, 1909-04-08

oourn A. ericau countries. y. 70 mas.
criminately mingled in sudden broth
erhood This motley. Interesting com
pam was composed princ;nalIy OF
men, exhfbiting here and there the
glitter OF military uniforms. or some
peculiarly of attire attesting he pres.
ence nj the inevitable globe.irotter al.
tnough the majority wn~, rlq,,,v
enough commercial gentlemen. inter.
ested in various lines of trade an,
urawn INTO this vortex from the fou,
corners OF the globe in the wild scram.
"re AFTER gold. NO foreign passenger
steamer had entered the harbor with
In Inc past "a hours. and | had al.
ready studied those faces before in he
VaSue shadowy hope of discovering n
iriehd. l lit another cigarro. out OF
sheer nervousness, and sat silently
Watching a Chinese attendant lighting
t.e colored lanterns suspended alone
the balcony roof. A sudden rookie
went swiftly and sizzling up from ont
me center of the great plaza below.
ana my eyes followed its swift fight
INTO the black sky until it burst into
d thouShnu immature Stars.
When ! turned once again. now hall
inclined to bpckon a waiter and orde,
the serving of dinner, a newly arrived
company OF guests had taken posses
SION or the small round table jus;
withln the open window. Three were
In ne party. apparently father. moth
er and daughter. beyond question of
FlOn Cnr1al GLASS Il.
ting in stately dignity at what might
be considered the head of the board,
a napkin spread across his right
knee. was tyrically aristocratic. O,
spare figure. stern lean face, with iron.
gray hair. and mustaches trimmed to
perfect point. his eyes, cold and
emotionless, cleaning like steel points
oehind gold-rimmed glasses-a man
certainly over so, possessing to the
extreme that irritating hauteur pos
sible only 10 an Englishman of recog
nized family and position. The lady
occupying the seat opposite him, whom
naturally presumed to be his wife.
was fieshy enough to own an ample
double chin, which dropped to a vaster
eXpanse below: most extensively
sowned. her fingers laden with dia-
monds. n a l%orgnette at her eve.
through which she deliberately sur
veyed the assembled Her
evident attempt at duplicating tie
calm haut-ton of her emotionless com
panion was nevertheless somewhat of
a counterfeit. as 1t failed to conceal
wholly a slight twinkle OF amusement
curving the corners of her mouth, an
a certain slight vulgar uneasiness of
manner. His ideal was evidently that
OF a marble statue. cold. immaculate,
his slightest movement revealing the
frigidity of one born to the purple.
while my lady retained some sem
blance to flesh and blood, although
well veneered by long social a%rtifice.
He was nature. while she had evident
" been developed by skill; yet the
matron, to my thinking, proved far the
more interesting specimen of the two.
| must confess. however. wasting
precious little attention upon either.
FOR my eyes early rested upon the
younger woman seated between the
two. and hence directly confronting
me. l will not say | never saw a fair
er picture of womanhood Just when
the lovely flower becomes a blossom
fully blown, yet assuredly one other
ever possessed for me the same in
definable fascination. the same in
effable charm. Twenty-Five, possibly.
although her age raj difficult to guess.
with oval face and clear, fresh skin.
the rich, red blood of perfect health
crimsoning the rounded cheeks; eyes
Of deepest. darkest gray. the kind OF