The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-05-29
AT THE PLAY.

| entertaining lie cOulu nave COuuOu-
ed expressions such as these, common
place as they would undoubtedly have
been A man may be tender toward a
woman's rhapsodies about her lover
when that lover is himself But
"funnyi"
"Oh, oh, ohi'' She clutched his arm
"What funny peoplep' The fatal ad.
jective againl This time he WINGED,
WINGED twice deliberately, lest she
should mistake the first signal of dis.
tress as mere physical infrmity.
She continued quickly;
"That reminds mel don't know
why it reminds me- but it does; force
of habit perhaps, because he hates bad
ly turned out women so-Don is up in
town tonight. Did you know? / wonder
if we shall come across him?'
tYou mean Lord Kilmore's younger
son?"
"You remember Donf'
Her glance, meeting his full, showed
some surprise at his obvious i'll temper
She put her hand out hurriedly, with a
pretty unaffected gesture of sympathy
Dear You re not ILL"
Nothing irritates a man whose liver
is out of order so much as being re-
minded of the fact. The deepening
curves at Chinnook's mouth grew posi-
lively rigid with irritation.
"'Of course not. Is anything ever the
matter with me? How your imagination
runs away with you-dearest" The
dearest was a dutiful concession to
the situation; but, somehow, she shrank
from it, her ardor chilled, the keenness
of her enjoyment marred already.
1--WE have still ten minutes to wait
before the curtain rises" he said. He
regretted his customary after dinner
coffee. "What if took the opportuni-
ty of explaining to you the motif of the
play? 1t is trif1e complex.
~ would be Kind of you" she said,
with little smile, but, notwithstand-
ing, her eyes showed some disappoint-
ment as she scanned the house She
was longing to speak the sweet banali-
ties to which most lovers find it pleasant
to listen; to make her bright little
comments and butterfly criticisms; to
sip to its full the evenings cup of eva
nescent enjoyment; to be, in word,
herself-the creature of the moment,
and his own.
She had looked forward to tonight
the first of her emanoipation-with
rapturous excitement ''It will be al
most as good as being his wife, !" she had
confded to the married sister under
whose chaperonage she was spending
the "a hours in town, which broke her
journey between her Worcestershire Wis
it and her travels farther north. ''To
have him alt to myself for whole even
ing To feel that really belong to him
as he belongs to mel Can you imagine
anything more perfect?'
Lady Guthrie could, easily, but she
did not say SO. She had only met Chin
mock once, and he impressed her as
prig and a bore, and Margot's angry
disclaimers could not alter her sisters
opinion
"You have to marry him, not IT.
she said comfortably. "What does it
matter what l think? He's we'll off,
which is something. At least you can
congratulate yourself so far. No one
can patronize you. Your women friends
won't be able to pass you on their I'M
becoming last years clothing nor their
husbands stale tobacco.
"You re prejudiced, Margot replied
"All sisters are. Which in a sense
was true, for Lady Guthrie's sympathy
was openly enlisted on behalf of the
scapegrace of the Fillmore family, young
Don Garrick, who had adored Margot
since she trespassed barefacedly and
barefoot in the Fillmore deer forest as
little child. But Margot, having sys-
tematically dominated him for Is years,
already felt the pleasure might pail IT
long continued HE has been so much
to me all my life 1t would be boring
for him to become more still during the
rest of it. know him SO well-too
we'll, she said, in excuse for her cold
heartedness. But at objections such as
these Lady Guthrie shook her head in
stern disclaimer.
"Wait. she said sagely wait
And Margot waited.
Tonight for the first time she saw
something of the reverse side of her
new picture, the canvas back. Was it
disloyal to wish that Mr.. Chinook be-
haved more as one expects lover to
behave even in public, that he should
show some sort of open pride of posses
sion. of glad proprietorship? In the row
Immediately in front of them there was
gay, absorbed young couple, chatting,
laughing, looking, smiling, reading
their own tender meanings into the
most trivial incidents of the evening
Margot watched them, fascinated In
spite of herself How differently they
behaved from herself and her lover The
man leaned slightly forward-he "had
got it badly, Don would have said
Every now and then his coat sleeve
touched the little immovable white
gloy.d hand next his and fingered for
moment caressingly Margot's eyes grew
tender, distracted It was so pretty. SO
natural It woke her sympathy and
gave her a pleasant little feeling of COM
partnership. Almost unconsciously she
herself moved little closer.
care you attending? Margot. l don't
believe you've heard word I've said. "
Margot started her cheeks af1ame
and turned to him in generous apology.
Dear, I'm SO sorry How dreadful of
me. It's all so fresh and new and won
derful to me, you see. I'm bit scatter
Drained Such intelligence as | have is
limited to only taking in one thing at
| time Tell me all about it again. I'll
listen, truly Do forgive me, Richard,
please !"
Her pleading broke down even Chin
nock's indignation. But his shirt front
looked extraordinarily stiff and. starch.
ed and white, rather like polished mar
BILE, she thought, or was it only papier
mache? And Margot moved instinctively
little farther from him as he con-
| tinued:
Foremost in the ranks Of our latter
day satirists James Lee Hoey stands
! unequaled. She it was who practically
/ founded the new school. She stands
alone Her disciples initiate laboriously
her brilliant dialogue. her scintillating
epigram''-
"Her?" the girl repeated vaguely.
"Her? Why do you speak of him as
her? Surely he is man. "
do you mean he asked, rs it
possible that living woman exists who
does not recognize the supreme fact that
this one of our greatest writers-l had
almost said our one great writer-hon-
ored her sex by belonging to it?'
81 never realized that to belong to