The times., 1898-12-28
JUST TO PLEASE A VALET.
The Sacrifice a Cattleman Made ON ,
Visit to n Friends House.

The Sacrifice n Cattleman Made ON IL
Visit to n Friends House.
(From the New York Sum-
Unlike the cases of great many young
men," said middle e-aged man who made
his fortune on a cattle ranch and now lives
in New York, the first silken undergar-
meIas l ever possessed were bought sim
ply and solely for stony-eyed imported
English valet to gaze upon, and they cost
my wife and baby a trip TO the East,
which she had been looking forward TO and
planning ever since married her and took
her out to New Mexico TO preside over my
ranch and some two thousand head OF cat
tie.
THE thing came about in an ordinary
enough sort of way, too. crowd OF New
York chaps were out in my territory ga
shooting trip-and they were equipped for
that excursion with everything from
hammerless shotgun. which was a new
thing in those days, to a special train of
Pullman sleepers, but that did not prevent
one OF them straying from the fold and.
after wandering around for a couple of
days and night. he brought up at our
place. He was pretty badly plugged out,
and we put him up as best We could
showed him that effusive hospitality, in
fact, that every cattleman who gets to look
at white man about every twelve months
always does. He seemed TO fancy the life
uncommonly well-you would recall him in
minute II / mentioned his name-and
when he left us TO rejoin his crowd he
asked II he mighs return and bring along
a couple OF his friends.
In day or two they were back, and for
nearly two weeks they made our place
their headquarters. OF course. We would
not listen to their idea of paying us for
our trouble, and they were too fine a lot
of chaps to urge 1t. But In the course of
their visit ! had spoken OF my plans OF
going TO New York early in the Fall. and
they would have il no other way but tha-
| should go back with them, and the young
fellow who had originally discovered our
place insisted that / should put up at his
house while | was in town. / had intend
ed TO run down to Santa Fe and get fitted
out as best / could in civilized clothes,
but the prospect of travelling cross coun-
try with that jolly party was too good to
De overlooked. and so had my wife corral
what stray garments / had and put them
In my trunk. II was a sorry roundup, but
/ thought they would do until got to the
city.
When We reached New York my friend
Immediately took me to his house, which
at that time was in one OF the Fifties, be-
tween Madison and Fifth Avenues. I'm
he said TO me. He will attend to your
trunks when they come and take good
care of you, hope His brothers man was
like any other well-mannered servant but
my first impression OF him was OF his pro-
found and overwhelming sense of graft
tude. He thanked me for permitting him
to announce that my bath was ready when
/ wished it, and he thanked me reverently
when tossed him the keyes OF my trunk
and went out TO jump into the bath he
had thanked me for letting him fix. Hav
ing spent ten years in country where
porcelain tubs were as rare as blossoms
on century plants. l presume l fingered
little longer over my bath than l would
do now; at any rate, when l returned to
my room my trunk was unpacked, and
there was my hosts brothers man stand
ing in the middle Of the room, his hands
clasped behind him, and his eyes riveted
; on the bed.
Never before have / seen such a look
of horror, amazement and reproach. min
gled with awe, as there was on that lack
ey's face He had carefully folded and
placed side by side on the counterpane my
entire outfit of undergarments, and III
admit 1t was about as choice collection
of wooden antiques as you would care to
run across. There were garments with
the original dome rethatched in flaming
red flannel and others with the hip-rockeI
sections of overalls grated on them and
shirts with the arm amputated at the ell
bow or the shoulder, and there were no
| two alike. And that fellow actually had
| arranged them all with an eye to color
effect The tri-color was made up OF one
| row, the Spanish emblem of another, and
SO on. When he discovered my presence
| in the room he emitted one frightened,
awe-stricken thank you and escaped.
II tell you threw those relics back into
| my trunk in short order, but the picture
of them as they lay there on that bed
| haunted me, and whenever l saw that SER
want / felt like apologizing to him. l
stayed it out until the next night, and
! then made some flimsy excuse to my host,
| told him / had to go up into Westchester
| County for a couple of days TO visit some
| relatives, and If it was perfectly conve-
nient would like to return to his house
| when ! got back. / had intended to buy
| three or four suits of moderately decent
| flannel when l left home, but that lackey
! changed all those modest notions. / spent
| two days at it, and / laid in everything
| from embroidered socks to pale pink silk
| pajamas. Every time my conscience would
prick at some fresh extravaganza the pic
| ture Of that valet gazing at my gent
! furnishings degradation would rise before
me and / went madly on.
1T cost me all the money ] had laid
| aside to bring my wife and baby East but
nothing could stop me; ! was bound to
| redeem myself in that rascal's estimation
| if 1 had to mortgage the ranch. Well,
when l returned to my friends house had
a trousseau that would have dazzled an
Oriental prince, and-but even now l can
not speak of this at all calmly-I was never
redeemed When went up to my room to
see the effect l had produced, l found a
brand new valet My friends brothers
man had stumbled onto flask of New
Mexico rye 1 had left on the bureau-and
he never knew the sacrifice my wife had