Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1897-11-18

parently lofty and pathetic tragedies
turn out, on close examination, TO be
the meanest and most miserable OF
ferces,-its no good making them out
to be grand Greek poems when they
ere only base doggerel rhymes. Be
sides, it's the fashion nowadays to be
chiffonniers In literature--to pick up
the rags of life and sort them in all
their uncomeliness before the morbid
eyes Of the public. What's the use OF
spending thought and care on the
manufacture Of jewelIed diadem, and
offering 1t to the people on a velvet
cushion, when they prefer an OLA
pcdrda Of cast-off clothing, dried
bones and candle-ends? In brief, what
would it avail to write as grandly as
Shakespeare or Scott when society
cIamors for Iola and Others of his
SCHOOL,"
There was a little group around them
by this time, men generally collected
wherever Beau Lovelace aired his
! opinions, and double attraction
drew them together now in the person
OF the lovely woman to whom he was
holding forth.
Marcia Van Clupp stared nightly
surely the Norwegian peasant would
not understand Beaus SMILES for
they were certainly incomprchensiDc
! to Marcia. AS for his last remark
why! she had read all Zola's novels in
! the secr""J of her own room, and had
.,.ue5,eS over them; no words could
describe her intense admiration of
books that were 80 indelicately real
istic! "He Is jealous of other writer's,
| suppose" she thought; these liter
airy people hate each other like
poison
Meanwhile Thelma's blue eyes
looked puzzled II do not know that
name" she said. "Zola! what is he?
He cannot be great. Shakespeare !
know he Is the glory of all the world,
OF course; | think him as noble as
Homer. Then for Walter Scott
love all his beautiful stories-l have
read them many, many times, nearly
as OllcH DUB udVc ICtLu IlOul1l anu
the Morse Sagas And the world must
surely love such writings-or how
should they last so long?" She laughed
and shook her bright mead archly.
"Chiffonnier! Point du tout! Monsieur,
les divines pensees que Vous avez
donne au monde ne sont pas des chit
foEs"
Beau smiled again, and offered her
his arm. LET me find you II chair!
he said. 1T will be rather difficult
natter,-still can but try. You will
be fatigued If You stand too long"
And he moved through the swaying
crowd, with her little gloved hand
resting lightly on his coat sleeve. -
while Marcia Van Clupp and her
mother exchanged looks of wonder
and dismay. The ''iisherwomaA'
could speak French, -moreover, she
she could speak it with wonderfully
soft and perfect Accent person
had studied Homer and Shakespeare,
and was Conversant with best lltea-
tnre, and, Interest sting of all, the
peasant could give every woman In
the room a lesson in department,
grace, and perfect taste in dress. Every
costume locked tawdry beside her
richly flowing velvet draperies-cvery
low bodice became indecent compared
with the modest, Of taal small square
opening at Thelma's white throat-an
opening just sufficient to display her
collar of diamonds--and evry figure
seemed either dumpy and awkward,
too big or too fat, or too lean and too
lanky-when brought into contrast
with her statuesque outlines.
The die was cast the authority Of |
Beau IIovelace was nearly supreme in
fashionable and artistic circles, and
from the moment he was seen devoting |
his attention to the new beauty
excited whispers began to fit from
mouth to mouth ,-"She will be the |
rage this season! We must ask her
to como to us!"-"Do ask Lady Win !
sleigh to introduce us!'-"She must
come to our housed" and so on. And |
Lady Winsleigh was neither blind nor
deaf-she saw and heard plainly |
enough that her reign was over, and
in her secret soul she was furious. The
common farmers daughter" was
neither vulgar nor uneducated and |
she was surprisingly lovely-even
Lady Winsleigh could not deny so
plain and absolute fact. But her !
ladyship was woman of the world, |
and she perceived at once that Thelma |!
was not. Philip had married crea-
ture with the bodily loveliness of a
goddess and the innocent soul of a
clild-and 1t was just that child-like,
pure soul looking serenely out OF
Thelma's eyes that had brought the
long forgotten blush Of shame to Clara
Winsleigh's check. But that feeling of
solf-contempt soon passed-she was no
better and no worse than other wo-
men of her set, she thought after all,
what had she to be ashamed of?
Nothing, eNcept-eXcept perhaps, her
little affair" with "Lennie." A new