notice the loss.
Fortune favored me at the start;
the evening was fine and the ground
dry, so at the appointed time / made
my appearance, dressed in the best /
could afford, and waited patiently for
Clorinda. She soon put all my fears
on the carriage question to flight by
assuring me that she preferred walk
ing.
I'VE chatted gayly on the way to the
academy, and were in due time for
performance, which was the opera of
Martha with Nine. Parepa-Rosa in
the leading role. OF the performance
1 need not speak. The opera was all
that we could desire, and was rem
! dered most admirably.
''When the performance was over
we descended the stairs amid the gay
throng, and soon reached the sidewalk.
But, oh, horror Of horrors! it was rain
ing! What was | to do? To get
carriage, without having n cent to pay
for it, made my blood run cold. a
happy thought occurred to me in
moment, and in n nervous whisper 1
| asked Cloripda If she had rubbers on.
To my dis:naY she answered:
No; my boots are very light, too,
and could not think OF walking. We
must get a carriage
''Of course there was nothing left
for me but to face the music, and
hailed one OF the many drivers who
were anxious to get passengers. I as
sisted my fair Clorinda to n seat, and
in few moments we were whirling
along through the rain. Hardly had
we gone two blocks when Clorinda
said she was hungry, and asked me to
stop and get supper. My feelings can
easier be imagined than described rs I
thought Of ny empty pockets, and
tried to reason her out of eating so
late at night. III my arguments were
fruitless, however, for my dear
CLOrinda was not to be thwarted.
Thinking that fortune might be-
friend me by some means then a mys-
terry to me, l ordered the driver to stop
at the nearest restaurant. We entered
the saloon and took seats at 4 table in
the center Of the room. l determined
TO eat as little as possible, but Clorinda
was not by any means so delicate, and
quietly took the liberty of ordering
what she wanted In vain I looked
around to see if by chance the saloon
contained an acquaintance, but to my
dismay not a familiar face was to be
seen.
As you may imagine, was not in a
hurry to leave the table, but my COM
panion began to show strong signs of
restless anxiety to get home, so l
thought I'd better start and have it
over as soon as possible.
Il had formed many plans of how
was to pacify the cashier at the desk,
but the wretch had more human nature
IN him than imagined
while walking down the saloon l
turned 70 Clorinda and suggested that
she had better 60 out and get into the
carriage while was settling the bill
and buying some cigars, which l want
ed to take with me. To this she made
no objection, as luck would have it
Il walked on till 1 came in front of
the smiling Individual who was wait
ing for payment, and with as bold an
air Of innocence as 1 could assume ]
told him I had forgotten my pocket
book in the hurry of getting ready for
the theater, but l would call next day
and settle the bill
=" Too thin story to pass here. SIR
he calculated We do a strictly cash
business
i don't want to be bullied about
such a tTifle,' I continued, but the man
had completely changed into hog BIZ
this time, and coming out from his
place behind the desk. he looked wick
ed enou n 10 choke me then and there
g i VIII call a policeman and have
II " D.