Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-03-28
Wat tie Matter
WoS Witt Do1Tey
DEoPLE speaking of Egbert Daw.

CNNNAAc AA4Cd LuGIs OIlc 1
times real bright" and sometimes |
finely edgercated," but they not in
frequently added that he was a trihe
conceited, or various equivalents in
the vernacular. AS a matter Of fact
he was well informed and he certain
ly had the self-confdence that a GER
tain degree OF knowledge begets. He
was a good-looking young man, too,
with a lofty, pallid brow and a trim
little dark mustache. He wore eye
glasses, which increased his appear
ance of intellectually, and he dressed
very neatly-rather too neatly If any
thing.
Dawley felt that he was naturally
fitted for a diplomatic career some
thing OF that sort. He had artistic
tastes and might nave gone IN for
painting or sculpture or ever music,
but fate had pitchforked him into
commercial Ife-speciically, into n
wholesale dry-goods house and he
was obliged to make the best of it.
lie was not popular with the rest of
the men in the house. but they were
a common, ordinary lot, and they nat
urally felt his superiority. Some
times a feeling of this sort is mani
tested by "joshing," but Dawley was
not "ioshed" to any great extent.
Either he showed a lofty Indifference
to it or else he retorted with some
a~ggravating sarcasm The best thing
was to let him alone, and that course
vas pretty generally pursued.
In society Dawley was the arbiter
Of taste and an all-around authority
On things in general. If he was con-
fronted with pottery he would begin
to bubble owe with the distinctive
characteristics of W~edgewood, Ores
den or S~evres, and bark back to the
Roman and Grecian art. with perhaps
and airy offhand allusion to the
Eleusinian mysteries in connection
with the Portland vase. If he was in
vited to give al opinion on some gem
from the picture department of a
downtown store he would discourse
very imp-essiyely of breadth and
depth of treatment and chiaro o.
curo and would ring in Douw and
Poussin and Gliotto. When he talked
about the heater his listeners soon
became conscious that most of the
actors of the present day were en-
tirely wanting in a delicate apprecia-
ton of the motive of their parts,
and in his intellectual communion
with the Sevignes and Thrales of his
circle he was a literary Daniel come
to Judgment. Nevertheless he was a
good dancer and he had his mus
tache, so the buds did not shun him.
He rather prided himself, toe, on his
small talk. On the whole, he liked
the society of IN They came
nearer to approaching him than men
did. Still, he never ~particularized in
this respect. The boys down town
said he was too darned stuck on
himself.
One morning there came a new
stenographer to take the place OF
Miss Grigsby. the dignifed, middle
aged lady who had resigned her po-
sition to become companion to q
rosperous invalid aunt in the coun-
try. DawIey saw her at her desk at
9 distance for several days before he
took the trouble to go close enough
to get a good look at her, and he
might not have gone then had he
not noticed that her hair was OF
the true Titan red. For one thing
he had heard the men speak of her
~rapfurously as "a peach, II ne
thought he knew the kind of young
person that would interest them.
She was busy when he passed her,
and he saw that her hands were
plump and white and fairly well
shaped. but the nails were disfgured
by being bitten. Next his critical
glance took in her little double chin,
her tip-tilted nose and the whiteness
and fine texture of her skin 1t mac
got to this point when the young
woman finished the sheet on when
she had been writing; then she
raised a pair of rather prepossesslne
blue ewes to Dawley's, and, noddlng
at him in a friendly, offhand way, said;
Good morning"
Dawley smiled in his most winning
manner, and, returning b saluta'
ton, passed on.
For a week or two this morning
greeting was about the extent OF
their communication. Then Dawley
felt a disposition to Inger n souhc
the little stenograPher's menta
depth. if she had any, which ne
feared was not the case. He premedf
tated a little opening remark aProPos
of the typewriter on BabyIonl'
bricks. but he forgot that then she
told him there was a smudge on his
hose
us there?" he asked in some con
fusion. fumbIing for his
chief
aon the right SIDE" h said
~Tbere! No, now you've only made Il
worse. Here, give it to me. Stoo!
6ovyp- She took the handkerchief
and. moistening it with her tongue
rubbed Dawley's nose vigorously an'
then looked at it with her head OF
one side. Just then Sparks, one o
the coarsest beasts in the place
came along with his face on a broa'
grin.
Here. 1 amt going to stand 10
that. Miss Dixon" he ehuckied. -
course Eggie is a rice boy ana a.
that and you don't mean anything Q.
II hnt ali dates are off between yo'
and me aftersthat."
"Oh, forget it," ~retorfed ms
Dixon. You're not going TO .e'
little thing like that worry you
Besides which," pursued SPARKS
"Eggie has got a true, manly near
end il amt right to trife with it
at was my nose she was trlnin.
- -Arm n n