The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-07-05
Thursday, July 5, 1906.


scarlet) would divert attention from
herself; and, in truth, it did SO. A few
turned their heads to say, 'That' g L.
ard, and there's the only woman Of
his company who fixes her own salary;
but the supper was already in full
swing and the. people for the most part
silent upon their own entertainment or
that of their guests. OF the six or
seven women who remarked the stately
girl IN lizard 8 company, the majority
The men rarely noticed her They had
taken their second glasses of cham
payne by this time and were genialIy
nlrtlng with the women at their own
= tables If they said anything, it was
Just, What pretty girl!''
she. sat for the first time amid that
- garish company, typical of one of Lon
don's sets, and in some sense of So
cietv? Possibly she would have had
some difficulty in expressing them The
music excited her, the ceaseless chatter
hurt ears long accustomed to silence.
In truth. she had tried to depict this
scene in her Derbyshire home many
times since her father had shut his
gates upon the world. But the reality
seemed SO very different from her
dreams; SO very artificial. so shallow.
disappointment lay the fear that some
accident might disclose her identity
How. she asked. if she stood up there
and told them all, "Mv name is not
Eta but EVELYN. Tonight l am an
actress at the Carlton theatcr, but you
will know me by and by as an earl's
daughter" Would they not have said
that she was a mad woman? Such a
confession would have been nothing but
the truth, none the less.
She had planned and carried out,
most darlngly, as wild an escapade as
lnl IN ho or
that romantic home of hers, to which
she must soon return as secretly as she
had come. Not a man or woman in all
London had turned upon her to say,
"lou are rot Eta Ronney, but
sint bd the daughter of the one,
your Cousins death has made
an earl: - Living. a secluded life
in quiet lodging in Bedford square,
none remarked her presence; none had
the curiosity to ask who she was or
W W ENC S She came The very daring
her. She would remember it to the
end of her life; and when she returned
! to Derbyshire the stimulus of it would
| go with her, and permit her to say, 81
too, have known the hour of success,
the the me er1a e of applause, the glamor of
| These thoughts followed her to the
| supper room at the Carlton and were ac-
| ccuntable for the Indifference with
which she listened to the praises and
the prophecies of that truly great man.
Mr.. Charles lizard. He, wonderful
being, confessed to himself that he
could make nothing of the girl and that
she was altogether beyond his expert
ence: Her stately manners frightened
him., When he called her, "my dear,'
the words would sometimes halt upon
his lips and he would hurriedly correct
them and say "Miss'' instead. The
first guess that he had made at her
identity would have it that she was
country parson s daughter, or perhaps
a Derbyshire estate. Now, however,,
he found himself Of another opinion al
together, and there came to him the I'M
easy conviction that some great mys-
terry lay behind his good fortune and
would stand eventually between him
Now many of Charles, lizard s friends
visited his supper table from time to
time, and of these one or two were Ian
guild young men in guest Of introduc-
mouthed and rudely; but her host made
short work of them and they ambled
away, seeking whom they might deyour
elsewhere, but never with any ardor.
Supper was almost done, indeed before
anyone iof sufficient Importance to en-
gage the great Charles 1zard s atten-
ton made his appearance. At last,
however, he hailed stranger with some
ENTHUSIASM, and this at moment when
Eta was actually listening to pite-
Gus narrative Of Mrs. Charles domestic
achievements. - ESfss
"Why, count, what good fortune
tossed you out Of the blanket Come
and sit right here. You know my wife,
of course?'' ....
Mrs. lizard and Eta turned their
heads together to see a somewhat pale
youth with dark chestnut hair and Won
derfully plaintive eyes-a youth whose
dark skin and slightly. eccentric dress
proclaimed him Enthusiastically to be a
foreigner; but one who was quite at
home in any society in which he might
find himself. The face was pleasing
the manners those Of a man who has