Year: 1869

therein and dresses therein-it is chilly
and fireless at times-and gets out ol
it as soon he can. His waking hours
fuctuate between the studio or office
desk and society; but in the rarer
event of his being in small way n per.
son of leisure his time is wholly given
to the one ambition of his life. On
Sundays you may see him before some
stylish church, blandly facing the out
coming congregation, with natty gloves
aud faultless lappels, and figure just
gently limiting and underlying corsage,
himself pleasing himself, until his
smile meets kindred mile and two
radiant beings drift along with the cur
rent of society, saluting and saiuted,
each cons iousat heart-if they would
but take the trouble to think it out
that there is nothing in it, that their
intercourse. is sham, a burlesque on
the true relation of life. The Same
couple are not seen together again
this phase Of the society man being
eminently impartial in his attention to
the sex. He cannot lead in any one set,
SO he must needs move over limited
area in several circles. In this connec-
ton another aspect of tho social make
weights character looms up; he is vain
of the largencss of his social acquaint-
ance-his New Years list is far in the
hundreds, with dcnizcns of the tails
manic avenue numcrously represented,
his evenings are prc-cngaged for weeks
ahead, and by his own showing no
man is harder worked than he or more
relieved by the coming Of the Lentcn
season. He has many acquaintance,
though few friends, and his conf
dances are apt to be with tho other
sex. In fine, as one would describe a
gem by its facets must at last call it by
it's name, so the specification of an
average second-rate society man must
be reduced to this-that he is nothing
more nor less than what he is-a So
cicty Makeweight.


But one of the saddcst thoughts
growing out of this examination in
the question that must inevitably rise
in every thinking mind, what becomes
Of oil the makcweights? 1t is anala-
gous to the old query about the pins,
and equally incapable of answer. Does
he ever grow old? Does he ever mar
ry, and, if so, in what sphere? Does
he ever accomplish any useful purpose
in life besides being gentleman, Or
something very like it, by virtue Of
his gcntility? Who ever heard of
him as other than society man? He
and his congeners arc numbered
among us by thousands; their faces
grow familiar to us night after night
i'll the German" they jam the Acade-
my at the Charity Ball, they fling oc-
casional bouquets to the blonde sirens
of the stage, and after a decade or 80
of this sort of thing they are notl
They hang on to socicty's skirts for
time, partaking of it's dizzy whirl
without aiding it, till at length the
tired hands relax their hold and the
society makeweight drops off into OBJ
security, perchance that of careless
old -bacherlorhood of drudgery, per-
chance that of growing family and
slatternly househould in some suburb
with its attendant railway agonics,
perchance directorship in a life-assu-
rance scheme, perehance into politics.
The consolation is that he is never
missed. That society for which, in a
truly touching and unsparing devotion,
he has givenup all, sweeps on it's way
and sees him no more.