Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-12-13

anu VehuU noou, Whlcn Is beautiful tnlng In
woman.
81 have been thinking very much of what
you said to me the other evening Mr.. RUSSELL
said this ingenious girl knowing, if you want
TO fatter a man out of his eyebrows, that you
have only to say, al have been thinking of
what you said to me the other evening about
mans duties to the wo man whom he has, per-
haps in moment of mistaken enthusiasm,
pledged the de votion of a lifetime, and then has
found out, as we mortals are apt to do that he
was mistaken. The man who finds this out has,
BILE, large minded, and real, which is his mis-
take. She Is really capricious, penurious-'
Z" horrid fault in a woman" said paren-
She Is jealous of her own sex; she does not
make his friends welcome; she is small
And GINNING" added L.
Miss Gilmartin turned a pair Of liquid blue
eyes suddenly upon me. Il do not like to have
her do that, II makes chills run through me. 1t
seems little as if she could see further than
my reserve intends that she shall see"
And he makes up his mind that he could
not be happy with such a woman. Then his
sense of honor is troubled. She is the weaker
vessel, and be must not wound her, nor bring
on her the scorn and contumely of the world
Their engagement has been announced; how
can he withdraw"
Exactly the case of my brother Charles,
beautifully put" said l..
Miss Gilmsrtin waved her lily-white hand, as
if impatient of interruption.
But he writes her letter; he tells her in
the most carefully worded epistle mot to hurt
her self-love) that he Is convinced that he can
not make her happy, that certain complications
in his own life prevent his thinking of mar
riage-p
"Charles ought to have thought of those be-
FORE" said / medit atively-but you might as
well have stopped Niagara as Miss Gilmartin.
She Immediately acquiesces, returns him his
ring, and announces to her friends that the en-
gagement is broken Off"
- 1t would be awk ward for him if she didn't
acquiesce," said l.
and marres soon after a much more de-
sirable man."
"Oh, now that is little too abrupt Don't
you think so, Miss Gimartin?" said L.
90 Or we will take the case of your brother
Ben, which is far more complicated He has
won dear, loving, trusting creature, who lives
with horrid old aunt. She has no dear friends
and no fortune. Ben is her lone star, her one
dear object In life. After youth of sorrow she
meets with this bright, hope I'll promise of hap
piness. He wins her with much diffidence and
trouble, for hers is a heart not easily won-a
sensitive, proud heart"
"Stop moment, dear Miss Gilmartin, for
am getting too much affected. cannot stand
your pathos, }" said 1, with feeling.
" She has rejected hundreds of others for Ben
Their love is beautiful episode of pure conf
dence on her side, of manly protection on his.
She makes her little preparations for her mar
riage, when Ben finds that he does not like her
way OF taking her coffee. From that her walk
begins to displease him, her smile finally be-
comes obnoxious, and her hands. which he
never perfectly admired, loom up red and ter
rible. Here, without any fault of his own, Ben
finds himself in a shocking dilemma. He asks
himself what shall he do? Marry this woman,
feeling that his love is all gone, giving her only
the faint reflex of forgotten feeling, depriy-
ing her of a woman's first privilege, the pos
session of devoted heart, living all his life a
hypocrite's life, with smile on mis- lips but in
his eye falsehood, protecting her from want
and from her disagreesble old aunt, but giving
her an unloving husband and-and--"
Miss Gilmartin paused for breath.
" Ben," said |, sis in a very bad position. |
do not see any way for him to escape. BY the
way, did you mention whether this orphan with
the red hands had blue eyes OF not? L do not
faint reflex of a forgotten feeling'i is good. 1t
does not mean much, but 1t sounds very WELL"
Miss Gilmartin smiled
MIR. Russell" resumed Miss Gilmartin in
calm, dldactic manner, ''you asked me in the
German cotilliOn the other evening if would
give you my advice in 'case of conscience 4"
That girl had very good verbal memory
(fabulously, Of cOurse,) the case of your two
brothers, very neat way of giving me a choice
of dilemmas. l have tried TO explain to you by
my imaginary cases that l think your brother
Charles could be excused, because the lady has
many powerful friends to support her, and that
best OF friends to woman, large fortune.
Your brother Ben cannot be excused. He must
so school his mind that he shall get over his OBJ
jections to the young lady whom he has won,
husband"
Not loving her?" asked.
Yes; 1t is a case where the happiness of the
man should be sacrificed to that OF the woman;
and, il she has no moral defects, he will grow
to love her. L think, too, that sne has blue
eyes,
" Then Ben shall marry her, forthwith. But,
my dear Miss Gilmartin, there is another and
worse case in our family. l have never told you
about Alfred. How can / picture to you AL
reds condition? He Is engaged to a woman,
perhaps, who has every virtue, including that
Of poverty, which you seem to lay great stress
upon, and he suddenly finds himself dreadfully
IN love with another woman. Alfred ia a
iIt; on the contrary, he is a sincere and honest
fellow, who does not know much OF the world
las met-we will say at a watering place-a
very pretty girl with a designing mamma-"
"Oh, now you are relating case Of capture.
Will have nothing to do with those; l always
'ympathize with the hunted animals, and help
hem to escape"
"well, then, we will correct Alfred's bio
,raphy. He has made love to a girl, and she
mas accepted him. She is moderately good
ooking, fascinating to a small extent, rather
rigeante (Which fiatters Alfred), but she is I'M
ympathetic. They 60 to the play together; she
nor and the pstkos, the subtle shades Of meaa-
ng which charm Alfred, fail to reach the wo- |
nan nan By his side: They 60 to the opera and
Walters beautiful creation fails to reach her. |
She looks at the bonnets while EdgardO is tear
ng his heart out, and Lucia's despair does not |
interest her SO much as does the length of her |
,ack hair. Alfred asks her if she does not like |
he bride of LammermOOr" better than any |
If Scott's works, and she says she has never |
cad it. So on through the gamut of hum an
'motion. When he is laughing at the humor Of |
ome joke his lady-love thinks he is laughing |
It her. She does not read his alphabet; they |
peak differentlanguage. Yet she loves him, |
ma she shows him off as the captive OF her bow |
md spear. Alfred, poor fellow, went on his |
way, wondering If life after all, even with love-
we're not very imperfect thing. when he met |
| woman who did speak his language,-a wo- |
nan sympathetic, emotional, and gifted, a wo- |
nan with TACT with prescience, who understood |
lls ideas before he uttered them, and who, |
with soft, sweet voice, reads him his favorite |
authors so well that they glow with new |
This woman is unconsciously read |
ng to him the riddle Of life. She is sympdtica; |
she Is the woman for him. With her, life would |
be poem; she ripens in him that which is |
crude, she makes all work, all effort easy to |
him. To see her sitting at the head Of his table,
The queen of mis- little realm, would make him |
monarch; otherwise, life will be but dreary |
piece of task-work.
Dreary, respectable calm polite despair, and ones
duty!
These and the world, for dead love.
What shall Alfred do, dear Miss Gilmartin? |
Be, pray you, more lenient to Alfred!"
AT this moment from some neighboring par |
lor there fioated to our ears the impassiOned |
music of "Robert, tor que j'aime," sung by q |
TOice rounded, full, and gr and, that our con-