The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1900-03-24

| ncSS and kindred diseases.
! Tutt' $ Liver Pills
| this. The play absorbed him. lie twist
| cd about in his seat like boy at the
| circus and finally succeeded in dislodg
| ing the stud which held his collar ct
! the back. The band OF linen crept up
in the usual way until it tickled the
| back Of his head, while his tie got M
| der the collar III u most annoying fash
| ion. He experienced. besides, the uSU-
al cmbarra Ssinont. and presently his
| big. fat hands were trying to repair
| the damage.
The lady saw this out of the corner
Of her eye, and her attention was dis
| tractcd. 1t is impossible TO watch Il
| human creature struggling with Il re-
| fract0ry collar button and not take in
| tercSt in the game. one may take sides
| with the man or with the collar button,
hut one cannot No indifferent.
The young man did not notice Mr..
Tinkham's struggles. but he observed
| the division Of his companions attcn-
| ton. 1t i& extremely dislrioting to adj
dress the half Of a PERSONS mind. cspo-
rally whom one does not know what
the ether half is dong.
"E.iStcu to me-" said he "NNhat earth
| y reason is there why yOu should not
| tal;e thiS little vacation: You are tired
| Of New York. You are not happy ut
| home. New scenes. new faces. win do
| You good
My excellent friend" said she. you
know ana | know tina; this sort of
thing is the beginning OF scandal The
coincidence OF our departure will be
noted and commented upon"
Then will take another steamer"
"In that case why go at ALL" said
she-"that is, from your point of view!
| Shall not see much of you abroad.
You VIII so to Vienna, where your
mother is i'll, and surely will not fol
low you"
"Whcrcvcr you are" said he, there
will be-
You have pvt your finger upon the
| difficulty" she answered. Il do not
| trust III inc ulHclcllOu Oh your IIlcHG.
ship. | hardly believe that you wish to
| be discreet. II seems sometimes as IL
you deliberately planned to have our
names unDlcaSantly associated"
Here was Il dangerous place, and
the young man knew it. Dealing with
Il woman whose most notable charac-
1eristc was her amazing frankncss, it
was impcrativelY necessary to avoid
| the suspicion of double dealing. He
| threw his whole soul into the argyll
mcnt, and she felt his power as never
| before.
But just III that moment the affairs
Of Mr.. Tinliham also reached Il crisis.
His struggle with the collar button
was on The very verge of success when
brutal failure stepped in and crushed
all hope. The button Slipped from his
fingers. It Nri@%lcd itself out Of the
huttonholr. and in ii moment it was
sliding coiiiy down his spine. Fran
ticGI!y lie Struve to reach it. Fora few
| desperate seconds his fingers touched
tho elusive bit of metal and turned it
about like 4 wheel. Then it went one
degre" lower and was lost forever.
Tho iHdT SAW al this and for 4 mo
ment forgot that there was any such
place as Europe or anything to be de-
cided in the world except the fate of
Mr.. Tinkham's collar button. She was
blessed with Il lively sense of the ri
diculous, and not even the hypnotic
power of her companion could wholly
overpower her desire to laugh.
The young man saw this and fancicd
himself ridiculous in he eyes. That is
the one thing against which such q
mans nature is not armed. The mirth
in her glance parried his eloquence and
made all his weapons powerless. When
she laughed, he felt himself beaten,
and he lost his temper.
Then she saw him for moment as
he really was. a rough word in the