The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1899-09-21
81 ! ] lllll 1 /
: THE MONUMENT.
A Lazy, Handsome, Obstinate Man
Marries COnfiding Girl of Sew
enteen. Query: What Be-
comes of the Girl?


| think | may fairly claim to know
more of Monty's pecuiarities than
most people. for | have known him all
my life.
Therefore, when he told me one after
noon that he was going to be married,
l felt in position to pity the girl from
the bottom of my heart Monty" by
the way, Is contraction of "Monu-
ment," a name | specially invented, as
summing up neatly both his physical
and mental aspect.
He is tall and extremely handsome,
after the style of the later and more
degenerate Greek gods, bearing on
every feature and in every movement
the stamp of languor and of laziness
He is Incidence personified. and, in
deed, If you take that away, there re-
mains little or nothing but Obstinacy
with u big o.. This combination,
blended together by thick solution of
self complacency, produces, metaphor
cally speaking, a stone wall
You cannot argue with him; he will
neither be convinced himself nor AT
the trouble of convincing you. You
cannot interest him against his will,
and he seldom wishes to be interested.
Finally you cannot even have the salts
faction of quarreling with him. for he
will not be reused, and looks on your
supreme efforts to anger him with the
easy tolerance Of a victorious Perseus
watching Medusas snaky locks in
Irvine themselves around his fingers
and strive to make him relax his hold
At one moment of our lives he would
have had me believe in his lordIy way
that he was not unwilling to link my
destiny with his. But, strange to re-
late, | remained unmoved by the gold
en- prospect of his companIonship, pro-
tracted MISUNDERSTANDING eternally
and his tentative hints lapsed easily
into oblivion. To return to the after
noon in question. Being aware of his
artistic temperament naturally jump
ed to the conclusion that his choice
had fallen on "a daughter of the gods"
ooh, no." he said in his slow way.
look at, but not to marry. She would
be impossible to manage"
'Then Is she young?" asked. though
my curiosity was somewhat damped
"Just H." he observed thoughtfully
and was surprised ut my exclamation,
But, my dear Monty, you are old
enough to be-
Excuse me, Minnie, | would rather
she were still younger Marry a child,
and you may hope to educate her into
the wife you would cherish in your old
age"
"Oh." | gasped "Then what is she
llkef"
inclined to be frivolous, but ! shall
soon remedy that. The poor girl is
only too glad to find man who Is not
hunting her for her paltry five or six
hundred a year"
That could readily believe, and, in
justice to Monty, | must say that mon
ey, as mere money. does not in the
least appeal to him. Perhaps that is
because he has always had enough to
be comfortable.
But he was not a good lover He was
even then far more interested in the
academy than in his tisncee's charms.
There were three or four portraits of
lovely women that he spoke of in
way that made me glad the originals
did not come within his sphere of ac-
quaintance-for the girls sake.
He did not carry her photo in his
pocket. 1t took him several moments
of hard thought to remember her ad-
dress, and-"When you are intimate
enough to call her by her Christian
name" he remarked, please call her
Euphemia and not Etfie'
Why | asked, determined on no
account to do SO.
because" he answered impressive
Iy, "Etfie is too insignificant for n mar
ried woman, and have strong objec-
ton to pet Names
"When," | inquired sternly. "when
did you ever In the whole course of our
lives call me by my baptismal name?"