The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-08-30
THOUGHT ABOUT 1T.

eriy gentleman was concerned, II the
young man could only sec his way clear TO
marry his cousin Katherine Merrick, the
Junior member of the Carey family drew
down the corners OF his mouth and wrin-
kled up the corners of his eyes-a way he
had Of doing at times-and said he would
think about Ii.
Young Carey had never been very fond
Of his cousin Katherine. There were scv-
eral reasons for his lukewarIn regard for
her. The first and strongest was that he
pinned his faith to but one thing either In
this world or In the world to come, and
that was Henry Carey, Jr. He was the
center Of the universe; all other bodies,
terrestrial and celestial, were his satellites,
who shone brilliantly or dimly, or went
out altogether, according to the amount of
light he chose to reflect upon them. Ia
the second place his father liked her, and
that was an objection that could only be
overcome by multitude of redeeming
features. Then the girl herself was not
fashioned according to his idea OF what q
woman ought to be. She was q good look
ing, clear soulcd girl, endowed with q
thorough sense Of truth and Justice, and
these were attributes SO foreign to his ma
ture that he could neither comprehend
them nor their owner, and in his bragga-
docio way he never failed 10 express his
contempt for such mawkish sentiments.
"why do you wish me to marry herf''
he asked in the beginning of the inter
view, feeling his way cautiously, that he
might avoid the appearance of walking too
willingly In path marked out by some
body else.
"This Is pretty time In the day to be
asking that" retorted Mr. Carey sharply,
hut Il fxlxr rrr,tu ad
answer to q question that Is prompted by
pure deviltry. want you to marry her
because she is woman who will help you
up and draw you out of that selfish groove
In which you are moving and which Is be-
coming narrower every day. Because, in
short, she is the only person whose infiu-
ence over you will be powerful enough to
urge you on to change yourself into o man
who will be respected and self respecting"
Again Henry Carey, Jr., drew down the
corners of his mouth and wrinkled up the
corners of his eyes.
81 don't Just take that view of 10, " he
said, "but the means used to achieve an
end don't matter so much Just so the de-
sired end Is reached and likewise the roa-
soning employed in arriving at q certain
conclusion is of comparatively little value
so long as we get to the conclusion. Isn't
1t soP I've never concealed my feelings, or
rather my lack of feeling, for my cousin,
but suppose 1t is imperative that shall
marry some time, and don't know but
that may bo getting as good a bargain in
her as would pick up were to inquire
into the par value of whole market Of
girls. On the whole, father, think I'll
marry her. But before We adjourn allow
me to say that II you have given me your
true reason for wishing this marriage TO
come of, don't you think the girl herself
is going to have a pretty tough time Of itf
Remember, yoX1ne always considered me
pretty bad pin nd am afraid the task
of reforming me~ill be the biggest under
taking she ever had thrown on her hands.
Are you sure she will take me? Have you
spoken as frankly to her as you have TO
mep''
Don't be fool, was the angry re-
sponse. "She knows nothing about 1t. Do
your own courting."
Henry Carey, Jr., thought about 1t
little while longer, then gave practical
test to his theories for laying Siege to
Katherine Merrick's heart. The first skir-
mish demonstrated to him pretty clearly
that he had found fortress that would
not capitulate at the firing Of the first sig
nal gun. He had meant to propose In q
decisive move more than six months.
His opinion of his cousin Katherine
gradually changed. He could not under
stand her; the capabilities Of his soul were
too dwarfed to receive the incense Of high,
true life emanating from Der sympathetic,
tender womanhood, and his acquaintance
with her became an exempliflcation OF the
paradox that the more he knew of her the
less he knew. Neither did he love her; he
was not capable of that, but he did the
next best thing; he exalted her in his fir
mament to a position not far below tho
niche occupied by Henry Carey, Jr., and
there ho unreseryedly bestowed upon her
all the affection he did not lavish upon
himself. One dny he asked her to marry
him. She did not answer at once.
II ought to have told you BEFORE" she
said at length, laying her hand on his in a
half appealing, half conciliatory way. "I
have been engaged for more than year.
thought you knew. You must surely un-
derstand that you and have nothing in
common. I've tried to make you realize
that ever since I found out what your
intentions were. Hush," she said as he
commenced an appeal for lenient judg
ment. "Your father has recently ex-
planned the subject to mo fully, and
know that you arc going to mako the
same plea that he has made. You need
me, you were going to say. Let me tell
you something. Some day you will ask
some other woman to marry you. Don't
trip over the same stumbling block that
you have in trying to win mo. A woman
cannot respect and love man who is SO
poorly balanced that he has to depend up
on her to lift him up and make him
strong. There must be force in him that
will command her highest regard Elevate
yourself. If you cannot do that you have
no right to ask q woman to do 1t for you.
You told your father you would think
about 1t. My dear cousin, that was good
resolution, and trust you will continue
to act upon 1t.
For the first time In his life the orbit In
which Henry Carey, Jr., circled became
contracted and his brilliancy grew dim.
ibid you see Kntherinef" said his fa-
ther when they met that night at dinner.
He replied with nod.
"And what did she sayf'
"She said," was the querulous reply,
THAT l had better think about it."-Chi-
cago News.