Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-07-31
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. ss Il y 4 y Il y 4 .asat
! DECEIVERS EVER
s By Gwendolen overton.
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IT is all mistake to suppose that
4 good judgment and Level head are
the outcome of experience. They are
born, not acquired. The man of the
world who has tried all things and held
fast that which is bad may go all to
pieces over some Henrietta, through,
whose wiles the green boy from the
country district would see in an in
slant. The capitalist and the bank pres
ident fall victim t o quite as many bunno
games as the farmer and the cowboy.
And the same lack of rule holds good
in the world of women. The blushing
maiden from a French convent may be
quite as able to take care of herself as
the young woman who has, absorbed
modern fiction, seen men and manners
of many sorts and been given her own
head in all things. 1t is matter of
common sense and intuition, and it all
depends upon the girl.
But Miss Porter's father did not sec
that. He had theories to the contrary.
and he believed in letting girl from
her earliest infancy see all she wanted
of the world, that, having attained to
maturity, she might be able to judge
accurately for herself. 1t was com
Portable theory, moreover, and saved
Judge Porter trouble. There were
those-certain neighbors and friends
of little Miss Porters deceased moth
er-who would not admit that it was
theory at all. They said that Porter
neglected his only child and let her run
wild.
At the age of five little Miss Porter
was gourmet; smoked her cigarettes
with an air, and swore fuently. But
at the age of 20 she was as innocent
if not as ignorant-as the aforesaid
convent maiden is popularity supposed
to be.
1t was at this period that she met
Calverley. He was English, and hand
some and agreeable. One of her not
entirely unobjectionable girl friends
had presented him. and, after the Gus
tom of America, and more especially
of the west, nothing further was nee
essary. If Miss Porter thought about
it at all she thought it would have been
the height of folly and inhospitality to
have asked further questions.
But by and by one of the aforesaid
friends of her mother decided, after
much prayer and fasting, that iAwas
her obvious duty to warn Miss Porter,
since there was no one else to do it..
She trembled at the necessity. Once,
In the days of Miss Porter's tender in
fancy, some other good advice had been
met with storm of bad language, at
the mere memory of which the good
lady had shuddered and shriveled ever
since. But that had been long years
before. Miss Porter's language was
moderate now. not only moderate but
slightly British, as appeared when she
received her mother's friend and led
her to cozy corner and proceeded to
brew tea.
The. five-o'clock tea habit had never
been very strong with Miss Porter.
Doubtless it was another result of the
influence of CaIyerley-who was just
then in the library across the hall,
smoking and reading and making him
self entirely at home.
81 saw you at the theater the other
night" began the elder woman.
''Yes," said Miss Porter.
."Who was the man you were with ?"
It was the scandal of Miss Porter's
set-which was good one in spite of
all-that she did without chaperons
upon most occasions. II daresay it
was Mr.. Calverley," said Miss Porter.
She knew it was, and so did the other.
"Calverley? Do / know him? What
rs the rest of his name?"
Miss Porter tried not to look proud
as she spoke the sonorous syllables and
emphasized the hyphen. at was Giles
Hartpole Extraordinarily" she said.
"Oh!" said her:mother's friend; 'and
where is he from?"
He was from England, from London.
"Oh!" she said again; "and who is
hep"
Miss Porter informed her that he was
well splenGidly connected.
She was little vague, but that was be-
cause she could not keep all the names
at her tongues end.
How had she met him? Itwas becom-
ing decidedly cross-questioning, and
Miss Porter raised her brows. There
was the same look in the baby-blue eyes
beneath them that had preceded the
evil language years ago. But she was
quite deadly civil now. 81 met him
through friend. Were you at the
dance last night ?" she said.
"I'll tell you about that later. Tell
me about Mr.. Calverley first, dear. Are
you perfectly sure about him? One has
to be so careful of these Englishmen
who are not properly accredited"
Miss Porter laugheds-a naughty
laugh. Not properly accredited, indeed!
Afriend of the prince, a relative Of more
or less half the peerage, on nickname
terms with all sorts of dukes, and lords,
and things, man of his perfectly APP
parent means! Not properly accred-
tied, indeed! Her rebuke was terrible,
though brief. She mentioned her own
judgment and knowledge of the world,
and her mothers friend withdrew, baf-
fled yet doubling.
AS she went she caught sight of CAL