Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-02
BY
BARONESS ORGY,
Auther OF
"BFAU BROCADE."

tainly." uuoth Don Miguel. with a sar-
castle curl of his SEXUAL lip, put twas
your grace who spoke of the lady,s virtue.
merely wished to know II l shouio NC
offending your grace if
He laughed and shrugged his shouiaels.
The laugh grated unpleaSantiy on we
sex's ear. and the gesture savoreu u IN
pertinence. The marquis manner nau
suddenly undergone a change. Which
caused the dukes every nerve to tlngir;
IF WHAT" he uueried curtly ne
devil. Sir, cannot you say what you Nv
mean? .;-a
"since YOUR grace has already guessed.
You will own that I have acted en- saliant
homme by thinking of your wishes. i ou
will not surely desire to champion tha'
much-vaunted virtue of the 4lyndes. ;,
Then, what you mean, sir. is rnat"
II cannot speak more plainly, my lord.
for that among gentlemen Is quite I'M
,possible But rumors fly about quickly
at court and l feared that your grace
might have caught one. ere | had the
chance Of assuring you that ! recog-
nize the priority of your claim. But now
you tell me that you have no further
interest in the lady. so l am reassureo,
We foreigners. you know. take passing
pleasures more lightly than you serious
minded English-and If the lazy ne un-
attached-and more tnan willinE-why
should we play the part of Joseph!-a
ridiculous role at best, ell. my lord land
one, l think. which your grace Woula
ever disdain to play. AS for me, am
quite treasured; Au revoir 70 your e ern nt.er
another word Don Miguel, still laughing,
went out of the room.
The duke felt a little bewildered. The
conversation had gone through such
sudden transition that at the Tune ne mao
hardly realized whether it touched him
deeply or not
Owing to Ursula's girlfsh little ruse. he
was totally unaware Of her identity with
the lady who had been the subject Of this
very distasteful discussion. To him
and uninteresting. His meeting with
beautiful, exquisite Fanny" had driven
all thoughts of other women from ms
mind.
But with all his volatile disposition,
where women were concerned the Duke
of Wessex was nevertheless imbued with
a strong and romantic feeling of chivairy
toward the entire sex, and Don Mlguei
disdainful illusions to the lady. VINO
might have been Duchess OF Wessex. had
left his finger-tips itching with the desire
to throw his glove in the impudent ras-
calls face.
Harry Plantagenet. who throughout the
interview had openly expressed ms ulsap-
prevail of his masters interlocutor. gave
an impatient little whine. He longed for
the privacy Of his own apartments. the
warmth of the rugs laid out specially Tor
him.
Harry old frtend." said Wessex
thoughtfully. what the devil. think you,
that young reprobate meant?
He took the dogs beautiful head be-
tween his hands and looked straight into
the honest, faithful eyes Of this dear and
constant companion.
Marry" he continued more lightly.
.you may we'll look doubtful. you wise
~ fnr knnw (TIvn0eS
we'll as l do. You remember old Lady
Annabel. whose very look would stop
your tail from wagging. and Charles.
stodgy, silent. serious Charles. who never
drank. never laughed. had probably never
seen a woman's ankle in his life. And
then the Lady Ursula-a Glynde-do you
mind me. old Harry-therefore as ugly as
a combination of virtue and Scotch de-
scent can make any woman. Yet, II l
caught the rascaIs meaning, neither
shield for the lady's virtue! Well! tbs no
business of ours, is It. old Harry? Let US
live and let live. Perhaps Lady Ursula Is
not ugly--perchance that unpleasant-look-
ing Spaniard doth truly love her-and who
are we, Harry. you and I. that we should
prove censorious? Let us to our apart
nlents. friend. and mediate on woman's
fraiity and on our oWn-eSpec1alfy on our
own-we are mere male creatures, ana
women are so adorable! even when they
bristle with virtues like q hedgehog-but
like him. too. are cushioned beneath those
bristles with a hundred charming. fasci-
mating sins. Come along. friend. and let
us mediate why sin-sin of certain
type. remember-should be so enchanting
iy tempting"
Harry Plantagenet was a philosopher.
He had seen his master in this kind of
mood before. He wagged his tail as If
60 express his approval OF the broad prfn-
ciples thus submitted for his considera-
a. y,,,< }non hn a
distinct desire that his master should talk
less and come more speedily to bed.