Transcriber's Note:
Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Unmatched parenthesis on page 214 have been left as printed.
On page 240, "He had paused" should possibly be "He had passed".
Bridget's name is spelled both "Bridget" and "Bridgit". The two spellings are left as printed.
Both "tomorrow" and "to-morrow" are used. Both have been left as printed.
"IN TOWN IT'S DIFFERENT."
[An Urban Harbinger.]
Drawn by W. Glackens
Scribner's Magazine
VOL. XXVI AUGUST, 1899 NO. 2
Copyright 1899, by Charles Scribner's Sons. All rights reserved.
THE LION AND THE UNICORN
By Richard Harding Davis
Illustrations by Howard Chandler Christy
Prentiss had a long lease on thehouse, and because it stood in JermynStreet the upper floors were, as amatter of course, turned into lodgings forsingle gentlemen; and because Prentisswas a Florist to the Queen, he placed alion and unicorn over his flower-shop, justin front of the middle window on the firstfloor. By stretching a little, each of themcould see into the window just beyondhim, and could hear all that was said inside;and such things as they saw andheard during the reign of Captain Carrington,who moved in at the same time theydid! By day the table in the centre ofthe room was covered with maps, and theCaptain sat with a box of pins, with different-coloredflags wrapped around them,and amused himself by sticking them in themaps and measuring the spaces in between,swearing meanwhile to himself. It was aselfish amusement, but it appeared to bethe Captain's only intellectual pursuit, forat night, the maps were rolled up, and agreen cloth was spread across the table,and there was much company and poppingof soda-bottles, and little heaps ofgold and silver were moved this way andthat across the cloth. The smoke driftedout of the open windows, and the laughterof the Captain's guests rang out loudly inthe empty street, so that the policemanhalted and raised his eyes reprovingly tothe lighted windows, and cabmen drew upbeneath them and lay in wait, dozing ontheir folded arms, for the Captain's gueststo depart. The Lion and the Unicornwere rather ashamed of the scandal of it,and they were glad when, one day, theCaptain went away with his tin boxes andgun-cases piled high on a four-wheeler.
Prentiss stood on the sidewalk and130said: "I wish you good luck, sir." Andthe Captain said: "I'm coming back aMajor, Prentiss." But he never cameback. And one day—the Lion rememberedthe day very well, for on that sameday the newsboys ran up and downJermyn Street shouting out the news of"a 'orrible disaster" to the British arms.It was then that a young lady came tothe door in a hansom, and Prentiss wentout to meet her and led her up-stairs.They heard him unlock the Captain'sdoor and say, "This is his room, miss,"and aft