Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-01-01

NAL condition was one OF nlSH dISuulenI
and exposition. Hespoke of himself as
sswe." and of the rest of the world as
"you"-imparting to thatprOnoun an in
tonation signifcative of bigotry and
prejudice. His neck projected forward,
and his figure was thin and curved like
the new moon. There was Mr.. Beau
fort, once a clergyman. now an actor,
large headed, small bodied man, with a
big nose and deep set eyes, extremely
graceful and deliberate in his attitudes
and gestures, wearing in repose an ex-
preston of thoughtful melancholy, as if
rejecting that he had been clergyman,
but frightening, when addressed, with
smile Cf almost excessive sweetness, as
if RENT mbering that he was an actor.
Such of these gentlemen as possessed
wives were accompanied by them, but
the latter were for the most part like
the engravings of ladies in fashion pa
pers-though their faces might be pref
ty, it was the dresses you looked at and
recollected. When an American lady Is
distinguished at all she is apt to appear
almost too much so. Not to mention
the hostess of the evening, there were,
for example, Mrs. March, of the Wom-
ems Political association, slim, erect,
holding her elbows close to her sides,
with tight business mouth and yes-l-
ing, melancholy eyes; possessing an in
sufferable command of language, en-
HANGED by faculty of seeming to re-
press more than she uttered; Miss hor-
ner, of German extraction, with short,
sandy hair, pale, prominent eyes, a snub
nose and protruding jaw; her volublllty
was as great as that of Mrs. March,
and her rapidity greater; but whereas
the former lady's conversation was
mainly explanatory and argumenta-
tive, Miss Korner's was interrogatoTy
and anecdotical; Mrs. Bright, beauty,
the wife of a wealthy brewer, holding
herself as if she were on horseback, rush
ing at topic or an enterprise as If 1t
were a five barred gate, and forgetting
it the next moment, headstrong, enthu-
siastic, blase; she had embraced Her
bert Spencer during the last season, and
reproduced him in jets and sparklcs;
Mrs. Musgrave, the dramatic reader.
But why continue? The peculiarly of
New York society is that no two people
are alike; you have to focus yourself
anew for every person you meet; where
as abroad the difficulty is to distinguish
Mr.. Smith from SIR. Brown and Mrs.
Jones from Mrs. IobinsOn. People there
seem to be born, bred and nodded in
platoons; the various social grades each
has the same traditions, the same pros
poets. the same resources, the same top
les of conversation, the same tailors, and
the same faces.
But in New York we have not settled
down yet; our people have what may be
called New York look, but there is no
New York type-the former being a
trick of facial expression merely; the
latter a matter of feature and struct
ure. But we are preparing TO people
hemisphere, while the European nations
have to pack themselves together like
sardines in a box, or pickles in a jar,
mathematically, economically and If
revocably, and by natural selection have
long since lost their elbows and idiosyn-
crasies. We are all elbows on this side
of the water, especially since we have
ceased any longer to be all fists and
shoulders.
In addition to the guests above men
toned there were several of our older
acuuaintances- lingo, Hamilton
Jocelyn and Bellingham. When dinner
was announced Wallie Dinsmore took
in Mile. Mariana and seated her at his
right hand, and it turned out that Bel
bingham sat next below her, much to his
displeasure. He told himself that he
owed WaIlie one. On the other side of
him sat Mrs. Bright, whom, indeed, he
had taken into the table. The other
gentlemen thought that Bellingham had
nothing to complain of. Mrs. Bright,
who could interest herself about almost
anything, provided it did not last more
than an hour or so, noticed that her
companion was good looking, and deter
mined to exploit him on the subject of
architecture. She had read Ruskin's
"Stones of Venice" and had seen classic
and medieval antiquities abroad.
Accordingly she rode at him with
great dash and courage, and at first he
answered her graciously enough. Be
fore long, however, he perceived that
she did not know the meaning of her
own information, and then he became
laconic. Young Mrs. Bright, on the 9TH
er hand, was not accustomed to rebuffs,
and Bellingham's reticence only stimu-
lated her enterprise. She sparkled on like
cataract in a rainbow, determined that
he should fall in love with her at any
rate. Meanwhile his other ear was be-
ing visited occasionally by the low and
varied music of a voice the freshest and
most melodious, he thought, he had ever
listened to.
At times, too, as the dishes were
passed, the lovely speaker would lean
toward him, so that her soft white plum
age brushed his shoulder. The Ma
rama and Wallie were having a most en-
tertaining conversation. 1t was not
about architecture, and yet Bellingham
felt attracted byit Wallie was smiling
and chuckling, and ever and anon max
ing some pithy or arch remark. The
diva seemed to be attempting to describe
the mental visions which certain kinds
of music called up for her. AT last she
said, "The end is like the awful rose of
dawn and it seems to keep unfolding
more and more, but the twilight darkens
between, and you can only feel that the
great flower blooms at last in the morn
ing of the other world"
At the same moment Mrs. Bright was
saying to BeIlingham: "In that way,
don't you see, the second and third boxes