Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-25
CISSIE AND CARRY.

menced his third year at Oxford, and
every one expected him to take a high
place among the cleverest men of his
year when he went in for his tripos.
But young Gladbrook was no book
worm and owed his superiority in knowl-
edge more to the brilliancy of his intel
lect than to studious application. At
the age Of twenty-one he found himself
his own master, with an income sufi-
cient to keep bachelor m every luxury.
This would have led many young men
into excesses, but Gladbrook was steady
as rock, and above all things prided
himself upon being adamant to the fair
sex-a fatal mistake in most cases, and
suggestive Of the Scriptural warming,
"Let him who thinketh he standeth be-
ware lest be fall" On the night of the
university boat race, in the year 49,,
IGladbrook was sitting in q certain stall
at the Vampire Music hall. In the
next stan to him sat his greatest friend,
Horace Morton. On the stage the Sis
ters Pool were delighting their many
admirers with their most fascinating
dance. s1
'By Jove," said young Morton, whose
head was slightly swimming, .by Jove,
how those two poor girls whirlr
~Yes," replied Gladbrook, 'sthey're
perfect whirlpools In fact they ought
to be christened sScylla and Charybdis,'
for they are whirlpools in which many
craft has gone to destruction"
Morton was not too drunk to remember
this and not 80 dishonorable as to try and
palm it off as his own joke. Consequent
ly next day all Seymour Gladbrook's
friends were talking about his latest wit
Eticism.
Now Gladbrook was perhaps the only
man of his set who was not more or
less intimately acquainted with Cissie
and Carry Pool, SO the whole story was
carried direct to them, together with the
name of the originator.
Henceforth Cissie and Garry were
known far and wide only as Scylla and
Charybdis, and they pretended to appre-
ciate the Jest, but in their innermost
souls they Especially the elder) cherished
3 longing for revenge against their in
sidious defamer.
Cissie (Scylla) expressed a strong de-
sire to meet the young wag who had
given her this Homeric nickname, and
as her lightest wish was law to her ad-
,mirers the meeting soon took place.
After this Gladbrook seemed to find
these sisters everywhere he went. If he
was on race course they were sure to
be the guests of friend of his. If he
went out to supper they were always
invited, until he quite unconsciously
drifted into the friendiest relations with
them.
It was quite evident to every one but
Gladbrook that he was under very heavy
fire from the batteries of Scylla, a fire
which no man had withstood for long.
She was then in the first flush of youth,
faultlessly beautiful in form and feature,
charming IN manner and such master
of the arts of fascination that they ap-
peared to be part of her nature. Glad
brooks friends first chaffed and then
warned him. He laughed at them and
called himself a misogynist. at first it
seemed as if he would prove invulner-
able to the fusillade to which the lady
continually subjected him. He trusted
to his armor of Indifference and was too
proud to retreat from danger. His pride
led to his fall. He fell as only brave
men do, utterly and hopelessly defeated.
The capitulation of young Seymour
Gladbrook, which caused so much diver
sion and amusement to his friends, was
sad to behold. The fact Of his having
been Indifferent to other women all his
life made him give himself heart and
soul to this one. Cissie Pool was jubi-
liant. She paraded her tame lover on
every possible occasion, in order that all
men and women might see how COM
plete her victory had been. He lavished
presents and jewels upon her until she
sparkled from brow to waist with dia-
monds, and people wondered how much
longer young Gladbrook's money would
hold out. But in proportion as the
spirits of the elder Miss Pool rose those
of her sister seemed to give out. She
became depressed and dull The few
admirers she had dropped off one by one,
seeing that it was as hopeless for them
to try and win her affections as it was
for her to expect one tender glance from
the man she worshiped Seymour Glad
brook is not the only man who has de-
serted the substance to pursue the
shadow, and, blinded by the beauty of
the form, has ignored the purity of the
soul. Carry's nature was as perfect as
her sisters figure, while in Scylla's
character there was scarcely redeem
ing feature. All men who make this
fatal error suffer for it either in fortune
or self respect.
The day Of reckoning came at last.
The jeunesse doree of London was
thrown into the depths of despair by the
news that the divinities at whose shrines
it had worshiped SO long were going to
seek fresh devotees in America, and
would make lengthy tour through the
States. This blow fell like thunder
bolt on young Gladbrook. He was dis
tracted. She was far away, and he had
not the means of following her. Exyry
penny of his modest patrimony had
been squandered upon his enslaver, and
be had no security on which to raise
more money.
It was the night before the sisters were
to sail, and he was sitting in his cham
bers, thinking dejectedly over the situa-
tion, when his servant brought him a
somewhat bulky parcel, which had been
1ofk ok k1,o dr>or. INV Z, uo1Juo lady n, n