The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-06-04
SOFTY. i.


We cnrlstened him Softy when he ;oined
our regiment, the farfamed British Boz
derers he was SO fresh and soft and sim
pie. he swallowed everything we told him,
he took all for gospel. did such silly
things. We made him step out Of the
ranks on parade complain that the men
had only five nights in bed, and when the
chief said 10 was no dashed business OF
his, 20 say that every man should DO Ike
the sergeant-major's wife. One night az
an inspection dinner we persuaded him
10 90 up 10 the General and ask him
whether he thought that Julius Caesar
had first invented the order of attack.
The general. who was jolly old cock.
saw us all grinning, and said he'd let us
know next day, when he so harried ana
hunted us about the drill Held that we
wished we had left the order for attack
alone
He was the best tempered chap in the
world. You could ses IL in his facei fair
and chubby and child like-when we first
knew him; his blue eyes were so round
and wide open, as If with surprise ana
astonishnent-and he was good deal
surprised sometimes. Nothing hardly
put him out Ho would laugh with tho
rest of us, and shout ooh, / say - when
he saw-not very qnickly-that we had
done him again. Only once no got really
into "A rage and that was when we drew
him." He never minded IL as "A rule, but
that night sope one fell foul of photo
Rraph-a lady young; pretty, real
ripper-And cried Here, hoys, look
she's Softy's mash! -
Softy made one rush. His eyes were
blazing and his face was first crimson,
then dead white. drop that, Mortimer.
Drop it, or-T't's my mother. she is
dead. 4"
Mortimer was a great hulking rough
fellow. But he knew how TO be grave.
beg your pardon, old chap; of course,
I'd no idea" he said, hanuiug him the
photograph, and we all went quietly away,
AS you may suppose, we got very fond
of Softly He wasn't bit of "A soft in
other ways; he could do lots of things
we'll He was a nice light weight and
could ride above bit he was a smart field
at cricket and was tough TO handle with
single sticks or the gloves.
We were soldering those days in Hall
fax, Nova Scotia. IL Is some time ago,
SO / dare say many OF the old landmarks
are gone The only place of amusomens
was theater known as "Ludovici't
Lyceum, glorifled barn, nothing more,
and the company the merest strolers.
But Ludovici was character i'm his way,
an unrecognized genius according TO him
self but with the making Of n great actor.
This making was, however, long delayed,
and so was the fortune 1t was to bring
The Lyceum did not'get much patron
age beyond that Of the regiment, and
Ludovici never had n really good season.
At last he oil but came to conspicuous
grief he owed for the barn, the ghost
never walked" and ruin stared him in the
face.
IL was Softy who found this out. He
had always hankering after the stage
and seldom missed night at the Lyceum.
Ludovici and he scraped acquaintance.
lnt alsA tb.,
manager benefit to help him through
his troubles; an amateur performance.
assisted by the professionals. We rather
pooh -poohed the idea, but Softly was
pertinacious. This was the first evidence
of that dogged persistence about him
which helped him so greatly in after life.
and in the end we chose the : Heir-at
Law" with Ludovici as DR. Panxloss
and Softy as Lady Duberly, "by partic-
ular request" Of his brother subs, who
thought to take n rise out of him when
figged out in petticoats and patches and
pearl powder.
At mess fellows said that Softy was
"stage struck, and money was offered
and taken that he would cut the service
and 60 into partnership with old Loo "
For long time we saw very little of
him. This was both before and after the
theatricals. IL was natural enough at
first, on account of rehearsals, and all
that but afterward-why was he so much
taken up with Ludovicig What did he
see In the chapY
We never quite got the rights Of Ii, until
one day Softy came ~ mel was one of
his best pals-and said he was going to
exchange.
II want to get TO India A fellow has
more chance there; seeing service, you
know. and all that, and I'm sick of this
peace business. l shall try the shiny.
Tull is Offering 300 pounds to get into
ours I'd like the money"
! smelt rat and pressed him. Why
was he so keen about collaring the snuff
He was not such a wastrel didn't bet, or
swagger, OF drink, or waste his substance.
How or why was he so hard upY
After a bit l squeezed 1t out Of him.
He had promised TO lend Ludovici
couple Of hundred pounds He had
squared IL with Cox, the army agents, but
only on the condition that he exchanged
and repaid the over draft with the bonus
paid.
I was fairly mad with him. and gave 1t
him hot What We're we TO lose the best
boy that had joined us for years all for
ohis scheming swindling old scoundrel?
found out where the Ludovicis hung
out. and went straight TO the house. They
were rather poor lodgings in "A frame
house An old slatternly negro woman
opened the door and showed me straight
up stairs.
No Mr.. Ludovici-only half dozen
children, clean and tidy. round tea table
spread with rather meagre meal. The
eldest, girl about fourteen. az ''the un-
grateful age, tall and gawKy, with
pale. sallow face. framed by great mass
of raven black hair, and lightencd by
magnificent dark Italian cycs, ro,e ard
came TO me with n questioning look
Il wanted 60 see Mr.. Ludovici, Z" / said,
a little abashed. % am one OF the Bor-
derers, brother officer OF Mr. Seymour's F."
At the sound of Seymour's nume
pretty color rose 10 her cleok, ana some
thing indescribable, soft. sweet look,
came into her fine dark vyes.
Mr.. Seymours friends are our
friends, she said, with "A mntrons self
possession. putting out her lUtlo brown
hand. 'Ho has been very good TO us. Z"
Il love Mither lhecmorc." cried a
small voice, with her mouth fun Of broad
and butter. and the remark was echoed
round the table, ending with. And Pol
lie iovth Mithcr Thcemore. from the
first speaker. Polite who was the lanlly
eldest child Of the party. laughed little
consciously; then sternly chidcd Them
and bade them be quiet
T.. - 81 a