The Argosy — page 72: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

59 UGLY AND STUPID. By JANE GREY. ADY FLORA has a headache, and cannot act to-night! Gracious goodness! What are we to do? ‘The airs these fine ladies give themselves is simply abominable.” The energy with which these words were uttered would have led a listener to suppose that the speaker was a radical merchant from one of the manufacturing towns in the north, instead of being one of the richest, handsomest, idlest, and most universally-petted young men in London, who generally assumed a blasé air of liking nothing, though occasionally, as at the present moment, the natural excitability of his nature would assert itself, “If you are so severe,” said one of the two sree women he addressed, and who was his hostess, ‘“‘ we wen’t any of us act, and then where will you be?” . ‘Freed from a dilemma. If none of you acted, the thing would have to be thrown up. You would really oblige me by carrying out that threat.” *“As we don’t wish to oblige you,” she retorted, laughing, “w won't carry it out, though I am afraid after so much unusual excite- ment on your part you will be too exhausted to act yourself. It was so unnecessary too, as we have found a substitute for Lady Flora. Miss Manners will take the part.” “Miss Manners ?” he said, inquiringly. “Yes. Now don’t pretend you don’t know who 1 mean. You took her in to dinner last night.” “Oh! That girl My dear Mrs. Burnes, she is so ugly and so stupid! And though it is a small part, that any fool could take, still it does require a certain amount of intelligence.” “As you hardly uttered a word to her the while,” began the other lady, but broke off abruptly: for on the utterance of his paradoxical statement the young man turned round to find the object of it close behind him; so close that it was impossible to hope she had not heard every word. Arthur Hamilton was not given to embarrassment, but at this moment he was absolutely speechless. Miss Manners was not handsome, perhaps, but her dignified self-possession under these trying circumstances proved her to be a woman of character, if not of brilliant intellect, and a slight flush on her sallow face showed that her self-possession was not the result of stolid stupidity. With scarcely a pause she took up the thread of the conversation. ‘Lady Flora seems certain that she will not be able to act to-night. CONNICLOOKS.EO