Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-06

liable qualities of naturalness, honesty and
. inoffensive ghtforwardness; she is
nearly barren of troublesome conventions
and artiicialities, consequently her pres
ence and her ways are unembarrassing, and
one is acquainted with her and on pleasant
terms with her before he knows how it
came about.
This new acquaintanceship-frie
indeed-progressed swiftly; and the un-
usual swiftness of it, and the thoroughness
of it are sufficiently evidenced and estab-
ished by one noteworty fact-that within
the first half-hour both parties had ceased
to be conscious OF Tracy's clothes
Later this consciousness was reawakened;
it was then apparent to Gwendolen that she
was almost reconciled to them, and it was
apparent to Tracy that he was.
The reawakening was brought about by
Gwendolen's inviting the artist to stay to
dinner. He had to decline, because he
wanted to live, now-that is, nosv that there
was something to live for-and he could not
survive in those clothes at a gentleman
table. He thought he knew that. But he
went away happy, for he saw that Gwen
dolen was disappointed.
And whittier did he GO? He went straight
to slop shop and bought as neat and rea-
sonably well-ftting suit Of clothes as an
Englishman could be persuaded to wear.
He said-to himself, but at his conscience
81 know it's wrong; but it would be wrong
not to do it; and two wrongs do not make a
right
This satisfied him, and made his heart
light. Perhaps it will also satisfy the
reader, if he can make out what it means.
The old people were troubled about
Gwendolen at dinner, because she was so
distraught and silent. If they had noticed
they would have found that she was sufi-
GENTLY alert and interested whenever the
talk stumbled upon the artist and his work;
but they didn't notice, and so the chat
would swap around to some other subject,
and then somebody would presently be pri-
vately worrying about Gwendolen again,
and wondering if she were not well, or if
something had gone wrong in the millinery
line.
Her mother offered her various reputable
patent medicines and tonics with iron and
other hardware in them, and her father
even proposed to send out for wine, relent-
less prohibitionist and head of the order in
the District of Columbia as he was, but
these kindnesses were all declined-thank-
fully, but with decision.
At bedtime, when the family were break
ing up for the night, she privately looted
one of the brushes, saying to herself, '1t's
the one he has used the most.
The next morning Tracy went forth wear
ing his new suit, and equipped with pink
in his buttonhole-a daily attention from
Puss His whole soul was full of Gwendo-
len Sellers, and this condition was an in
spiration artwise. All the morning his
brush paved nimbly away at the canvasses,
almost without his awarity-awarity, in
this sense being the sense of being aware,
AAp. fr,rt
ing out marvel upon marvel, III the way of
decorative accessories to the portraits, with
felicity and celebrity which amazed the
veterans of the firm and fetched out of them
continuous explosions of applause.
Meantime Gwendolen was losing her
morning and many dollars. She supposed
Tracy was coming in the forenoon-a con-
clusion which she had jumped to without
outside help. So she tripped downstairs
every little while from her work parlor to
arrange the brushes and things over again,
and see if he had arrived. And when she
was in her work parlor it was not profitable,
but just the other way-as she found out to
her sorrow. She had put in her idle mo-
ments during the last little while back in
designing a particularly rare and capable
gown for herself, and this morning she set
about making it up; but she was absent
minded, and made an irremediable botch
of it. -
When she saw what she had done, she
knew the reason of it, and the meaning Of
it, and she put her work away from her, and
said she would accept the sign. And from
that time forth she came no more away from
the audience chamber, but remained there
and waited.
After luncheon she waited again. A
whole hour. Then a great joy welled up in
her heart, for she saw him coming. So she
flew back upstairs thankful, and could
hardly wait for him to miss the principal
brush, which she had mislaid down there.
but knew where she had mislaid it.
However, all in good time the others were
called in, and couldn't find the brush, and
then she was sent for, and she couldn't find
it herself for some little time, but then she
found it when the others had gone away to
hunt in the kitchen and down cellar and
the voodshed, and all those other places
where people look for things whose ways
they are not familiar with.
So she gave him the brush and remarked
that she ought to have seen that everything
was ready for him, but it hadn't seemed
necessary, because it was so early that she
wasn't expecting-but she stopped there,
surprised at herself for what she was saying;
and he felt caught and ashamed, and said to
himself, 81 knew my impatience would
lrag me here before I was expected, and
betray me, and that is just what it has done;
she gees straight through me, and is laugh
ing at me, inside, of course.
Gwendolen was very much pleased on one
account, and little the other way in an
other; pleased with the new clothes and the
Improvement which they had achieved; less
pleased by the pink in the buttonhole. Yes
terday's pink had hardly interested her;
L - .I.o h.1
rot her immediate attention and kept it.
She wished she could think of some way Of
getting at its history in a properly colorless
and Indifferent way. Presently she made
venture. She said:
"Whatever mans age may be he can re-
luce it several years; BY putting bright
,olored flower in his buttonhole. I have
,ften noticed that. Is that your sex's res
ION for wearing boutonniere?"
sT fancy not, but certainly that treason