The Storyteller

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 37, 14 September 1905, Page 23

The Storyteller

A TASTE OF SOCIETY

i. ' Edward, I wish I had the entree to the society you frequent,' &aid Charles Macey to his fiiend and erstwhile college mate, who had dropped in, as was his Custom, 011 tiie way to an evening reception. Handsome arid faultlessly attired, the young man bore afoout him an air of prosperity and ease with 'himself and others that had suddenly appealed to the tired student stretched wearily upon the lounge after a laborious day. Edward Dale glance*! hastily about the comfortable, homelike room, as he answered, with a smile : ' It is the easiest thing in the woTld, Macey, if you want to try it. But I fancied you -did not go in for that sort of thing. You nave the best quarters and the " homiest " room of any one I know. Fellows in ordinary lodgjungs, like myself, can appreciate the comforts of a place like this. I don't believe you can.' ' Oh, yes, I can ! ' said Macey. ' I know myself to be 1 veiry foxfcutnatc in being taken care of as lam by my old nurse nimd friend, Hannah. She is the tfest cook that ever liv-od, I believe , and she makes these pleasant rooms a piece of home to me— having lived in the family so many years before she came to keep house for her brother. But I get tared of everything sometimes ; and seeing you come in now ami then as you do, ready for an evening otit, makes me long occasionally fom that wot Id to which you seem to fcj^long.' *' ''''Seem to (fc|elang " is kjjpiod,' laujgjhed his fiiend. ' It is true, I only seem to belong— l do not really form an integral part of it. A hanger-on to the skirts of it, I yet deserve some pleasure, which may later result in profit to my career. I always have that in view ; and I really enjoy it, besides.' * How profit ? ' askod Macey. 'By reason of tho acquaintances you may make, perhaps ? ' ' Yea ; and— l'm not such a bad-laoil.ing fellow, am I ? There are heiresses, you know, Chailes.' ' To be had for the asking ? ' ' Well, not exactly that ; "but one never can tell. Pretty girls sometimes fall in lo\e with impecunious fellows like myself.' ' Yoii call yourself impecunious with a salary of three thousand a year ! I wish I were sure of half "of it for the next five or six years. I would—' ' What would you do *> ' ' Well, neV'eir mind. I certainly would not be looking 'aroimVd for an heiress.' 1 W'hiati is ytihxeo thousand a year, after all ? I spend nearly all of it.' ' I'm si'jrp/ri'scd to hoar that. You hasve no bad habits ; you <lo not live luxuriously.' ' I certainly 'do not. These rooms of yours seem a paradise to\ me, Macey. Ncvort'heless, I "sane little or nothing. But you wore saying yo>u would like to have tho entree to 1 the society I frequent ? Arc you seiious 7 ' Macey reflected a moment. 'To a certain extent, yes ; but Iho wish must die at birth. I have no means of attaining it.' ' All that is necessary is a dress suit, a pjo^d appearance, good manners, and an introduction to some one from some oine else. That can all bp managed without any troufble.' ' Thq dress suit is in the wardrobe,' answered Macey. ' I have never worn it since the day of my Bradfuation, two years a!#o. It may be out of style,' he addetf gaily. 'In that case there would be no hope lon me-, I suppose. As to the rest— l will leave you to judge, Dale.' ' Cela va sans dire,' said his friend. ' Now, there are the Vandoikkums, rich as Croesus— the old gentleman ; a very good sort, too ; and Charlotte is a pearl.' ' A pearl ! ' echoed Macey, as there flashed before his mental Vision the picture of a' lovely, gentle pi'i in a country town not 300 miles distant— his pearl, his Margaret, as Iw had fondly called her fo«r more yeais than any one t-Jirt himself knew ; the prize he oveted, the goal of all hi* dreams. Then his thoughts came back to time and place, and he asked : 'Is she very beautiful ' ' ' Oh, yes, wry— after a large, grand fashion, such as few women evar attain ! She is a jolly good companion, too.' ' Ofh ! ' said Macey, o little nonplussed. He could not associate his ideal of a pearl with anything; but gentleness and modest 10/voliness. And it did not seem ripflit 'to him that Dale should have called Miss Vandokkum bly, her first name : it savored too much cf

familiarity. From which it will bo seen that his walks had in/deed, lain, far outside the pale of what is called le -hajut monfcte. In other wo>rds, the denizens thereof, if they had been privileged to read his thoughts, would have* called, him ' (fresh ' or "green, 1 or 'by .some oither equally descriptive and expressive word known to their nomenclature. 1 I imagine the dress suit will do,' said Dale, looking at his watch. ' But I must be gioing. It is nearly ten, amd I lam due at the Bordens. Nice girls, those Bordens ; stunners you might call them. Well, old felfel low, sihall J get you a card for the Vando'kkums on the 25tBi ? Say the word and it is ypurs.' A wa,ve of revulsion had swept over Macey, Somehow tthe dazzle and glamor h aid vi noshed. Dale's flippant rcmanks jarred and disgusted him. His- nature was refined almost to a fault. ''■ I don't kmow,' he said slowly. 'It doesn't matter* much either way, Dale. I do not belong, and never will belong*—' ■■>" And nciver wish to belong to that world "—why don't you finish, Macey ? ' interrupted his friend, with a light] laugh. -' I miigfrt, perhaps, if you hadn't taken the words out of my moiuth,' said Macey. ' But I don't wish to l|e> a prig, either. Get me a card, if it is not too much trouble, Dale.' ' Very well. It will not be any trouble. Young men arv> at a premium m society these days. Seriously, Mlacey,, it ouplht to be a pood thing for you. Au re^voir ! It will be all right.' After Dalo hart gone Macey rose, went to his desk, and wro<e a long letter lo his intended wife. Its con-tcintr-i did not abound in fulsome endearments, biut every line breathed an affection founded on deep respect and profound esteem— the result of a friendship and comradeship deepening into pure and unselfish lo,ve. A few Mays after this Macey received a card of invitation to the Vandokkums ; and that same evening Dale paid him a short visit, on his way to a lawn fete given by one of the fashionable set of which, he said, he was rapidly becoming ' quite to the manner boirn.' Macoy appeared more indifferent than Dale had expected to the honor which he had desired, an|d which his fnen»l had solicited. ' I dion't know what stuff I am made of, to tell the truth, Dale,' he said. "A glimpse of the fashionable world miaiy fascinate me, you know, to the extent of bringing; me o-i my knees to the goddess as soon as I have tas tod the sweetness of her smiles. Never having been tempted, I cannot answer for the consequences . And "I am here for solid work, not to fritter away my time ' IJo spoke half in jest, half in earnest ; and Dale ' read between the lines.' ' Come along and taste, iroit with stand fang,' said his friend. ' A dash of champagne is exhilarating • it braces one. Yom will be all the better for it. It will bridva; you in touch with people and things of the moment. To dehe ml-o books day ami night is only half to live And I will answer for it that you have too much (.tariaKcr to allow yoursell to be blown hither nid thither by every wind of change. Many 'a young fellow would give his eyes to be invited to the Vandoik&ums.' Macey ianuglied. ' I'll be ready,' he said. ' Oall for mo as you po up. I'll share the cab. At ten o'clock on the important evening the tWo yoaftig men were set down at tho door of the brilliantly lighted house, where a stream of people in front of them were filling the corridor and mounting the broad staircase, the balustrades of which wore almost hidden. be-ieath trailing vines and sprays of flowers. When they descended from the dressing room,, it was with groat) difficulty that t'hev made their way to the hostess and her daughter, who stood beneath a gorgeous electric chanldelier of various colored lights, in a bower of rosfes and jlas mine— 'the arched entrance to a large conservatory in the rear. The. fust, impression made on Macey was one of vils'ion. Olancc where he would, iiis eys rested om> a profusion of rarer necks, without,, in many cases, riven tho pictonco of sleeves ; though now and then com 1a be scon a Vmo of li'ribron or velvet, tor a niching of tulle, (by ■which ho supposed th<e gown was kept on the shoulders Mrs. Vanido'kkum, a large, handsome woman of middle a£h wi&k attired in a black shimmering gown, the corsage of which— land there was very little of it— made. Macoy 1 think of a tieht-fit ting coiat" of mail, as it srark'erl and shone urnler the heavy jet tTimmin'ppi which completely covered it. Her white hair, piled like a lniwh'ture tower on top of her heafrl, was surmommted by" an aigrctie of ma/gnineent diamonds. .She wore a diamond necklace ajbjaut her throat, and both of her fat

white hands were loaded with rings. Miss Vandokkum, tall, Blight* aoi'd lively, wore a gown of white silk with opojk ornaments. Doth ladies received Macey with marked cordiality. Dale appeared to be very much at home with them,>; and to this Macey attributed his' reception, entirely unaware tttat He made qiuitc a distinguished figure in the rooms, which contained but a sprinkling of men. Introductions followed. Dale was kind ; yet the novice shrank b)ack after a while from the throng, preferring iathcr to "bw a spectator than a participant. Everything \ was novel, strawgc, fascinating, an-d yet repelling. Ihe lights, the porfume, the flowers, the buvw of voices, the sound of sj'fdued, affected laughter, the endless platitudes and nothings of conversation which went an around him, made him realise that he was in a new atmosphere, almost) in a foreign world. Dale anid h« had become separated. Ho was leaning ajg'ain.st a pilflar, half in the shadow of a crimson velvet curtain, when he heard a pleasant female voice at his elbow, amid Hfecamc aware thiat Miss JVandofckum was taipipiing him on the arm with her fan. lie turned and Wowed, his face flushing, a little thrill of masculine vanity agitating his veins as he realised that his young hostess must have sought him with delil|tration. A moment before ho had caught her eye for an instamt, as she stood «siur rounded by admirers at the other end of the room. She at once slowly m,adc her way out of tJuv circle, traversing several corridors and an ante-room until sho h-ad reachul him in his secluded comer. Now she placed, her hand upon his arm, looking ( up smilingly into hia face as she said : ' I saw that you were looking lonely here, Mr. Macey, anid thought I would come and taJke a little turn wit(h you in the conservatory. It is so very warm in these- rooms.' Murmuring his pleasure, and hiding his embarrassment u^nder the masik of steady gray eyes and firmly cut lips— whicfli were his inheritance from ancestors who had sat in high places when Ihoso of the girl "beside him were building dykes in the Low Countries— Macey began to pilot a way through the crowded apartments. There wero many comments as the couple now passed close to 1 the male wallflowers fringing the outer rows of tightly wedged dowagers who sat .iqpitc oblivious of their ihargt-s, l'o«t to \\o\v in the surging throng,. From the men came suth remarks as the following : t ' Arthur, who is that cad with the Vandokkum 9 ' Some now fellow sfn'c has fished into her net. She'll drop him as slho does everybody else after twooir three evening^. SOie's n rare one for sensations.' ' Aye, itndecd ! Who is he, anyway ? An importation "> ' ' Rla'mexl if I know ' Likely as not ' Yoii'ic mislaken,' observed another youth ' lie's notiiinipj Hut a cad— a sort of modical stuidtail Dale b-rougiit m to-night Oharlotte isn't pjorng to Mirow herseilf away on a specimen like flvat so lomg as coal i 9 way u|p high. You know the .^ntlnracite man hais the inside track there ' ' She's not a bad lot, though. Mighty good-hearted is Lady CharlotteWith the dowagers it rain thus : "•What an aristocra'fic-looki'ng man ' Wlio is he 9 ' ' I cannot tell you. (Jobd-looking, but yoiniig), don't you think ? ' ' Yes, two or three years younger than she. is.' ' Fho makes up well, though. Her \i\acity takes - from her years.' ' She has measured the witiiatfo|n>— th,oiicrht| »t all out. She made a picture of herself anl that youth nromenajdinf; throi|p.h the rooms before she t«iok a step. Sho is an actress, don't you think so ? ' ' Well— •perhotyp. If it aiwrses her, it doesn't matter.' 'He struts along like a yoiyig peacock. Probably thinks himself the admired of all »d miners. I wish my Albert ha*d his assurance ' ' Meanwhile, unconscious of criticism, Macey, with Miss VairiUmk! urn lra»iitit' lijrthtlv m his arm, re-ached the conservatary, where, in ,th" twilight of so'ftlv modulated electric l&m'ps, <-everal couples were alresdM soateid. ITis comipanion led the wav to a pretty tniMing fountiain bbhimd; & palm trre, where a small wicl er settee invited them V> rest. The suhdmrd hcht, the plash rvf falling water, the flower-laden atmosphere, the attpjuct.ijve upraised face of liis compamioai, her pretty sallins, her Switching smiles—^each lanid all laid their ccnccntraW spell urion him. ITc breathed and in a iflamor, in a dream. Vmv Iha-t one short halfAhour he forgot' that Margaret was in existence. ' They are 'going to supper,' said Miss Vamlolrfkum. • Will you take; me down ? ' ' With pleasure,' answered Macey, shaking oT the mysterious spell that encompassed him.

As he rose to his feet, his companion suddenly appeared to him to bo singularly unattractive. He wondered what he could have found charming in those deep eyes, outlined with dark b!ue rings which showed through the rouge and powder with which her cheeks were covered ; in the disheveled hair, already out of curl anid flailing in llhin, straight strands on her neck ; in the tiresome small talk with which the half-hour had bpen filled. Tiie voice of the fountain had become disagreeably monotonous ; the atmosphere, warm anlrt perfumed, fciirly sickened him. He longed for a bteat'h, of fiesh air. Once more Miss Vandokkum placed her hiand ttpon his arm,, directing him by another entrance to the tent several steps below the level of the con,servatcxry, where a hundred tables were decorated and laid for supper. 11. Every one was in high spirits, and the champagne flowed freely. Early in the feast Miss Vandokkum had been appreip darted b{y a late arrival— a bloated, pompous lool\ing man with Right red hair and freckled skin. It soon 'tyceame bruited' aibfout, filtering to the ears> of Mafcey^ that the newcomer was the Earl of Bentlinigjbon, who for some time had been a suitor for her harni. Ho hakl lately been absent, and had unexpectedly returned for tiie fag^enW of the function. C'hiarlo'tte had left Matey without ihc slightest apology ,' ho bad tuined to spoak to her, and she was gone. Yet her departure had been rather welcome to this extraordinary young man. The reaction had been permanent ; it was only politeness which kept him at her side. Presently he caught glimpses of her at the other end of the room, where she sat on a kind of raised dais, with tine Elarl paying coiurt, while a number of satellites: lingered near. After she left him ho made no effort to attach himself to anyone else, ?iul looked aroaiml for Dale. He was. not in sigjlvt. Miacey felt weary and at length resolved to go h'l'inc. Having made his way throiugh the cTOwd of bure yhmuklens, he found himself in the hall, and begun to a,secnd the 'stairs on his way to the dressingroom. A doior opened on the first corridor and Dale came out. 'Ah ' ' he said. ' Not going home ? ' 1 Yets,' replied Macey. ' Where have you been? ' ' Jiusti in there,' said Dale, pointing to the room he had left. 'We are luuwng a little game. Won't you join tis 7 ' ' Much re ? ' said Macey, who knew no' other. 'No; a litlle poker. Yoru have played it, of c our sei ? ' ' No ; but I klon't mind wanting, for you a while longer I) »-]ot dreadfully weary down there.' ' Wiantl 'a moment. I was abtcut to ring for more punch.' ]\c ste <po;l to the bell, which was answered almost immediately by a Mack 'boy. Dale gave the order, turned alWaut, an>J Macey followed him into the room fro mi winch ha hiaid come. Thiomgih the night wast exceed'in^ly wiarm, Dale carefully closed the door behind him Macey couKd discern, through the dense cloud of cij-)\rf s,nw>ke which filled the place the figures of several yoking men seated at card tables. One was lying on a loi n»r im the coilner , another stood lowki'ng out of tiio large bay window facing I'he garden'; a third walked about puffing at a cigar 1 Come on,, follows ' ' said Dale. ' Mr. Macey will take a hamd. lie is a friend of mine, and a right good fellow.' Macey thought this rather a novel form of introduction, "but the other men seemed to consider it the'proper thing,. They came forward at once, !b/ut without amy more acknowledgment of what had tajoen place than if Macey had Iblce-n a machine. Dale brought forward a table with cards and chips. ' What is it to "foe ? ' inquired Macey. ' Poker. We'll show you,' said Dale, with a significant] prance at the others, wnich Macey did not obf,ar\ c They s-at Mown and Ncgan to play, Dale making the pYnbin'at ; onjs Macey was apt to Inarn and soon becamo inieiestcd They played q'liielly— Macey winning at first, m.uch to his surpiise and satisfaction. The stakes were small, hut after a while they began to increase them, and from this time miacey lost. The game now p,rew cvcitiimr 1 . Suddenly Macey realised that ho was constantly losing • and be ma/ki a mental calculation, rcsohintf that after a certain limit had been reached he would stop. (To be concluded uoxt week.)