Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-10-23
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THE MONUMENT.
A Lazy, Handsome, Obstinate Man
Marries a Confiding Girl of Sew
enteen. Query: What Be-
comes of the Girl?

#0 70
1 think 1 may fairly claim to know
more of Monty's peculiarities than
my life.
Therefore, when he told me one after
noon that he was going to be married,
III felt in a position to pity the girl from
he bottom of my heart. Monty" by
the way, is a contraction of ''NIonu-
ment,' a name l specially invented, as
3Fumming up neatly both his physical
and mental aspect.
Ri He is tall and extremely handsome,
alfter the style Of the later and more
Greek gods, bearing on
every feature and in every movement
Fhe stamp of languOr and of laziness.
MAJ He is Incidence persOnified, and, in
Iced, if you take that away, there re
Mains little or nothing but Obstinacy
with Il big o.. This combination,
blended together by a thick solution of
elf complacency, produces, metaphori-
ally speaking, Il stone wall.
you cannot argue with him; he will
#heither be convinced himself nor at
he trouble of convincing you. You
.fannOt interest him against his will,
nm nd he seldom wishes to be interested
fnally you cannot even have the salts
faction of quarreling with him, for he
Mvill not be reused, and looks on your
#upreme efforts to anger him with the
asy tolerance of a victorious Perseus
Matching Medusa's snaky locks in
WTine themselves around his fingers
ind strive to make him relax his hold.
At one moment of our lives he would
Aave had me believe in his lordly way
NAT he was not unwilling to link my
eStiny with his. But, strange to re-
#hte, l remained unmoved by the gold
En prospect of his cOmpanIOnShip, pro-
acted perhaps eternally
and his tentative hints lapsed easily
INTO oblivion. To return to the after
" Don in question. Being aware of his
Ftistic temperament, naturally jump
to the conclusion that his choice
M IA fallen on a daughter of the GODS
~Oh, no." he said in his slow way,
beautiful woman is delightful to
fok at, but not to marry. She would
b impossible 30 manage
eThen is she yOung?" 1 asked, though
u curiosity was somewhat damped.
4Just H. he observed thougLtfuIly
fll was surprised at my exclamation,
Tut my dear Monty, you are old
1bugh to be-
Excuse me, Minnie, I would rather
9 were still younger. Marry Il child
|ltl you may hope to educate her into
IL wife you would cherish in your old
~Oh.'' 1 gasped. "Then what is she
Ke?"
Inclined to be frivolous, but l shall
en remedy that. The poor girl is
ly too glad to find man who is not
lnting her for her paltry five or six
Hhdred a year"
That 1 could readily believe, and, in
stice to Monty, must say that mon
as mere money, does not in the
Isl appeal to him. Perhaps that is
cause he has always had enough to
comfortable
But he was not good lover. He was
en- then far more interested in the
a1emy than in his fiancee's charms.
here were three or four portraits of
Tely women that he spoke of in a
IL that made me glad the originals
III not come within his sphere of ac-
aintance-for the girls sake.
lie did not carry her photo in his
nket 1t took him several moments
hard thought to remember her ad-
SIS, and-'When you are intimate
pugh to call her by her Christian
me-" he remarked, please call her
phemia and not Effie.''
WHY" 1 asked, determined on no
EDunt to do so.
Because" he answered impressive
f'Effie is too Insignificant for a mar
b woman, and have a strong objec-
ID to pet names"
When" 1 inquired sternly, when
you ever in the whole course of our
Is call me by my baptismal name"
Monty smiled indulgently.
That is different. You are not going
be my wife"
confess 1 reveled in this consoling
|ught, for nothing in the world could
II reconcile me to the peculiar atroc-
of my name, and if its full hideous-
Is were to be the hourly accompani-
mt of my married life / should be
aid of the consequences. 1t is Je-
ma. Now, you may say, and with
feet truth, that Minnie is not
|ticularly melodious, but at least you
4 admit that nothing could be worse