The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1889-10-31
PRINCE CHARMING.
Ills Fondest Hopes Crushed at q
Single Blow.

You ought to be ashamed O, yss,..-
self. Gwendo!en!' ! : /
Mrs. John Walters spoke with con
siderable emphasis. but without pro-
ducing any visible effect on the smiling
fnce which Gwendolen turned to her
from the window.
"And whya~Ought>l L. to ~be ashamed
OF myself, Sylvia" she replied, good
humoredly., when a person Is very
much bored in dull London lod eings.
may not that person, take her painting
to the window and make q Study Of the
bricks and mortar on the opposite side
of the street? / assure you, Sylvia,
that, when it is 6nished-if it ever Is
finished-it will be most original
thing in studies.''
II tell VOW Gwen,'' repeated Mrs.
Misunderstanding the explanation
that YOU ought to be ashamed of
yourself. You know you don't care a
bit to make IL study of bricks and NOR
tar any more than I do myself. You
only want real good excuse for stand
ing there the;whole: morning and look
ing across the street at. the opposite
house.,
Il confess replied Gwen, with the
same imperturbable smile, that YOU
have fathomed my motive; but I am
not in the least ashamed sof myself.
You see, unless were to dress up as {:
housemaid, i could not stand at the
window for more than a quarter of an
hour without. some respectable pre-
tense. think the ingenuity of mine
reflects credit on my inventive powers;
and l don't really see," she resumed
after pause. "why you should try to
lecture mo because / nm interested in
handsome Prince Charming who lives
over the way. Il couple of years ago,
before you married. guess you would
have been capable of something quite
as reprehensible. You were nineteen
then, and am barely twenty now. If
you firtcd, as you know you did"
That is neither here nor there,
Gwen.' interrupted Mrs. Walters,
with slightly heightened color. II
may have done silly things in ny time;
but there was always some one to keep
mo IN order. am not so PARTICULAR
with you as mother and Aunt Lucy
were with me-
Mother and Aunt Lucyr' echoed
Gwen, contemptuously. You don't
mean TO say you are going to take on
the tone Of Il middle-aged woman?.
wouldn't be middle-agcd just yet, if l
were you. l thought at first, when
told you about Prince Charming across
the street. and how eagerly he watched
us once or twice. that you were going
TO be quite as much amused by it as !
am: when suddenly, for some mex
plicable reason. you draw in your
horns. and have violent attack of
propriety."
"Gwendolen," said Mrs. Walters,
lyon know quite we'll did not en-
courage you. You know have scarcely
seen the man." - x :
We'll, you had better come to tho
window and look at him now said
Gwen. with the same ,unruf1led ;eoua-
nimity. HE is at the window for the
twentieth time, l should think. O
de,r~-and Gwen sighed Ito think
shat wc are only separated by few
yards of street! How wide is street.
Sylvia? haven't a notion. What Il pity
there is no mutual friend who could
bridge it over by an introduetion!' "
Gwen" said Sylvia. making a sud
den attcmpt to turn the conversation,
don't you think to-day we might 60
md buy those things l want for tia
drawing room? We have scarcely
done any shopping YETI
"Shopping!' calculated Gwen; "shop-
ping has no interest left for me. What
is the use of going to Liberty's and
choosing pretty things for drawing
room in an out-of-the-way Cornish vii
'age, where no one knows one fashion
from another? IL is perfectly prepos-
t<rous.' E
And Gwendolen heaved another sigh.
''Poor GwenH'' said Sylvia, looking
at her sister with affectionate concern.
IN afraid your life is rather a dull
-,"e Just Il present.''s : II
You're afraid!' re-echoed Gwen.
Indeed, there is no doubt at all upon
the subject. Nevertheless, I am not
the person to be pitied most. I'm not
absolutely obliged to live year out and
year in at st. Pinnock, nor to come to
these dull London lodgings. My lord
snd master is dream of the future, a
castle in the air, alay figure on which
TO hang all my ideals; not grizzly
bearded parsonage. who buries you aud
himself'at 5She remdfast corner of No
Mans land land Hhos only comes to
town 20 burrow. ID the library OF TIE
British Museum ~ NO; you eedn't cati
me poor Gwen, it :would be more Ito
the opufp0Se ::ssH s.yoas called yourself
a'poor6yl tiat&2x usSA &.ElI@ 81 ssss
''Reahy;'i!.st ;wenqolen--'' began
Mrs. Walters, but her representation
was nippeds in The bud. !. 4.
-. :: ':Don't,ssiptsrrqpt me-. coptinued
Gwen: T. have sope led my lips now
for the first tiImSo, on the subject, aud
mean osay one OF. two things before
close them. + want.td ask you a plain,
straightforward question: Why did you
marry Mr.. Wa,ters?''"- 3, .s,.:.s
& - married HIM replied Sylvia,
with q ring Of defiance in her voice,
because he asked. me to do So rs
- And that replied Gwendolen, sis
not reason worth giving. II any one
had told ma two years. ago that Mr..
Na1t6fs ~as fo!n1 e Ash 1ou . marry