Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1910-08-06
By GEORGE |. eYNoroN

A group of young men were stand
Ing in the lobby of the u club of New
York smoking cigarettes and chatting.
The small talk of the men standing
in the lobby was diverted by the en-
trance of young man who, passing
the group. went to the office. called
for letters. received several and went
into the general lounging room to read
| them.
! who is hep" asked one.
| Don't know" said another.
Hes not a member of the club"
| said third. ivan Vechten put him
up. His name is Royden."
Hes got some sort of social pull"
fourth put In. Hes thick with the
Traceys. What Mrs. Tracey puts her
stamp on goes"
ut doesn't matter to me-" said one
of the party. Horace Skinner. "who
puts stamp on him. he doesn't go
With me-"
This remark attracted attention.
Skinner was cotillion leader to the set
In question and could admit or decline
to admit one who knocked at the
golden door.
Whats the matter with himY' was
asked. But Skinner walked away.
leaving his friends to find out for
themselves why he had put the stamp
Of his .disapproval on Mr.. Royden. All
admitted that Royden had the man
ners of gentleman. and from what
little was known of his mental endow-
ments they were at least respectable.
But what had such qualifications to
do with social life? People with
brains, wealth. refinement were crowd
Ing upon the "holy numbers" as a
wag facetiously called them, and here
was stranger about whom nothing
was known who bid fair to walk in
and make himself at home.
There is still to be found in the So
cial swim of New York here and there
some descendants of the leaders of
half century or more ago. These rel
les of the past may be rich or may be
poor. They are there because they have
always been there. Should they pass
out and again seek admission they
would be obliged to fight their way
like the rest of those seeking entrance.
Of this class was Miss Van vechten,
whose brother had put up" Mr.. Roy
den as a guest at the u club. The Van
Vechtens had ONCE owned a farm in
the middle of Manhattan Island. and
of such is the oldest and best in New
York society. Furthermore, Miss Van
vechten's. ancestors were prominent in
Revolutionary days. 1t was not to be
expected that In her associations she
would take her cue from any one. In
deed, frequently when she saw her So
cial sisters who had sprung from a
composition of rail or oil magnates
with hotel keepers daughters Stumbling
some one she was quite likely to put
upon the snubbed her own aristocratic
SEAL.
Now. Mrs. Tracey. who introduced
Mr.. Royden, had made mistakes that
had sapped her power. She had vouch-
ed for several persons simply on the
ground that they were geniuses, and
one or two of them had made scien-
ti6c discoveries that would save the
lives of millions of human beings. She
had not considered that such persons
had no place In society. Consequently
when she took up Mr.. Royden an op-
position to his admission sprang up on
fathers had been wreckers. and reor-
ganizers of corporations and whose
mothers in some instances had been
toilers In early life. 1t was these peo-
pie whom the really aristocratic Miss
Van vechten loved to antagonize. The
more they turned the cold shoulder on
Royden the more Miss Van vechten
loaded him with favors. She was lead
err Of a small set within the larger set
and gradually withdrew the gentleman
into this inner circle.
Had he been a man of that promi-
nence especially desirable In the social
world this would have been a mastery
move. for no sooner would he have
been admitted to Miss Van Vechten's
coterie than he would have become de-
sirable In a general way. AS 1t was,
his Introduction only tended to make
him a special rather than universal
member of the whole.
| Meanwhile the only person who APP
| peared to take no interest In Mr. Roy
denis social admission or rejection was
Mr.. Royden himself He made no ac-
| quaintances at the club where he was
| guest for the simple reason that
the clubs of Gotham are places where
small groups of men who are acquaint-
ed already sit at small tables and
chat; others read the papers, while
| others. mostly bachelors, use 1t as a
| hotel Nevertheless in certain respects
II has Its being as a whole. Mr.. Roy
| den found it convenient place in
which to write his letters and spend
his time when not devoting himself to
Miss Van vechten. Indeed, having no
occupation during his stay In New
York and neither being interested in
its social conditions nor its social con
ditions being interested In him. he
must spend the time somewhere. and
he found Miss Van vechten's home
very attractive. The Van vechtens
were a part of the diamond horse
shoe" a name given TO that curve of
boxes at the Metropolitan Opera House
leased or owned by New York's wealthy
social magnates.