Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1895-12-12

were not slow to attribute his misan-
thropic temperament to his having been
Tilted by one of themselves; but they
were wrong. Ruthven had never been
Tilted. His cynicism was due to the
fact that he did not believe in that
which he had never experienced, and
the love passages which issued from his
pen were drawn, as we draw pictures OF
heaven, from his Imagination only.
IL lady, by any chance, induced
Ruthven to appear at an evening party.
she was always more elated at her sue
cess than the event seemed to warrant;
for he was generally either brusQue or
silent whilst there, and invariably
withdrew himself to join his beloved
Cannfbals as soon as it ever was pos
sible to do so.
And his hostess. could she have
looked in upon him afterward, would
have been surprised and disguised to
find how agreeable and talkative he
could become directly he entered his
proper element and felt himself to be
at home. Just as those of his acquaint-
ances, who thought him $50 terribly
sarcastic" that they hardly dare open
their mouths in his presence, would
have been amazed to hear Mrs. Garrett
scold him for letting his breakfast grow
cold whilst he lay in bed, or for re-
naming in damp boots with his feet
upon one of the best chairs whilst he
discoursed eloquently on all the car
d1nal virtues for the benefit of his
nephew, young Hamilton Shore. That
young Hamilton Shore was Mr.. Ruth
ven's nephew every one had been told,
and some believed; but no one knew
how he came to be so-RuthVen's an
tecedents and family history being
alike unknown in the world of London.
The majority of his acquaintances-
according to the usual charity displayed
by those who benefit by all we have to
give them, and make the worst of ev-
erything we do in return-were bold
enough to hint there was closer con-
nection between Ruthven and his pro-
tege than he chose to confess; and ne
never took the trouble to contradict
them. He had said that Hamilton
Shore was his nephew, and what So
ciety chose to believe on the subject
was matter of supreme Indifference to
him.
The lad was now sixteen, and, having
shown disposition to enter the law,
had been removed from the public
school and was working under a tutor
somewhere in the vicinity of his uncle's
house. Except at breakfast-time he
and Ruthven saw but little Of each
other; but he was under the special
charge Of Mrs. Garrett, who gave him
his supper when he returned home of
an evening, and generally looked after
him.
He was a fine, handsome lad, tall
and upright, with wide-open blue eyes,
and fair, curly hair-bearing no reSem-
b1ance whatever to his uncle. On rare
occasions he appeared by Ruthven's
side in the stalls of the theater, and he
always attracted much attention from
the friends of the latter when he did so ;
but his uncle did not encourage the
practice. Like most men who have
passed through the crucible, of the
world, he did not see the necessity of
being scorched by its flames, and
wished to save Hamilton from too early
an acquaintance with its evil. He had
been burned himself too often not to
dread the fire for his nephew
So young Shore was still considered
and treated as a mere child, at which
he was sometimes more than disposed
to grumble.
RuthVen, who usually sat up writing
half the night, seldom left his bed till
eleven or twelve o'clock in the day,
when, after desultory breakfast, he
would saunter down to the Strand and
spend his afternoon among the theatri-
cal world of London, being as well
known in every lobby and greenroom
as the manager himself
It was on one particular day in spring
when, having passed some hours in the
way described, he was walking quietly
down street in the city in which one
of our principal police courts is stu
ated. There was an amused smile upon
his face, the smile of a man who has
heard something which excites his ridi-
cule either by its absurdity or its I'M
truth.
The fact is, Lord Lupton had just met
and congratulated him on his supposed
engagement to Cissy Vanilla, the pref
test and most popular burlesquer on
the boards. His lordship had appeared
to imagine that it was the most natural
thing in the world that the well-known
dramatist should be about to contract
an alliance with the well-known act
resS and that he was very lucky fell
low TO get her. Ruthven had acknowl-
oIoa1 hA 1,1a1x rubiIo ~ IL