The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1891-05-22
RISING SUN, CECIL COUNTY. MD, FRIDAY, %.


magnificent landscape, a glittering society
the life which was to live was full and
stimulating. Heavens" 1 thought tc
myself, sit is but year since Bran Boull
ter was the sun of my system, and now
lind that he is only a star in a system sc
vast that / need telescope 20 see out
of it."
l leaned back comfortably in my coupe
and drew my light wrap about my should
ers as | drove home from the first dinner
given in my honor-a year before would
have scampered back to the hotel along
the moonlit shore with Bran by my side
Il have much to learn" thought, but ]
can learn in a day what other women
would take years to comprehend. Let me
shake off the last yestiges of my bread-and-
butter days and be woman of the world y
Ii had pursued such train of reflections
much further should probably have made
an attempt to establish myself as one OF
the leaders of the mode-as an arbitress in
society. But / was still too intent on
gayety and enjoyment to care to direct
matters which did not amuse me, and !
confined myself to the endeavor to be
amused in my own way.
Mrs. Hannibal St. Joseph, the wife OF
the great New York capitalist, who, at the
time of my arrival cannot say led-who
levered Newport society just as she had
been doing for some years, seemed at first
to think of trying to crush me by sort of
ponderous imitation of one of her hus-
bands Operations y but she became very
good humored as soon as she discovered
that Penny's fortune had been absurdly
oyerestimated, and that was not going to
seduce her chef from her nor run rival
balls and buy up all the provisions in
town, nor make corner" in girls or flow
ers, nor do anything of that sort, and I
thought her first alarm quite as reasonable
as her subsequent good nature.
Over her did not care to triumph. but
could not put up with the calm "cheek'
of Mrs. Jonas Moderninstance, nee Nav
flower That cultured Bostonian (an ex-
ceedingly clever woman, do not deny)
actually thought that I was, or ought to
be, afraid of her. / remember that one
evening after dinner at Mrs ST. Joseph's
she and L and Kaaterskill Langton had in
some manner been thrown together-and
she was in a very bad humor. She need
not have minded Mr.. Langton, who was
the best natured man in the world land
everybody knows who the Hudson Lang
tons are), and as for me, was at least in
telligent.
But at dinner she had not been nut any
where near Professor Dreiddop, the great
German idealist, and he had departed inn
mediately after the repast, and thus she
had been unable to put to him her famous
question, which was understood to have
formed the basis of an article by her in
The Atlantic Monthly-as to whether
Schopenhauer's pessimism, when read BY
the light of a sentence from one of Mr..
Emerson's essays, did not appear to be op-
timism in diguise. While she was sitting
with us and still in the sulks on account
of her disappointment we somehow began
talking of a beautiful Boston girl who
moved about in the whirl of society at
Newport. calm, pale, lovely and dignified,
who smiled like saint and was supposed
to be sort of mystical compound of me-
dievalism, transcendentalism and erudi-
tion-and very naturally acquiesced in
Mrs. Moderninstance's praises of this re-
markable young lady; and Mr.. Langton
said:
sAwf'ly handsome; awf'ly clever, by
George, but can't make her out. Now a
fellow can make out Mrs Charter, you
know-she don't confuse our heads, YOU
know, though she does confuse our hearts.
Eh, Mrs. Charter?''
Mrs. Moderninstance went on, still speak
ing of her young woman:
Il think she may fairly be said to be
type, somewhat sublimated, perhaps, but
still distinctly Il type of northern growth.
She is the result of causes which exist in
greater purity with us in New England
than elsewhere, and though the exquisite
delicacy of such nervous system may not
be envied by people who have what are
called SfrOnO constitutions T
noticed that she excites feeling of awe
among other girls. Of course our own
girls are accustomed to the type.'
Mr. Langton," said /, edo you know
Miss Cherry Mayson9"
Yes, indeed" said he; "an awf'ly Jolly
girl, and with lots of fpluck-awf'ly plucky,
by Jove"
DO you think" said I, "that she would
be likely to stand in awe of the young lady
of whom Mrs. Moderninstance has been
speaking?"
swell, say" answered Mr.. Langton, "a
girl who can hold on to the ribbons for
nearly two miles, drive wicked pony into
haycock. and then drop her little brother
out behind is not likely to be afraid of any
fellow, you aown
had calculated that Mr.. Langton's an
swers would be satisfactory.
/ knew ofwhat Mrs. Moderninstance had
been thinking A day or two before the
said Cherry Mayson, sufficiently giddy
little Philadelphian, had lapsed into COM
plete silence on sailing party when Mrs.
Moderninstance's young woman began to
quote Montaigne, and had not spoken
again until the company came back to
ordinary topics of conversation. l felt very
much like repeating to Mrs. Modernin-
stance Miss Mayson's private comments on
the entertainment, but as / happened to
know that Mr.. Langton had witnessed
Cherry's little adventure / preferred to
play that off against the sailing party.
But to imagine that Philadelphia girl
of my position would feel awed by any
bodyl was only impatient with the peo-
pie who tried to snub me. Being "out of
amusement" did not want to have any
trouble in asserting myself-in fact, did
not care to be bothered in any way. If.
said l to myself, we are epicureans, do let
us be good humored.
found plenty of good humor, begone-
dull-care good humor, in the Langton set,
into which Penny and presently entered.
Katy Langton took quite fancy to PEN
ny, and Penny reciprocated his feelings.
We became yachts people, polo people; we
had little suppers chez vous and little din
ners chez nous. We drove about madly
and never conversed very nationally. Most
of us could have conversed nationally,
suppose, but we did not care to. may
say, in parentheses, that did not take
much to the polo. 1t was pretty sight,
but l soon began to think it very slow