LITERATURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7707, 9 January 1905, Page 4

LITERATURE.

THE MAN WITH THE THREADLESS BUTTON* In the autumn of 18— I took a short tour in Germany, and among other places of interest I visited an important town not far 'from the French frontier, which I shall call Rosenberg, Among the various groups of guests who were staying at the liote) at which I had put up at were two or three persons whom I must Mention particularly. There was an American, Colonel Westrop, with his wife and daughter, and a young lady of mixed German and English parentage. Miss Brandt, who was travelling, it appeared, under their excort. ''Mists Emily Brandt was the beKe of the house tor tho time being, and there was a furious competition for the favour of her society among a large section ojf the male visitors. Strange to say, the beauty's favourite seemed to be a man who had passed the age when such flirtations are permissible ; and it is only fair to Mr Lefroy to say that he did not pay court in amy marked way to the reigning beauty.; There seemed to be no other cause for the fair Emily's preference ; for Lefroy was not only middle-aged, but he was tremendously stout-so sto u «.' that even his great height failed him to carry off his bulk with udyantage. ' . One afternoon when my stay at Rosenberg was drawing to ft close, I heard Colonel Westrop and his party discussing a visit which they intended paying to the fortifications n< M Don't you see that Mr Lefroy is simply dying *° •*> * skod t0 „,. g0 with us? Do ask lim,"- said Miss Brandt. .. . ... Lefroy muttered something to the effect that they must not put themselves out of the way on his account : but is was evident that he did want to go; and he accepted with alacrity the Colonel's rather ungracious invitation. It was arranged that we were to go to the fortifications next day after lunch, driving round from one to another. Besides those whom I have mentioned, a young Englishman named Bruc4 an ardent admirer of Miss Brandt, was to be of the party. I had no doubt she brought him Jkat she might be able to play him and Lefroy off against each other. Lunch was over hall-an-hour be-fore-the carriages eame round, and I went into the reading-room to write a letter whil,e we waited. Lefroy followed me into the room, and sitting down at the other side of the great table in the middle of tho floor, took up a newspaper. By-and-bye I became conscious that although I was thinking of my let-ter-all the time, my mind was busying itself in an independent kind of way with one of the buttons of Mr Lefroy'B overcoat. This* button, like tho other buttons ot the garment, was not visibie to any person standing in front ot the wearer, seeing that the buttonholes were placed, not in the fabric of the coat itself, but in a slip of cloth—•* false hem," I believe, is the technical word for it—running down the inner edge of the left side of tac front ot the overcoat.. The arrangement is a very common one, and would never have attracted my attention, or that of anyone ; but what my eyes had fixed on was the fact that one of the buttons which was partially exposed to view through the shield (as I may call it) of the false hem bang a little, disx placed, seemed to be fastened on .without thread. Now, if this bad been a cloth-cov-ered button, I would have not expected it to show any thread in the centre, for cloth buttons, as everybody knows, are fastened by a •'-' shank "- of cloth at the back of it; but this was a black button of bone, or some such material, and ""' itheso buttons always have two boles in the middle for the thread to pass through. This one had none. It has always been one of my failings that an unexplained fact, no matter bow trifling' it may be in itself, worries me unmercifully till I can find something to account for it; and in a short time I had forgotten all about my unfinisned letter, and was putting to myself such idiotic Questiones as these: •"• How is that button fastened on ? It cannot be a stud ? Who ever fastened his overcoat with studs instead of buttons ? Vet it is clear that it has no thread. I wonder of Lefroy would miud my asking about it ? I wonder whether the other buttons are fastened without thread ? - _„ I was still asking myself such-like SEotfe questions-when-the carriage jras announced and we set off. - The fortifications were interesting, much more so than I had expected ; and we were fortunate in having an officer for our guide, who explained • everything; that we wished to understandi Lefroy and Miss Brandt were generally together, to the intense annoyance of young Bruce, who did not sqamed consoled by the opportunity he had of flirting with a masculine young woman in a man's hat, shirt, necktie, and coat, who accompanied us by favour of the consul. Even I, who have long since ceased to wondbr at anything a young woman may do, felt some surprise at the frankness with which tho beauty appropriated the middle-aged AngloFrenchman. She took his arm with' a pretty playfulness that would have Been vulgar and indecorous in one of fewer personal attractions. She had a way of leaving him suddenly to attend to tho cunning lecture 'on the science of fortification .with which our guide favoured us ; and then in a few minutes she would grow tired of instruction, follow Lefroy to the rampart, or wherever he had wandered to, and pounce down on him in a way which suggested ownership, and which, te me, at least, would have been most highly "disconcerting, Lefroy did not seem to mind it; nor did be, on the other hand, appeal) to be much flattered by, the young lady's preference. After a time, however, he seemed to tire of her society, for as we came to one of the forts which we had not seen, he took the opportunity of saying to mo in a whisper : <•* I have had about enough of that girl s chatter. It makes me tired. I Jrish you would come along with us «nd talk to her, so that I Ca n have a little rest'.'I confess that I did not find Miss Brandt's chatter tiring—far from it—and I read Sly consented to afford Mr liefroy the relief he desired, I joined myself to their company, and in a short time so engaged the lady s attention that her hand dropped from her companion's arm, and Lefroy, unnoticed, slipped off bv himselfi< " Where is Mr Lef roy , Whai can have beeome of him ? ■-' Miss Brandt asked presenUy, with a pretty affectation of concern which I thought .was to mask a trace of anxiety in her tone. *• JZ S 8 **? been a bri(ie ' fife could not have dismayed moro eolicitude absurd, and all. but indecorI could only account for it }.y sun--ly in.love with her middle-need a£ «£er, and that they either were engaged, or were on the point of bee°mms engaged. "^ We went back' in search nf »i.« rfterer, .„,, tomd M ™ v( g templating the scene As we Z Wt mv rfA, .Lrrr* 1 ' M,ss Brandt -to «r£, *** threw «l,on kne Y wS^L n< ? t - J ' ou «m.st not-" ; *ith cool VST, ?*' ' SQld Lefrov, ' & stalked mMo 1 b »r a. frigid bow, and ' iri&ue o*"™ 0 *"™- Emily T * handkerchief at lu-j- ] M- .Co be continued.J \\