The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-01-05
BY ROBERT BARR.
Author of THE Face and the Mask.
In the Midst of Alarms" Etc.
Copyright. 1895. by Robert Barr.)
I-REssIEs REHAVIOR.


that celebrated man, for while he as
serted that Thun was one Of the three
most beautiful spots on earth Bessie
held that this Swiss town was abso-
luteIy the most perfectly lovely place
she had ever visited. Her reason for
this conclusion differed from that OF
Humboldt The latter, being a mere
man, had been influenced by the sit
uation of the town, the rapid foaming
river, the placid green lake. the high
mountains all around and the snow
peaks to the east, the ancient castle
overlooking everything and the quaint
streets with the pavements up at the
first floors.
Bessie had an eye for all these
things, of course, but While waterfalls
and profund raTines were all very
well in their way, her MOTEL had to
be fined With the right sort of COM
pany before any spot on earth was en-
tirely satisfactory to Bessie. She did
not care to be out Of humanity's reach,
nor 10 take her small journeys aione,
she liked to near the sweet music OF
speech, and if she started at the
been on the jump all day, for she was
brilliant and ELUSIVE talker.
So it happened that in touring
through Switzerland, Bessie and her
mother somehow people always placed
Bessie's name before that Of ner moth
or, who was a quiet little unobtruslVe
woman) stopped at Thun intending 10
stay but a day, as most people DO,
but when Bessie found the big hotel
she told her mother that the local
guide-book asserted that Humboldt
had once said Ihun was one Of the
three most lovely places on earth and
therefore they ought to stay there
and enjoy its beauties, which
they at once proceeded to do. 1t must
not be imagined from this that Bessie
was particularly fond of young men.
Such was far from being the case. She
merely liked to have them propose to
her. which was certainly Iaudable
ambition. but she invariably refused
them, which went TO show that she
was not. as her enemies stated, always
In love with somebody. The fact was
that Miss Bessie Durand's motives
were entirely misunderstood by an IN
appreciatiVe world. Was she to be
blamed because young men wanted heI
to marry them? Certainly not 1t was
sweet and that young men, as a gen
eral rule liked to talk to her better
than to anyone else in the nelghbor-
hood. Many of her detractorS would
very likely have given much 10 have
had Bessie's many charms of face, FIG
ure and manner. This is Jealous
world and people delight in saying
spiteful little things about those more
favored by Providence than them
J., 9s1Nif
that Bessie had & certain cooling, cont
dental way with people that may nave
misled some of the young men who III
ttmately proposed to her. into imagin-
ing that they were especial taVorltes
with the young lady. She took kind
II interest in their affairs, and very
shortly after their a iuaintance with
her. most young men found themselves
pouring into her sympathetic ear al
their hopes and aspirations. Bessie's
ear was very Shell-like and beautiful
a well as sympathetic, so that one can
hardly say the young men were TO
blame. any more than Bessie was.
Nearly everybody in this world wants
to talk of himself or herself as the case
may be, and so ii is no wonder that
a person like Bessie, who is willing 10
listen While other people talk of them
selves. is popular. Among the many
are too many takers and too
few listeners. and although Bessie was
undoubtedly a brilliant talker on oc-
casion, there is no doubt that her many
victories resulted more from her ap-
Dreciative qualities as a talented listen
er than from the entertaining charms
of her conversation. Those women who
have had so much to say about Bessie
behavior. might web take a leaf from
-, ~ They
find, if they had even passably good
looks. that proposals would be more
frequent. Of course there is no use IN
denying that Bessie'S eyes had much
TO DO with bringing young men to the
7,oint. Her eyes were large and dark
and they had an enhancing habit OF
softening just at the right moment,
when there came into them sweet
trustfU yearning look that it was sim
NV impossible to resist. They gazed
thus at a young man when he was tell
ing in low whispers how he hoped to
make the world wiser and better by his
uresence in it. or when he narrated
some incident Of great danger in which
he took part, where (unconsciously,
perhaps. on the teller's part) his own
Seroism was shown forth to the best
possible advantage. Then Bessle's eyes
would grow large and humid and ten
der and a subdued light would come
into them as she hung breathlessly on
his words. Did not Desdemona capture
OtheIlo Iherely by listening to a recital
Of his Owl daring deeds which were,
duobtless, very greatly exaggerated?
The young men at the big hotel in
Thun were clad mostly in knioker-
bockers and many of them had alpen-
stocks Of their own. 1t soon became
their delight to sit on the terrace in
front of the hotel during the pleasant
summer evenings and relate to Bessie
their breadth escapes. the continu-
Gus murrnur of the river Aare form
ing a soothing chorus to their
dramatic narrations. AT least a
dozen young men lowered around the
girl, willing and eager to conf1de in her.
but while Bessie was smiling and kind
to them all, II was soon evident that
some special one was her favorite, and
then the rest hung hopelessly back.
Things would go wonderfully well for
this lucky fellow for a day or two, and
he usually became so extensively con-
ceited in his bearing towards the rest.
the wonder is he escaped without
personal vengeance being wreaked up
on him; then all at once he would pack
ap his belongings and gloomily depart
for Rerne or Interlaken, depending on
whether ais ultimate destination was
west or east The young men remain
ing invariably tried not to look jul
pilant at the sudden departure, while
the ladies staying at the hotel began to
say hard things of Bessie, going even
so far as to assert that she was a
heartless fiirt How little do we know
the motives of our fellow-creatures
How prone we are to misjudge the ac-
tions of otheTsi Bessie was no fiirt, but
q h.gh-minded, conscientious girl with
an ambition-an ambition which she