The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1896-08-22
VIVE77E'S HONEYMOON.

I IlIul ILL uUMul WUUN. J
We were living the life of tame gvld-
fishes in the little town of Maldivers;
for Vivrette, having declared that the
most commonplace realism would be
the only correct diversion for such a
romantic couple as we, lad upset all
my plans for collecting her properties
at the first uninteresting station on the
road, and ended our wedding trip in
forty minutes.
A week after the elopemcnt she
drifted Tito the breakfast room with
clean pink checks and a rose in her
hair, ~shinimering cap-a-pie in a June
morning beauty such that no suscepti-
BILE man could look at With IMMUNITY.
She had excited eyes, and the anticipa-
ton of q smile coaXing n corner Of her
mouth, and a gleeful tilt to her head
that showed the wind Lad vecred, and
she vas already OIL on another reach.
10 You know" she said, after le-
turning from my side of the table, Il
haven't had a letter for seven days.
Such a thing hasn't happened since
left my boarding school. We must
have been having 4 rid!culously good
time"
II thought you wanted q change, or
1 should have written you," said |.
'Oh, don't! she cried. None of
your 11S-degree whirlwind letters this
month, please. You couldn't possibly
amuse me low, unless you sent nice
old 'Mother's-better- we're expecting
Jim : NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. your
self kind. People complain so OF their
letters. I'm sure l got a stupid
one in my life, l suppose romance is
only subjective, after all, but really,
Robin, I've been fairly s%uffocated with
adventure ever since l was born"
'"True," said l, you were a ound-
ling"
'To this day." she continued, 81 can't
go down the street without seeing a
runaway horse or a Chinese funeral;
it's fate, Robin"
"And yet, you want l~etters-which,
while unopened, are the most exciting
things in life-if you are sure they are
not bills"
But if they were from real people,"
said Vivette. musing; f l could get at
their real selves, not see them through
that picturesque haze that surrounds
but know their real thoughts and
ambitions, read them in the original and
not translated into the dialect of my
own foolish heart-ah, what delightful
realism that would be-"
"VVhy not advertise for correspond
ents i'll a matrimonial agency:" l sug-
gested.
Her pensivc need passed like the
shadow of a cloud from a sunny hill
side. He fore the words were past IVY
teeth she lad sprung for q telegraph
blank and had begun to scribble Il de-
scription Of her charms. l am never
quite so much IN love with Vivette us
when she IS writing. The absurd man.
ner in which she holds her pen, that
seems to guide rather than be driven
by her queenly bent forefinger--their'
little journeys to tie ink we'll aud hur-
ried 9 scrambles to oveltake her
thoughts-the bewitching attempts of
her pursed lips to spell unmanageable
words, the shy recourse to variorum
trials upon the pad-her impatient
scuf1ics with the pen-wiper-her firta-
tons with the blotter and 13O other
tiny tricks and gestures, make
Vivette's efforts in penmanship a cap
tivating performance. l ran over and
kissed the top of her head for her.
II don't quite know how to describe
my SELF" she said, 1eadjusting n little
firt Of brown hair that had once been
her bang. "Of ourse my forehead is
nice and my eyes are all right, except
they're not the same color, and I'm
not altogether ashamed Of my nose,"
and she felt of it with a straight finger,
rhoughtfully. 'What do you think of
my mouth?"
Its a deal too pretty" said l, trying
it.
"Nvould you say anything about my
ears"' said Vivette, trying to stretch
them n little.
began a little smile, but sic inter-
rupted me.
''Of course I can't put that in! I
think it will have to go as it is"-and
she read it over, beginning: "a spark
ling, gracile brunette of twenty-three,
who might be the daughter of OAR
tagnan and Little Dorritt'-and end
ind, "Object, matrimony. Address
Box 16, Maldivers, P. o."
This. with my OWL advertisement,
which she did very prettily, too writ
ing me down a slashing hero of the
Ouida sort), appeared in the next num-
Der of the Matrimonial Times" and
we gambled wildly over the issue of
the exploit. In three days the returns
began to arrive, and by the end of the
week l had received forty-three re-
plies to her fifty-one, but by a curious
coincidence we each received twenty
seven photographs as enclosures. This
pleased Vivette hugely, and she spread
her whole gallery on the floor over
against mine, and contemplated them
very seriously. She was sitting before
Inc, with her chin on my shoulder, so
that her jaw danced with delicious
little jumps on my clavicle as she chat
tered.
Aren't they amiableY she said.
"Aren't they easy to get along with,
though? Every one has a recommend
alton, like q servant girls references.
Such an aggregation-all stars, too.
Poor things! I can't marry them all,
can 1, Robin? It's too bad they can't
be paired off. somehow! Here's one
who is 'middle-aged,' not rich, but
plays the oboe-prefers lady with in
dependent fortune, but would be glad
to meet intelligent saleslady, If good
looking"
Il have just the thing in my collec-
tlon," l cried, "here-heantiful az a
rainbow (see photo, able to earn her
own living and enjoys music.'"
.That match will be made in Mall
divers. if not III heaven; try the neat
one" and Vivette set two together.
All that night we wrangled over our
puppets, casting up their tempera-
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