The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1884-08-08

MIMI nef name III SNAIL Ue MIS-. hyldlCe,
if she'll consent, and can be pretty stub
born soldier at a siege. I'm not mad, but
| intend to be. Be sure you keep your
pledge, as | have mine, and congratulate
me, not this minute, but after while.
''Yours, in love with the ideal).
CRED RYLANcE."
A day or two later the threatened siege
began. There was an uninterrupted series
of picnics and drives and walks, all arrang-
ed by Mr.. Rylance, and all given in Dolly's
honor, and all conspicuous by Fred's abso-
lutte devotion to the yellow haired visitor
at Riverview
She furnished him more food for reflect
ion than any one he had ever met. Until
he met Dolly he had had some sneaking
doubts of his --latest theory" viz. that
provided a woman were thoroughly refined,
the less she had of book larnin','' the
more charming she would be. But here it
was, the only example he had ever seen, and
the most startling and complete vindication
of his ideas.
She was quite as bright as her cousins,
and after the most careful scrutiny he failed
to find single occasion upon which her
lack of "a common-school education"
placed her at disadvantage. To be sure,
he wasn't quite fair He never permitted
the conversation to turn upon books, and
he could not help wondering at times what
people would say when Mrs. Fred Rylance's
acceptances or regrets were conveyed always
in her husbands writing. One glance,
however, at Dolly's bright animated face
was enough to dispel all these troublesome
doubts. His curiosity ran high at times as
to how this singular state of things had
come about. A remark of Milly's gave
him little light. She said once Isn't
Dolly lovely? And it is so strange that she
is. She has been brought up entirely by
her father, who has the most unheard-of
ideas on the subject of educating, or rather
not educating, girls. It'sa wonder she ism
spoiled ....
pity more women weren't spoiled in the
same way growled Fred.
Save for her confession at the station
two circumstances only betrayed her ignor-
ance. He used to post letters almost daily
Kate's writing. The other was that he
came upon her once in the library and found
her reading Harper's Monthly upside down.
This really touched him. There was
IN, 4bn Loo, ,I,a
felt the difference between herself and
other girls that she was led into this child
ish way of pretending that she was not so
ignorant as he might think from her in
ability to write. He longed to tell her
that he at least valued her all the more
because she hadn't been spoiled by ridicu-
lous theories of education. He found an
OCCASION
They were talking one day--that is, Kate
and Milly were--of a woman's novel that
was running in one of the magazines.
Dolly had been very silent, and Fred Judged
that his time had come for declaring his
preference for unschooled and mlessoned
femininity. Throwing himself back on the
grass, and gazing up at the blue patches of
heaven visible through the network of
boughs above him, he announced, dictate
rally --seisfa-u
Il never intend to read line again from
the pen of any woman. It's all nonsense
There's my friend Danforth. who has
married Miss Colby = she calls herself
Daisy Earle on paper, I believe. Fancy
man deliberately selecting literary wife !,
Oh no anything but an educated and
superior female companion
Dolly looked conscious and embarrassed.
but was silent Kate retorted:
sob, you goose You are like all the
other men in the world thoroughly incon-
sistent. notice that i'll real life you never
pursue sweet ignorance, as one would
expect from your conversation indeed, the
girls You like are Invariably those who are
called brilliant and
Nonsense " said Fred ''who ever said
| liked a fool? But seriously, the bright
est and most charming tcome'1" Che hardly
dared to say ,coman) II ever met could
neither read nor write
No one answered for moment. Then
Kate, Swapping her embroidery silk petu-
lantly, folded her work. and rose, saying.
with some dignity.
'Since you are bent upon making yourself
so agreeable, I'll go to my painting awhile.
''Oh, come now said Fred, springing
to his feet. ''Ill walk to the house with
you and make up"
The next day was the last Of Dollys visit.
1t was to be celebrated by moonlight
lawn party, with all the charming accom-
paniments of supper served in great,
brilliantly lighted marquee, of music every
where, and above all, judicious gloom of
Chinese lanterns in the more romantic and
secluded parts of the grounds.
Everything happened precisely as it ought,
even Fred's well-devised scheme to beguile
Dolly into particularly dim and romantic
and secluded spot, and there tell her that he
loved her and her only The plan was well
laid. and, as has been said, went off with a
precision which is rarely granted to the
plots of wooing man at moonlight tetes,
But the den0uement did gang very much