The Washington herald., 1908-07-30

the returning sinner And as before, IN
ais loud. Jolly voice. he had proposed a
bird and a bottle OF the best. a magnum,
Of course
They dined al a small table in the big
diEing-room- Close by. some young fel-
lows were beginning a CHEEKY evening by
doing themselves top hole" Every
body spoke 70 the major. and he. you
may be sure. had a word or a wink for
each. The boys knew more about wine
and tobacco than he did. but some OF
the older men were not too proud 10 ask
for his advice IN regard 10 these high
matters. advice bestowed with fitting
solemnity and invariably approved by the
wine butler a portly, weIl-matUred in
dlviduaI an understudy OF the majors
After dinner. in the s-nOking-rcoul,
Hugo found himself surrounded BY q
group OF re1-faced roysterers. who. for
reasons which they kept 20 themselves,
chose % acclaim the wanderer as the
hero Of the hour. 7 told you they'd
stand by you. my boy" whispered the
major "One more tot Of the Old Brown.
and ven nip OF 70 the Levity. wired
for couple of stalls
Hugo sat. with pleasant smile on his
face. now clean shaven again. but
through the evcr-th{cbeninE clouds Of to-
l bacco smoke he saw Poppet's delicate
features and her large, iEterrogatilE
I eyes
Al the L.evitv. ere OF the most popu-
I lar OF the music halls PCppet. 50 70
4 speak, sat on his knee with her arm
round his neck. strangling him he
couldn't get lid Of the child The enter
tainment was neither more nor less de-
JestabIe than usual The great British
while fat women and greasy men shouted
silly songs set TO equally silly music. a
sO-called Venus displayed a figure that
would have excited the derisiou OF a
{ Paris atelier IN a series OF poses plas-
ricues- With one exception the entertain
uent was remarkable FOR It's vulEarity
and stupidity A scotch comedian came
: on 20 the stage. Instantly a roar Of ap-
I ulause burst from the crowded house.
| succeeded by silence. as the conductor
waved his baton Not a note. Tot a
gesture. escaped the audience Hugo
whispered 10 the major They do know
8 what IS good when they see Il. why 90
/ they put Up with what is 50 bad2r
We al do that" the major chuckled
fatty. y Ike good wine. but I drink a
I lot Of poor stuff. and the worst Of il Is
I that the poor stuff knocks Us out
After the entertainment. supper at one
U va Aa4H AsllaAt-e at~l1 ans LN4ltMEL- sumo
( genial spirits Joined them. prepared 10
{ -Whoop her up in Hugo-s honor. 4
{ hundred years before. these young bloods
/ would have disturbed the peace by
vreuchin6 Of door-knOckers and bonnet
Z ing watchUel- To-day they disturbed
I nothing -ct1er than their own digestions.
{ Turned out OF the restaurant by the
{ scaudaI0us early closing act. the party
I went back 20 the club 70 smoke more
I cigars. drink whisky and Perrier. and
tell yarns This was the majors golden
3 hour. With hinge perfecto in his mouth
Z and a lonE tuUhler at his elbow. deep IN
I a big armchair, the ex-Lancer would de-
I liver an aUtobioeraphical sketch. fuU Of
/ incident and nicely seasoned 10 the palate
I Of bis listeners He seemed to have been
! everywhere. 70 have known everybody.
I and 70 have done everything His ca
I pacity for enjoyment had increased
rather than diminished with advancing
years L was colossal. Rabelaisianl
I Toward the close OF this memorable
I evening. the major described a kangaroo
I hunt with corroborative detail due TO q
vivid and iHfamed Imagination rather
I than a memory admittedly the worse for
wear At the end Of the narrative, he
said
/ Rather a rum thing happened next
/ day ran across Wilverley- You bows
don't remember Duffer' Wilverley. he
i was at Harrow with ne and went into
z the brigade. Amazin' chap A thurderin'
] Cricketer, and as clever as they make
'em. We called him the 'Duffer' because
[ he was such a mailer al everything. Good
I iookin'. too tall. fair cove, not very IN
/ Ike you. Hugo. my boy There wasn't q
{ more popular fellow in LondoI than the
! Duffor. He brought OF a queer double
I event. won the National on his own gee
and published a pOemt I'm not a judge
I Of poetry. but fellows in the know told
me II was a bit OF all right Then he dis
| appeared. dropped out entirely. Broke
I Not q bit OF It. be got what the Yankees
call cold feet he told me all about il
over my camp FIRE. He was fed Up with
this sort Of thing" the major waved an
I aIl-includinE arm
cal Of the Wnd?" suggested one OF
the company
That's it in one. So he cut loose.
I found him on his own station. fit as a I'D
die and as happy as a tomtiL He told
me soIemnly that he was never coming
back"
Half Of the young me3 present said
[ emphaticaIly that they were damned The
major muttered. 'Str0nanary thing
ivery.-' and lii his fifth cigar
/ Hugo returned TO his fat late Before
he went 10 bed. he looked at his mother
portrait Again he found himself wonder
ing: Did she know Then he laughed,
/ thinking Of WiIverley. In the Adriatic.
trying 10 masticate Cyprus beef. for in
stance. he had anticipated with pleasure