Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1903-09-24
A QUEEN g.. looks

1t was in Maoi'..;,n, in the sixties
that is, in the days when tlla diygci.;
dreamed not of pro. ,l;;on AND when
Que WIS much r!a:,' vers..... t,i;n n9w
20 got in Il mining toH'n IL di'i:n ~ d.
cent stuff incapable ct blowing thu cork
! out
Plainly there WAS something astir.
Everybody had on his best. y new
ba.inaid had arrived Gllcra l. no hope
for the wretcIes who wo.;..;d roi, the
,liGgers of that coElfort' ut Widow
Brcwn's pub In twos. tl.racs or skies
the whole place dropped in four or five
times an hour to have ""notiiar gaze"
She was the sole toui~ OF convarsa-
ton. "Ain't she clcan:" said one.
THAT wur slash;ns feed W. had to-
Day" said another. Pest tl@.:vr ever
I struck" added Il third W. ii u flr,ivn
glance from beneath the rim of Il hat
| that seemed intended as Il cover for his
face.
| by the end of the week the newcomer
was no longer IL stranger. Everybody
knew her. She was Il woman of over
thirty. E.arvelously preserved and had
been queen of many gold rushes. She
had never been married.
The man who has spent quarter of
century in the Australian provinces
has seen ten civilizations anyway.
There is ground for belief that later
civilizations have descnerated.
The woman of today is not the cook
of tho past. There is an air of cindcr-
ed chops ahol:t the present haplcss
creature. Today too many matrDns
want their daughters to play the pi-
amer" Too nanny mothers wash the
clothes and get the languid girls TO
bring them i'm. Thus the man passing
by the clothesline is deceived. There
fore our civilization is comparable to 4
needle which has been too finely sharp
ened and too much reduced at the sides.
This reduction has been visible
throughout Australia for twenty years
past.
Now, the consequences Of this fatal
relapse of woman arc manifold and
terrible. The bad cook is only Il slow
murt!eress.
But there was grit in our barln&id
She was none of these She could pro
duce meal worthy of man, and dig.
ging breeds men. She was tidy to q
hair. She was trim and she was hand
some.
OF course the whole district became
infatuated with her. Diggers go that
way They sit in the solitude of thcil
guise of the handiest flesh and blood
substitute. In the night it is their
companion. In this way do single min
ers love million times-it is their pc
lygamy. They love with distant
worshipful love-"the desire of the
moth for the star"
They are pleased if she visits their
claim and watches the water flying
from the sluicing nozzle. They show
her the rainbow under the jet: they
bring her nuggets. And if she speaks
to them, be it only Il Good day." they
fancy that their affection is making
Roadway and rejoice in every fiber OF
their being.
Out of her admirers the charmer re-
duced the cluster to two, and between
these the contest was terrible. They
hung about the place like unto dogs
chained. She ran against one or the
other or both each minute. She spoke
to them singly or in Il pair forty odd
times an hour. 1t was evident to the
boys that something was looming up.
The aspirants We're named Louis and
Charles. both Frenchmen and over for
ty. The worst of a Frenchman is that
France hangs like plumb bob before
his nose, and everything has to be re-
gartled across France. But the regard
here was not of conceit-it was fury.
One night there was Il runor that
Charles had struck pile" in his
claim. People began to bet whether
our ideal would be Influenced by the
find. 1t was freely asserted that night
would see it decided.
I was hot and restless during the
evening, and went down to the sea-
beach, two miles distant. sat on log
and smoked and let the sweet hum of
the Pacific eat its way into my ears.
This content of reverie surpasses the
pleasure of books and is the nearest ap-
proach to the pleasure Of gratified love
which mind undistorted can discover
ON this crude planet.
Suddenly I saw figure streaming
out toward the sea. 1t was Louis.
| Don't be fool,'' said as locked
my arm in his and led him away. He
had been rejected. Additional confirma-
ton was granted when the pair were
seen out walking for stroll on the
morrow.
They were married. I didn't see the
wedding "a most informal transaction).
as had all my work cut out to guard
Louis. May never again take such a
contract!
Every wedding involves question
of sentiment. One morning the hus-
band went to cut wood. He returned
suddenly and took silent peep into
his apartments. Then he stole off on
tiptoe for his gun. That is the other
end Of the sentiment. When he re-
+y,< .,vnc Tho II,