Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-09-04
THE DUDES STORY.


get, am not able TO explain. rather
fancy it was bit OF joke on tho part
of some chap at Oxford, for he stood
six feet four and three-q quarters, as tho
record of his class crew shows and
weighed over two-and twenty stun. or
more than three hundred and eight
pounds. as we would say in this coun-
try. Midget he was called. at any
rate, so it does not matter "A rap why.
His right name was Lawrence Rocka-
weigh Meadowbrooke, and at the clubs
here the men who are not sufficiently
chummy with him TO call him Midget
mostly call him Lawrie. for he is such
tremendously jolly, good sort of an
old chap that even comparative
strangers find themselves calling him
Lawrie, after a day or so of Mr..
Meadow brooke to lead off with, plain
Meadowbrooke TO follow, and then
Lawrie, as the natural climax to the
sense Of good-fellowship that he sheds
about him wherever he goes among
men of his own class.
have known him from TIE time we
rode ponies together with my govern
or's head-groom as our riding master
so when that fellow at Christ Church
dubbed him Midget, | dropped Lawrie,
and have called him Midget ever since,
for you see it is rather clever bit of
humor. for he is as big as a house, and
when chap is as big as house it is
rather ridiculous TO call him Midget,
and | always have been doosid fond of
bit of fun.
| have said. | fancy, five-and TWEEN
ty times that | would write the story
of what happened to Mldget-dear old
Midget-big as house and called
Midget-to Midget and me when we
were together in London last; but
have never had really good chance
till now, for such lots of things are
always cropping up, and | hate writ
ing-simply detest it
| was telling the story TO fellow |
know who is in stocks downtown, and
he laughed and said Il say. Van
Assinlnc, you should scribble that off
and send it TO the Century, or Harper's.
or some OF those fellows. Why, it's
out of sight"
told him | had said five-and-twen-
ty times | would write il, but that |
simply loathed writing, and then he
said ''Oh, pshaw! that's all rot.
Why, all you've got to do is to come
down TO my Office and dictate the thing
to my typewriter. and she'll hand it
over TO you as clear as trout brook
Then you have only TO send it to ono
of those editor fellows and it'll make
you famous. A man should get in the
magazines now; it's capital form TO get
in the magazines" Rather cheeky in
him to tell me what was good form, I
thought-but then. what's the use of
fellow bristling up over that? Why.
just no use at all. as | told man at
the club, and he said: Quite right
old boy; just no use at all. "
1t is rather the thing to be in the
magazines now, and to write books.
Mr.. Aston does it, and two or three of
the women | know do it, and lots of
fellows tell me they are going to write
something.
took the broker chaps idea about
the typewriter. however. and had it
done by the girl at the Fifth Avenue
the one who sits in a little boxed-in
place in the newsman's room-the
room where you get theatre-seats from
Tyson.
She was an awfully clever sort of "a
girl and il is quite remarkable how
she ratified along on that typewriter
thing. She did il so nicely that | told
il TO her twice, just TO see her rattle it
of so smartly. | did not fancy girls
were so doosid clever She enjoyed
the story. too and was quite the
thorough bred about it, only just
smiled the least bit as i told it to her
but laughed heartily after 1 had
finished.
heard her laughing and probably
telling it to another girl, who came in
and joined her, while / was talking TO
Tyson's man about some seats for
-'Phe Labor of Lost Love" or some
thing like that, at Days. that / had
promised TO take some people from
Philadelphia TO see. They had had
me over TO one of their assemblies.
and / met them on the avenue, and !
had to do something. SO | thought 1
would take them to Days.
Dear old Midget how he will curse
me when he finds that have told that
story ia a magazine, and how the fell
lows at the club will chat him. be-
cause he hates magazines, and says
they are rubbish. | have been in Lon
don twice since then; since the night
that Midget had it happen to him, but
il did not seem the same place. OF
course ] will go again, for one runs
over and back now without any more
feeling of novelty than in going to
Del's, and / have been twice without
any more idea OF going a day or so be-
fore | sailed than-than-well, than
anything.
The last time. ] just asked fellow
nj the club il he knew where man
co'l] get decent pair Of bags in New