LITERATURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7716, 19 January 1905, Page 4

LITERATURE.

—•— ." MICKEY,"Her real name was Angela Woolcombe, but she was always called " Wckey," for what reason no one was able to explain ; though there was a legend to the effect that, whep sHo first went to school, some girl worked out a far-fetched connection between ths name of Angela and the Archangel Michael. But, whatever was the origin ol It,- ■■* Mickey " was tho name by which she was always known, and she couW hardly have recognjsed herself if anyone had addressed her as Angela. " Do you reat'iso, Lyn," said Mickey, seriously, "that to-morrow is my birthday ? " " The factj. my dear Mickey, had lor tho moment escaped me," replied Hamlyn Belasys, smiling ; " but now that you remind me of- it I do seem to be dimly aware that to-morrow you aro to attain the dignity of being twenty years old." "Oh ! Bather beingi twenty years oW !•" said Mickey, flippantly. *" The important thing about it is that I have got a lovely new evening frock, and that you are going to take me to the ' S a mmy box ' at the AdJelphi, and then we are going to supper at the Savoy afterwards." •"My dear Mokey," said Hamlyn Belasys. " you positively take my breath away ! The ' Sammy box,' as you perfectly well know, is booked up for months to come ; and as to going to the Savoy afterwards for supper, why, we shall have to find a chaperone for you. and you know you bate ehaperones." "Nonsense !" replied Mickey, cheerfully. ■■■• If you go down to the theatre and talk nicely to them, you know suite well that you will get your own .Way.; There's nothing in the world you can't talk people into when you give your mind to it, and ■ it's not a bit of good pretending you don't taiow it. So that settles the ' Sammy fjox ' question ; and as to a chaperone}, I have asked that school-chum of mine, May Cameron, .whom you like so much, and who is on at the Adclphi just now, to come to supper with us after the show, and that will be guite chaperone enough, I'm sure ! " '-' The one thing that my eloquence is evidently powerless to effect is to dissuade Mickey from anything when she has set her heart upon it," said Belasys, resignedly. " But if I'm really to fry and get that box for you I must go off and aee about it at once.'i And. a few minutes later he was speeding in a hansom from Iris house in Bruton-street towards the Strand. Mickey had been 9eft an orphan .when she was quite a tiny child, and ' her father, who had been Belasys' greatest friend, left a clause in his will that he wished him to become her guardian. .As Hamlyn w a s only about twen-ty-five at the time, he seemed rather young for the charge, but his unmarried sister, who tfived with him, .was alighted to have the child to look after. And Belasys, wlo was much more staid and, serious than most men of his age, accepted the responsibility without its ever occurring to him that the position was a trifle incongruous. He had a Government post which occupied him in Whitehall every day between the hours of eleven and four, and he also had sufficient private means to live comfortably and even luxuriously in a small house in a fairly fashionable part of London. As Mickey had foreseen, he returned from, ins errand triumphant, though, aa he explained to her, he had had to do an awful lot of arguing before hefgot what he wanted. "Oh ! It's all very well to mak'e yourself out such a martyr," said Mickey,; «but you know perfectly well that you like arguing with people when you Enow that you are going to get your own way in the end.'' He .was quite accustomed to being bullied by Mickey, as indeed was everyqsfe else who had anything to do with hen, and he was really delighted that he had been able to secure ton her this '' birthday treat," on which she bad evidently so set her heart, IBs sister had for some time past been a confirmed invalid, so that Hamlyn had really to be .father and mother and uncle and brother all rolled into one, so far as his ward .was concerned.. For her part she treated him ext-~ actly like a brother, always addres- •- sing bfm as Lyn, and taking for granted that the chief purpose for iWiricfa he had been sent into the .world was to take her about and buy things for her, and generally -x make himself useful. - She hail . a littSe money af her ow«—just enough to prevent her from the feeling that she was dependent upon her guardian and his sis- • ut ' ler • ncome w °s a strictly HinWea one, and she found'it decidedly useful to have Lyn to go shopping with her when she wanted a Hew bat; or a dozen pairs of gloves, or some small but not particularly inexpensive trifle of that kind. The new gown the next evening proved an unqualified success, which ,was perhaps assisted by the fact that Hamlyn had sent round a pro. wssional hairdresser to do her hair. And the consciousness that she was looking extraordinarily pretty may nave had something to do wfith her immense' enjoyment of the play. After the piece was over Hamlyn took her across to the Savoy, whore he had taken the precaution to engage a table. And then, while staj .was re-titivating the most (important points toilette, he went back w thecab to the stage-door „f the Adelpm to fetch her friend, Miss May Cameron, whom he had already met Several times.befcre. She, being something of Jhe quick"<*ange artiste, .was ready even sooner than he expected, and in a very snort time they, were all comfortably spatea] in the restaurant listening to the inspiring strains of the band «wl watching the people at the neighbouring tables. Now it so happened that the table exactly behind Hamlyn Belasys was occupied by two men, who were both JT? y , much: struck ™th Mickey and her friend. Miss Cameron,, for J£f,^r Pt C^ ting Bdmi '- i ng glances in And when Belasys and the two lad- - t£ ?^*h P u t^. 80 u aml teke their c °'- "~ J? tho hBW ' the two men eot up ' «xt t tTem? meß,rftooßtlletable B*»sys hail, of course, been quite unconscious olthJs by-play going on E?2i m S - b - k « bUt i 3 ""necessary . to. state that the two girls were not £L? y *u mCanS unanar « of the admirataon they w* e exciting; and Mickey, who was not so much accustom- ?"* £"* °* ma S as her Wend found herself taking the deepest interest in the t a ll and handsome S^L^V"* 0 had specially singtojxr out as the object of his ''l wonder who he can be ■> '-•■ - A^ e^ MJCkOy to Cameron'. am the latter replied, -*i Oh ' Do p^o£aL kn ?? him? That is H «"*> the man who plays the Parts at the Frivolity. Th^ '"' heard Ou's was • Sew SET* than eVOr ' as s «" w by , ,ad,eS ' and jt fl attcred her vanity to think that she had 'rlUrealer UCSto(SUfhanot< ' rion, and all got up to go. Betels put Miss Cameron into a £?*"?;»«* fe driver, and L" . address; and thea „«£« fficiey. ujto anotto cab, and got in »note of the address upon WsshirteveninL .? nSeexis tence all the to the fart lt£t, ?? y ""Portance - ■«- standi^ne^at'tr 8 nmn • wh* he tu at the n «>nient : Wbman! address l <» the , ■* :(To be continued.)