The San Angelo press. (San Angelo, Tex.) 1897-1907, 1905-09-07
Careful as
90 Reputation

NV E'llNi'hlhi N'H 'AhiilIiAb
the servants credentials with view
10 hiring him.
81 see" said the former, that you
have been with Lester Walker ana FL.
lott GortOn, men who have exchanged
wives"
yes, sir. lived with Mr.. Walker
when he had his own wife. Then
when she married MIR GOrton ! went
TO live with him. Most of the ladies'
and gentlemen I've lived with, sir
have been divorced and married again.
never worked for any except the first
families"
Wasn't %hcrc some chance of Wal.
ker and his first wife getting together
again some time agor
IT'S very complicated case, sir.
Y see, Mr.. and Mrs. Walker bcin' di-
vorced, Mr.. Walker married the di-
vorccd wife Of Mr.. GOrtOn. Then Mr..
GOrton married the first Mrs. Walker.
one night Mr.. Walker and his second
wife and Mr.. GortOn and his second
wife,
Hold on. Don't you know the la
dies first namcsT | can never keep
them straight by their married names"
"Mr. Walker called his first wife
Alice, and when he married the other
one he called her Gwcndolcn."
"All right, call them Mrs. Alice and
Mrs GwcndOlcn."
"Well, sir, as | was sayin', the two
couples rs had been married different
before found themselves at the opera
In adjoinin' boxes. 1t might have been
tryin' for 'cm if they hadn't always
lived in the highest circles and BEEN
ITO the manner born"
"Ycs, sir: all the first families Is
used to such things. 1t didn't trouble
'em bit, sir. Indeed, sir, the novelty
OF their second marriage havin' wore
off, Mrs. Alice looked mighty charm.
in to her first husband, Mr.. Walker,
and Mrs. Gwendolen got up Il flirta.
ton with her first husband, Mr.. Cor.
ton. After the opera Mr.. Walker took
hlS-I mean Mrs. Allce-to the Waldorf
to supper, and Mr.. Gorton took Mrs.
Gwendolcn to DelmOniCo's to supper,
uhu L, b'lh Ut lhc llllt NOIhll Ut
Dclmonico's, saw Mr.. Gorton and his
first wife sparkln' as II they was hon.
cymOonin'.
Toward mornn' Mr.. Walker he
ken in with Mrs. Alice, and they all
set down at the same table and drank
champagne till the day was breakin';
then each man got into carriage with
his own wife-I mean his own legal
wife-and they drove home.
"Well, sir, that was the beginnin' Of
change. They all agreed to git di.
vorces and marry again as they was
in the first place. Mr.. Walker took up
with n chorus girl, and Mr.. Gorton
KEN home one day when his wife had
hired n detective to hide In the closet
a-purpose and did job of wife beat
in. So they all got their divorces
without any scandal, for 1t was only
the men that was compromised, and
that didn't matter, and after waitin'
a proper time they made their prepare
tions to marry again as they was In
the first place. This was very fine for
the children, poor things, who natural
~ preferred their own parents, and /.
who had gone to work at Mr. GOrton's,
was mighty pleased at his little ones
ben' so delighted at the prospect of
glttln' back their own mother.
while they was all waltin' to take
their original positions the men lived
at their clubs and the ladies put up at
different hotels. You see, sir, 1t
wouldn't do for 'em to swap back to
their own children till they was mar
ried over agaln-at least ii would make
talk, and they was all very particular
not to git people to talkin' about 'em.
"Well, sir, Mr.. Walker and his wife
was to he remarked in the fall, but
unfortunately I'm July he took party
off on his yacht for long cruise, and
when he KEN back he was engaged to
Miss Yardley, her that owns all the
stock In one OF the big insurance COM
panies, and this spoiled it all. His first
wife married duke in England. Mr..
Gorton married the divorced wife OF
big mine owner. The only one of the
four that was left out in the cold was
Mrs. Gwendolen, who was In love with
a Roman Catholic who couldn't git
But, this bein' the case,
the set they belonged to considered 1t
perfectly proper for 'em to live to-
gether, and they did.
II could tell you lot more about
'em, sir, only the names has got so
mixed that couldn't make you under.
stand"
"You needn't trouble yourself.
have no desire to lose my mind and be
sent to lunatic asylum. Besides, am
quite sure that you have occupied
places In the highest circles. You have
made only one error and that you have
fallen into by listening to scandal, You
have said that the first Mrs. Gorton
lived with Roman Catholic whom she
could not marry on account Of reli.
gious interference. In this you are
wrong. Society might tolerate such
union, but in this case it did not occur.
] happen to know all about It. You
may consider yourself engaged, but l
wish you to understand that will have
no gossip among my servants. You
must be very particular not to repeat
this story about Mrs. Gorton. Indeed
shall expect you to deny it whenever