Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-07-25

a felicity Of phase which provoked the
remark:
You are not a public school man?'
Il am not. You are. Elton, eh?"
Eyes" said Hugo CURLY.
THE stamp is unmistakable. My
father kept me at home. | was delicate
and he mad theories. He said that
public school boys never got the
farther vision, never saw beyond the
little circle of their own petty in
terests.n
Il never saw beyond the Elton play
ing-6elds."
That's what he meant. The result
was that I"-he flushed and laughed
well, | was brought up rather like a
girl. At seventeen l was rs innocent
as Moses in the bulrushes, but !
knew all about the Eastern Question,
and could have outlined the foreign
policy of the principal nations fairly
accurately. Of course, | was-and am
"a duffer at games"
Il see," said Hugo. This accounted
for the "Sir Galahad' look, and the
almost virginia. radiance of the eyes.
Tall, egar, a face to remember,
A flush that could change as the
day;
Aspirit that could no taoi .'**rw@
A spirit that knew not December,
That frightened the sunshine OF
May
He leaned forward ana added: "You
owe your father more than you think.
Ten years hence you will understand
what l ear Is it discreet to ask
what you are doing here2"
Not at all. 1 ~overworked at Ok
ford. And my doctor prescribed fresh
air and exercise. | am related to
some of the Forest people: a dear old
man, and"
His daughter"
"And his daughter. You saw us
this morning. We wondered who you
were. Joy-Miss Vennable. l mean
said: "A sporting PEER
How very complimentary"
ut was, really. She's a country
girl to the marrow: plays games, rides
like Di Vernon, and does nearly all
her fathers work in the parish. Her
mother was a Mottisfont, you know
Hugo had never heard of the Motifs.
fonts. Burgess explained volubly:
They've lived here since the flood,
My grandmother was an aunt of the
present man, Sir Giles. The family
never quite forgave her for marrying
my grandfather, the poet, you know
"You are a grandson Of Robert Bur.
gess?"
Eyes. My father was a leader writ.
er on the Times. The Mottisfonts will
amuse you. They're typical Foresters,
d~eep-rooted in the soil, with moss
growing thick upon them. Not a
single member of the family has ever
distinguished himself. Amongst their
family pictures you won't find a sol.
der "a sailor, a statesman, a painter,
or even a writer Of note. Strictly be-
tween ourselves, I think old families
who can't justify existence by being of
some service to the State which allows
them such astonishing prerogatives
ought to be set to break stones upon
the road"
You're a Socialist"
II belong to the New Brooms."
II don't think l ever heard of the
New Brooms."
"You will. W. haven't had a chance
yet. We're banded together to SWEEP
the cobwebs out of the old parties tc
take from each what is vital, and
cast the rest to the void"
Sounds WE'LL"
Eyes" The young fellow threw
his head and laughed. Although he
used phrases obviously intended fol
the platform, there was nothing Of
the prig about him, and the detestable
Oxford manner" was happily absent
"We're Free Traders, anti-jinoists
and sworn enemies of robbery, hum
bug, monopoly, and in~efficiency. We're
not demagogues, and we shall never
lick the boots OF the Great Unwashed
Our first object is to remove lies and
misrepresentation from practical poll
tics, to present the naked truth to the
public"
Excellent. But the British public
refuses to look at the nude. Does Miss
Vennable think as you do?'
"She's mad keen; keen as l am. In
her, you see, we got the Mottisfont
strain of fox-hunter crossed with the
Vennables. Her great-grandfather was
a Lord Chancellor. Joy hunts the fox
like a Mottisfont, but she hunts facts
like a lawyer. You take me?"
Perfectly"
1udI SlIl ID LHe quSSlC9I HiiAlulS
of ancient and modern l ever came
across. She's never been inside q
theatre, but she hops in and out Of
problems that would middle Bernard
Shaw"
Isn't he a bit of a skirter? Miss
Vennable probably, goes straight"
That's it. I say, Pm so glad you've
come. It's been a bit dull here, when
-
when you're not playing golf"
COR shooting. I'm a licensee."
"a l~icensee"
Burgess explained. In he Foretst o.
VS. a mar could take out a license Cor
payment Of twenty pounds), which
entitled him to shoot game three days
out Of each week, from ten to four
Hen-pheasants must be spared.
I've been at it a month. It's done
me lots of good, made a new nan on
of me. One has to have a heater a
ten bob a week, and a dog. I'm sucl
a duffer that l don't bag much, blu
it's great fun, and Il gets to know
this wonderful Forest"
ssuow do Won hecame a 1~irenSee 2'