The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-05-15
By CHARLES NJ SHELDON.
Aar q - fh Stpx. Robert Hardy's Sesn Day4' 81
opsr<oAk. na1. b. oA~ses N sAddos

LOU are unhappy, LuClid. 40 IL OC-
cause you are afraid he will die or
Luella looked up.
"If he lives, will you marry him"
Mrs. Penrose persisted.
ST promised him that I would and
that I would live with him in Hope
House. But Mrs. Penrose was
watching her closely. Luella was In
need of confessor, and she went on:
"But cannot live there. I promised
because thought he was dying. l was
carried away by my feelings. If tried
to live there with him, should be
/, wretched and make his life miserable"
$50 you have decided to make his
afe miserable by not living with him.
That's good feminine logic. For get
ting into real dilemmas commend me
to a woman, The graceful thing Tor
him to do would be to die. 1t would
at least save you the awkward bust
ness Of explaining away your promise
to him. I don't envy you your inter
view with him If he lives. I'd sooner
60 and live in Hope House all my life"
"Don'tr' cried Luella. She walked
up and down the room like q man,
Mrs. Penrose watching her curiously.
"Of course you never really loved
John Gordon. If you had, no question
of Hope House would ever have risen
Seeing you have naver yet loved any
one, maybe you will allow me to pre-
sent the name of a sutton"
Luella stopped in her walk and faced
Mrs. Penrose angrily. Mrs. Penrose
continued in the sweetest manner:
Archie claims your attention. he
has wearied me with his persistent
appeals for my pleading in his behalf
And this seems as good time as any
to bring his claims forward. You are
not going to marry John Gordon; there
fore marry somebody. And it cannot
be denied that Archie is somebody. al
least in his own estimation. He has
many other young men like him, and
he will not ask you to live in Hope
House. What more could you ask, Lu
ella? And what more could l say? II
is not every day that one has an Offer
of marriage from such young man as
Archie. The occasion will never come
again."
Mrs. Penrose spoke with smile that
could be interpreted as meaning any
one-of half dozen things.
"Stopr' cried Luella. 'Never men
ton Archie Penrose's name to me again
If he were the only man in the uni
verse, l would never marry him!'
"And yet" continued Mrs. Penrose
slowly. you throw away. like an ole
SHOE the true love of good man sim
ply because you are not willing to give
up few of the 1eshpots Of civiliza
ton. Vanity Of vanities, saith the
preacher. Yet we prize these vanities
beyond the best thing in the world
which no doubt is love-"
"Oh. do not talk to me any more!
cried Luella. She resumed her walk
and Mrs. Penrose placidly resumed bel
talk.
''Now that l have done my duty by
my nephew at his request 1 am going
to plead the cause of John Gordon
though he has not asked me to. Lu-
ella, do you realize what you are going
to fling out of your life if you go to
John Gordon and tell him in cold blood
that you lied to him when you prom.
Used to be his wife? He is a young
man of splendid ability and spotless
character. He has chosen a career that
is unselfish. noble and full of possible
ties. AS his wife you could share in his
struggles, but no less also in his
triumphs. The whole social question
is at the front in our republic. Men
who, like John Gordon, stand up for the
rights of humanity. especially the
rights of childhood, are bound to com
mand hearing from the world. You
are missing the rarest opportunity O
woman ever had to ally herself with a
man who has something in his plan OF
life worthy of effort What will you
have to give up? A few baubles that
make the physical life a little softer
and few that civilized power can get
along without and in the most cases
be the better for not having. For these
baubles you are going to commit an act
of deliberate murder Of the best feeling
q woman ever had, murder of love fol
a true man. He Is perfectly right t.
demand that you live with him IL
Hope House. You would have every
reason to despise him if he did not ask
that of you. A man who has great
life work like that of John Gordon
could not ask any woman to share il
with him who did not gladly accept al
that went with it. Remember, Luella
my married lifew Mrs. Penrose was
speaking with deep earnestness; she
had been leaning forward, all her usua
careless, reckless manner gone com
pletely. Il married for money. I was
poor. / longed for the physical softness
of things. need not tell you, Luella
that my marriage was failure SO far
as love is concerned. I got the money
/ missed the love. What has it beer
worth? The poorest mother in the city
struggling with saddest poverty, but
sure of the love Of her husband and
children, has been heavenly happy com
pared with me. 1? I never had 9
home. I had an establishment. an
a homeless woman. I shall grow ole
and die without ever having known the
earthly Joy Of home. Luella, do you
choose to be one Of the army Of home
less women in the cities? The pooi
envy 'our fine houses, our swell turn
|, outs. our luxuries, our leisure, our din
ners, our dresses, our money. They
envy hell, for that Is what it all means
when love is absent. John Gordon Of
fers you heaven, Luella. You choose
, the other place If you refuse him. YOU