The suburban citizen., 1902-10-25
By
J. Herbert
Welch /: {:

May SIT down mere on tnS grass
and condole With you until the arrival
Of the--of the caddyi" asked Arthur.
II presume you may sit on the grass.
l don't own 1t, you know" The acidity
Of this reply was tempered by fitting
shadow of smile.
AT all events" answered Arthur,
sitting down, you took rather quick
possession Of bit of it just now. But
it was really very rude Of that cow to
I disturb you. Ican't tell you bow sorry
am"
A pair of soft yet penetrating eyes
were studying the young man.
"No, l don't believe you can tell me
how sorry you are" said the pretty
lips beneath the eyes, "and the reason
is that you're not sorry at all. You're
having trouble to keep from laughing"
Arthur could no longer restrain the
hlarlty that had been yelling up be-
meath a very thin veneer Of polite So
licitude. They laughed together
Bat I must have done with this lev
ity,' cried Arthur, suddenly. 81 must
be up and doing. My lady's hat and
flowers s;ill lie within the domain of
the fell beast. l must recover them at
all hazards. l must face this beast, or
else, 'od's boddikins, I were unworthy
the name Of knight"
He approached the fence, leaped over
and in moment was bowling low in
the act of laying the trophies at the
lady's feet.
Marry, now. but you are, forsooth,
a brave knight" she laughed.
"Ah, lady, my life were but slight
sacrifice in your service but were I
to crave boon of you l would plead
that you take from the heap one small
red clover blossom and pin it in my
buttonhole with your own fair hands"
She laughed again. "Methinks you
are bold knight too. But for the
sake OF the dangers you have passed /
will decorate you, Sir Arthur-when
the pins Hrriye.'
The young man came very near los
| ing his knightly pose. How under
the sun do you happen to know my
namer he was about TO inquire, but
he perceived, before It was too late,
that she had hit upon the name limo,
Gently, as the usual name for knights.
May be allowed to express a sus-
picion Of your" he asked.
II hope am not n suspicious per.
son." she answered. but what Is it?" .
"Only that you have been reading
historical novels"
Worse than that But it seems to
me that your mind also is stepped in
the romantic"
1T Is. I've just finished being thrilled
by Miss Mary Malvern's book. "A Court
Cavalier The celebrated Miss Nal.
vern is sojourning for the summer in
this vicinity you know"
Eyes, know" said the girl, hastily,
"and what do you think Of her bookT
WELL" replied Arthur. slowly and
judicially, 1T is not bad, not half bad.
OF course, most Of the situations are
impossible, and most of the characters
have no counterpart in the heavens
above, nor the earth beneath, nor the
waters under the earth, button the
whole--the story's clever"
She smoothed a wrinkle in her skirt
then asked slowly:
do you really think there is any
thing clever In it7 What, for in
stance"
Arthur liked this Difference to his lit
erary judgment, and he continued
complacently:
well, In the first place, it is clever
because 1t was written by so very
young a person. They say she is only
about twenty or twenty-one. As a mat
ter Of fact, however suppose she is
nearer thirty. And If she is as young
as Is reported, l think her mother
ought to have looked after her better.
because she seems 10 have had an
amazing amount Of experience in af-
fairs of the heart. One cnnnot write
Of these things as realistically as she
does without an intimate knowledge Of
them. While many Of the situations
are highly improbable, as / have said.
some Of the love scenes are life itself.
verify believe that only n veteran co.
quette could have described as Mary
Malvern does the manner in which El-
vira leads the gallants on and then
fiouts them. Yet there is a distinct del
Icacy and charm about 1t all. This
Miss Malvern must be a most interest.
ing girl. l would give a good deal to
meet her. Do you know, thought
several times when was reading the
book that could fall In love with n
girl with a mind like hers. think we
would be very sympathetic and congo.
NAL"
"Not really" exclaimed the girl on
the grass Her lips and eyes were
smiling, She seemed to be taking I'm.