, 1896-04-16
A WOULD BE FL1RT.

. very good time at a dance"
So spoke the dearest little woman il
all the world late n evening on re
turning from a pleasant entertainment
given by one Of our neishbors. as sh,
sank YEARLY into one Of the big soft
cushions that adorned the couch Of oul
room.
acted during our short walk home thai
something was t4nbling her pretty
head, so I preserved q discreet silenc.
after the utterance Of the above remark
She gave me a quick glance to notict
the effect of her words, and seeing me-
busily engaged in removing u bunch Of
white carnations from the lapel Of my
dress coat she continued:
"She may enjoy herself after a fashion,
but in order to thrill as she did as 6
girl it is necessary to be interested mort
or less in somebody else."
Still I kept silent. and gathering
courage from pure lack Of opposition she
went on:
III I were only able to fiirt. I could
get along famously. I have often seer
other women add this variety to Their
lives. and al far as I could ever find
out no harm resulted"
Pray do not abstain from any such
enjoyment on my account" 1 interposed.
Don't latter% yourself, my DEAR. she
said. II have the inner consciousness
that I have tried and failed-yes. failed
utterly"
"Tried what?r
"Tried to firt, you goose. Idetermin.
ed to try it just as an experiment, I'll
tell you all about it il you won't inter.
rupt me and will be real good to me for
the rest Of my life.
Eyes. I tried desperately to imagine
myself an i'll treated woman; that
hated you terribly, and finally to make
myself believe that such a person as
Geoffrey Gordon never existed, hut to
what an endi Just as I fancied I was
succeeding, you would bob up serenely
into vision and there you would stay, nc
matter how hard I tried to forget you. I"
OF late. after the many social func.
tions we had attended, I had noticed a
disposition on the part Of my wife to
answer only vaguely to my. inquiries as
to whether she had enjoyed herself at
Mrs. So-and-so's musicale. or Miss
Somebody's reception. but I never sup
posed for a moment there was anything
serious on her mind, as the above some
what gloomy expression indicated. So
turned all attention to hear What might
be called q confession.
Maybe you would not be averse to
being given an opportunity to use my
insurance money, O else q judge in the
divorce court might be prevailed upon
to render his decision
But here my remarks were cut short
by a demonstration that would hardly
look we'll in words-in fact, I should be
at q loss how to express such a mani
festation Of feminine ~protestation.
When she had resumed a state that
made intelligibility possible, she broke
forth:
Nov. GeofYrey, that is too unkind
for anything. When l come to you tc
tell you all, you stand there and make
fun Of me. You had better be careful,
young man. 1t may be worse than you
suppose. You know what your favorits
Congreve. says:
Heaven hath nc rags like love to hatred turned
Nor hell . fury like . woman scorned.
$50 keep real good till I have f1nished
"You see. before I was married
whenever I went to q dance. there wa
always some one-four or 1--WE in fact
whom I thoroughly liked, and on whom
I could count to speak to me before th,
evening was over and with whom
could have q pleasant chat and dance
So. no matter how distasteful my pres
emit partner might be. my anticipation
were pleasant enough to make mp fol
the present.
"There were certain men who per
haps were not actually In love with mt
(she said this with q perfectly straigh,
fsce), but who invariably felt disposed
to drift in my direction. 20 that I wal
kept perpetually buoyed up while talk
ing with the stupid ones and absorbed
after they did speak to me by delightful
uncertainty q to what the future might
bring forth. That. Of course, was before
! INST you, dear.
when I 90 to dances now, I seem tc
loss remembrance Of the fact that I an
married. and with woman's vanity
begin to b painfully aware that the
very men who would have stood or
their heads had ! asked itin the past
could not couut ON nov to take the leasi
interest in mo or to talk other than the
dreariest platitudea They we're painful
" polite. would advance toward me
with few oommonplace remarks. ani
whsn thsy favored me Al = german with
some gntterins trinket. for which
used to b crazy, I felt - though it wa
an expression Of charity. portrayine
that. having made my choice. I must
abide by II and not expect any very great
sxeEtiou on their part
II driftsd from bad to worse till ]
reached a stats Of desperation. and when
saw Mn. sweetly gazing fondly into
Dicky Robinsoa's eyss the Other evening
I sasu q nysei1. There ha woman wAt
really Lives, and the reason abe does Il
because shs forgefs she ID married.
"Then Il was, 0eoffrey, dear, that
tried to forcs myself to forget that yos
had sver crossed my path-that 10. q
sourse. only whsn I went to sons SOFIA
esth9ins. Yoa know you szs % fnnd O
yosz riene&s
"Mex& 70 10 VS. 70 nnd some suitabl
- a WHOM I could bsstow my alfso
tcns. Finally ! thoughtgI woaA q.
l141pot1 VAaeton, whom I hew to b
~ emaAkAnwfy md Who throo year