The progress., 1904-03-12
/: MRS. PELGRoYE'S HAT.
l&&&&&&
BY Herbert Jameson.


%t<<t<<<<<<<<<
M EATTHEW PELGROVE strolle
M along the esplanade at Hastings
chuckling to himself. From a mora
standpoint he had done most repre-
hensible thing, but the circumstance
were certainly mitigating. May no
much be forgiven to man whose wifi
has shrewish tongue, and ideas o
expenditure that by no means squar
with the possibilities of limited in
Gomez
Three days previously, in the pri
vacy of their home at Hornsey, Mat
thew had remarked to his wife:
my dear, l find shall have to &
to Bradford on Friday"
Mrs. Pelgrove lowered the coffee pc
and glanced sharply across the table.
"Oh! Rather unexpected, isn't it
On business?"
Certainly! Must see some WOO
people there before the next London
sales. Most important clients"
II understand. Shall come, too?"
Matthew endangered the life of his
cup by bringing it precipitately to the
table.
impossible, Mary! Bradford's not
a place for pleasure. Besides, l shall
be fully engaged all the time"
That was what had passed between
them. And this Saturday afternoon,
when his wife believed him to be in the
north transacting business, Pelgrove,
the arch-deceiver, was bathing in beau
ttful autumnal sunshine on the Hast
ings promenade.
He wore blithe and jaunty air.
How sweet it was to capture, even for
a weekend, the lost delights of bach
elorhood! Did he not bless the comic
paper that had first suggested to him
this brilliant notion of duplicity, and
resolve to subscribe to it for the fu-
ture? The very day was in fitting ac-
cord with his spirit of hilarity.
At home Mrs. Pelgrove insisted on
her husband dressing in harmony with
the ideas of their genteel suburb, but
here he had thrown (metaphorically)
conventional attire to the winds-in-
deed, it consisted of little but white
flannel suit, a red and orange boating
blazer, and sun hat worn at rakish
tilt. AS Matthew stepped along, OBJ
serving the varied life of Hastings. he
persuaded himself that he had not a
care in the world. He could even smile
at his wife's desperate ambition to cut
oI
tent that he was not making money
fast enough for the full attainment of
her purpose. Money-bah!-the word
had an ugly sound. Nothing should
be allowed to poison to-day his draught
Of pleasure.
given to much exercise, and he pres
emily became aware that, despite the
lightness of his raiment, his lower
limbs were beginning to ache. He
would seek one of those inviting
shelters where, shielded from the suns
rays, he might watch the people and
indulge to the full his present sense
of contentment.
Proceeding little farther he espied
a vacant place. That glass partition.
dividing the seats on either side, would
pleasantly shelter him from all
draughts, and this corner seat looked
most luxurious. The authorities really
deserved
But at that moment Matthew got a
terrible shock. Sharply defined against |
the glass on the other side of the |
shelter was a hat-a hat reposing on
woman's head of golden hair |
Matthew turned and literally ran from |
the spot. No one could mistake that |
haiti was his wife's; he would pick |
1t out amongst a thousand others. |
How vividly he remembered the sick |
ening feeling with which three weeks |
ago he had regarded it, perched for |
the first time on her proudly raised |
head! Surely nothing so blatant, moth
ing SO vulgar, had ever sprung to ex- |
istence before in the millinery world.
Through all the dark ages had femi- |
nine taste stopped to such an appall- |
ing confection of color? And the price |
well, his bank balance suffered from
it yet.
So Mary had discovered his scheme |
and followed him to Hastings. But |
how in the name Of wonder-ah, he
had 1t! He had stupidity mentioned his
real destination to the manager of his
ONCE. Evidently suspicious of some
thing, his wife had gone there and
secured the information that had led
her to appear in this quarter.
Out of breath with his unusual ex-
penditure of energy. Pelgrove dropped
his run to a walk and glanced furtively
back Thank goodness, that hat with
the flaming, artificial lower-garden in
1t. visible for fully 100 yards with the
naked eye. was not in sight, Mary
had not seen him. then He walked
on hurriedly to the small hotel where
he was stopping.
Arrived there, Pelgrove sought the
and put to the test the
nerve-soothing properties of a goos
cigar. What an escape, He hated a
scene in public, and that his wife evil
IDENTIFY sought. Here at least he would
be safe, for no one knew where he was
stopping AS long as ne kept well hid
his privacy would not be invaded. un-
less. indeed tperish the thought. his
wife sought in turn every hotel in
Hastings.
That evening Pelerove made himself
fairly content with illustrated papers.
Next morning the sun rose in a cloud
less sky and everything pointed TO a
day Of perfect weather. He loDged 70