The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-09-05
NVETTE'S HONE MO0N.

..
From the Lark: We were living the
lie OF tame gold fishes IN the little
town OF Maldivers; fOr Vivetic, having
declared that the most commonnla"e
| realism would be tho only correct III
version for such a romantic couple as
we, had upset all my plans Ivy Collect
ing hor properties at the FIRST uninter-
cgting station on the road. and ended
our wedding trip In forty minutes.
a week after the clOpement she drift
ed into the breakfast room with pink
cheeks and u rose in her hair. SHIN
mering cIp.a-ple IN n June morning
beauty such that No susceptible man
could look ut with impunlty. She had
excited eyes, and the anticipation OF IL
smile c0aSlns 4 corner OF her mouth.
and u slceful TIT to her head that
showed the wind had veered ard she
was already Off on another reach.
do you know" she said, after re-
turning from my side of the table. II
haven't had n letter for sever days.
Such \ thing hasn't happened since 1
left my boarding school. We must have
been having a rIdiculously good time"
II thought you wanted q change or l
should have written you" said I.
"oh. don't!" she cried. None Of your
1lS-degree whirlwird letters this
month. please. You couldn't possibly
amuse me now, unless You sent nice
old Mothers ter-we're-expectinE-
Jim-on-FrIday- acknowledgements
kind. People complain so OF their let
tiers. I'm sure l got a stupid one
In my life. ! suppose romance is only
subjective after all. but really, Robin,
I've been fairly suftocated with adj
venture ever since l vas born"
True" I said, you were u found
ling"
80 this day" she continued. II
can't SO down the street without Sec
ing u runaway horse or a Chinese fu-
neral; It's fate. Robin"
".And yet, You want l~etters-which
while unopened, are the most exciting
things in life-f you are sure they
are not bills"
But II they were from real people"
said Vlvette. muslng: III ! could get at
their real selves: not see them through
that picturesque haze that surrounds
me. 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 de-
lightful realism that would bel"
Why not advertise for correspond
ents In n matrimonial agency" l sug-
gested.
Her pensIve mood passed like the
shadow of a cloud from a sunny hill
side. Before the words were past my
teeth she had sprung Hr u telegraph
blank and had begun TO scribble a de-
scription OF her charms, [ am never
quite so much in love with Vivette as
when she Is writing. The absurd man
ner in which she holds her pen. that
seems to guide rather than be driven
by her bent forefinger-their little Jour-
neys to the inkwell. and hurried scram-
bles 70 overtake her thoughts-ttse be-
witching attempts OF her pursed lips
to spell u~nmanaGeable words, the shy
recourse 10 variorum trials OF the
pad-her impatient scufles with the
pen wlper-her tirtations with the blot
ter and $50 other tiny tricks and ges-
lures. make Niyette's efforts in pen
manship a captivating performance. l
ran over and kissed the top of her head
for her.
Il don't quite know how to describe
myself" she said. r~eadJusting a little
flirt OF brown hair that had once been
her bang. "Of course. 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 1t with n straight finger. thought
fully. What do you think OF my
mouth?"
Its a deal too pretty" said I. trying
It.
would you saw anything about my
ears" said Nivette. trying TO stretch
them a little.
/ began a little smile, but she inter-
rupted me.
'of course. / can put that In. l think
It will have 20 go as II iS"-and she read
1t over, beginning: "a sparkling. grace
full brunette 0f q, who might be the
daughter OF D'ArtaGnan and Little Dor
ritt"-and ending. 'Object. matrimony.
Address Box Is, Maldlvers p. o."
This. with my own advertisement,
which she did very prettlly, too. writ
ing me down as a slashing hero OF the
Ouida sorD appeared in the next number
Of the Matrimonial Times, and we trem-
bIed wildly over the issue OF the exploit.
In three days the returns began to ar
rive. BY the end OF the week had re-
ceiyed 20 replies 10 her 81, but by a curl
GUS coincidence. we both received q pho
tographs as enclosures, This pleased
Vlvette hugely. and she spread her whole
gallery on the floor over against mine.
and contemplated them very seriously.
She wa sitting before me, with her hin
on my shoulder. so that her Jaw danced
with delicious little Jumps on my Gavi-
Gle as she chattered:
Aren't they amIablc? Aren't they
easy to get along with. though? Every
one has a recommendation, like a SER
want girls references. Such an aggre-
E~ation-all stars. too. Poor Robin! It's
too bad they can't be paired off some
how. Here's onS who is 'middle-aged.'
no. rich. but plays the oboe-prsfers
lady with Independent fortune. but
would be glad to meet Intelligent salesla-
dy. II good looking"
II have Just the thing In my collec-
tIon." l cried, "here-behutiful as a rain
bow (see photo able to earn her own
living and enjoy music"
That match will be made in Maldi-
Vers, II not In heaven: try the next one"
and Vivette set two together.
All that night we wrangled over Ii
puppets, casting up their tempernments,
qualities and moral assets. and balance
ing one characteristic and another with
a minutCness and intimacy that kept us
ashriek with gayety until twcnty-slX
amorous couples had been paired of, and
their letters appropriately addressed.
Thus were the loose strings OF destiny
tied up in Mnldlvers that night by Robin
Rcdforth and a very pink young lady
with her hair carreering around her,
and hands not quite too clean, by six
o'clock.
There remained two photographs.
however, Mt the end Of the game that
neither OF us was content TO assign to-
gcthrr. Mine. the Gender claimed. was
Miss AlIca Fcathcrbonc md this, with
Il verbal description Of her mental attri-
butes was so bewilderinE n revelation OF
feminine t~ranscendency that | could by
no means feel that Mr.. Rachel was wOr-
thy OF her.
Athur Ragelsbury Rachel. Nivctte's
net correspondent, had VIVA she nm