Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-06-26
DAILY SHORT STORY
A New Petruchian Method.
rOriginal.1

as yours"
Him." said Barnard, you don't
give me any credit in the matter"
You? Credit for your wife's dispo-
sition? Why should you deserve credit
for that?''
'An answer to your question in
wolves the story of our courtship and
early married life, story l have never
given even to my own brother, but
well, if you like I'll give it to you.
when 1 met my wife she was Agnes
Bugbee, as pretty as a striped wasp
and with as malignant sting. l have
the disposition of a sportsman and
like to hunt fierce game. 1t seemed
to me there would be an celebrating
Zest in winning her from the very fact
that it would be difficult.
ut was when automobiles first came
in vogue, and owned a very nice one
at least nice for that time-which L
used to make an occasional call on
Miss Bugbee. She said she detested
to see gentlemen make engineers of
themselves and vowed she would never
ride in one. 1 told her mine wasn't
safe for women and on no account
would l permit a woman to ride with
me. had no sooner spoken than she
excused herself for a few minutes,
went upstairs, came down dressed to
go out and informed me that she had
concluded to ride with me. l declined
TO take her, whereupOn she declared
that could either do so or not trouble
myself to call again. Then, of course,
1 consented to take her for a spin.
This is a sample of the ways and
means l adopted to circumvent her
that is, 1 always opposed what / want
ed. 1 was constantly looking for the
soft spot in her heart, but did not dis
cover it, A year passed, and l was as
far from bringing down the game as
ever. But there was one result had
not counted on. The effort to win
her, her refusing to be won. began to
work on my own heart, and l finally
discovered that unless l succeeded l
would be miserable for life.
''Well. at last l made up my mind
that if was going to win Agnes Bug
bee must do so in the way l had ac-
complished all the results l had gain
ed-that is. by feigning opposition. l
wrote her a note stating that a GER
tain young woman, whom l knew she
hated, was doing her a great injury.
her name very disagreeably
with mine, and l saw no way to pro-
tect her except to discontinue my Wis
its. l received a reply by my messen-
ger demanding to know just what had
been reported, whereupon l wrote that
the slanderer had declared that she
(Miss Bugbee) had been trying for q
year to marry me and failed and
would continue to fail. l intimated in
as modest language as 1 could COM
mand that the tattler intended to mar
ry me herself. a reply came inviting
me TO call that evening.
"Icalled and found Miss Bugbee array
ed in her most becoming costume. She |
received me with more graciousness |
than usual, making an excuse for me to |
sit beside her on a sofa and moving so
near to me that a sheet of tissue paper |
couldn't find room between us. Then |
she bent forward, placing her waist |
where L could not very well help en- |
circling it. and-well, 1 made a pro-
posal and was accepted.
1--WE been told that most men who |
have been trying their best to get a |
woman experience a singular reaction |
soon after they have succeeded. 1t |
came to me. 1 looked with horror at |
spending my life with a woman whom |
I could never master except by feign- |
ing to oppose what 1 desired This |
probably saved me from a life of mis- |
cry, for 1 resolved that 1 would tear |
my heart out rather than incur the GER
tainty of living henpecked life. Aft |
er the reaction passed off l again real |
lied that my betrothed was necessary |
to me. Then 1 thought out a plan-a |
plan that could only be put into. ex-
ecution after marriage and by the ex-
ercise of great self control.
''As soon as the ceremony had been |
performed confessed to my wife that |
1 had a grudge against the woman
who had spread malicious reports |
about us and had only married to spite |
this person; that if my wife chose to |
live with me, knowing this fact, L |
would be willing, though If 1 found |
married life irksome 1 would move |
into bachelor quarters.
"This was q trifle more than Mrs. |
had bargained for. 1t made |
her furious 1T first, but when she saw
me packing my traps to take my de-
parture her disposition, 1 suppose, to
have her own way prevailed, and she |
unbent She then and there resolved |
to win my heart. Whether a desire to
spite the other woman had anything |
to do with it 1 don't know. For a
long while assumed absolute indiffer-
ence. One thing would not dol de-
clined to quarrel The moment my
wife became vixenish 1 put on my hat |
and coat, kissed my hand to her po-
litely and started to leave. She never
let me get off the stoOp. 1t took some
time TO convince her that l was mas
ter of the situation and not till she had
tried every subterfuge that could be
invented by a willy woman. At last |
she discovered with regard to herself
what l had long before discovered in
my own case-that 1 was necessary to
her happiness. Since then she has
been a model wife"