St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-24
THE MERRY SUICIDE.

| Dut, my uear venus, Go want You
to believe it," pleaded Boz. with an
earnestness very far removed from his
usual indifference of manner. lit does
sound funny. suppose" he continued,
7 rather ruefuily, ~ am such gawk, but
i love you juat as much as If were
better looking and graceful and all
| that"
Bob's companion jumped lightly
down from her elevated perch on the
stone wall and turned resolute little
| face up to him. "YOu needn't think
that am such an awful idiot, Mr.. Pear
son, just because l happened to have
been born in the country. It's horrid
of you to talk to ME that way, trying to
turn my head with all your praises of
city life and how fine it is; you don't
love me one bit, you-oh, oh"
The rest of the sentence was unin-
telligible, for Venus burst out in a
most sudden and unexpected fit of
weeping, leaving the already bewildered
Bob quite daft and overcome with a
thousand conflicting emotions.
II say. little one," he finally managed
to gasp, after he had watched the tears
|
| could stand it no longer, don't cry
don't, please, l amt worth it, l amt
honest: Oh, say, darlin'. quit, won't
| you. You don't want to-to-to see me
cry too. do yOu?'
| There was dangerous flash in the
| young maiden's eyes as she shook her
self loose from the arm of the unsteady
! Bob.
81 amt your darling. 1 never will
/ INa CO I
go home with mo, thank you; / am
quite capable of walking without sup.
port OF any kind. (fhlS last sentence
probably had reference to Bob's arm.)
There was never born upon this earth
more good 'natured man than Bob.
| rarely, if ever, one-half so modest-but
there is limit to human endurance in
this as we'll as in most other cases. Bob
had reached that limit-Venus' weep
ing had only made him more miserable
and determined.
AS that decided young lady attempted
to pass him and run down the road to-
wards her ancestral mansion she was
seized boldly about the waist by mus
cular pair of arms, with an embrace
that was gentle but very firm.
Venus" his voice whispered in her
ear, you must not play with me like
this. dear. Why, the true love of a
man is not a thing to trample under
foot as you have mine. Perhaps You do
not understand me even yeti is all so
PLAIN to me. l love yod, and want you
to be my wife. will you 90
Venus raised herself upon tfptoe, and
struck Bob full III the face.
You are an awful coward" she cried
| paSSlOnately, Ito make love to me, and
then say the terrible things about me
which you did the other night. hate
you, and l always have, and 1 always
will, and-oh, go away. can't you?"
For once in her life Venus was terri
fed. The arms which were about her
waist shook for a moment, and then
closed upon her like wise. Bob's face,
white as sheet, looked into hers.
| Venus" she heard his voice say,
calmly enough, only it was the sort OF
| quietneSs that makes one shudder, "you
should not say such things. l was so
mad for minute that l almost killed
| you. Good-by."
w"Where are you going?" sobbed We
nus.
Ito the devil" was the laconic re-
spouse.
Bob turned around; the decided
! young lady had suddenly become wo-
| fully weak, BOb'S heart Smote him; he
turned to come back, hesitated and was
! lost. He felt perfectly miserable and
tn erefore, manlike, in order to disguise
sensation he should have been proud
of, he grew sullen.
Hope you feel better SOON" he re-
marked pleasantly. ''And, By the way,
tell Mrs. Elmore not to wait supper for
me. l won't be there"
| s"Oh, you'rezjnot going away, Bob?''
Venus raised apretty fearful face.
-"Oh, no, not far. Pll leave my body
| behind me. Come down to the river to-
| morrow and you may find it-depends
on which way the wind blows, though
| lit may take me out to sea-"
SELF"
''Dear, no; what an idea. That would
be wretched form-just fall into the
|. river accidentally, you know-current
strong-too bad, nice fellow. You drop
in, river does the rest, ha, ha, hap
| Bob walked rapidly away, he could
| not trust his feelings any longer.
Venus? She tainted in the most or
| thodoX manner.
For over an hour Bob Pearson walked
| straight down the dusty road which led
to Old Mission. Many time he stopped,
| looked furtiyely behind him, then set
| tied his hat still further down upon his
forehead and again plodded onward.
1t was all of a long month ago that he
had first seen Venus. He had come
| down from Chicago, worn out with work
and worry. not i'll making, but in taking
care of his fortune, for a months rest.
| He had secured a room at the farmhouse
| of Mrs. EimOre, widow. Thereushe had
met his fate in the shape of pretty Mar
| jorie ElmOre. known to the primitive
county of Bucks as Venus. on account
| of her many and palpable charms.
Their first OlQpfipp had RI ION no IN,
| that most unromantic of rendezvous,
| the pig-sty. whittier Bob had wandered
| while taking an amused inventory of
| the Widow ElmOre's homestead. Mar
| jorie was giving the swine their supper.
Bob offered his assistance in the re-
| straining of an unruly member OF the
| community.
Bob made most original entry in his
| diary that evening. 1t was this: ~
| went 10 the pig-sty to see swine. Found
pearl. Blue eyes"
For one blisSful month he wore the
| rose-colored spectacles Of love. One
| afternoon they most unexpectedly fell
| Oft was on the afternoon on which
| this story opens.
With malice prepense he had asked
| her TO take a walk with him late In the
afternoon down by the pretty river
which ran by Mrs. Elmore's estate.
Arrived there he had proposed to her.
started to take her into his arms-and
received blow from Venus hand full
on the face, together with some most
incOherent nonsense about ''the terri
BILE things he had said the other night"
Bob struck viciously at an innocept
clump of golden rod with his cane.
What the deuce did she mean? Was
Venus only an arrant little coquette
| after all? He would have sworn that
SHE liked him. they had been such good
cllums; but what under the canopy did
she mean by saying such-had that little
sprIg of Burton been lying to Venus?
why. Burton proposed to her once and
she had refused him-who was it that
| had told him that-he had almost for
| gotten the circumstance? And here he
was actually going to Burton's house to