The record-union., 1897-06-20


sition And the end of it was that i
found myself actually walking with
(as the maids call IT'D a young working
man. / tried in vain to recall all the
sustaining animation of the enthusiasm
of humanity which / do think ought
to have helped me at this pinch, but II
didn't-not an atom. To do him JUS
tice, the unfortunate wretch seemed at
first to be very quiet and subdued. In
fact, / believe he was almost as UNI
comfortable as 1 was, especially when
Mary Jane would shout out from be-
hind:
Now then, don't be shy, you two!"
| We walked along in dreary silence
| until it occurred to me that at home,
at Darlington, when We used to meet
bucolic pairs keeping company on
Sunday afternoons, We noticed that they
always maintained a dead silence. So
l was afraid my companion might fan
cy that 1 was merely conforming to
| that code of manners, and resolved to
make a little conversation on as high
a level as possible l asked him if he
had been to the British Museum lately,
but he only muttered something surly
about ''bloomin' museums" and when I
added that the Assyrian inscriptions
be blowed!" and was evidently in a
very bad hunor.
1t appeared that we were bound for
the Exhibition at Earl's Court. Such
a place to choose to go to on Bank Hoi-
idayi OF course it would be crowded
with bourgeois and worse. L was going
| to point this out to my companions
| when it occurred to me that they were
Bank Holiday people, and, in fact, that
/ was one myself. This indeed was the
kind of thing 1 had originally intended,
but ] fancy my mind must be I'M
| usually flexible, as well as large and
| comprehensive, for l find myself so
| constantly seeing things from varied
points of view-a very different thing
| Gas l should like to explain to Aunt
Albinia) from changing ones mind,
which I never do
Presently we stopped for refresh
ments'' of a most undressing charac-
ter at small and very uninviting eat
ing-house, which was crammed with
vulgar, rough people. And while there
overheard AIRY saying angrily to his
sister that "the gals was right, twas
just like walking with tombstone, and
a precious ugly one, too" meaning me);
to which that idiot Mary Jane must
needs reply:
'Oh, CANNON! She's only shy. And
yer said yer wanted a quiet one. Just
'liven er hup bit and she'll be hall
right
Whereupon we all bundled into a
frightfully crowded omnibus, where a
great deal of vulgar romping was going
on, in which it was expected that Mary
Jane and I should join OF course it
| all oil hr1f rpol1U-
how they could think that it was suita-
BILE for me- And it was of no use for
me to look stony, for that horrible AIRY
acting upon his sisters advice, and
having fortified himself with two or
three glasses of beer, began to behave
in the most frightfully familiar way
exactly as if 1 were in his own rank
of life.
Part of our programme for the day
was, l found, short walk in the park
ito ave a look at the swells,'' and when
we dismounted for that purpose the
wretch put his arm round my waist,
and we entered the park so! l had
thought before that humiliation could
go no further but when / found myself
in these familiar scenes and thought of
the possibility of being recognized by
some old acquaintance, l felt that
there We're bower depths still, and every
probability of my falling into them. After
all, was the principle of equality worth
all this? Undoubtedly I still maintain
it in theory, and nothing shall ever
make me own to Aunt Albinia that my
undertaking was fiasco, but still
My thoughts were interrupted by a
romping tussle between Mary Jane and
her companion, eliminating in the
4
concoction of purple velvet trimmed
with pink ostrich feathers and trails
of dirty yellow roses), which Mr.. Hall
bert Immediately snatched up and IA
cetiously put on his own head amid loud
laughter and pgotestations. We were
all standing at the edge of the drive
where a few carriages had just been
} stopped to allow a senseless noisy pro-
: cession of Socialists to cross, and at
that moment well-known, clear, en-
phatic voice fell on my ear
Il was afraid it would be like this.
Simmonds told me it was Bank Holt
day, when it is always so disagreeabe
to go anywhere, but the Duchess was
determined to hold her committee meet
ing
| 1 looked up, and there was Aunt AL
binia with Lady Fosbrooke sitting in
the carriage, SO near that I could have
touched her. Was ever anything so
perfectly dreadful? 1 could not move
for the crowd was pressing behind u.s.
and l could only hope with a quite
frantic violence that the carriage
would move on before she had seen me.
Oh, those Socialists, with their idiotic
flags and nonsensical mottoesi would
they never pass? Lady Albinia was
watching them contemptuously and
making her usual sarcastic remarks
which / always used to consider it my
duty to contradict. Somehow they
seemed more reasonable to-day.
The moments dragged slowly past,
and so did the Socialists, and I began 10
hope that I should escape unseen, when
that miserable toad, Mary Jane, must
needs call out at the top of her voice:
"Gearginer. L sly GearginerI lend
and ERE with my back 'airi'
Lady Albinia turned her gaze with
languid disgust towards usher eyes
fell on meat first without recognition
then look of Mortified doubt came
into them-then a shocked certainty.
She stared with all her terrible keen
sternness, and half started forward
half exclaimed.
What group it was she was looking
at. There was l with my hair hang
ing in jagged tangle over my eyes,
and the two dingy feathers trailing from
my hat-a commonplace, Vulgar young