Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1878-08-01
A WOMAN'S CAPRICES.
A LOVE STORY.

when they are making love- A friend
is a luxury, husband ditto, | suppose;
but that intermittent class of human
beings dnnominated lover are terrible
bOres. Ii does very well for women to
blush and look hustered now and then,
when occasions make it desirable, but
to see q man with his face as red as Il
pipe cherry, and real parcel of strong
mindednesS, self-reliance and masculine
dignity, done up in broadcloth and
starched linen. quaking f1om the top
of his shirt collar, his mouth dry, and
his tongue twisted into commissions in the
vain attempt to say something sweet
0 gracious"
So said saucy Sophie Lynn aloud to
herselfas she sat swinging backward and
forward before the window, half buried
in the cushions of a Iuxuriant arm
chair, and playing with a delicate ivory
fan which lay upon her lap.
1t also seems so strange, not to say
tireSOme," she continued, with run
ming, musical laugh, latter one has
waltzed and sung. quoted poetry, and
talked nonsense with anybody till one
is puzzled to know which one of the two
is most heartless, ones selfor ones com
panion, to hear him come plump down
on the subject of matrimony as though
that was the legitimate result of every
insipid acquaintance! For my part |
never had lover there Sophie fiuttered
her fan and looked pleased, for she had
more than one) that [ wasn't sick of
Morris thought him the handsomest
bClO &c
quaintance, until he went on his knees
to me and swore he should die if [
didn't take pity on him. Somehow he
always looked hike fright to me after
ward Then there was DR. Wilkins, he
really agreeable, and people said very
learned! | was delighted with him for
time; but he spoiled it all with that
offer of his-what lOng-winded adiec-
tives! and how the poor fellow blushed,
pulled and perspired! He called me an
admirable creature, and hiccoughed in
the middle Of admirable! Horrors!
/ have hated him ever since. Then
there was"
Here Sophie started. She heard the
door-bell ring. With Il nervous spring
she stood before her mirror, smoothing
down her brown hair with Il haste truly
comical.
-" 1t won't do to seem interested" she
said, ut she took a finishing survey of
her person in the glass, and shook out,
with her plGmp jeweled fingers, the
folds of her airy muslin dress.
The moment alterward, when Il ser
want entered to announce Mr.. Harry
Ainslee, she was back in her old seat
by the window, rocking and playing
with her fan, apparently us uncOncerned
and listless rs though that name had not
sent a quicker thrill to her heart, or
the betraying crimson all over her pref
ty face.
Tell him will be down presently"
she said
The girl disappeared, and Sophie
flung open the window, that the cool,
fresh air might fan away the extra rosi-
ness from her complexion. Then she
went again to the mirror, and after
composing her bright, eager happy face
into an expression of occurrences to
the parlor. A smile broke over her
features, and she reached out both
hands to the guest; but, as if suddenly
recollecting herself she drew them back
again, and with formal bow of recog-
milton she passed him and seated her
self III further corner of the room.
1t was veryevident that something was
wrong with Sophie; that she had made
up her mind either not to be pleased or
not to please. Could it be that she had
foreseen what was coming ?-that a
preSentiment of that visit and its result
had dictated the merry speeches in her
ii, -
hour had not elapsed before Harry
Ainslee's hand and fortune (which lat
ter, by the way, was nothing wonderfully
were III the same place where Capt.
Morris and DR.. Wilkins had been be-
fore them.
The first man that | ever heard say
such things without making a fool of
himself" muttered Sophie, emphatical-
ly, from behind her fan, as she sat,
blushed and evidently gratified, yet
deigning any reply to the gallant,
straightforward speech in which her
lover had risked his all of hope.
" He ought to do penace for the pref
ty way he manages his tongue. He's
altogether too calm to suit me-" And
Sophie shook her curly head meaning
~, holding her fan before her for a
screen. Did she forget what he had
been saying? Il wonder if | could
snore the way Uncle Jones used to in
church," she soliloquized. Wouldn't
it be fun ? and wouldn't plague Harry
if he thought / had been sleeping while
he was talking?"
SOphie's blue eyes danced with sup
pressed merriment as she gave two or
three hearty breathings, and followed
them up with a nasal explosion worthy
of an orthodox deacon 1t was well
done-and Electrically done-and poor
Harry sprung bolt upright, surprised,
mortified, chagrined. Human nature
could stand it no longer, and Sophie
gave vent to her mirth in burst of tri-
umphant laughter.
You little witch-you mischief
you spirit of evil! exclaimed the re-
lleved Harry as he sprang to her side
and caught her by the arm with a grip
which made her scseam. "You de
serve shaking for your behavior!
Then lowering his voice he added,
gravely:
VIII you never have done torment
ing me? If you love me can you not
be generous enough to tell me so, and
if you do not, am [ not at least worthy
of candid refusal?
Words sprang to Sophie's lips that
would have done credit to her woman