Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-14
A DISTINGUISHED VISITOR.

1eloW, anu lids uo nOt tnlnk III rlSnt, en-
gagged as you are to me, to keep on dancin,
with him, and let him monopolize you fo
nearly the whole of the evening""
''You are full of absurd insular preiu
dices, Tom," was the reply, "and L an
fortunate in gaining an insight into yom
character before we are inevitably tied to
each other. should never get on with 6
Jealous husband, and as for our engage
ment, you are free to break it off If yol
think fit
One of the speakers was tail, broad
shouldered young man, presenting a com.
plete type of the handsome young English
man of the better class His cheek wa.
flushed, and during the enunciation of his
sentiments against some absent person, hi.
fingers tugged nervouslv at the tawny mus.
tache which half-concealed his mouth. The
other was girl of about % years of age
dark, tall and graceful. There was an an.
CRY CLEAN in her eyes, and the little foot
encased in its satin bottine tapped impa-
tientlv upon the floor, as if the so doing
afforded some vent to the irritabilitv under
which the speaker was laboring.
The scene was a conservatory filled with
choice exotics, and through the open door
came soft strains OF music, while occasional
glimpses could be caught of couples gliding
past in the graceful movements of the Manila
waltz
"Nell" said the young man, earnestly,
"vou do not know what you are SAYING.
Would YOU wreck the chance of the happi-
ness of two lives for trivial disagreement
of this kind? Surely you would like me to
have an opinion of my own sometimes"
IL.
Gus smile stealing over her face, "you have
told me know not how often that you had
no will. except so far as my wishes were con-
cerned. >"
''Of course-of course" stammered the
Young man, evidentlya little staggered bvthis
quotation from some of his own gushing
speeches; but this is something entirely
different, and one where my knowledge of
the world might help to draw you back from
the brink of precipice you had approached
too nearly"
"Hear him." laughed the girl "Hear the
vanity of the young men of the day, as if
one Of them possessed one-half of the savoir-
faire of girl in her second season"
81 know that most of you are up to thing
or two," answered the young man, who be-
gan to feel the ground giving way beneath
his feet; "and what can have possessed you
girls-and, bv Jove, the married women are
no better-to run after this fascinating in
dividual is more than 1 can imagine
'You are speaking, 1 presume, of the
Marquis de Floridore?" asked the girl
.'Of whom else have have we been talk
ing for the last halfhour, and quarreling
finally over him, too?" returned the young
man.
"Is he not fine man?''. asked the lady.
Granted" answered Tom, though his
feet are very large"
"Does he not sing divinely and play on
the guitar with the hand Of maestro?"
"a matter of opinion" growled Tor.
"And," continued Nell, as if to clench
the argument, sis he not of distinguished
lineage and true type of the old French
nobility?"
"No, thousand times no, burst forth
Tom. "He is simply bowling cad; and
how comes it that thew know nothing of
him as-kis own Embassy"
"VoulJ re ambassador of a republique
recognize re descendant of re noblest of
tamilies?" asked Nell, with so clever an
imitation of the tone and manner of the |
Marquis that, in spite of his ve1ation, Tom |
was compelled to laugh aloud. .'Tom,"
continued she, laying her hand gently upon |
his arm, edo you know what has made me |
firt so outrageously, as you term 1t, with |
the Marquis?"
Tom was about to say "pure cussedness,
but, fortunately checking himself in time,
he only shook his head.
because L thought that you were paying
q great deal too much attention to Miss
Cobb, the American girl with the
squeaky voice, and so wanted to show you
that there were other men besides your
lordShip in the world.
''Fellows didn't seem to take to the little
girl, and so 1 had pity on her, for she
seemed so precious dull, replied Tom, with
a sheepish air.
"Tom," answered Nell, impressively, ian
engaged man has no business to pity any
girl, on any excuse whatsoever. Now that |
We have had our customary gangle out, will |
YOU take me to the ballroom? By the way, |
of course, you have been asked to Sir Mat |
thew Pontilune's TOR the pheasant shooting |
I am going"
"And so is that fellow Floridore," re-
turned Tom. "Never mind, now that we |
have had an explanation am quite at nv |
ease, and promise not to be jealous any
more"
There's a good boy" answered Nell,
and, laying her hand upon his arm, she |
permitted herself to be led from the con-
servatory.
Tom Harlingham, the son of Squire |
HarlinCham of the Grange, who had for so |
many years successfully hunted the West |
ern Division of Marlshire, had been for the ]
past three months engaged to Nell Fol- |
thorpe, the only child of Sir Gervase and |
Lady Folthorpe. The match was suitable |
one from every point of view. and every |
thing had gone smoothly until the arrival |
of the Marquis de Floridore on the hor- |
iZon.
No one exactly knew who was responsible |
for the introduction of this fascinating for /!
eigner into society, but he certainly had |
achieved an entree, and was to be met with |
at some of the best and most exclusive |
houses, both in town and country. Strange |
rumors were certainly circulated concerning |
him, and the Embassy, as Tom had stated, !
denied all knowledge of him, but for ali |
hat the Marquis contrived to hold his own,
chiefly owing to the way in which he had |
managed to ingratiate himself with the fair
sex.
He did not mix much with the men, but |
roamed from dancing room to boudoir sing
ing those little French and Italian songs for
which he had achieved quite a reputation,
and declaring his intention of not returning
10 the family estates until he had persuaded
An English wife to accompany him thither.
Sir Matthew Pontilune had ALWAYS en-
oyed the reputation of collecting pleasant
circle OF guests together Tor the pheasant
shooting, and this year his arrangements
we're as successful as usual All the guests
mad arrived with the exception of the Mar
lus de Floridore who could not put in an
appearance until he had concluded q visit
ne was paying to the potentate of an ad-
dining COUNT, the Duke of kestreltowers.
For some time past a series of daring
ewelry robberies had puzzled the police,
md set the stanchest sleuth hounds of
scotland Yard at defiance. The depreda-
ions we're entirely confined to country |
houses, and managed with such consum-
nate skill that not only was it impossible to
race the property, but also every effort to
ay hands upon the actor or actors in this |