The Wilmington daily Republican., 1901-12-27
PHILIPS PROPOSAL.
BY ETHEL COLsON,

| daughter Gertrude as often as he liked
| provided he spoke or wrote no word OF love
to the young woman. This embargo was
to last until Gertrude, who had just PASSED
| her eighteenth birthday, was 20 and Philip
correspondngly older. The young man ac
cepted its conditions unwilingly but with
moderate degree Of cheerfuness in the
beginning; he smarted under them con.
siderably as they became more familiar.
1t was delightful to see Gertrude as often
as he liked, certainly, especially after the
long weeks in which he had wondered how
much longer he would be welcome visitor
at the Brewer mansion, but he soon found
that the permission to see her often meant
far less than it had appeared to do at first
sight. He was not the only young man
who saw her frequently, to hegin with.
Gertrude was pretty girl, bright and
popular in the bargain; Philip began to
live in chronic state Of feak lest some
other fellow wise enough to speak to the
girl first and then the father aiterward,
should step in ahead of him. The girl
herself did not seem, to his excited fancy,
to take nearly so much interest in his at.
tentions as she had done heretofore. Some
times he was on the point of throwing up
the whole thing for year or two and going
west. All Of which was precisely what
Mrs. Brewer had counted upon when she
had consulted her husband to make terms.
Gertrude is both headstrang and i'm.
pressionable, my dear" she had said when
Mr.. Brewer had spoken OF forbidding
Philip the house for the time being, "and
if you do that she will Immediately fancy
herself deeply in love with him, whether
she is or not. Merely tell Philip that she
is altogether too young and too incomplete
ly educated, as yet. to think OF such things,
and that he must not dream of telling her
that he loves her-or thinks that he does
for some time. Ten chances to one they'll
both tire of the fancy shortly, and if it's
really love between them the waiting will
do no harm"
After time, however, Philip became so
deadly tired Of waiting that he gave up the
idea of going out west and decided to
change his tactics entirely. He had prom
ised to write or speak no word of love to
Gertrude, certainly, but proposing had
never been mentioned. Surely it was pos
sible to make proposal of marriage
without uttering love-sick speeches! Yes,
he would certainly propose, and that as
soon as the opportunity offered.
But the opportunity was long in coming.
Mrs. Brewer had nose for news which
would have made the fortune of metro.
politan newspaper reporter. and while she
did not exactly suspect Philip OF endeavor.
ing to break his compact so she gave her
husband to understand, still she meant him
to have no temptation Of that order. The
bones Of her opposition were too nicely
clothed in the flesh of conventional courtesy
for Philip or any other man 10 discover
them, but she strove against them in vain.
Never moment alone with Gertrude could
he find or obtain. Even when they went
upon photographing expeditions together
both being enthusiastic Photographic anna
teurs-they were invariably accompanied
by Gertrude's brother Benjamin, a spoiled
you'll, of H. his mothers darling, and also
badly afflicted with the picture-taking
craze. And yet it was through photo.
graphic process that Philip finally carried
out his will in regard to his inamorita and
circumvented her mothers care.
The bright idea occurred to him one Sun.
day afternoon, as he worked over his new.
est lens, and he lost no time in trying it.
Carefully printing certain legend upon
transparent white paper, he pinned the pa.
per up against the window pane and went
over it again, more boldly and on the wrong
side, with a charcoal crayon Then he at,
tached the paper, still wrong side out
wards, to the wall and photographed the
legend-backward
He carried it with him when he called
upon Gertrude the following evening. The
Brewers were orthodox people and he
feared to try his plan on Sunday Gertrude
fell in with it as delightfully."- as innocently
and ran upstairs to her own little room
to develop the plate Immediately. Philip
had explained that he thought she would
understand the new experiment he wanted
to share with her more clearly il she her.
self developed the negative. His heart gave
wild jump when Benjamin announced
that he wanted to watch the development
also. But once more Gertrude came to the
rescue nobly although quite unconscious Of
any need for so doing.
'No, Bennie, you can't" she told him,
shutting the darkroom door with gentle
decision; you make me too nervous when
l let you come in. III tell you all about
the experiment afterward.'
Philip really doubted that she would keep
her word, but he said nothing. 1t needed
all his sef,control and patience to talk
until Gertrude returned.
The girl, meanwhile had received start.
ling shock.
"Metolhydrol ] suggest as a developer"
Philip had told her as she ran upstairs
with the plateholder containing the "ex.
perimental' negative, and this agent she
had accordingly prepared. She rocked the
little tray back and forth for two or three
minutes, then exposed it to the rays of the
red lamp. Black and white values" are
also reversed upon a Photographic mega.
tive so the message which stared up at
her was outlined in cleaning white letters
upon an ebony background. And this was
the message:
My Dearest Girl: VIII you marry me?
Philip Maintenon.'
The girl grew white and pink as she read
it. Then she laughed merrily and sat down
to consider. Ten minutes later she went
down to the parlor and explained that she
had broken the precious negative. Whether
by accidsht or design she did not say.
Philip coored hotly, and Mrs. Brewer,
pitying his fancied disappointment over the
lost negative, took Gertrude gently to task.
II don't see how you could be so careless,
my daughter" she demonstrated. Nobody
knows how much trouble Mr.. Maintenon
may have taken to secure the negative
you have destroyed. Can't you make it
up to him in some way"
II don't know. mamsie," answered Ger.
trude, smiling and blushing adorably as
she turned her face away from her mother
and toward Philip. II don't know.
shouldn't care to repeat the experiment
myself, even if knew how to do SC, which
l do not. But we might possibly present
him with some other work of art, if you
think best. Suppose we try"
A sudden thought made her cheeks burn