Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-12-09
FACING THE SITUATION.

We had been exchanging views on
the subject of mental and moral cour-
age.
The general smiled across at me.
'FAh, my dear boy, it's all very well
to talk about pluck-but it's moral
pluck we want in this vale of tears,
and, above all, the knowledge how to
act in an emergency"
"Yes?"
/ waited, feeling sure the Generals
platitude was born Of some pungent
reminiscence, and have great fond
ness for the generals "reminiscences. I
did not wait in vain.
81 have, as you know, Gerald, my
bog. never married, but l was once
deeply in love, as deeply as it is pos
sible for a young chap to be who
starts life with an unusual amount of
illusions.
''She was the daintiest creature
you ever set eyes on. with a delicate
face and what these pot-boilers call
an ethereal figure, not particularly
young-about 2S or 29-but one of
the lOveliest women have ever seen.
By Jove! If ever there was a young
idiot who thought his divinity perfect,
it was I. I thought about her night
and day, worshiped her. I idealized
her, lived in a state of hopeless and
helpless slavery. 1t makes me smile
to think Of it now, but it was seri-
Gus matter at the time. I had just
joined my regiment. l had plenty of
private means, so when we were or
dered out took courage and proposed
to her.
$40 my intense delight and even
establishment, she accepted me. She
wouldn't marry me before went,
but she promised to follow me in a
year, and | went away full of blissful
expectation and untold folly.
"She wrote to me every mail, and I
lived in a state of polo-playing and
beatitude One day I had a casual
note from her-a note that only wo-
maR could write-telling me that she
feared she had made a mistake and
that she found she loved some one
else
Shortly afterwards heard she was
going to be married. I didn't even
hear the other mans name-and |
didn't want to. l should like to have
shot him for stealing her from me, or
it would have given me immense
pleasure to have horsewhipped him,
but, unfortunately, she wasn't my wife,
ana she had a perfect right to change
her mind if she liked.
well, it was nearly fifteen years
before I came home to settle. I had
been back ON leave after being wound
ed. but I had gone straight down to
nay fathers place, and he had died
while I was there, so I did not, Of
course, go out or meet any of my old
friends
Have you ever seen her SINGER I
asked
The general nodded. "Once, Gerald,
and that's the point of my story"
"Where?''
'T'll tell you 1t was neary sixteen
years since she had broken off our en-
gagement, and had at last almost
ceased to remember her. Had known
| was going to meet her that night /
believe the whole feeling Of the thing
would have come back again and 1
should have been in a state of frantic
excitement and nervousness. But as
it was I had no idea of what was in
store for me, so | went out to dinner
one evening with uNruffled mind.
81 was dining at the Belfords', who,
as you know, are my Oldest friends,
and Mrs. Bedford came up to me be-
fore dinner and whispered: Douglas,
/ am giving you an awful lump to
take into dinner, but she is the most
important woman here but one, whom
George is, of course, taking, and you
wal have nice one on the other side;
so be dear to both of them. They are
Doth widows, so be careful she add
ed, laughing.
Between two Stools I began.
20, forgot she interrupted, the
lump is Mrs. Birchington and the pref
ty one on your left is Ms. Stanton
don't mix up their Names She turned
away to greet newly arrived guest,
but presently called me to her by
look Mrs. Birchington, may in
troduce Colonel Northcote (for I was
Colonel them, Colonel Nirthcote, Mrs.
Birchington. I bowed and glanced at
the lady my hostess had so euphoni-
ously termed a lump" She was a
heavy, middleaged woman, with small
features embedded in fat, and she had
a heavy and unattractive eye and
look Of ineffable self-contenti6n. [
murmured one or two of the usual
weather commonplaces, and then din
ner was announced, and I took her
down; and, by Jove! she leant
goodly portion of fifteen stone on my
arm. My left-handed companion was
tai. delicate-looking woman, much