The Irish standard., 1902-09-27
CHAPTER XVII.

CHAPTER XVII.
On the way to Miss Grierson's
"evcning' Griswold amused himself
by specializing upon the probable
barbarisln Of Il country reception.
Without suspecting it, he was insu-
lar to Il degree little short of
Britannic; but he meant to be very
good-natured and charitable, and to
do what one man might toward
amcIiorating the b;Hbarisms.
Wherefore he was properly humili-
ated when they We're met at the door
of the Gricrson mansion by trained
servants and announced in the draw
ng-room with such pomp and cir
cumst:nce us was neither countri-
fled nor barbaric. In good truth the
revulsion was so great that it was
he and not Miss Grierson who was
embarrassed when Raymer intro
duced him.
''How good of you to come to us
on your first day out, Mr.. Griswold.
Let me make you comfortable She
piled the cushions in Il corner of the
wide divan and made him sit down.
You are just to be an invalid this
evening, you know. I'm not going
to let anyone bore you.
Griswold gasped once or twice, and
grappled manfulIy with the facts. A
young girl was at the piano; there
was a pleasant hum of conversation;
everybody, himself excepted, seemed
quite at ease; the lights were not
glarin"; the furnishings were not in
bad taste; in Il word, the keynote
was altogether well-mannered and
urban and conventional.
And his hostess. Griswold had
met beautiful women, but none to
compare with her. She shone upon
and dazzled him. The charm was
purely scnslo1ls, and he knew it, but
he baslird in it like Il lizard in the
sun. But he was forgetting to thank
her.
"Foryivc me, Miss Gricrson; I'm
not usually tnngueticd. Hut it is all
so charmingly honelile; so vastly
She supplied the word with Il sill
very little laugh.
"Diifcrent | know. You thought
we were barbarans, and SO we used
to be. But we're improving. wish
you could have known the old Wa.
| haska."
81 can imagine it," he said.
81 wonder if you can. They used
to sit around the edges of the room
and behave themselves just as hard
as they could, and bore each other
to DEATH"
"lt's miracle" he said, giving hel
full credit. I'D like to know how
you did it,"
She laughed lightly and did not
deny her handiwork. cit was simple
enough. When we came here
found lot of good people who hat
fallen into way of boring one an
other, and a few who hadn't; bu
these last held aloof. We opened ou7
house to the many and tried to SHOW
them that church sociable wasn'
exactly the acme of social enjoy
mcnt."
Griswold saw in his minds eye
sharply etched picture of the rise o
village magnate. Verify, Mis-
Grierson had Imagination.
cit is all very grateful and delight
full to me-" he said. 81 have bee
out of the social running for Ion!
time but must confess that | an
shamelcssly epicnrean by nature, an
only an ascetic of necessity"
81 know" she assented, with quic
appreciation. "An author has to
both, hasn't he?-kccn to enjoy an
hardened to endure"
''l'm not an author" he corrected
with vanity struggling to muzzle TIL
protest. II have written but on
book. and that has not yet seen tn
) light"
"But it will" she asserted, COZ
: tidently. "Tcll me about it,"
: Now. Griswold was no babblcr, b,
the charm of her personality WA
upon him, and before lie knew VIII;
he was about he was telling her c
5 the dead book, its purpose and il
, failure.
"But you are not going to give
, up" she said, when he had made an en-,
: NO: it's my message. and l sha
, yet deliver it,"
"Eravo! That is the spirit TIL;
4 wins always. And when YOU g,
), blue and liscourng gcd. YOU must con
: here and let me cheer you. (hee
: ing people is my mission. if | ha,
/. ANY,