Evening star., 1922-07-23
THE TICKLE GODDESS


q niid-looking Enslishwoman Of f1fty.
ter. b beautiful girl OF twenty-four.
That Aristide should ny to feminine
charms. like moth to candle. was .
law of his being; that he should lie.
with shriveled wings, at Miss Err
rington's feet. was the obvious result.
Her charms were Of tho winsome
kind to which he was most suscepti-
BILE. She had an oval face. a little
mouth like crumpled rose petals ESQ
Arlstide himself described it). q COM
plexion the minglng Of ivory and
peach blossom (Aristide again).
straight little nose. appealing eyes
of the deepest blue yelled by sweep
mig lashes and fascinating dufaness
Of dark hair over q pure brow. She
had a graceful figure. and tho slen-
der foot below her white pique skirt
was at once the envy and admiration
Of Aix-les-Bains.
4 + \
A RISTIDE talked. The ladies lis
tened. with obvious amusement.
fallen into their acquaintance. As
the man OF wealth, the careless player
who took hve-hundred-louis banks at
the table with tho hve-louis mini
mum. and cleared out the punt. he
felt 1t necessary to explain himself.
1 am afraid he deviated from the mar
row path of truth.
'Wbat rorfoof En~11.h ~>,, 80,
Miss Errington remarked. when he
had finished his harangue and had
put the corona between his lips. Her
voice was a soft contralto.
Il have mixed much in English So
,ciety since 1 was a child" replied
Aristide, in his grandest manner.
Fortune has made me know many of
your county families and members of
parliament"
Miss Errington laughed. ''Our M. P.s
are rather mixed lot, NJ Pujol."
ITO me an English member of par
Lament is a high-bred conservative.
do not recognize the Others" said
Aristide.
Unfortunately. we have to recoE-
nize them." said the elder lady with
smile.
Not socially. madame. They exist
as mechanical factors OF the lesis-
lative machine; but that is ALL" He
swelled as if the blood Of the Mont
morencys and the Colignys boiled in
his veins. I'VE do not ask them into
our drawing rooms. We do not allow
hnT tn
only salute them with cold politeness
when we pass them in the street"
IT'S astonishing" said Miss Err
rinston. how strongly the aristo-
cratic principle exists in republican
France. Now. there's our friend, the
Comte de Lussigny. for instance"
A frown momentarily darkened the
cloudless brow of Aristide Pujol He
did not like the Comte do Lus-
signy-
with NJ. de Lussigny." he inter-
posed, at is a matter of prejudice,
not of principle"
And with you?"
The reasoned philosophy Of a life
time, mademoiselle." answered Aris-
How long have you known NJ.
Lussigny. madame?
She looked at her daughter. ut
was in Monte Carlo the winter before
last, wasn't 1t. Betty? Since then we
have met him frequently in England
and Paris. We came across him, Just
lately. at Trouville. think he's
charming don't you1"
Hes a great gambler" said Aris-
tide.
Betty Errington laughed again.
But so are you. So is mamma. So
am I. in my poor little way"
I'VE gamble for amusement" said
Aristide loftily.
I'm sure I don't" cried Miss Betty.
with merry eyes-and she looked
adorable-"When I put my de-
spised five-franc piece down on the
table I want desperately to win, and
when the horrid croupier rakes 1t up
1 want to hit him-oh, want to hit
him hard"
And when you win?'
I'm afraid 1 don't think Of the
croupier at ALL" said Miss Betty.
~
HER mother smiled indulgently and
L exchanged a glance with Aris-
tide. This pleased him-there was
an agreeable little touch Of intimacy
in it. 1t confirmed friendly relations
with the mother. What were his de-
signs as regards the daughter he did
not know. They were not evil. GER
tainly. For all his southern blood
Latin traditions and devil-may-care
upbringing, Aristide. though perhaps
not reaching our divinely set and.
therefore. unique English standard
of morality, was a decent soul
further, partly through his pedagogic
sojourn among them and partly
through his childish alteration Of the
frank. fair-cheeked, northern god
desses talking the quick. clear speech.
who passed him by when he was q
hunted little devil of chasseur in
the Marseille cafe. he had acquired
a peculiarly imaginative reverence
for English girls. The reverence. in
deed, extended to English ladies gen.
orally. Owing to the queer circum-
stances of his life they were the only
women Of a class above his own with
whom he had associated on terms OF
equality. He had. then. no dishon-
orable designs az regards Miss Betty
Errington.
On the other hand. tho thoughts
Of marriage had as yet not entered
his head You see. Frenchman ana
an Englishman or an American view
marriage from entirely different