The Minneapolis journal. [volume], December 19, 1903, Section 3, Page 6, Image 26

About The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939

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THE MAI N CHANC E
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A THOROLY WESTERN STORY
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CHAPTER XI.
A Morning at St. Paul's.
W
of early rising and went home and
to bed, where, however, he slept little,
but lay dreaming over the incidents
of the night, particularly those in
which he had figured. Many people
had congratulated him, and while
there was an irony in much of this, as
if the whole proceeding were a joke,
he had taken it all in the spirit in
which it had been offered. He felt a
trifle anxious as to his reception at
the breakfast table as he dressed, but
his mirror gave him confidence. The
night had been an important one for
him, and he could afford to bear with
his fellows, who would, he knew,
spare him no more than they spared
anv one else in their chaff.
They flaunted at him the morning
papers with portraits of the king and
queen of the ball bracketed together
in double column. He took the pa
pers from them as he replied to their
ironies, and casually inspected them
while the Chinaman brought in his
breakfast.
"Didn't expect to see you this morn-
ing," said Caldwell, the Transconti
nental agent, stirring his coffee and
winking at Brown, the smelter man
ager. "You society men are usually,
shy at breakfast."
Wheaton put down his paper care
lessly, and spread his napkin.
"Oh, a king has to eat," said Brown.
"Well," Baid Wheaton, with an air
of relief, "it's worth something to be
alive the morning after."
But they had no sympathy for him.
"Listen to him," said Caldwell de
risively, "just as if he didn't wish he
could do it all over again to-nWht."
"Not for a million dolars," declared
Wheaton, shaking his head dolefully.
"Yes," said Captain Wheelock, "I
suppose that show last night bored
you nearly to death."
"I'm always glad to see these fel
lows sacrifice themselves for the pub
lic good," said Brown. "Wheaton's
a martyr now, with a nice pink halo."
"Well, it doesn't go here," said the
army officer severely. "We've got to
take him down a peg if he gets too
gay."
"Why, we've already got one sas
siety man in the house," said Cald
well, "and that's hard enough to bear."
He, referred to Raridan, who was
breakfasting in his room.
They were addressing one another,
rather than Wheaton, whose presence
they affected to ignore.
"I suppose there'll be no holding
him now," said Caldwell. "It's like
the taste for strong drink, this socie
ty business. They never get over it.
It's ruined Raridan he'd be a good
fellow if it wasn't for that."
"Humph! you fellows are envious,"
said Wheaton, with an effort at swag
ger.
"Oil. I don't know!" said Brown,
with rising inflection. "I suppose any
of us could do it if we'd put up the
money."
"Well," said Wheaton. "if they let
you off as cheaply as they did me* you
may call it a bargain."
"Oh, he jewed 'em down." persisted
Caldwell. explaining to the others,
"and he has the cheek to boast of it.
I'll see that Margrave hears that."
"Yes, you do that." Wheaton re
torted. "Everybody knows that Mar
grave's an easy mark." This counted
as a palpable hit with Brown and
Wheelock. Margrave was notorious
for his hard bargains. Wheaton gath
ered up his papers and went out.
At the bank Wheaton found that the'
men who came in to transact business
had a knowing nod for him, that im
plied a common knowledge of matters
which it was not necessary to discuss
A good many who came to his desk
asked him if he was tired. They re
ferred to the carnival ball as a "push"
and said it was "great" with all the
emphasis that slang has imparted to
these words.
Porter came down early and en
veloped himself in a cloud of smoke.
This in the bank was the outward
and visible signs of a "grouch." When
he pressed the button to call one of the
messengers, he pushed it long and
hard, so that the boys remarked to one
another that the. boss had been out
late last night and wasn't feeling good.
Porter did not mention the ball to
Wheaton in any way, except when he
threw over to him a memorandum of
the bank's subscription to the fund, re
marking: "Send them a check.
That's all of that for one year."
Wheaton made no reply, but did as
Porter bade him. It was his business
to accommodate himself to the presi
dent's moods, and he was very suc
cessful in doing so. A few of the
bank's customers made use of him as
a kind of human barometer, tele
phoning, sometimes to ask how the old
man was feeling, and whether it was
a good time to approach him. He at
tributed the president's reticence this
morning to late hours, and was very
careful to answer promptly . when
Porter spoke to him. He knew that
there would be no recognition by Por
ter of the fact that he had participated
in a public function the night before
He would have to gather the glory of
it elsewhere. He thought of Evelyn
in moments when bis work was not
pressing, and wondered whether he
could safely ask her father how she
stood the night's gaiety. It occurred
to him to pay his compliments by tele
phone Raridan was always telephon
ing to girls but he could not quite put
himself in Raridan's place.
After a few days the carnival
seemed to be forgotten Wheaton's
fellows at the Bachelors' stopped jok
ing him about it. Raridan had never
referred to it at all. On Sunday the
newspapers printed a resume of the
social features of the carnival, and
Wheaton read the familiar story, and
all the other social news in the paper,
in bed. The bachelors were very
lazy on Sunday morning, excepting
Raridan, who attended what he called
"early church." This- practice his fel
low lodgers accepted in silence as one
of his vagaries. That a man should
go to church at 7 o'clock and then
again at 11, signified mere eccentric
ity to Raridan's fellow boarders, who
were not instructe/ in Catholic prac
tices, but -divided their own Sunday
mornings much more rationally be
tween the barber shop, the postoffice
and their places of business.
It was a bright morning the week
just ended had been, in a sense,
epochal, and Wheaton resolved to go
to church. It had been his habit to
attend services occasionally, on Sun
day evenings, at the People's church,
wliose minister frequently found oc
casion to preach on topics of the day
or on literary subjects. Dr. Morning
star,w as the most popular preacher in
Clarkson the People's church was
filled at all services on Sunday eve
nings it was crowded. Dr. Morning-
star'* series of lectures on the Italian
Renaissance, illustrated by the stere-
^ optfcon, and his even more popular
course of lectures on the Victorian
novelists, had appealed to Wheaton
:*j *rs: ^r *i
\srjsft,.--* -VK-
*'-
SATURDAY EVENING,
BT MEREDITH NICHOLSON
and to many but the People's church
was not fashionable he decided to go
this morning to St. Paul's, the Epis
copal cathedral. It was the oldest
church in town, and many of the first
families attended there.
Wheaton found Raridan breakfast
ing alone, the others of the mess not
having appeared. Raridan's good
morning was not very cordial he had
worn a gloomy air for several days.
Whenever Raridan seemed out of
sorts, - Caldwell always declared sol
emnly that War ry had been writing
poetry.
"Going to church as usual?" Whea
ton asked amiably.
Every Sunday morning some one
asked Raridan this question he sup
posed Wheaton was attempting to be
facetious.
"Yes," he answered patiently, and
added, as usual, "better go along."
"Don't care if I do," Wheaton re
plied, carelessly.
Raridan eyed him in surprise.
"Oh, glad to have you."
-They walked toward the cathedral
together, Wheaton satisfied that his
own hat was as shiny and his frock
coat as proper as Raridan's their
gloves were almost of the same shade.
There was a stir in the vestibule of
the cathedral, which many people in
their Sunday finery were entering.
Wheaton had never been in an Epis
copal church before it all seemed
very strange to himthe rambling
music of the voluntary, the unfamil
iar scenes depicted on the stained
glass windows, the soft light thru
which he saw well-dressed people
coming to their places, and the scent
of flowers and the.faint breath of orris
from the skirts of women. The boy
choir came in singing a stirring pro
cessional that was both challenge and
inspiration. It was like witnessing
a little dram a: the procession, the
singing, the flutter, of surplices as the
choir found their stalls in the dim
chancel. Raridan bowed when the
processional cross passed him. Whea
ton observed that no one else did so.
A young clergyman began reading
the service, and Wheaton followed
it in the prayer book which Rari
dan handed him with the places
marked. He felt ashamed that the
people about him should see that the
places had to be found ^for him he
wished to have the appearance of be
ing very much at home.
He stood and seated himself many
times, bowing his head on the seat in
front of him when the others knelt,
and now the great figure of Bishop
Delafleld came from somewhere in the
depths of the chancel and rose in the'
pulpit. The presence of the bishop
reminded him unpleasantly of the Por
ters' sun-porch and of the disgrace
ful encounter there. The congrega
tion resettled themselves in their
places with . a rustle of skirts and a
rattling of books into the racks. It
was not often that the bishop ap
peared in his cathedral he was rare
ly in his see city on Sundays: but
whenever he preached men listened
to him. Wheaton was relieved to find
that there was to be a cessation of
the standing up and sitting down,
which seemed so complicated.
He now found that he' could
see the Porter pew easily by turn
ing his head slightly. The roses in
Evelyn's hat were very pretty he
wondered whether she came every
Sunday he concluded that she didj
and he decided that he should' attend
hereafter. The bishop had carried no
manuscript into the pulpit with him,
and he gave his text from memory,
resting one arm on the pulpit rail.
He was an august figure in his robes,
and he seemed to Wheaton, as he
looked up at him, to pervade and pos
sess the place. Wheaton had a vague
idea of the episcopal office bishops
were, he imagined, persons of consid
erable social distinction in his notion
of them they ranked with the higher
civil lawgivers, and were comparable
to military commandants. In a line
with the Porters he could see Gen
eral Whipple's white headall the
conditions of exalted respectability
were present.
"And he removed from thence, and
digged another well and for that they
strove not: and he called the name of
it Rehoboth and he said, 'For now the
Lord hath made rom for us, and we
shall be fruitful in the land."
"For now the Lord hath made room
for us. The preacher*sketched light
ly the primal scene to which his text
related. He knew the color and light
of language and made it seem to his
hearers that the Asian plain lay almost
at the door of the cathedral. He
reconstructed the simple social life of
the early times, and followed west
ward the campflres of the shepherd
kings. He built up the modern social
and political structure, with the home
as its foundation, before the eyes of
the congregation. A broad de
mocracy and humanity dominated the
discourse as it unfouded itself.
Buat Wheaton'ts minkd
HEATON ran away from
the livelier spirits of the
Knights of Midas, who
urged him to join in a
celebration at the club
after the ball broke up.
He pleaded the necessity
Copyright. 1903, by Bobbs-Merrill Co.
wandered. I
wra
s pleasure o loo over these wellt -
groomed people this was what success
meantaccess to such conditions as
these. The fragrance of the violets
worn by a girl in the next pew stole
over him it was a far cry to his
father's stifling harness shop in the
dull little Ohio town. His hand crept
to the pin which held his tie in place
he could not give just the
touch to an Ascot that Warry
Raridan could, but then War ry had
practiced longer.
The organ was throbbing again the
massive figure had gone from the
pulpit the people were stirring in
their seats. The young minister who
had read the service repeated the
offertory sentences, and the voice of
a boy soprano stole tremulously over
the congregation. Raridan had left
the pew and was passing the plate.
The tinkle of coin reassured Wheaton
the return to mundane things brought
him relief and restored his confidence.
His spirit grew tranquil as he looked
about him. The pleasant and grace
ful things of life were visible again.
The voice of-the bishop rose final
ly in benediction. The choir marched
out to a hymn of victory people were
talking as they moved thru theJ
to the doors. The organ pealed gaily
now there was light and cheer in.
the world after all. At the door
Wheaton became separated from
Raridan, and as he stood waiting at
the steps Evelyn and her friends de
tached themselves from the throng on
the sidewalk and got into their car
riage. Mr. Porter, snugly buttoned
in his frock coat, and with his silk,
hat tipped back from his forehead,
stood in the doorway talking to Gen
eral Whipple, who was, as usual in,
crowds, ~. lost from the more agile
comrade of his marches many.
Wheaton hastened down to the
Porter carriage, where the
and good mornings of the occupants
gave him further benediction. Eve
lyn and Miss Warren were nearest
him as he stood talking to them,
Belle Marshall espied Raridan across
his shoulders.
aisles
s
"Oh, there's Mr. Raridan!" she
cried, but when Wheaton stood aside,
Raridan had already disappeared
around the carriage and had come
into view at the opposite window with
a general salutation, which Included
them all, but Miss Marshal more par
ticularly , - - '.~v"'--:#l
smiles
i
fe.'
i
j*-W" iW^
THE MLNTNEAPOLIS JOUBNAL. T-r * . - *, , - :i ,-DECEMBER' w, uo's.*-, -^r* - \ ^7^
"I'm sure that sermon will do you
good, Mr. Raridan," the Virginia girl
drawled. She was one of those young
women who flatter men by assuming*
that they are very depraved. Even
impeccable youngsters are susceptible
to this harmless form of cajolery.
Wheaton and Evelyn were holding
a lively conversation. Evelyn's ani
mation was_for his benefit, Raridan
knew, and it enraged him. He had
been ready for peace, but Evelyn had
snubbed him. He was, moreover,
standing in the mud in his patent
leather shoes while another man
chatted with her in greater dignity
from the curb. His chaff with" Miss
Marshall lacked its usual teasing qual
ity he was glad when Mr. Porter
came and took his place in the car
riage.
Raridan had little to say as he and
Wheaton walked homeward., together,
tho Wheaton felt in duty bound to ex
press his pleasure in the music and, a
little less heartily, in the sermon.
Raridan's mind was on something else,
and Wheaton turned inward to his
own thoughts. He was complacent in
his own virtue he had made the most
of the talents God had given him, and
in his Sunday evening lectures Doctor
Morningstar had laid great stress on
this it was the doctor's idea of the
preaching office to make life appear
easy, and he filled his church twice
every Sunday with people who were
glad to see it that way.
When Wheaton reached his room he
found an envelop lying on his table,
much soiled, and addressed, in an un
formed hand, to himself. It contained
a dirty scrap of paper bearing these
words:
"Jim: I'll be at "the ..Occidental ho
tel to-night at 8T o'clock. Don't fail
to come. "Billy."
come an element to reckon with and
yet if he were to be that man
He slept and dreamed that he was
king of a great realm and that Eve
lyn Porter reigned with him as queen
then he awokje with a start to'.find
that it was late. He sat up on the
couch and gathered together the news
paper cuttings which had fallen about
him. He remembered the imperative
summons which had been left for him
during the-morning it was already
6 o'clock. Before going out he changed
his clothes to a rough business suit
and took a car that bore.him rapidly
thru the business district. and beyond,
into the older part of Clarkson. The
locality was very shabby, and when
he left the car presently, it was to
continue his journey in an ill-lighted
street over board walks which yield
ed a precarious footing. The Occi
dental hotel was rh the old part of
town, and had long ago ceased to be
what it had once beenthe first hos
telry of Clarkson. It had descended
to the level of a cheap boarding-house,
little patronized except by the roughr
er element of cattlemen* and by rail
road crews that found it convenient
to the yards. Over the door a dim
light blinked, and this, it Was under
stood in the. neighborhood, meant not
merely an invitation to bed and board
but also to the Occidental bar
CHAPTER XII.
Bargain and Sale.
The Bachelors did not usually mus
ter a full table at Sunday dinner. All
Clarkson dined at noon on Sunday,
the most of the bachelors were for
tunate enough to he asked out.
Wheaton was not frequently a diner
out by reason of his more slender ac
quaintance and to-day all were pres
ent, including Raridan, the most fickle
of all in his attendance. It had
pleased Wheaton to find that the oth
ers had been setting him apart more
and more with Raridan for the - daily
discipline they dealt one another.
They liked to poke fun at Raridan on
the score of what they called his mad
social whirl there was no such resent
ment about it! they were themselves of
sterner stuff and had no patience with
Raridan's frivolties and they were
within the fact when they assumed
that, if they wished, they could go
anywhere that he did. It touched
Wheaton's vanity to find himself a
joint target with Raridan for the ar
rows which the other bachelors fired
at folly. -,-''
The table cheer opened to-day with
a debate between Caldwell and Cap
tain Wheelock as to the annual cost
to Raridan of the carnation which he
habitually wore in his coat This.in the
usual manner of their froth, was
treated indirectly the aim was to con
tinue the cross-firing until the victim
was goaded into a scornful rejoinder.
Raridan usually evened matters be
fore he finished with them but he af
fected not to be listening to them now.
"I was reading an article in the
Contemporary Review the other day
that set me to thinking," he said,
casually, to Wheaton. "It was an
effort to answer the old question,
'Is stupidity a sin?' You may not re
call that a learned Christian writer
I am not sure but that it was Saint
Francis .de Sales,holds that stupidity
is a sin."
The others had stopped, baffled
in their debate over the .carnation
and were listening to Raridan." They
never knew how much amusement he
got out of them they attributed great
learning to him and were never sure
when he began in this way. whether
he was speaking in an exalted spiritual
mood and from fullness of knowledge,
or was merely preparing a pitfall for
them.
There was no common room at The
Bachelors', and the men did not meet
except at the table. They loafed in
their rooms, and rarely visited one
another. . Raridan was the most, so
cial among them and lounged in on
one or the other in his easy fashion.
They in turn sought him out to de
ride him, or to poke among his ef
fects and to ask him why he never
had any interesting books. The books
that he was always buyingminor
poems and minor essays, did not tempt
them. The presence of L'lllustrazione
Italiana on his table from week to
week amused them they liked to look
at the pictures and they had once gone
forth in a body to the peanut vender
at the next corenr to witness a test
of Raridan's Italian, about which they
were skeptical. The stormy interview
that followed between Raridan and
the Sicilian had been immensely enter
taining and had proved that Raridan
could really buy peanuts in a foreign
tongue, tho the fine points which he
tried to explain to the bachelors
touching the differences in Italian dia
lects did not interest them. Warry,
himself was interested in Italian dia
lects for that winter only.
Wheaton went to his room and
made hjmself comfortable. He re
read the Sunday papers thru all their
supplements, dwelling again on the
events of the carnival. He had 3aved
all the other papers that contained
carnival news, and now brought them
out and cut from them all references
to himself. He resolved to open a
kind of social scrap book in which
to preserve a record of his social do
ings. The joint portraits of the king
and queen of the carnival had not vet
been very good the picture of Eve
lyn Porter was a caricature. In Rari
dan's room he had seen a photograph
of Evelyn as a child it was very pret
ty, and Wheaton, too, remembered her
from the days in which she wore her
hair down her back and waited - in
the carriage at the front door of the'
bank for her father. She had-lived
in a world far removed from him
then but now the chasm had been
bridged. He had heard it said in the
last year that Evelyn and Warry were
undoubtedly fated to marry but oth
ers hinted darkly that.some eastern
man would presently appear on the
scene.
All this gossip Wheaton turned over
in his mind, as he lay on his divan,
with the cuttings from the Clarkson
papers in his hands. He remembered
a complaint often heard in Clarkson
that there were no eligible men there
he was not sure just what constituted
eligibility, but as he reviewed the men'
that went about, he could not see that
they possessed any advantage over
himself. It occurred to him for the
first time that he was the only unmar
ried bank cashier in town and this
in itself conferred a distinction. He
was not so secure in his place as he
should like to be: if Thompson died
there would undoubtedly be a reorgan
ization of the bank, and the few shares
that . Porter had sold to him would*
not hold the cashiership for him. It
might be that Porter's plan was to'
keep him in the place until Grant
grew up. Again, he reflected, the man'i
who married Evelyn Porter would be-
was accessible at all hour's of the
day and night, #.nd. was open
thru all the spasms of virtue
with which the city administra
tion was seized frqm time to time.
The door stood open and Wheaton
stepped up to the counter on which
!a boy sat playing with a cat.
"Is William Snyder stopping here?"
he asked.
The bpy looked up lazily from his
play. .'- ,
: "Are you the gent he's expecting?"
"Very likely, is he in?"
"Yes, lie's number eighteen." He
dropped the cat and led Wheaton
down a dark hall which was stale
with the odors of cooked vegetables,
up a steep flight ol' stairs to a land
ing from which he pointed to an ob
long of light above a door.
"There you are," said the boy: He
kicked the door and retreated down
the stair's, leaving Wheaton to obey
the summons to enter which was
bawied from, within.
William Snyder unfolded his long
figure and rose to greet his visitor. '
"Well, Jim," he said, putting out
his hand. "I hope you're feelin' out
of sight." Wheaton took his hand
and said good evening. He threw open
his coat and put down his hat.'
"A little fresh air wouldn't hurt
: you any," he said, tipping himself
back in his chair.
"Well, I guess your own freshness
will make up for it," said Snyder.
Wheaton did not smile he was very
cool and master* of the situation.
- "I came to see what you want, and
it had better not be much."
, "Oh, you cheer up, Jim," said Snyder
with his ugly grin. "I don't know
that you've ever done so much for
me. I don't want you to forget that
I did time for you once."
"You'd better not rely on that too
much. I was a poor little kid and
all the mischief I ever knew I learned
from you. What is it you want now?"
"Well, Jini, you've seen
fool to send - you to - that
ranch. I heard about your little round
with the sheriff, and the gambling
you carried oh in the.ranch house."
"Well, when you admit you're a fool
you're getting on," said Snyder with
a chuckle. ' /
"Now I'm going to make you a fair
offer I'll give you one hundred dol
lars to clear outgo to Mexico or
Canada" * .
"Or he}l or any comfortable place,"
interrupted Snyder derisively.
"And not come here again," con
tinued Wheaton calmly. "If you
do!" .
It was to be a question of bargain:
and sale, as both men realized. "
"Raise your ^rice, Jim," said Sny
der. "A hundred wouldn't take me
very far."
"Oh, yes, it will I propose buying
your ticket myself."
Snyder laughed his ugly laugh.
"Well, you ain't very complimentary.:
You'd ought to have invited me to
your party the other night, Jirm I'd
like to have seen you doing stunts as
a king. That was the worst"-^-he
wagged, his head and chuckled. "A/
king, a real king, and your picture
put into the papers along of the mil
lionaire's daughterwell, you may
damn me!"
"What I'll do," Wheaton went on un-.
disturbed, "is to buy you a ticket to
Spokane to-morrow I'll meet you'
here and give you your transportation
and a hundred dollars in cash. Now
that's all I'll do for you, and it's a
lot more than you deserve."
"Oh, no it ain't," said Snyder.
"And it's the last'I'll ever do."
"Don't be too sure .of that. I want
five hundred and a regular allowance,
say twenty-five dollars a month."
"I don't intend to fool with you,"
said Wheaton sharply. He rose and"
picked up his hat. "What'I offer you
is out of pure: kindness we may as
well understand each other. You and
I are walking along different lines.
Fd be glad to see you succeed in some
honorable business you're not too old
to begin. I can't have you around
here. It's out of the questionmy
giving you a pensipn. I can't do any
thing of the kind."
His tone gradually softened he took
on an air Of patient magnanimity.
Snyder broke in with a sneer. ,... .
(To be continued Monday.)
GLntPSES E?fTO MYTHOLOGY.
." - Milwaukee Sentinel. - ,:.,',
Ajax was defying the. lightning.
"Yoh are passing brave," observed an admir-,
ing bystander.
'-Why so?" demanded Ajar, disdainfully..
"Because yon are likely to get it in the "neck
any moment.'.' .
Whereupon Ajax lanphed scornfjHHy. "Poor
fool." said he "know you not that I have a sub
ber neck?"
For which display of wit and bravery he was
offered $301) a week by,a vaudeville manager.
^'iiltf/J A'" SPECIAL FAVOR. . / ._ '
^.^r-.r-^
SOCIAL HAPPENINGS AT -
THE NATION'S CAPITAL
President and Mrs. Roosevelt Plan to Entertain the Children of People in
Official LifeThe First State Dinner of the Season Given Thursday-
Mr. and Mrs. Goodnow Enjoy HospitalityMiss Roosevelt a Central
Figure in Social CirclesThe Austrian Ambassador and His Fascin-
ating Wife. ' - * "
Correfpondenc* of Th Journal.
Washington, Dec. 1*6For the first
time since the administration of Pre s
ident Grant, the White House con
tains young people of society and
school age, and it is the purpose of
the president and Mrs. Roosevelt to
take advantage of that fact by giv
ing, during the season now opening,
a number of entertainments for chil
dren. The first one is to come oh
Saturday, the day following Christ
mas, and there will be others dur
ing January and February. Prelimr
inary to the issuing of invitations the
White House officials have undertak
en to get the names of hundreds of
children in the city between the ages
of 6 and 17 years. One party will
be given for, the children of army offi
cers, another for the children of naval
officers, another for children in the
homes of members of the senate and
the house, and so on. About half a
dozen of these parties are being
planned, and the Roosevelt youngsters
who fit into the particular age limit
for a particular party will be present
to receive the young guests, assisted
by their mother.
n which
One of the most interesting of these
events willbe that .for the small tots,
children between 6 and 7 years. There
will be another for young people be
tween 10 and 12 years, and another
for those who are nearer the age - of
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., about 16 or
17. , it is said that the plans now
proposed look to the most elaborate
entertainment of the children ever
undertaken by a president of the
United States. Other presidents, how
ever, ought not to be blamed, ber
cause few of them have been as plen
tifully supplied witJrj. children as is
Colonel Roosevelt. -L : ?
The Rink gowns which the bride
maids wore at the McCauley-Tucker
man wedding in this city, No. 25, cost
$125 each, and there were eight of
them. At the last moment, as will
be recalled Miss Alice Roosevelt, who
was to have been a bridemaicl, v/as
compelled to decline, owing to the
death of her father's uncle, in New
York. This not only left a vacant
place .in the. Hhe of bridemaidsl but
left aL $125 dress without anybody to
wear it. There was much hurrying
and scurrying on the part of Miss, Lila
McCauley, the bride-to-be, and many
conferences between her parents and
the parents of other young girls in
the city, with a view to finding one
who would be acceptable as bride
maid and could at.the same time wear
the gown that had been made for Miss
Roosevelt! ' Finally, after considerable
maneuvering on the part of anxious
and ambitious mamas, the choice fell
on Miss Alice Parker, the , beautiful
daughter * of Representative and Mrs.
Park er of New Jersey,, a young laily
who is to be one of the debutantes
of the present season. The Alice
Roosevelt gown fit her to perfection,
and she acted her part asbridemaid
with marked dignity and grace.
The_ bride'"was the niece of W. E.
Steele' of Minneapolis, and. she had
visited in that city,several :times. The
disappointment.of. the McCauley fam
ily oyer. the failure of Miss Roose
velt to .serve as bridemald' was very
keen, and "it is said that. Miss Roose
velt herself had a good .cry over it.
: fit to get
me fired from that nice lonesome job
you'got me, back in the country."
"I had nothing to do with it. The
ranch owner's sent a man here to rep
resent them and I had nothing more
to do with it. The fact is I stretched
a point to put you" iix there. Mr.
Saxton has taken the .whole matter
of the ranch out of my hands."
"Well, I don't now anything about
that," said Snyder contemptuously.
"But that don't make any: difference.
I'm out, and 1 don't know but I'm
glad to be out. That.was a fool job"
about the lonesomest thing I ever
struck. Your friend Saxton didn't
seem to take ashine to me wanted
me to go chasing cattle air oyer the
whole northwest" V ,
"He flattered youv" said Wheaton, a
faint smile drawing at .the corners of:
his mouth. "''".-^\.'i,/."'.',
"None of that kind of talk," .re-
turned. Snyder sharply. "Now what'
you got tb say fpr yourself ?"
'*Itj
isn't necessary for me to say
anything about myself," said Wheaton
coolly. "What I'm going to say is
that ypu'ye got to get out of here
in a htirry and stay out." :
Snyder leaned back in his chair iand
recrbssed his legs on the table. - ' -
"Don't &et. funny, Jim. Large
bodies move slow. It took me a long
time to find you and don't intend
to let go in a hurry."
"I have no more jobs for you
if you stay about here you'll
get into-.'.. trouble. '. I -.was
'The first state dinner of the sea
son was given by the president this
week ^Thursday to the members of
the cabinet.' At intervals of one week
there will be tiinners, in order, to the
diplomatic corps, the supreme court,
the army, the navy, and to the lead
ing members of the two houses of
congress. Coming between these diiir
hers will be the regular winter White
House receptions. The public recep
tions have been abandoned since the
death of President McKinley.
,The Lucania, which sailed from
Liverpool on the 11th inst., had as
passengers the wife of the new Brit-'
ish ambassador, their daughter, and
Henry White, secretary to the Amer
ican embassy in London, who is com
ing home on his regular annual leave.
a
Boston Transcript. -
ShopperAnd how ranch Is this silk a yard?.
SalesmanOnr regular-price, lady,' is two-flfty'
p vird, 'but. as -yon art a" regular ensfouwr. X
think we-can afford to make yon a special price.
You will please not let it be known, but if you
\Msti jou may bare it^or $4.
ShopperOh, thank yen. I'll take fifteen
yard*. ,* _ _ , - .
The Russian ambassador is the
only member of the diplomatic corps
who gives Sunday dinners. . Several
. seasons ago he inaugurated- a plan of
giving a idinner. onicer a week
members of his official family.'
first !6f. the vptesent season will come
to-morrow eyening.
The-
hours in describing American social
conditions, in whic-h the aged mon
arch takes a keen interest, and, With
the grandchildren, was a welcome
companion at tennis and ping-pong,
the latter sport having only recently
made its way to the interior of Aus-
tria-'V'-- ...''' ''''.
Representative John Newton Wil
liamson of Oregon is one of the few
native sons of the Pacific coast who
has ever'come' to congress. He mar
ried a native daughter of Oregon, and
both have spent most of their lives
on the coast. Therefore, to Mr. Wil
liamson the east is a stranger's coun
try. . -'.'- r.
"A few years ago," says he, - "I' made
my first visit to Chicago. I think it
was the most desolate experience I
ever had in all my existence- At the
end of three days I was so homesick
I would have ~ made friends with an
Oregon dog." -..-''.
Since that time, however, Mr. Wil
liamson has tarried longer in the win
dy city and somewhat revised his opin
ion of: it as an abiding-place.
Madame Peroz, daughter of the
Mexican ambassador. . is to go north
for -her health, which for several
months has'been on the decline.
"Jadam-' Bede, the new representa
tive from Duiuth, has .linguistic as
Avell as! political attainments. Here
in Washington' this winter Mr. Bede is
putting.-'Aiii ail his spare time studying
the pure and melodious Gastilian. This
is because he.is looking forward to a
visit in the^Philippines. He prefers to
be able to do his own talking with
the Spanish /faces when he touches
the shoresi 'on the other side of the
world." '. ':vV '-:0 -r.
The daughter.of the speaker of the
house of representatives is to begin
her formal ." afternoon receptions on
New Year's Pay. .'.
The holiday program seems pretty
well made up and would be hard to
improve on in any case. The house
balls will,be a delightful feature after
Christmas. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F.
Walsh' will give on th
for the
0
friends'a ocotillion f their schooel gir
daughter^ Miss Ev^lyji,Walsh Mr. and
Mrs. John R. .McXiean a dinner dance
on the 30th,' and Senator Kean-and
Miss Kean, a dinner .dance on the 31st.
The sixty-co'ut)le cotiliioii on the 21sjt",
the dancer for the Princeton men on
the 23d, Mrs. Scoville's dance at
Rauscher's on the 26tn', the junior sub
scription dance, also at Rauscher's.
on the 28th-arid Mrs. teupp's dance
for her debutante daughters on the
29th at the Washington club are all
events of pleasurable anticipation .in
youthful. calendars. . . -
For the first time, a-prince oeupies
a seat in the' American congress,'
Prince Kalahianaoie, delegate from
Hawaii. His dusky Jiighness, with his
family.-has taken: house in K street
northwest, the home of "the. Cutlers,
where tfieywi.ll. live-during the pres
ent session. It is furnished modestly,
and there are none of the trappings
which characterized! the visits of
Queen Lil. during the Cleveland ad
ministration and excited so much com
ment in Washington society.
Secretary Hay has been confined to
his home for several weeks with bron
chial trouble, and the unfavorable
weather has retarded his recovery.
His wife will not receive oi- entertain
during thev present season.
Cards have been issued for" the wed
ding of Isabel, daughter of Justice and
Mrs. McKenna, Jan: 6 at the McKenna
home,in.Rhode Island avenue.
Judge McCreary and family of Ne
braska are the latest permanent ad
ditions: to the social coterie of the
capital!'- He has recently purchased a
home" in Mount Pleasant.
Mrs. Roosevelt yesterday received
the diplomatic corps at 5 o'clock.
Owing to the period of mourning
wliich has been observed at the White
House for the president's uncle, the
recently accredited, diplomats had not
been presented to the president's wjfe.
to.
the
The
smallestcircles
and newest
to diploraati
The - return of - the German ambas
sador, followed closely by the arrival
of the British ambassador, completes
the ambassadorial circle, with the ex
ception of the ambassador from Italy,
who is still-abroad, but will return in
additionso is the little n
of Commander - and Madame Bouta
ko# of the Russian embassy,
bprh Dec..9.:. He will be
v
J namedstaff,' for
liis grandfather, General Karhakoff,
who was governor general of Siberia
from 1875 to 1880. . v
Mrs. Root, the wife of the secretary
of war", will be at home until Febru
ary, when her husband is to retire
from" the cabinet,' at 14 Lafayette
square,
theLudlow,
house
ownedarby
and Mrs.
Admiral
: who e spending
the winter in New York, so as to be
near their, son,' a young naval officer.
M. Jusse'rand, the present ambassa
dor from France, and Mme. Jusserand
will probably take little part in social
life this winter. The ambassador lett
Wednesday for a visit to New Orleans,
to assist at the celebration commem
orating the Louisiana purchase. The
French cruiser Jurien de la Gravier
will be in New Orleans harbor for a
week, and be the scene of several en
tertainments in honor of the ambas
sador. Mme. Jusserand, who has been
declining many invitations of late on
the score of ill-health, did not accom
pany her husband..
The Belgian minister and Baroness
Moncheur are entertaining the father
of the baroness, Powell Clayton of
Arkansas, American ambassador to
Mexico, who has been in Washington
to attend the meeting of the repub
lican national committee.
,' The following interesting paragraph
regarding the Austrian ambassador and
his Handsome wife is taken from the
Washington Post:
" 'The' ambassador from Austria-Hun
gary, w.ho has been confined to his
house by illness for the past tendays,
is much improved, and now able to
leave his bed for a part of each day.
Owing to . her husband's illness the
Baroness Hengelmuller has taken lit
tle part in the' entertainments of the'
"season. During their recent sojourn
abroad the ambassador and Baroness
Hengelmuller spent a considerabletiuie
at their country home, near Ischl, the
summer nalace of Emperor Francis
Joseph, who extended many favors :to
the ambassador and his -handsome
wife. -The, latter, who has- long en
joyed the reputation of being one of
the-- most fascinating as well as one'
of the handsomest women any foreign
court has ever sent to Washington, is"
as much admired at tiorne' as abroad,
and' is. reported a universal favorite
|n .'.the- royal Household". With the em
peror ,hV. enjoyed i* many.- charminjr
NOBpICA AND HER,:\HUSBAND, FROM WHOM SHE SUES POR
- \
v 1'^-^-
time to pay his respects to the -presi
dent on New Year's Day.
Mrs. Addison G. Foster, wife of the
senior senator frim Washington, and
well known in the twin cities, is trav
eling thru Japan and portions of
China, and will not arrive in Wash
ington until late in the season, v
Representative and Mrs. George B.
McClellan, who will remain in Wash
ington until early in January, have
leased as a home in New York an old
fashioned mansion on Washington
square, in a still fashionable and ex
clusive neighborhood in which the
boyhood of the Tammany mayor-elect
was passed.
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Hill, formerly
of Minneapolis, will be seen a good
deal in Washington society during the
winter. They are living at the New
Willard. . -
.Consul General and Mrs. John
Goodnow have been invited out a num
ber ot times since they came to Wash
ington, and have given several din
iier-s to \vashington friends. They go
from here to New York for a week at
holiday time, and thence to an eastern
college, where Mr. Goodnow's son is
located, after which they will return
to the west. They will pass thru the
twin cities on their way back to
Shanghai about the middle of Jan
uary. .
./" Miss Roosevelt, who attended the
doll sale and tea at Representative
Harrison's house a few days ago, was
stylishly gowned in dark brown crepe.
Her round hat, in the same color, had
a bird with long plumage. Captain
Cowles accompanied her. In the auc
tion sale that rounded off the after
noon Thomas F. Walsh was the first
purchaser. Mrs. Emile Montgomery
won the doll given by Mrs. Roosevelt,
which had earned $50 for the fund,
and Mayor-elect George B. McClellan
won a Red Riding Hood. The sale
was a* great success and most fash
ionably attended. So was the tea and
sale at Rauscher's for the Children's
Country Home and the exhibit of the
Christ Child society at the home on
Twenty-sixth street.
Senator-Dolliver has no daughter*
who have grown to woman's estate,
and therefore, until a day or two ago,
was not fully aware what expensive
notions they sometimes cultivate.
The fair daughter of one of his new
colleagues in the house was shopping
for a fine pocketbook. She shopped
in the house store, where the members
have a stationery allowance, but noth
ing there quite pleased her. I t was
suggested that she go to the senate
store, where more luxurious articles
are said to be on sale. There the
young lady found something very
much to her liking.
"Wait a moment," said her fond
father, who has recently come to the
house, ahd'is not well acquainted on
the north side of the capitol. "I will
get Senator Dolliver to arrange for an
exchange on my . stationery account."
V The generous junior senator would
hot "hear to it. . "Get the pocketbook
for the young lady," said he, "and
have it charged against my allow-
ance.". No protests availed, and the
senator himself descended to the store
to personally supervise the bargain.
Mr. Dolliver did not flinch when the
dainty article was found to be worth
well,nigh a day's salary. He admired
it, looked at the clerk, and observed
shrewdly:
"'-
29thl r
- "That old color looks as tho the
book'had been in stock. Don't you
offer a little discount for that rea-
son?" . : ^ - - '
"It's the color which makes it both
stylish and valuable," remarked the
clerk. The deal was forthwith closed,
and the young lady regards Mr. Dol
liver as about the nicest man in the
world. -'".-'
Mrs. Roosevelt is now busy buying
and making her Christmas presents,
of which she gives a very large num
ber, and they go all over the world.
Many of them go to old-time friends
and acquaintances, for the most part
women of humble station, at Oyster
Bay.
WOHKED THE DEY.
Judge.
The Dey of Gazooluland was anjjrr. Petnlant
Iy. lini-Jin? tho cold brick to a far corner of th
Uiri'iie -room, he exclaimed:
"And thus is my confidence in humanity im
posed upon. Gold bricked, gold bricked, what is
the world coming to?"
"Your altitudinous excellency." Interposed tha
court jester with a sinister smile, "was it not
but yesterday that the .poet laureate composed a
bHlln'A aetting forth that this is a work-a-dey
wc*ldV"
Ten minutes later howls from the rhyme room
told that the' court poet was getting his.
OUR PROGRESSIVENESS.
- Town Tonics.
...First ChinamanThose Yankees are a Tery
prrtjiressive pennle aren't they?
Second ChinamanOh. yes. They are contin
ually inventing things that we invented so long
ago that we have forgotten all about them.
A CRUEL REJOINDER.
New York Sun.
Cholly NimrodAwand when is the season I
can't shoot? ,
GuidfrThree hnudred and sixty-flve days in
the year. -
?v-
.C'.-f
:
f^^&^'^-'P*'1
DIVO-R0E. :^S'-^j^:-ir ^m^
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