The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-27

why, only think, three days have not gone
/ by since our first meeting.
Two days later he came to me in the
| morning room of the club with an open let
! ter in his hand.
Il don't know what this means Some
o. one has sent me box for the theater-the
Royal Sovereign. Why is it?"
/ ..nnpute 70 the VICTORIOUS soldiers
/ Rot! VIII you Gomez"
/ ~ we hunted up the papers to see what
IIney were doing at the Royal Sovereign.
| snort press extracts in the advertisement
we read that Mary Meredith was incom-
| parable; hers was the finest impersonation
OF Juliet in this in any age"
NelLher of us-I can swear for myself
ana ana | believe, for Softy-connected Mary
| Meredlth with Polite Ludovici. Nor did l.
! When we We're seated in the stage box the
very pest IN the house, recognize her in the
1t was magnificent performance / was
greaqy struck, greatly impressed, by it,
| sn9 l sad as much coldly and critically to
| ooIty after the act drop fell. He did not
| TURN at nrst, and when presently he did So
| 1 saw plainly that he was still under the
| influence of strong overmastering emotion:
his eyes We're moist. his hands Shook his
| voice trembled and he looked at me as one
oazea when repeated my banal remark.
| ondefIully good, eh?"
| Don't you know her, man? It's Polite"
81, = OF tne rest Of the night / got no sense
| 4 4Iio OF Softy; When the curtain was up he
followed juliet with rapt attention, abso-
| iiutely absorbed; between the acts he drew
PACK INTO the corner of the box, shut up
! III SIlent self-communing.
Hard hit, eh, Master oofty?" I said with
poor attempt at fun, to which he dis" dis
o crlafu 70 fTedPiy Well she is splendid
dlthi now l can understand
s les yes. l, too, can understand" He
| SSPohe III riddles, but know now that he
| hstd realized at last what she had meant
| by her hesitation to accept him Would he
| ASK her to give up her art for him? How
could he permit her, for his sake, to let
her genius suffer such eclipse?
v One forenoon reno, toward the end of the
l X. n n n drfNxr
| terrace ana from it aighted a very distin-
| Splsheu parsonage, who asked for Miss
o Meredltn ana was at once admitted. She re-
celved MIN IN her private sitting ROOM self
| possessed and queenly, arrayed in spotless
| WHITE with one crimson blossom at her
1T is very good of you Miss Meredith.
10 grant me this interview" began the
| great soldier. 7 should not have presumed
| 70 lntrude, but come armed with good in
| Lemons and in the interests of another
can you guess me object of my mission?''
| NO -she spoke very graVely-'it is not
| ntlng that should do SO. Nor can | adj
m ire the good taste Of
| stay, one moment, please. Let me re-
| move any misapprehensions. 1 come on be-
| mali Of Colonel seymour
| AM she exclaimed.
| But without his knowledge
Hne notloned him to a chair and COM
| posed herself to listen to him.
ale Nj Meredith, | am an old man. 1
cIaln the privileges of age and | am forti-
Hed by the excellence of my intentions
| against any demonstrations of what | am
|
| contemplation?"
: Your lordship is frankness itself. May
venture to be equally frank? In what
| way do our affairs-Colonel Seymour's and
| m1ne-concern you?"
| Miss Meredith 1 will be plain and ex-
| plicit with you. Colonel Seymour came to
| my !eVee a day or two back, and announced
ms intention of leaving. the army at once.
| NOW, you know, Miss Meredith, that Col
Meredith is most promising officer; he is
| ALREADY far advanced in most distin-
may rise higher and higher In any case
| hlSfervices would be greatly missed by the
| Quwen and the country"
| Dld he tell your lordship why he pro-
| posed to leave the army?" asked Mary
| Meredith looking up suddenly, speaking
almost fiercely, but with the tears very
near her eyes. 1T is none of my doing; l
made no such compact with him. l gave
INN \, no ,rght to suppose that l wished it,
| or that it stood in the way Of
Her eyes filed, and she could say no
| more
Il naturally asked him. I pressed him
| to explain this hasty and, l felt it, ILL
| judged resolve" said the great parsonage,
| speaking fast and freely, obviously with
| the courteous wish to let her recover her
| that he wished to marry, that his continuing
in the service was stumbling black
| Il never SAID that, cried Mary holly.
| Not that quite, perhaps but he implied
| that he would be freer-that by surrender
| ing his own career he might save the lady
| from a still greater sacrifice; and then-at
! iastTl ascertained that it was you. L saw
| IL all then
There was long pause broken at last
| by Mary Meredith, who rose from her seat
| and impetuously took the stage, walking to
| and fro, wringing her hands in evident emo
| tion for, artistike, Sir ,.-s easily swayed,
and this fine trait in her own dear Softly
touched her to the quick.
| halted abruptly in front of her visitor, and
| as the old man looked up at her loneliness
| through her streaming eyes he felt that to
| win such a woman a man might be well
| content to lose the whole world.
And then she told him everything, from
| the first days in Halifax till the present
| time, far more eloquently than 1, old Rex
| King, -Softy's friend, have set it down.
And now sir, he proposes to make the
| debt intolerable We owe him everything
already; how could I repay him if I ac-
week ago l did not know myself. 1 was
| still SO selfish and ungrateful as to let the
d ho5oW + rewards va Of my profession weigh
| thought much, lived much these last few
days, and have settled clearly enough what
answer | shall give him. I shall tell him,
if he asks me, that | am ready to give up
all, everything, for him, and to walk bare
foot by his s. side if he so wishes it, to the
And now she broke down, sinking back
upon the sofa in a wild passion of tears.
izing that he had been permitted to see
Mary Meredith in the finest scene she had
ever acted in her life, and not in play, but
In real, sober earnest, just touched her
fingers with his lips and stole quietly
away
The news that the most popular actress
OF the day was about to marry and leave
the stage fell as a great blow upon the
town. The rights of the story were never
exactly known, although many vague and
mysterious paragraphs appeared in the
pubic prints, giving various versions of
Mary Merediths romantic love story We,
Softys old friends, understood it all SO
did much more august people, for Lord -
did &I,1 not quite keep his own counsel.
When Lady Seymour was presented on
her marriage, the greatest lady in the land
kissed her and whispered a few kindly
words that implied much
And among the thousand and one pres
ents bestowed the happy pair there
was not one, / believe, more highly treas
ured than the great loving-cup which bears
the inscription:
ITO Polite and Softly
From the Borderers' Mess
Major Arthur Griffiths in the New Illus
trated Magazine.