The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-03-27
THE BROTHER
OF f GENTLEMAN

He saw her coming along the street, and
he paused, hoping she would care TO stop
and speak to him. She always bowed ana
smiled, or said word or two, and ne hveo
on the memory of it until he met her again.
That usually, soon happened, for In Mt
tie town of 500 inhabitants the SAID lnnaol-
tants are liable to meet often
She was a sweet girl, a pretty girl, every
one thought, but these mild terms did not
half express Ernest Wilson's opinion OF
Ruth Adams. She was a perfect woman
in the highest and purest sense OF the
word and to a man who looked upon all
women as being far superior to men, this
meant a great deal. That was what ne
thought of her. She did not think of him
at all, except when she happened to see
him and then he reminded her of his
brother Will.
Ruth was engaged to Will. She had
been for two years He had been by lar
the handsoniest man in town, and she was
the prettiest girl and he had been proud
of her. That was before he went to the
city, Now he thought there were girls
galore better looking than Ruth but he
said nothing of the kind to her, for 1t was
pleasant to have some one to make love TO
when he was obliged to go to the country
sometimes, for Papa Wilson had full
pocketbook, and Will had not.
Ernest Wilson stood and waited for Ruth
to pass, and watching her as she APP
preached him, thought with a little weari-
ness of the injustice of fate. Not that he
imagined for a moment that he deserved
such a woman as did his handsome brother,
who was a gentleman" only he would
have loved Ruth tenderly, been very
thoughtful of her, very kind to her. II she
could have cared for him-and Will was
SO careless.
Ruth did not pass this time; she paused
and looked up into his good. honest face,
and then said, a little timidly:
ernest, have you heard from VIII
lately?"
NO. he said, kindly. There was a let
ter in his pocket from Will, received only
few moments before, speaking OF hard
times and asking for the loan of a few
dollars. mo, not lately; he is busy you
know, Ruth you must not think anything
of not hearing from him-he does not like
to Write.''
Are you going home?' he asked. IT will
walk with you, Ruth Are you worrying
about it? If you are, then-don't"
Il will tell you honestly that I am. You
are one of the people, Ernest, that no one
would ever think of deceiving. I am I'M
happy and I am annoyed. 1t is not pleas
ant for a girl of spirit to hear the things
people are beginning to say. At the same
time, I know it is only carelessness on
There is no one who could say otherwise
than that Will is a gentleman, and gen
tleman keeps his word
IF he does not,' he said, and in his
voice there was that she had never heard
before, Sin a case like this l would scorn
him, if he were a thousand times my
brother"
Il would ot.have him keep his promise
to me against his WILL she said proudly.
'Never that. If he has changed toward me,
then he owes it to himself and to me-
ITO be man-not gentleman he said
savagely.
."ro be BOTH" she said. But her liz
quivered. They were at the gate by this
time, and he opened it and waited for her
to pass. Instead she stood and looked at
him.
Ernest" she said tell me just what
you think
What I think is this-that no man, and
1 make no exceptions whatever would
possibly throw away the chance of winning
you if he were in his right senses. If a
man is not in his right senses he is de
serving of our pity, not our blame. l wish
you good evening" And he left her look
ing after him like one bewildered.
1t may have been letter she wrote to
Will that night, or it may have been one
that Ernest wrote, refusing the loan, but
for some reason Will came home a few
days later. He had learned a new way tc
profound than ever but his accomplish
ments seemed to have small effect upor
his father and brother. AS for Ruth-Well
it may have been that she had grown
tired of giving admiration, love and every
thing, and receiving in return a kind Of
Indifferent attention. When woman be
gins to draw comparisons between hel
sweetheart and other men, things MOI
as they should be, for love knows no com
parsons. She did think, and often of the
way Ernest had spoken to her. and of the
manner in which VIII talked as if sht
| were the one favored in their love affairs.
And yet to her Ernest was nothing in the
| world but Willis brother. When Ernes
| thought of it seriously, he has never beer
| anything to anyone but Wills brother. He
| had been so unassuming, and cared so little
| for appearances, and Will had cared Sc
much. Ernest was an excellent business
| man; he did the thinking. Will did thu
| talking; Will used all of his ideas as i
| they were his own and transacted business
| for his father in easy, off hand way
| forgetting to mention that Ernest hat
| spent hours of thought and study befor'
| the line of action had been decided upon
| 1t had been the same when they wer,
children. Ernest read a book carefully
! Will read a criticism on it, combined will
| Ernest's opinion and carried on brillian
| conversations upon it with older people
| impressing all with his remarkable mind
while Ernest sat by and said nothing
II am not good enough for Ruth, h.
| said to himself II do not know anyon
who u.s. and 1 would not for the worlt
| make her think less Of Will, if 1 though
he loved her or would make her happy
but he would not; so l intend to let he
| see how superficial is his knowledge, ant
| what a shallow man he is.
| When Ernest Wilson made a resolution
it was as good as accomplished, but thi
| was the most difficult undertaking of hi
| life for he intended not only to prove t.
| Ruth that she was wasting her affection
| upon a man who cared nothing for her
| but to teach his little world to speak o
him as Ernest Wilson, not as any man
| brother.
He was so accustomed to sit by silentl
when questions were discussed, KNOWN
all the time that he had more knowledg
| of the subject than those who were talking
that it produced surprise that amounte
| almost to a sensation when he first bega
to express his opinion in modest way
It was very hard for him, as he was no
only a modest man, but a timid one a
well, and had been long in the back
ground; he succeeded with the men, how
| ever. and, with a logged determinatio ton t
carry his resolution through, he was nc
willing to stop until he convinced all hi
| friends that he had mind and opinion c
his own.
They were not long in finding it out
he had been, fortunately, and soon he b.
gan to be spoken of Ernest, instead
willis brother" or "Mr. Wilson's otht
SON. Much of the attention he had forme
| ly given to business he turned upon hin
self, to the delight of his mother, who III
derstood him better than did any one els