The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-08-07
! MQdge A0Thu[y'S Message
Summer Romance
In a City.

settled down to any serious occupa-
ton. They had devoted themselves
to the somewhat indefinite pastime OF
Cooking around"
1t had been the kind Of looking
around usual with idle men of private
means-moderate dissipation and love-
making, or the pretense of lovemaking,
with women who were as well off and
as idle as themselves.
But it must be admitted of the two
Storr0w's life had been much the more
innocent, and his affair with Miss
Madge Marbury might have resulted
in matrimony ere this were 1t not Tor
the frequency of their petty Quarrels,
none of which might ever have occur
red If they had not had SO much idle
time to quarrel in.
The excitement of these little tiffs
had begun to pail upon him, and when
the last one occurred he decided that
he would stay in town when Madge
went away. In fact, he was hard up
ror new sensation.
The electric car whirled him rapidly
up Madison avenue. He looked at the
monotonous array of drawn shades in
the house fronts-inevitable symptom
of the summer season-and the thought
came to him of the darkened, silent re-
ception rooms SO gay with beauty and
fashion in winter time. But the butter
flies had fed to shore and mountain,
leaving Madison avenue to console it.
self until their return. Miss Madge
Marbury had gone to Bar Harbor.
"Goodby, Mr.. Storrow." she had said
to him just before they parted. Il
hope you'll find some romance In the
city to compensate you for your self
imposed and solitary martyrdom."
These words came back to him now,
and the recollection made him feel
more than ever resolved to find his ro-
nance during his summer In town. He
would not have Madge Marbury chaff
him on her return.
Ralph Ralston thoroughly disagreed
with Sam Storrow as to the relative
charms of city and seaside In summer.
This was natural. for the two men had
never agreed upon any question since
the day they first met and neither bore
much love toward the other.
So few days after the meeting with
Storrow Ralston was in the vortex Of
Bar Harbor's gay life, troubling him
self very little about romance and con-
tent with agreeable realities.
There was no more agreeable reality
than his present proximity to Miss
Madge Marbury on the veranda of
cottage that nestled picturesquely up
among the pines.
They were enjoying the beauty OF
the cool Maine night. The intense blue
Of the heavens gave that suggestion Of
illimitable vastness which, though the
suggestion may be always there, Is
only borne In on us under the spell Of
certain moods; the song of the pines
kept time with the more distant music
of the incoming tide, and the breeze
came laden with a mingled fragrance
of balsam and odor of ocean brine.
"Can you imagine, Miss Marbury,
more fantastic notion than his staying
In town In search of romance when he
might be hereT
Ralston had been expatiating upon
the eccentricities of Sam Storrow.
81 don't know" she said. 1--WE may
find our romance in the most unexpect-
ed places"
II rather imagine that Storrow some
how is not without some definite idea
of where to find his romance"
She began to think. II that were so,
why should he not find 1t near her?
Her vanity was piqued, and Ra1stOn,
being good tactician, tried to follow
up his advantage.
"Of course, Miss Marbury, l am not
in Sam Storrow's confidence"
But it takes very wise man to head
off the sudden turns of a feminine
train of thought, and his words had
just the opposite effect to that he had
intended.
She said impulsively: ''No; If you had
his confidence, you would probably tell
me more"
The next moment she regretted her
impulsiveness, for it was no part of her
policy openly to antagonize him until
she had more fully made up her mind
as to which of these men
Well, the thing was to repair her mis-
take.
"You take me too seriously, Mr.. Raj
ston. You know, women must not be
interpreted too literally"
Ralston was far from being inclined
to take the sex too seriously, but 1t
was as well that women for their own
peace of mind, should think otherwise.
He took his cue from her and answer
ed, with another laugh:
1T would upset any ones seriousness
to think Of Sam Storrow installed over
on the east side in tenement and GO
ing to Tompkins square on band nights
in search of the romance of the slums."
'Is that really true"
Eyes; he has been seen there"
by whom?" The words escaped her
before she could obey an intuition to
keep them back.
"You would not have me betray con-
fdencesT' he rejoined.
She began to think she had been I'M
just to him, and when he came and
stood close to her she did not push her
chair away. nor when he picked up her
fan from the next chair, where she had
thrown it. did she make any sign of
disapproval, and so it was natural that
he should presently occupy the chair
the fan had vacated.
"After ALL" he reflected, "you can
bring any of these women round If you
only go the right way about 1t.
And, as for her, she had veered back
to the old point of view-that as be-
tween the two men one had shown his
devotion by his presence, whereas the
other had found a superior attraction
elsewhere.
'If | thought you could betray any
confidence, Mr.. Ralston," she said now
in belated answer to his last query, II
should not want ever to see you again"
He knew what she meant well
enough: for, like herself, he was think
ing of how very near to victory he had
been not longer ago than last night on
this same veranda.
Somehow it seemed to have grown
darker The song of the pines swelled
into a stronger chorus, and there was