The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1908-04-24

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fruitlessly for his monocle among the
folds Of his nightshirt.
"Rotv he observed in languid dis
gust. Haven't got dad, you know.
Some silly ass is trying to come a
cropper."
The nobleman then turned on his pill
low and closed his eyes, while the fair
attendant looked thoughtful, took the
patients temperature and made a
memorandum to the effect that his
mind had begun to wander.
Meanwhile matters at Irvington were
dragging along unsatisfactory. The
last rehearsal of the play had resulted
in a spirited quarrel between Miss
Imogene and her dismal fiance. Mr..
Van der Awe was champion Of real
ism, even on the stage. He considered
1t the height Of absurdity for pas
sionate lover to imprint kisses upon
his adored ones theatrical wig near
the region of her left ear.
"But, good gracious me-" stormed
the indignant bird. with a dangerous
snap in her big blue eyes, don't you
have enough realism when we are
alone? If you think I'm going to let
you kiss me before all those people
you are very much mistaken. Now,
one more word and We'll leave out that
part altogether, sir! No, don't speak
to me! Don't come near me! / think
you are perfectly hateful and ridicu-
lous. How I was ever weakminded
enough to engage myself to you at all
Is more than l can understand. So
don't tempt mev'
The argument had become somewhat
one sided, SO the dismal one retreated
from the field of action, crestfallen, but
unconvinced on matters pertaining to
realism. He was a practical young
man, however, and decided to kiss the
wig in the region of its wearer's left
ear for the present. Later-ah!
Richard had made several desperate
attempts at tete-a-tete with Miss
Harriet, but found her nervous, dis
trait and unsympathetic to his adj
vances. She acted as though some
shadow Of impending trouble lay upon
her mind, so the Texan gave up in de-
spair, took short lesson in British ETH
quette from the much subdued Bills
and then went for a solitary horseback
ride.
His deception could not be kept up
much longer, for troubles were gather
ing above him like Longfellow's soar
ing vultures, and he fancied he knew
one sick and wounded bison that
would shortly be pecked to pieces, hoof
and hide. And yet, no matter what hap
pened, he would brazen it out to the
bitter end. If he could only win the
girl before the inevitable crash, then
nothing else would matchmaking!
Shortly after dinner the final prepa-
rations were made for the evenings
entertainment. A tiny stage had been
constructed at one end Of the double
drawing room and was provided with
handsome plush curtains designed to
slide upon q wire-when they worked
properly, which was infrequent-which
when opened revealed q dainty interior
scene. The drawing room was arrang-
ed with chairs to accommodate the
guests, who began to arrive shortly
after dinner, and Restmore soon be-
came a sparkle of lights and laughter.
A gong announced the opening of the
theater doors, and the audience crowd
ed in. took their seats and waited with
a fiutter of excitement
Mrs. Renwyck had agreed to speak
the prologue. but at the last moment
hnr. 70 fnrcnnt. hnr on1 chn
ed she would sink through the floor If
forced to face her guests. Arguments
and encouragements were alike In
vain, so Richard was prevailed upon
to take her place. which he did, scram-
bling through somehow, assisted by q
British drawl and his ever faithful
monocle. To judge by fattering
chorus Of feminine approval. he made
the hit Of the evening. though in de-
scribing his stage fright afterward he
used a most un-English smile.
"'Pon my word" he confessed, 81
felt as If had swallowed live jack
rabbit that was trying to bolt eleven
ways at once. Fancyw
The play went off without q hitch.
except for one trifling incident which
came near spelling 1t altogether The
dismal Mr.. Van der Awe. true to his
principles on realism, forgot about the
wig and committed the indiscretion Of
kissing the bird plump upon her tempt
ing lips. whereupon the ruffled in
genue gave him a most realistic box
on the ears, forgot her lines and start
ed in on an inpromptu but spontaneous
denunciation. This. in a measure,
made Miss Renwyck's subsequent part
fall fat, but no one In the audience
seemed to know the difference. while
both the man and bird agreed after
ward that 1t improved the play.
If Miss Renwyck failed to be impress
I've In the great denunciation scene.
the same could not be said of her per-
sonal appearance. She was dressed In
IN evening gown Of soft, dull black,
which brought out the snowy white
ness Of her throat and arms. In her
thick dark tresses a great tiara glow
ed and sparkled, rivaling, 1t seemed,
the riviere Of splendid gems about her
neck. while ut her breast blazed q
mammoth brooch. Fashioned In the
form OF an eagle with outstretched