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Show PETROmUS ARBITEE. (Written for The Intermount'uin Catholic) At the age of 60, Emmett Martin found himself a widower with no childrenand chil-drenand a very rich man He had lived an active life and before this seen hard days. He now proposed to spend his money so as to get out of it all available comfort; he also determined to avoid the mistake of surrounding himself with people who would profit-by profit-by his death and naturally rejoice at its expectation. He settled on an only nephew a fair income and told him that was just the same he would get under his will; the rest he had disposed of agreeably to his own conscience. He brought his nephew to his home, made him his companion, com-panion, entertained freely, kept open house and had plenty cf time and good health to carry out any little plan that served his self-conceit. He had been lately reading a translation trans-lation from a scarce classis, Petronus Arbiter, which gives an account of Rome under the empire in the days of its extreme sensuality, when .it was wasting in excess the revenues of the world. From that book he learned that a wealthy Roman Mas accustomed to fill his house with men and women selected se-lected for physical perfection, so that the eye on all sides saw nothing that was disagreeable, but fell alone on youth and beauty. Such an idea seemed to him both sensible and practical and just as easy for a rich man of today as it was for a Roman senator. So he determined to carry out the suggestion. He kept three maid servants serv-ants and as many butlers and porters. He left to his steward the selection of the latter, but for the former, he de termined to go himself to Ireland, enjoy the trip to the place of his birth and return with the three most beautiful maidens that could be gathered from all that fair island. He made the trip, employed proper agencies, and on a certain day he found himself at Queenstown in company with the three prettiest girls that could be selected from the class available for domestic service, the pick of all Ire-- ' land. Up to. this time he had not himself him-self seen the girls, and his agent had bought them steerage tickets. He then also learned that there might be some difficulties under the contract labor act, all of which could be avoided by taking first-class cabin passage for them. This consideration and one look at the girls decided the point, and cabin, tickets were ordered. The steamer started and he was soon sitting at the same table with the three handsomest young ladies on fhe whole j ship. They were his servants, but when he saw them the attraction of all eyes, j his own and his neprew's not excepted, and exercising the power that beauty always claims for its own, however cloaked or clouded, he quickly determined deter-mined on his plan. He had been himself him-self through periods when his own social so-cial position counted for nothing for ! want of the money to maintain it, and always had but little of that social pride which makes much of these things. He told the girls not to let it be known that they were hired to him for the time being they were under his escort as "distant relatives. He spoke to the Stewardess and told her to fix them out with as good as there was on the ship, and the. next day there sat together, himself, his nephew and three as well dressed and attractive, as well as beautiful girls as any man- would be proud to escort. l5etore tne next meai ne was aitenj on by the Steward asking that himself and family ocsupyt seats at the Captain's Cap-tain's table. This is the highest honor a passenger can receive on the trip. The Captain occupied the head of the table; on his right and left sat two most charming young ladies, and with their youth, beauty and Irish wit they made the table the merriest on the boat. Mr. Martin was also crowded with gentlemen gentle-men presenting their cards and asking for an Introduction to his most charming charm-ing nieces. They received attention, on all sides; their master got little of their society; the captain had one on his arm, some foreign count ,uJ. -another, and a. third was promenading with a 'young man of perhaps uncertain position, but of pronounced good looks. The voyage ended with no- serious results re-sults and a week later the new retinue of servants in the Martin house had been regularly installed. He was one of several wealthy residents of a rather exclusive little place. Visitors became more frequent. Everybody complimented compli-mented his good taste.- Comparative" strangers talked to him, some congratulated congra-tulated him about his lovely daughters, and it was rather Jawkward to dodge the compliment by admitting the facts; but the visitors to the kitchen far outnumbered out-numbered the callers in the parlor. About a month after their return Mr. Martin and his nephew were alone one evening after dinner. "It- is lonely tonight." to-night." says the old man.- "It is lively enough in the kitchen," says the young man. "Ring the bell for Norah." says Mr. Martin, and she appeared. "Norah, how many beaus have you girls, out there tonight?" "Only nine," says Norah. No-rah. "Who are they? I don't want even my servants to be receiving attentions atten-tions from persons who are not respectable." respect-able." Then she named three young men, sons of well fixed neighbors, including in-cluding Mortimer Mortgomery,' a lawyer, law-yer, a doctor, the. policeman of the town and three ethers who weretrang-ers weretrang-ers to Mr. Martin. "Are any of you engaged en-gaged yet?" says he. "I don't know," says she. "unless it is Kate to Mr. Montgomery." ' "That is enough." says the old man, and she retired. Then he says to h'.s neprew: "I notice you spend a good deal of time in the kitchen, too. Which one is it?" "Bridget," says the nephew. I "rorir n oil f T Wf-ro vmi T nrniilil rr I out and scare those felolwa away. Go out, anyhow, and tell Norah to come back. Norah," says he, "I am not a young man, but I am rich. I brought you three girls here to make a display and a stylish house. The result is Mr. Montgomery will doubtless close up his match with Kate; jny nephew is going to marry Bridget, you can have myself and my house and pick your own servants." serv-ants." And Norah had sense enough to accept the old man's offer. This understanding being complete, he says: "Now, my darling, tell Mr. Montgomery to come here. Mr. Montgomery, Mont-gomery, you need not have any nonsense non-sense about an honorable proposition of marriage to Kate: she is a good girl as well as a girl of rare beauty. I know your familj are aristocratic, but that goes for nothing without money. Myself My-self and my nephew are going to marry the other two, and I can afford to settle set-tle something on -Kate. The fact is. coming over on the steamer I sort of made them my family, and am going to see them get the fair thing," and this was enough to j-omplete matters between be-tween them, Mortimer and Kate: So the three we-didngs came off in the mansion house on the same day, and thereafter Mr. Martin and his bride, kept it as hospitable as of old, but the servants they hired were just plain, ordinary, or-dinary, , common, everyday servants, and there was no further attempt to imitate Petronius Arbiter. |