The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-09-15
CONTINUED From Yesterday.)

marry for moenyi" Mothers who had
dover less daughters to wed experienced
a violent revulsion of feeling against
him, and observed, Dear me! Fancy
If all men were as selfish as Colonel
Annesleyi" His own sex, however,
thought more leniently of him. Impe-
cunious officers judged him by them
selves. and said, feelingly, Hes not to
be blamed for looking after the main
chance. And Lolly must be a trial,
ever taking the cash in"
Nevertheless, they were obliged to
own that Lolly was not without her
charm. She was extremely good
tempered. an excellent hostess, a clever
matchmaker, a sprightly talker, n
a generally accomplished society wom-
an all round. So that everybody was
not a little interested and excited when
it was known that Mrs. Claude Annes-
ley had made up her mind to entertain
for three or four days in the grandest
style the Maharajah of the neighbor-
ing province. a prince noted for his
wealth and the enormous quantity of
his Jewels. He was young, and had re-
ceived a f1rst-class English college
education, and, according to report,
was q NoiS ooPSiiot lJPC Va otAfO "
tentate. being something of a poet in
his own fanciful way of Eastern SYM
bolism, and having, furthermore. dis
tinguished himself by the publication
of a brilliantly written treatise in Hin
doostanee on the most recent dis
coveries in astronomy. Wherefore
Mrs. Annesley determined to lion
ize' him. She did not consult the
colonel on the subject at all; his opin-
ion would have been worth nothing.
She believed somewhat in the creed of
the new" woman, which declares men
generally to be either brutes or fools.
She did not include her husband In the
former classic was too gentlemanly
and inoffensive-but she silently n
without open incivility placed him
among the latter. Consequently, in her
proposed intention to make capital'
out of the entertainment of a ~bejeweled
Maharajah, he-'poor Claude" as she
called him-was not admitted into the
discussion of ways and means. He was
only the ornamental dummy or figure
head of the establishment. The house.
the biggest residence In the whole
place, and almost palatial. was hers;
the money was hers. He had nothing
to dc with it.; he was merely her hus-
band. Therefore, when he met people
who said, $50 the M~aharajah Is coming
to stay with your" he answered, alb
sently, 81 believe so,' without being at
all certain on the point. He thought
about it now and then while smoking
his own tobacco-tobacco which he
found particularly soothing because he
had paid for it himself, and cid not W
1t to his wife's purse. And he was not
at all sure that he liked the idea of the
Maharajah's visit. He did not take
kindly to native princes. He had all
the prejudices of the p~ugnacious Briton
born for precedence" and had no love
for hat type of human being known
to some poet, as the "dusky, dark-eyed
Oriental" Dusky and dark-eyed the
Oriental might be, but he was also
likely to be dirty. And poor Claude
though apparently vague on other mat
tiers, had particularly strong ideas on
the subject oil frequent Tubing" II
was to this, perhaps, that he owed his
rather fine, clear skin, under which the
blood flowed with such easy freedom
that he was frequently accused OF
blushing. The least emotion or excite
ment of a ~pleasurable nature brought
a ruddv tint to his cheeks. and gave
them that glow of health for which
certain beauties pay so much per box
or bottle at the perfumer's. He blushed
now at the possibility of having an IN
tubbed M~aharajah in the house.
However" he murmured, hes had
an English education. and she will have
her way"-the "she" referring to his
! wife, lady and ruler-"I like a quiet
life, and it's best not to interfere. She's
got a perfect right to de as she likes
with her own money"
And he resigned himself. as usual, to
the inevitable. For there was no doubt
| that the Maharajah was coming. He
had accepted the invitation given him
and he was known to be a nan of his
word. His treatise on astronomy had
! proved hin to be that. He had said
he would write that treatise, and no
body believed him. not eve his college
tutors. Hes too lazy" one English
nan remarkedo of him, the said English
mar having been four years at work
on the writing of an extremely feeble
on the writing of an extremely
feeble novel, which he had sent
to London to get published, and
which no publisher would accept;
"he'll never write anything. |
know these native fellows!" But, de-
spite this prophecy, he had done 1t. and
lone It so well that 1t was the subject
of interested and admiring comment
among scientific people generally. And
this very treatise on modern astronomy
was one of the reasons why Mrs. An
nesley wanted to lionize him. But Ii
was not the chief by any
means. The chief reason was perfectly
human and particularly feminine; it
was hat Mrs. Claude Annesley wished
to impress everybody in the place with
a sense of her wealth, her Importance.
her influence, her position generally.
And she had chosen this special time to
do 1t, because-well. the because" in
wolves a little explanation, which run
as follows;
Long ago. and long before, hand
some Laura Egerton, now Mrs. Claude
Annesley, while she was yet the dash
ing belle of the London Season." she
had contracted what was for her a
c~uriously sentimental friendship with
a girl several years Younger than her
self-a pale, slim. tiny, golden-haired
creature with great p~laintive gray eyes
set in her small face like stars too big
for the position in which they found
themselves. This elf-like being exer-
i'll ..aN,,Ita. fna,f, akt~, 49,. kIn