The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-20

ceased to worry"
well, are you fellows going? that's
what want to know" said Davis. =
must send an answer to Mrs. morton
by to-morrow's post"
"Post?" said Mccarthy in sur
prise, did you fellows catch that?
He sends his letters by post since
he got into society. The mail
used to be good enough for him, but
now it's the post. / suppose you'll send
it carriage paid?" he concluded. THAT S
the way they mark things on the other
side, old chap"
II won't mark this on the other
SIDE" said Davis. lone side will do.
! All right, then, I'll tell her we're all
| going"
yes. then she will know she will
! have to borrow three extra plates" said
Mccarthy. What are they going to
have to eat?"
well, whatever they have" warned
| Davis, don't drop into your lunch
| if you want more coffee and don't ask
the waiter for check when you get
through"
Not me-" said Mccarthy, "a check
is the last thing l want"
IT'S the last thing you get, usually"
said Davis.
mo, sometimes I get indigestion af-
ter l get the check and sometimes
heart failure" said Mccarthy. But
you go ahead and drop a line to Mrs
Morton by post saying your friends
have accepted her very kind invitation
and are already wondering how there
will be enough shoes in the party to
allow all of them to go at once"
Now don't call her Dear Madam :"
said Mccarthy warningly when Davis
had squared himself at the table to
write the note, land 1 don't think that
paper you are using is what our best
people use, either. That's all right to
tell that Swede girl of yours that you
can't be at the old corner Saturday
night as usual, but I'm afraid Mrs.
Morton would not consider it quite
veuve clicquot, as Hobe Taylor says.
You ought to have something in a sal
mon pink-about the shade Rathbun
selects when he buys his annual shirt
every summer"
Say, let me do this, will your" said
Davis bit impatiently.
We'll, but l want to put you right,
Tommie," went on Mccarthy. IT don't
want you to make any weird breaks of
this kind when you are writing some
thing to go by post. You know, I'm no
plker when it comes to social forms. I
used to have a compendium of them
once, 500 pages full of them, with sam
pie letters for all occasions. 1t cost IA
Their $2''
That's not the only two father
wasted" said Davis, looking at his
pen critically. IF he had blown him
self for 10 cents worth of carholic acid
when you were little, prattling babe
he would have saved as a lot of trou-
BILE"
Not to mention money" said Rath-
bun, sleepily.
game" retorted Mccarthy, turning to
him. Now, you just lie there and i'm
agine you are at this lawn fete hand
ing lemon sherbert and macaroons to
the ladies and you can have just as
much fun without spending a cent. Go
on, Willie. Don't try to save yourself
Go to sleep like a good boy and after
awhile papa will take you out on the
trolley cars and show you a quarter"
IF you'll take little walk around
the block" said Davis, impatiently,
may be I'll get this note written to-
night some time" and he tossed away
his fourth attempt at composition.
That's what I'm afraid Of" persist
ed Mccarthy. you don't want to write
that while I'm away, Tommie. It'll be
all wrong. 1t ought to go something
like this: My dear Mrs. Morton-The
bunch of Indians who chip in to pay
my room rent every week have consent
ed to scratch all their other dates for
Thursday night and will show up at
your place in time for the doings. 1
send you this warning so you may ar
range in time for police protection. The
pride of the flock, Mr.. Rathbun, can
be easily recognized by the large yell
low necktie which will conceal most
of his shirt front If you knew as
much about that shirt front as I do
you would be glad he wore the yellow
tie. Mr.. Hill. our maniac friend"
"Oh. Mac. cut it out" begged Davis.
''Tve wasted about ten sheets of this
note paper now listening to your yawp
and I'm no further ahead than 1 was
at first"
This is one of McCarthy's principal
faults" said Rathbun, 1.-The lower part
of his face rattles so constantly that
he never gets time to think"
There was silence for moment,
while Mccarthy filled pipe with Hills
tobacco, lighted it and puffed luxuri
ously. Meanwhile Davis scratched away
industriously and completed the note.
There" he said with a grunt of con-
tentment, Il guess thatll hold her.
II don't like to repeat my warnings
so often" said Mccarthy, but must
insist that you begin training now for
| this society stunt. The use of slang
low plane of thought your mind occu-
| pies, but 1t also makes your friends
look like, a bunch of Canadian quar-
tiers. Any slight eccentricities in your
attire, Davis, might be overlooked by
the kindly eye of your hostess, who
| doesn't expect very much from you.
If she should notice, for instance, that
| the patent had expired on your patent
feathers or that your crocheted neck
tie was a bit crooked. she might not
take on about it. But if your we'll of
English is defiled by the language of
the court at Harrison street you can
not but expect a raw deal and a rapid
| finish. Society, as 1t is to-day consti-
! tuted, does not stand for any coarse
work in the way of conversation. When
the debutante to whom you are pre-
scented gurgles that another wad of ice
cream would help some. you are not
to say, I'll stake you to a bunch in a
minute, if 1 lose Not at Mrs Morton's
lawn fete."
"I'll tell you what I'll do" said Da-
Wis, IF you don't sidestep this easy
| conversations in English game of yours
I'll tear up this letter and write an
other one calling 1t off"
"Oh, don't do that, Tommie," said
Mccarthy penitently. II wouldn't dis
appoint Rathbun for the world, and
know he wants some of that ice
cream" And thereupon the acceptance
of the invitation was mailed.
Mark X. Finnegan.