Mrs. Radigan: Her Biography, with that of Miss Pearl Veal, and the Memoirs of J. Madison MudisonLloyd, Nelson
General
Mrs. Radigan: Her Biography, with that of Miss Pearl Veal, and the Memoirs of J. Madison Mudison
Lloyd, Nelson
New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Satire; Social classes -- Fiction; Women -- Conduct of life -- Fiction
For instance, we dined at the Garishes last night, a formal affair of
twenty-four covers, and instead of my taking in Evelyn, as of old, she
had Cecil Hash on one side, and on the other, Winthrop Jumpkin, 7th,
whom I made. Gladys was at the other end with a jolly crowd--Gastly,
Garish, and the Countess of Less, who was Evangeline Very, and has just
returned alone to this country from England for a prolonged stay. As
for me, I took in old Mrs. Handy, somebody's poor relative, and had
on my left Timpey Duff's deaf-and-dumb sister--I think she was deaf
and dumb, for she only spoke once all evening. It was positively the
only night in my life that I have eaten anything at a formal dinner,
and the single time I attracted the slightest attention was when I
almost choked to death on a lot of terrapin bone that got crosswise in
my throat. Afterward, in the smoking-room, Garish, Gastly, Hash, and
Jumpkin, the only interesting men there, got off in a corner and talked
nothing but stocks. Since my last flyer, that has been a delicate
subject with me, and I sought peace basking in the benign smile of
old Bishop Bumble, who, over his cognac, discoursed, at great length,
on his new scheme for a church race-track. He argued that as long as
people had to have racing, it would be best to place the control of
the sport in proper hands. The present odds were manifestly unfair,
he declared, and with upright bookies in the ring, the public could
have an honest run for its money, which would make the track immensely
popular and insure its success as a business proposition. He would
allow only ten-per-cent. dividends on the stock of the operating
company, and all over that would be set aside as a fund with which
to start new church tracks in different parts of the country. An
interesting idea, indeed. There were one or two points about which I
wanted to take issue with the distinguished divine, but Garish began to
lead the way to the drawing-room.
So I was mighty glad, after I had stood around for ten minutes, looking
at the women, to feel Gladys tugging at my sleeve; to be able to tell
our hostess what a charming evening I had had; to be able to go home.
As Shakespeare or Milton, or whoever it was, said, "There is no place
like home."
From this period of his life on, Mr. Mudison seems to devote much less
of his time than formerly to writing down his experiences, impressions,
and thoughts. His diary, if such it could be called, becomes more
fragmentary than ever. Particularly is he silent regarding the summer
at Wheatley Hills. There is one mention of his having purchased an
incubator, and a few thoughts on the annual nuisance of moving from
town to country. When he picks up his life-narrative again, he is back
on Lexington Avenue, and beyond a hint that he is looking forward to
breeding Irish terriers next year, there is no clew to the events of
his rural life.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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