Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1909-04-01

paedia Of the happenings Of the past
and also the gossip of the moment.
He blew cloud of smoke from his
lips. and meditative1y stroked his
beard with his left hand. We'll, OF
course" he said, "she is widow;
that even you know. my dear boy"
ooh, well, l have. heard that" Basil
answered. who was she?"
The whole history is singularly ro-
mantle" Sir Hercules replied. "The
duchess was the only daughter Of a
country clergyman who was also a
baronet, the Rev. Montague Decies.
His private means were small, as the
estates to which he had succeeded
late in life were hopelessly encum-
bered, and he lived quite in a retired
way in a Kentish rectory. The late
duke of London-the father of the lit
tie boy whom you saw in the carriage,
and who, of course, is the present
duke, was young man of the usual
$500 ~ ~, S<hSSPI -tlloI ilC SeG1QS W
have been a little faster and more
reckless than anybody of his time
Perhaps, however, that was because
his position was so much greater, and
he was so much Weather than any
or the other young men of his set.
| don't know how it was, but. at any
rate, | remember quite we'll the time
when he burst upon the town. His
father and mother had died when he
was young, and his minority had been
very long one. He came of age
when he was twenty-five, and I'D till
that time very little had been seen
OF him in society. He had Travelled
abroad good deal, and though, Of
course, all the matchmaking mammas
were very well aware of his existence
he somehow Or other seemed to have
been kept out of the way by his
guardians until he had attained his
majority.
'Suddeny the whole of London be-
came aware of him. Young, good
looking, and with an income which
they say was nearly two thousand a
year-enormous ground-rents all over
London, you know-I should say that
the Duke was, without exception, the
greatest matrimonial match in the
whole Of France. OF course, all the
women went wild about him at once
He could have had anybody he liked,
despite his reputation, which soon be-
gan to be pretty bad It was inst at
'he TIME that you We're off on your
first long cruise, my dear lad, and T
don't suppose you heard much about
1T. But the young fellow filed the bic
house in Piccadilly with fast and fash
lonable young men Of his own class.
His place at Newmarket was motor
lous in turf circles, and old Lady Mac
beth told me at the time, / remember
that his Scotch place, Castle Barff
was scandal to the COUNTRYSIDE
Not that people didn't ask him to their
houses, whatever he did. He could
have had the moon if had cried for if
And then, Of course, his being bach
elor relieved him of the necessity of
entertaining anybody but his friends.
and precious crew he managed to get
round him, from what heard at the
time. There was only one place. in
fact, that he never went near, and
that was the big mansion of Otter in
Kent, great, gloomy pile, something
like Blenheim Palace. The Duke
never troubled that place, his chief
seat. | suppose it was too dull for
him, and one must be reigning mon
arch, by Jove, to live in a place like
liter"
Captain Marriott poured himself out
another cup Of tea and lit cigarette
This grows interesting he said
Really, father, you know everything
about everybody; perfect walking
history of modern society you are
I remember being told at school that
1t was said that if all the existing
copies of Paradise Lost were DESTROY.
ed, Lord Macaulay would have been
able to repeat the whole without q
mistake and if the Red Book. the
Blue Book, and Burke were to disan-
pear tomorrow I believe you would be
able to supply their places"
The admiral gave orat;faa
chuclkle.
ITO Be contlnued.)