The Argosy — page 142: what you’re looking at

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

“ Fohn Suuth, Funor.” 125 to the Royal Academy. She was feeling very tired herself, so made no attempt to go the round of the galleries, but sat for the most part on one of the centre seats while the girls looked at the pictures. They had not gone far before they came suddenly face to face with the two insepdrables, Jack Smith and Jack Josselyn, as they were commonly called; and then, as so large a party cannot very well keep together in the Academy on a crowded afternoon, very soon the Riends paired off—Frances with one of the gentlemen, Mrs. Lisle and Edith with the other. Then followed a delightful hour for Frances. ‘There is no more completely unfettered téte-a-téte than can be obtained in a crowded ball-room or assembly; the presence of the unheeding crowd only helps to remove all feeling of constraint. And so the two young people drew closer and closer to each other. Matter-of-fact words conveyed much more than their actual meaning, through the tones in which they were uttered and the looks that accompanied them. Frances began to wonder, half with hope and half with fear, what would be the next thing he might speak of. It came as a surprise to her. ‘“As this is your first visit here, you have not been in the later rooms yet ; come with me; there is something I should like to show you in one of them.” | After some dextrous edging through the crowd, Frances found herself in front of two large portraits. ‘‘Good heavens! Mr. and Mrs. Smith !” ! “Well, what do you think of them?” said her companion. ‘They were life-like, indeed, but there was a subtle ‘‘ something ” which was wanting. Frances hesitated; then she gave a little laugh, and said: ““] dont know whether I may venture to say what I really think ?”’ “Certainly,” he replied, looking slightly surprised, ‘‘or I should not have invited criticism. I think they are splendid.” “Yes, they are wonderful—Mr. and Mrs. Smith to the life ' but ” and here she dropped her voice to a confidential whisper— “minus their vulgarity.” He made no reply, so she added quickly : ‘I hope you don’t mind my calling them vulgar ; remember you drew it upon yourself, and of course I don’t know how far you consider yourself bound to them—— ” “Don’t you?” he interrupted. “You must know that I am bound to them by the closest tie ‘ ‘Of friendship with their son,” she put in, eagerly, half vexed that he should take her words so seriously, when she had quite expected him to join her in laughing—not ill-naturedly—at the worthy couple’s eccentricities. ‘‘ But what of that? Of course you learned to know and like him at college, before you can have had any idea what his _ parents were like. Oh, it must be mere affectation on your part not | to own that the old people are odiously vulgar ! ” ECOMICEOOOKS.E€O©