Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-07-18
A MODERN WOMAN.

Margaret Bruckton never for an instant
suspected herself of being a Sentimentalist.
She thought she was modern in every par
ticular, including heart and soul. She
was charming, she knew. and somewhat
vain, clever and u little mercenary and
thoroughly worldly wise and worldly
minded. And yet there We're three years
when Miss Brockton rivaled any old time
heroine of romance in her sentimental at
titude.
1t happened in this wise: One day,
when she was %, there came to her Ger
tain stalwart fellow she had known from
infancy and told her what she already
knew--that he loved her and wished 10
marry her Miss Brockton, liking him
exceedingly we'll, realizing how pleasant
life might be made with his money, his
name, his devotion to her and his Compan-
ionship and deciding that the ecstatic love
of which poems and novels treated would
never come to her anyway, accepted him.
The engagement came out duly; the cups
and saucerS came in. Margaret liked Jack
WhittleStone Il great deal and found the
position of fiancee charming, and all was
well.
Then the villain appeared upon the
scene in the shape of Louis Radcliffe,
Jacks cousin. Louis was delightfully."-
unmodcrn person. who seemed TO have tax
en- for his model some of the early Vic
torian heroes. He was n combination of
youthful romanticism, elderly cynCiSm
and other interesting qualities. He had
superb scorn of the conventions, n magnif-
icent belief in himself and u correspond
ing aniahle Skcpticism in regard to other
people.
He interested" Margaret greatly she
said, at first Then she ceased to say any
thing about him. Jack not being skilled
in the ways of women, did not worry over
either his hetrothcd' speech or its absence.
He knew the new woman" we'll enough
not to assert his rights and bid her have
less conversation with his cousin. even had
he wished TO do so. Liberty being the law
of Margarct's life and unsuspccting good
nature of Jack $ the situation had every
chance to complicatc itself
1t did so promptly. Margaret, who had
decided that fcrvid and ecstatic love was
not at all likely to come her way, awoke
one fine morning to tho realization that
the universe had i'll it just one man
Jacks impossible, poverty stricken, ire
siStible cousin. And Jacks cousin, who
had laughed mt Margaret feminine cynic-
ism and prctcnse of GOODNESS, felt that she
and she alone could be the complement to
his life. They were both unhappy enough
to give them credit for some good intcn-
tionS, but in the midst of their llnhappi-
ness they were supremacy conscious of
what Il trifle misery was compared 20 the
joy of seeing each other
Margaret knew perfectly, in her few
sane hours, that she did not wish to marry
Louis Radcliffe. She realized that he
1ynIllI lnNnIpI mn n thnrpnr,hIX- nndnSir
able sort of husband even apart from his
poverty.
"If only | could get over this she
moaned to herself AT 40 l should be
wretchcd with him, at 40 | should he com
Portable ii not madly happy with Jack.
If only, if only | were 40 now
1t was one day when she and Louis had
sat for an hour staring ahead Of them mt
the sea that the climax came.
"Why don't you talk demanded Mar
garet, finding her hcartbcatS oppressive.
Because cannot say what | wish to, ="
he answered. Then, of course, he proceed
cd To say the things which he should not
have said. And for u few minutes the sea
and sky rcclrd before their eyes and they
hreathcd MS if in u trance. After which,
according to the saCriticial modern man.
ner, they decided To part, and the next day
the community was startled TO learn that
Mr. Radcliffe was going to Europe.
Then ii was that Margaret showed how
thoroughly lacking she was in the modern
mercenary spirit she had always claimed.
1t gave her IL mournful satisfaction to
think that, though shc could not marry
Louis, who, to tell the truth, had not asked
her to do so, she need not marry Jack. So
she broke her engagement promptly and
proceeded TO indulge herself in her great
grief She heard nothing of either of the
cousins for "a long time, for naturally her
course of action with Jack had suspended
communication between the families.
For three years she was secretly rs ro-
mantle as the most romantic schoolgirl.
She thought of Louis constantly and
pleased herself by imagining that he in
Egypt or Algcrs or wherever he was, must
know her thoughts. She was exceedingly
happy with her grief. Outwardly she
seemed much the same, but inwardly she
acknowledged the sway of love and its
power.
One evening three years after Louis
Radcliffe had gone away She went to n re
ception. a little pudgy woman, over
dressed and oVergcmmed, stood by her
hostess side.
"My cousin, Mrs. Radcliffe, Miss Brock
ton, !" said her hostess. And then, with
sudden remembrance: You must recall
Mr. Radcliffe. He was lacl. Whittlestonc's
cousin, you know. y
And then rs Margaret cordially inquired
after Mr., Radcliffe and said how she well
remembered him, scntimcntalism for the
first time fell away from her. From that
moment she was the really skeptical and
thoroughly modern woman she had al
ways claimed to be. Exchange.