The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-06-30
ONE WAY OF LOVE.

/
dollars year; he was in the pest-office
/ enjoying the privileges afforded by an
| income of twelve hundred. Once in n
while there was holiday, when they
would take the boat down to Mount
Vernon, If it was warm, and spread
/ their luncheon in the shade of its his
toric trees and patroniZe nature as sue
| cessfuily as if they were nabobs. Some
times they had tickets given them for y
comedy or tragedy, when they laughed
or cried with the tiiscernment of mill
liOnaires and the old families. On Sun
| day mornings they sang in choir and
walked out to Long Bridge later in the
| day, or strolled i'm the Capitol grounds
and surprised the first violet in its hid
ing place. Helen's landlady told every
| new boarder that Mr.. Van Week twas
going with Miss Hildreth, but Miss
Helen always protested that Ire was
merely friend, that they were neigh
bors at home, and had gone to school
together when they were in their pima
fores; and the landlady always shifted
when she remarked, IF he's nothing
secession of his love-making sooner or
later
One day when they were rambling
about Mount Vernon together Helen fell
into romancing vein. Suppose this
is my country seat" said she, land |
have furnished it in the Queen Anne
style, and I'm entertaining the creme dc
la creme, just as they do in novels =
"A sort of Lady Geraldine and am
the poor poet, eh?'
''All but the poetry" Knocked Helen.
Now suppose this is any manor
house," suggested Theodore, furnished
in the renaissance, let us say--Im max
ing great demands on you imagination
and Pm entertaining all the swells.
| I've lured you here on the preteXt of
looking for four-leafed clover, hut
really to ask if you will share my mag
niicence with me: what should you
sayP''
II should put my lessons in gymnas-
| tics into use and Jump at the chance"
.'And if l should ask instead.
"'Come share my cottage, gentle maid? %
s'Don'tp' cried Helen.
He looked at her "a little blankly.
You don't mean that you care so
little for meP''
~ don't NEAR anything. Don't let
rls talk about marrying and giving in
marriage; We are happy enough as we
are"
s'But if don't marry you some other
fellow willn'
Nonsense; penniless girls are a drug
in the market. I've seen misery enough
from marrying on small salary; Eve
seen people living in two rooms. on
water and a crust, so to speak. doing
their own work, with no pleasures and
no society. and no. hope of amendment;
people who thought love would tide
them over all the quicksands and
presently the hallucination wore of, but
the quicksands remained; reproaches
Set in; she grew bitter and unloyely, and
he morose and ne9lectfaI p
'TThen you think love an Lallucina-
tion?''
81 think marriage is a mistake on
twelve hundred year. Ii L became
dowdy and hadn't time to cultivate
taste for esthetics or whatever was the
fashionable craze. and grew jaded and
spiritless with the uneongenial task of
washing pots and kettles and stewing
over range. and if nobody turned to
look after me as | passed, one day you
would find Yourself disenchanted. Then,
Supposing the new administration should
push YOU ont of Office, even for a month,
or you should fall ill? No, we are hap
pY enough Just as we are; don't let rs
discuss marriage; let us wait, like Mr..
Micawber, till SOM thing turns up. y
And SO Van Week waited. Perhaps
he was disappointed in Helen's views,
but he refused to confess it even to him
self; all women felt SO, he supposed,
cared more for shadow than substance.
or nfstook the one for the other; it was
their poetic temperament which made
poverty hateful to them and splendor
their natural atmosphere, and he APP
piled himself more diligently than ever
to his idea, working far into the night
ut times.
You were not at the Presidents last
evening" one of his fellow clerks said
to him later.
ZIP No; should think not"
..But Miss HiIdreth was there; she
and Mr.. Sterling, NJ. c., were hand in
glove. / heard him ask her to go and
hear Iohengrin' tomorrow night"
.sMr Sterling is in luck, was al Van |
Week ventured to say; he did not |
choose to carry his heart on his sleeve |
for every clerk to peck at If Mr.. Ster |
ling was fascinated by Helen, it surely |
was no fault of hers; many man had |
been bewitched by her before this elder |
ly congressman. only Theodore forgot |
that they had all been needy suitors
and as for Helen, he felt as sure of hel |
as of seed time and harvest.
But ON one occasion he left his work
early and FASTENED to see her; a cloud |
of ugly rumors had assailed him and iIi-
ferfered with his tasks; she should /
brush all the cobwebs out of his heaven.
He met her coming down the staircase
in white evening dress. with flowers
in her hand costly exoties, such as
wealthy levers send their sweethearts,
such rs he had never dared to buy.
Where did they come from" he de-
manded.
ssThey grew, 'spects-like Topsy,'
Helen, laughing uneasily.
Where did you get them, HelenP'
.sYou are inquisitiye. Mr. Van Week.
They were sent me-"
..By Mr.. SterlingP"
You do credit to your nationality,
you're "a capital Yankee. Yes, by Mr..
OF course =
Helen he cried. beneath his breath
.>Helen, are you going. to marry Mr..
III believe am. she said, drop
ping her eyes.
Theodore neycr knew exaeils hew he
found his uay Htst. of he koli.;si he Was
:wiif., al brushing against a
stout gentleman in q fur-trlnalned ulster
AS he shot into the street. OF stately
csrriage aud pair sstanding at the door,
and 4 dark browed lady leaning out To
look after him.
The next day he resigned his position