The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-06
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Course Of true Love At House Party

CHAPTER XVIII
The Course of True Love at a1ouse Party.
Among sundry maxims and obserya-
tfons of King Solomon, collated by the
discerning men Of Hezekiah. 1t will be re-
called that the way Of "a man with a maid
is held up to wonder. There be- says
the wise king, who composed a little in
the crisp manner of Mr.. Kip1ing, three
things which are too wonderful for me;
yea. four which know not: the way of
an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent
upon a rock; the way of a ship in the
midst of the sea, and the way Of a man
with maid" Why he neglected to in
clude the way of a maid with a man is
not at once apparent. & His.unusual facii-
ties for observation must seemingly have
inspired him to wonder at the maids
way even more than at the mans: and
wise men later than he have not hesi-
tated to confess their entire lack of UNI
Nderstanding in the matter. But if Solomon
included this item in his summary, the
men of Hezekiah omitted to report the
fact, and by their chronicles we learn
only that the woman ''eateth and wipeth
her mouth and saith I have done no
W1ckedness Perhaps it was Solomon's
m1schance to observe phenomena of this
character too much in the mass.
Miss Milbrey's way. at any rate, with
the man she had decided to marry would
undoubtedly have made more work for
the unnamed Boswells of the king, could
1t have been brought to his notice.
For as she journeyed to the meeting
place on a bright October afternoon, she
confessed to herself that twas of depth
beyond her own fathoming Lollng easily
back in the wicker chair Of the car that
bore her, and gazing idly out. over the
brown fields and yellow forests of Long
az f1,4Sy ,{.1~<
herself wishing once that her eyes were
made like those Of doll. She had lately
discovered of one that when it appeared
to fall asleep. 1T merely turned it's eyes
around to look into it's own head. With
any lesser opportunity for introspection
she felt that certain doubts as to her own
motives and processes would remain for
could not say II have done no wicked
ness: let us place this heroine In no
false light. She was little concerned with
the morality of her course as others might
appraise it. The fault, if fault it be, is
neither ours nor hers. and Mr., Darwin
wrote a big book chiefly to prove that it
isn't. From the force of her environ
ment and heredity Miss Milbreys had de-
Dated almost exclusively her own chances
of happiness under given condtions; and
If she had, for time, questioned the
wisdom of the obvious course. entirely from
her own selfish standpoint. it is all that
and perhaps than. we were justi-
lied IN expecting from her. Let her, then,
cheat the reader of no sympathy that
might flow to g, heroine struggling for a.
high moral IDEAL Merely is she clear
headed enough to have discovered that
selfshness is not the thing of easy bonds
1t Is reputed to be; that it's delights are
not certain; that one does not unerringly
achieve happiness by the bare circurn-
stance of being uniformly selfish. Yet
even this is Il discovery not often made,
nor. one to be lightly esteemed; for have
not the wise ones of church and state ever
implied that the way of selfishness is "a
way of sure delight to be Stunned only
because It's joys endure not? So it may
be, after all. no small merit we claim for
this girl in that, trained to selfishness and
certain course, she yet had the wit to
suspect that it's joys have been overvalued
even by it's professional enemies. It is no
small merit. perhaps, even tho. after due
and selfish reflection, she determined upon
the obvious course.
If sometimes her heart was sick with
the hunger to love and be loved by the one
she loved, so that there were times when
she would have bartered the world for it's
plenary feeding, it is all that, we insist
and more, than could be expected of this
sort of heroine.
| And SO she had resolved upon surrender
| upon an outward surrender. Inwardy
she knew it to be not more than a. capitu-
! latlon under duress, whose terms would
remain for ever secret except to those
clever at induction. And now, as the train
took her swiftly to her fate, she made the
best of it.
There would be a town house fit for her;
country house at Tuxedo or Lenox or
| WeStbury, thousand good acres with
greeneries game preserve, trout pond
and race course; a cottage at Newport; a
place In Scotland: q house in London, per-
/ haps. Then there would be Jewels such
as she had longed for, 8, portrait by Char
tran, she thought. And there was the
Edazzling thought of goinentS Felix or Dou-
Get with credit unlimited.
And he-would the thought of him as it
had always come to her keep on hurting
with a hurt she could neither explain nor
1apDease? Would he annoy her, enrage
her perhaps, or, even worse, tire her? He
would be very much in earnest, Of course,
and 80 few men could be in earnest grace
fully. But would he be stupid enough
to stay so? And if not, would he become
/ brutal? She suspected he might have ca
pacities for that. Would she be able to
hide all but her pleasant emotions from
/ him-hide that want, the great want to
which she would once have done sacrifice?
Well, 1t was easier to try than not to
try, and the sacrifice-one could always
sacrifice If the need became imperative.
'And I'm making much of nothing, she
concluded. No other girl know would
do it. And papa shall give me away,
What a pretty euphemism that u.s. to be
sure!''
But her troubled musings ended with he,
time alone. From a whirl over the crisp
firm nlacadam. tucked into one of Phinnis
ter Gwilt- Athelstan's automobiles with
1 four other guests, with no less per-
son than her genial host for chauffeur
was presently ushered into the great hal
where q huge log fire cracked welcome
and where blew lively little gale Of tea.
chatter from dozen people,
4 Tea Miss Milbrey justly reckoned amone
the little san1ties of her life. Her wral
doffed and her veil pushed up, she was