The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-11-17

"That il all very WELL" inter-
rupted Judge Trent, who, like the
other elderly gentlemen, was glar-
ing at the famous young columnist
who daily laid down the law to
his admiring readers. 'But to
raise money in large amounts
you've got to have committee,
and. no committee is Of any use
for this sort Of thing without the
names Of fashionable women who
are as well known to our demo.
cratic public, that daily devours
the society columns, as the queens
of the movies"
"Well-well--I do not know.
must think. 1t is not a step to
take lightly"
Clavering intercepted a flash
between her eyes and Judge
Trent's and the old gentleman
frightened his lips in a self-con-
scious smirk' as he bent over his
fish.
Damn him. thought Claver.
Ing. ''1e knows the whole truth
and is laughing at us In his
sleeve"
Madame Zattiany had turned the
subject gracefully to European
poIitics, and he watched her with
q detached air.
Trent's attitude toward her
amused him. It was more defer
entail ana admiring than infatu-
ated. : Whatever her charm,
she was no longer in her first
youth, and only unripe fruit
could sting that senescent palate.
But the other twol Clavering
smiled sardonically. Dinwiddie,
hanging on her every word, was
hardly eating. He was q very
handsome man, In spite Of his
shining pate and heavy white
moustache. His features were
fine and regular, his eyes. Il
rather prominent, were clear and
blue, his skin clean, and his fig
ure but little amplified. He was
only sixty-two.
Osborne, who looked barely
fifty, was personable and clever
enough to attract any woman.
He. too, was astonishingly indif.
ferent to the excellent dinner,
and both these gentlemen had
reached an age, where, II wary
of excess for reasons Of vanity
and interior comfort, they de-
rived their sincerest enjoyment
at the table.
That she possessed sex magnet
ism In q superlative degree in
spite Of her deliberate aloofness,
Clavering had. Of course, been
conscious from the first. Had not
every male first .nighter been con-
scious OF It? There was sur.
felt of beauty in New York. A
stranger, even II invested with
mystery, must possess the one
irresistible magnet, combined
with some unusual quality Of
looks, to capture and hold the
interest Of weary New Workers.
as she had done. Even the dra-
matte critics, who looked as II
they hated everybody, had been
seen to gaze upon her with rare
approval.
But tonight Clavering had .
glimpse Of something more than
a magnetism for which she was
not responsible and to which she
had seemed singularly indifferent.
It was quite evident that he was
watching charm in action. She
was sparkling and exerting her
self, talking brilliantly and IL
luminatingly upon the chaos
still known as Europe. and It
was patent that her knowledge
was not derived from newspa-
pers or drawing room gossip.
Her personal acquaintance of
public men had evidently been
extensive before the war, and
she had as manifestly continued
to see those in and out of office
in Vienna and Buda Pesth
throughout all the later fluctua-
lions. Her detestation Of the old
German militaristic party was
unmitigated and she spoke Of the
late ruler Of the dual empire and
Of his yearning heir with no re-
spect whatever. With other in
telligent people. she believed boil
shevism to be an inevitable phase
in q country as backward and
ignorant as Russia, but, to his
surprise, she regarded the re-
publican ideal Of government as
the highest that had yet been
evolved from finite minds, still
far from their last and highest
stages of development. She be-
lleved that the only hope Of the
present civilization was to avert
at any cost the successful rise
Of the proletariat to power until
the governing and employing
classes had learned sufficient
wisdom to conciliate 1t and treat
It with the same impartial JUS