The Monticellonian., 1903-12-31
Loves Labor Lost
By GEORGE WILSON.
Copyright, 1908. by Daily Story Pub. oe.)

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 Copyright, 1908. by Daily Story Pub. Col TITS name was Frederick Algernon
 IT G. Pinkington, but by his assoei- ates in the swell set in which he
 moved he was familiarly addressed as i Freddy Pinkey, and when out ol
 hearing as Sissy Pinkey; and well did
 the name seem bestowed, for more
 pink and white complexion than
 Pinkey's it would be hard to find off
 the stage or outside a doll shop.
 His little, round, expressionless face was adorned by soft, downy nus tache, which, when he puckered up hls
 cherry red lips, preparatory to utter | ing his favorite ejaculation, "Oh, mer- | cyl" kinked up in the center and down
 at the ends like a eupid's bow.
 His hands were soft, white and felt | like a bunch of wet cigarettes. He wore his hair parted mathematically in the center, letting it ripple back on either side in series of glossy wave lets, which, with a gold chained monocle, he considered irresistible.
 Pinkey was an only son and lived with his parents in the brownstJne upon Swell Hill He had tried liar yard, from which he had returned the first half, and when questioned by in- terested friends had replied in weary tone "oh, bwain flag. dontcherknoW ?s' Besides living with his parents, Pink eys chief occupation was studying tne fashion plates, of which he was liv- ing prototype, and attending the na- merous social functions of his set.
 Never was he more in his element than when gliding over the polished floor of ball room to the dreamy strains of waltz, or helping dish out the ice cream or pass the sandwiches at an outing, when the girls would tie a big apron on him and tell him low good he was.
 Besides dancing Pinkey's one other accomplishment was singing; he could sing, and no sailing party down the bay was complete without Pinkey and his guitar, when they would perch him upon the edge of the deck house, where, to the tinkle of the guitar he would warble sentimental ballads and AhiON tdNlSnihS SidhSCo aI 4idbd Chalmers, who, watching the little rosebud mouth and the curving mus tache, would think of an 0 with breve over it, and smile broadly at his most touching passages. But this uid not disconcert Pinkey; for anything that Maud did was "comme ii faut. In fact, Pinkey would have most will lingly laid down and let Maud plant her dainty foot upon his four-inch-cel lar-incased neck, or, for that matter. tramp promiseuously all over him for he was desperately in love with ner But, then, in this respect he was no different from whole lot of other fel- lows, who gladly would have done the same thing: for tall, handsome, genial Maud was prime fayorite with every one.
 Pinkey was a frequent caller at Maud's, and when Rose Denison re- monstrated with her for allowing him to come, thus encouraging him in a hopeless cause, she had replied:
 Yes. l know, but he is really inter esting and like to study him. 1 real ly do, as he is a species of the genus homo, and then, he is such harm less little creature, I really haven't the heart to hurt him.
 But" persisted Rose, you kEow that he will pop just as sure as the world
 "Oh, yes, I suppose so," exclaimed Maud, wearily; they all do sooner O. later, but haven't given him the feast reason to, and if he will. he will that's all l don't believe he is quite the kind to 'shuff,e off this mortal coil through the agency of broken heart, any way"
 And sure enough. as Rose predicted, Pinkey did pop. He had now been paying her every attention for some time and, as far as he could see, his suit had prospered unusually well. To be sure, whenever he mentioned any thing touching the subject, she had al- ways in some delft way led him to talk of other things, but then this was most natural in a girl of Mauds refined temperament. and was no criterion of her true feelings at all. In fact, hls sky seemed unusually bright, the only cloud appearing therein when he found Smith or some of the other fellows al Maud's, which, of late, was getting to be rather frequent occurrence. But then, moths and other bugs are always attracted by bright light, anyway; however. lest some of them might, in some accidental way, damage his suit, he would effectualiy remove even those remote chances by proposing without delay.
 With this end in view he called one evening and, after some circumfuous gossip, suddenly drew his chair square ly round in front of the settee upon which she was sitting and, clasping his hands in his lap, exclaimed:
 Maud, l love you!"
 Although expecting the blow to fail at any moment, as she afterwards ex- plained, she did not expect anything quite so sudden as this, and was con
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