They even looked in at Father Damon's chapel, the dimly lighted fragrant
refuge from the world and from sin. Why not? They were interested in the
morals of the region. Had not Miss Tavish danced for one of the guilds;
and had not Carmen given Father Damon a handsome check in support of
his mission? It was so satisfactory to go into such a place and see
the penitents kneeling here and there, the little group of very plainly
dressed sinners attracted by Father Damon's spiritual face and unselfish
enthusiasm. Carmen said she felt like kneeling at one of the little
boxes and confessing--the sins of her neighbors. And then the
four--Carmen, Miss Tavish, Mavick, and Jack--had a little supper
at Wherry's, which they enjoyed all the more for the good action of
visiting the East Side--a little supper which lasted very late, and was
more and more enjoyed as it went on, and was, in fact, so gay that when
the ladies were set down at their houses, Jack insisted on dragging
Mavick off to the Beefsteak Club and having something manly to drink;
and while they drank he analyzed the comparative attractions of Carmen
and Miss Tavish; he liked that kind of women, no nonsense in them; and
presently he wandered a little and lost the cue of his analysis, and,
seizing Mavick by the arm, and regarding him earnestly, in a burst of
confidence declared that, notwithstanding all appearances, Edith was the
dearest girl in the world.
It was at this supper that the famous society was formed, which the
newspapers ridiculed, and which deceived so many excellent people in New
York because it seemed to be in harmony with the philanthropic endeavor
of the time, but which was only an expression of the Mephistophelian
spirit of Carmen--the Society for Supplying Two Suspenders to Those who
have only One.
By the end of June there was no more doubt about the heat of the town
than about its odors. The fashionable residence part was dismantled and
deserted. At least miles and miles of houses seemed to be closed.
Few carriages were seen in this quarter, the throngs of fashion had
disappeared, comparatively few women were about, and those that appeared
in the Sunday promenade were evidently sight-seers and idlers from other
quarters; the throng of devotees was gone from the churches, and indeed
in many of them services were suspended till a more convenient season.
The hotels, to be sure, were full of travelers, and the club-houses
had more habitues than usual, and were more needed by the members whose
families had gone into the country.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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