St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-07
WHAT WONDER--A STORY.
WRITTEN for the elobe.1

tnat was dependent Tor my nvllhO0d
upon literary work, and thatmy intend
ed partner would bring no funds In to
our prospective life partnership, the
boldness, or rather rashness of the I'M
dertaking will be sufficiently apparent.
And when it is further confessed that
poetry or verse-making was the line
which l chiefly followed, the matter
will SAVIOR less of bravado than of men,
tai Authorization.
For time the exhilaration of spirits,
caused by the prospect of the approach
ing great event, gave to all my writings
such an unusual freshness and brill
fancy that gained considerably in rep
utatiOn. self-importance and-pocket.
SO that ! fancied l should acquire not
only pretty wife but also increased
reputation as poet.
But, alas, it was not long before the
reaction set in. For, if | had none of
the great virtues of a poet, had at least
one of their most common failingS-
fickleness in love. The fact was, had
already begun to tire of my bargain.
But it was too late. | could not
retreat now. L was in honor
bound. And, now. with my change of
spirits, my writings also lost that bouy-
ancy of tone which had distinguished
them but recently. Ali my contrlbu-
tiOns were politely returned with the
gentle hints that | seemed to be relax
ing in my etforts''-"was not up to my
former standard''-"would gladly re-
ceive some in my wonted STYLE" etc.,
etc.
Matters were indeed serious. My sit
uation was fast becoming desperate.
Love gone: treasury rapidly following ;
verses rejected: prospects of success
vanishing; wedding fast approaching;
the whole dilemma worthy of O Ma
chiavelli! Verify. / began to contem-
plate signing of articles with the
devil If he would get me we'll out of it.
When, 10, the threatening clouds i'm my
atmosphere suddenly broke and floated
away. the sun shone forth with unusual
raGience, and, in short, l seemed to
have made complete ''mash" On dame
Fortune. But am little too hasty
stop little and shall relate what hap
pened.
In the rashness of utter despair 1t is
the nature Of man to commit some kind
Of excess. Different natures express
the same characteristic in various WAYS.
One will have fit of melancholy, anoth-
er will grumble the livelong day. third
will get ''glorous." and so Oh each one
finding satisfaction OF encouragement
i'll different way. Now it was an CO.
centricity of mine, under the press
ure of adverse circumstances, of
going to the Opera-but that
in a manner totally different
from my usual style. At such times |
avoided all associations; l must go all
alone; for l wished. above all things.
to forget the unpleasant reality
and live as in a dream for the
time being: and il / should
take any Of N.Y. friends with NE
they would ridicule me so for MY
strange behavior that should not be
able to accomplish my purpose. And
so proceeded to 90 i'll my OWN peculiar
way! | first got out my dress
suit, brushed 1t most care
fully, put on my oDce-a-year dress
shirt. with its shining and immaculate
iron, "a shirt front is nothing if not
immaculate) fastened my large and
giittering rhinestone stud in it. effect
ually fortified my neck with high, I'M
yielding. four-ply collar, set off with a
brand new landscape-painted silk
necktie, encased my buniOns and feet
in tight-iitting pair of patent-eather
shoes; in short, transformed myself into
new man from head to foot, and then
strutted forth, supported by MY heavy
gold-headed cane, and entered the car
rage which was waiting for me outside
and thus drove to the opera il the
heighth of fashion. And, arriving there,
boxes, which l had reserved before
hand, and sat there most COM
placently all alone. And thus l
waited for the performance to begin.
conscious Of being observed by hum
dredS of eyes, not to mention opera
glasses, and an object of curiosity to
the high society people present. And
there L sat as uncOncerned as If / was
accustomed to the gaze of the finest and
largest audiences, rather than to sitting
alone, writing on book placed on my
knees, for the greater part of the time,
in semi-garret, ycleped my ''sanctum."
There sat in that beautiful box, with
as easy mind as if the price of it was
an insignificant trifle TO me, instead of
the greater part of my private treasury.
| felt perfectly composed and happy,
and, so far. my purpose was accom-
real situation, fondIy imagining that my
pres we of glory would last for
ever.
At last the curtain rose, and soon
forgot the audience, my present gran
denr, everything. in tact, except the
prima donna. Oh, how enamoured l
was with her! | saw nothing, l heard
nothing, thought of nothing but her!
L need not describe her. She is too
we'll known, and | fear could not do
her justice. Besides, it is not necessary
for the purposes of this sketch. Enough
that she was. in my estimation, more
angel than woman: and my proximity
to the stage showed me that her beauties
were real, and not Of the stage. ] was
completely infatuated. | sent out for a
bouquet for her which was as expensive
as it was beautiful, though my much
abused purse groaned most Woefully
at its rapid depletion. ] tried
go attract her attention, and to catch
her eye; and ] would have been guilty
of all manner of absurdities if she had
taken the least notice of me. But, no;
her role absorbed her whole attention.
she had no smiles or meaning glances
for me or any one in the audience. And
l could not but respect her the more for
it. Once. indeed, she looked at me and
smiled; or. to be more exact, she was
smiling as she happened to look directly
at me; bnt, though l kept up hope for
awhile, was soon convinced that there
was no meaning IN 1t for me; for 1t was
not repeated.
There were three acts, and en-
ployed the intervals between them in
jotting down some lines of verse on my
programme; for, as might be expected.
L had no writing materials in my dress
suit. But ] had to write upon some
thing, as my brain was filled to over
flowing with rhymthmic lines. all in
spired, of course, by the sight of my
new enchantress. l saw them in the
air and heard them in the music of the
orchestra: and, if l had opened my
mouth to speak, am sure it would have
been in couplets. And SO l scrubbed
and scribbled all over the programme
which luckily consisted of several
sheets-covering the printed matter as
well as the blank spaces, until it
was so filed with finely written
verse that 1t would hold no more. And
luckily the performance came to an end
Just In time, for had just begun to
cast my eyes about me for something
upon which to write my rapidly flowing
thoughts, when my eyes fell upon my