The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-09-14

the vale OF years, who they tell me, has al
most as many dollars as you or | would
know what to do WITH a queer old chap
who lounges about the mountains and looks
as IL he might have anything but money.
We met the son and the old man at one or
their mines yesterday. They have private
car as large Sheplers and even more
sybaritic, and they'd been making tour
of inspection over their properties. Iney
will divine the warmth of their behavior
toward the son. 1t was too funny at first.
Avice was the only one to suspect at once
that he was the very considerable person
age he Is. and so she promptly sequestered
him. with a skill born of her long practice
In the depths OF the earth, somewhere near
China. / fancy. Her dear parents were
furious. Dressed as one of the miners they
took him to be employe. The whole party,
taking the cue from outraged parenthood.
treated him iciiy when he emerged from
one Of those subterranean galleries with
that tender sprig of girlishness. That is, we
We're icy until. on the way up, he remaining
in the depths, Ayice's dear mother began
to rebuke the thoughtless mink for her In
discretion of strolling through the earth
with working person. Then Avice, sweet
chatterbox, with joyful malice, reVeaieo
that the young man, whose name none or
us had caught, Bines, and that he
owned the mine we were in, and she didn
know how many others, nor did she pelleVe
he knew himself. You should have felt the
temperature rise. 1t went up faster than we
were going. By the time we reached the
surface the two Milbreys wore looks that
would have made the angel Of peace and
good will look full of hatred and distrust
Nothing would satisfy them but that we
wait TO thank the young Croesus for ms
courtesy. / waited because / remembered
| the daughter, and Oldaker and the Ang-
stead twins waited out OF decency: Ana
when the genius of the mine appeared from
out his golden catacombs we fell UPON Tim
in desperate kindness.
Later in the day learned from him that
he expects to bring his mother and sister TO
| New York this fall and that they mean TO
make their home there hereafter. OF course
| that means that the girl has notions of mar.
| riage. What made me think SO quickly OF
i her is that In San Francisco, at theater
| last winter, she was pointed out TO me, ana
while do you not the injustice of supposing
| 1t would make the least difference TO you,
/ she Is rather a beauty, you'll ind; hgure
/ fullish, yellow hair and a good-natured,
| well-featured, pleasing sort of face; biz
| rocco in manner, / suspect; little too san
| Francisco, as so many of these western
beauties are. but you'd not mind that. and a
i year in New York will tone her down any
way.
Now If your dear uncle will only confer a
| lasting benefit upon the world and his title
upon you. by paying the only debt he is ever
| liable to pay, / am persuaded you could De
| the man here. 1 know nothing of how the
fortune was left nor Of its extent, except
means a big, round sum. The reason Write
promptly is that you may not go out or the
| country just now. That sweet little Milorey
| chit-really, Avice is far too old now Tor
ingenue parts-has not only grappled the
son with hooks of steel, but from remarks
| the good mother dropped concerning the fine
qualities Of her son, she means TO convert
the daughters dot into Milbrey prestige
also. What glorious double stroke IT would
be. after all their years of trying. However
with your title, even in prospective, Fred
Miibrey is no rival for you to fear, providing
| you are on the ground soon as he, which
is why wish you to stay in New York.
am indeed gratified that you have brok-
| en- of whatever affair there may have been
| between you and that music hall person
Really you know, though they talk so about
| US, a young man can't mess about with
| that sort of thing i'm New York as he can in
| London. So I'm glad she's gone back. and
! as she is In no position TO harm you l should
heaven did the creature expect? Why should
! she have wanted to marry your
/ shall see you probably in another fort
night
You know that MiIbrey girl must get heI
effrontery direct from where they make 1t
| She pretended that at first she took young
Bnes for what we all took him, an employt
of the mine. You can almost catch then
winking at each other, when she tells Ii
and dear mamma with such beautiful resig
nation says My Avice is so impulsively
democratic" Dear Avice. you know, is real
ly quite as impusive as the steel bridge oul
train has just ratified over. Sincerely,
/ JOSEPHINE PRESTON DRELMER.
From Miss Avice Mlbrey to Mrs. Cornelis
Van Geist, New York
| Mutterchen, dearest, feel like that greer
| hunter you had to sell last spring-the one
that would go at fence with the mos
perfect display of serious intentions, anf
then balk and bolt when 1T came to jump
ing Can it be that i, who have been traineC
| from the cradle TO the idea OF marrying fol
| money, will bolt the gate after all the ex
pense and pains layished upon my educa
| learning how to enchant, subdue and ex
plot the most useful of all animals, ant
the most agreeable, barring a Few! AnC
| yet, right when I'm fittest-twenty-fou
| years old, knowing all my good points ant
just how TO coerce the most admiration
for each. able nicely to calculate the exac
| disturbing effect of the ensemble upon an,
poor male, and feeling confident Of my ex
eessively eligible parti when l decide fol
nestly' I feel like boiling the bars. How
my trainer and jockey would weep tears
rage and despair if they guessed it,!
ov tnea aSs craekljns with curiosity and vo,
! want to know what it's all about, whethe
| to scold me or mother me, and Will
please omit the entrees and get to the roas
mutton. But you dear, dear old aunt, you
| there is more vagueness than detail, and
know I'll strain your patience before w
done. But. TO relieve your mind, nothing a
| mostly a troublesome state OF mind, that
shall doubtless find gone when We reael
trip is responsible for it. Do you know tn
tourney itself has been fascinating. To-
bad so many of US cross the ocean twent,
| times before know aenything of thi
| country We loiter In Paris, do the stup
| German watering places, the Norway fiords
down TO Italy for the museums. see tn
| chateaux of the Loire, or do the EngliSl
race tracks, thinking we're unused; and al
the time out here where the sun goes dow
| is an intensely interesting and beautiful
I, country of our own that We overlook. Yo
, know I'D never before been even as far a
| Chicago. Now, for the first time, / can ap
; preciate lots OF those things In Whitman
thai
IT think heroic deeds were all conceived Il
the open air, and free poems, also.
Now 1 see the secret OF making the bes
persons:
! 1t is to grow in the open air and to eat an
sleep with the earth
mayn't have quoted correctly, but yo
know the sort of thing / mean, that sound
| so breezy and stimulating. And they'v
! helped me understand the immensely of tn
landscapes and the ideas out here, the bis
; throbbing. rough young life, and under
! all, as Whitman says, "a meaningIdemoc
been interesting, the jolliest time of m
life, and it's got me all unsettled. Nor
than once in watching some scene typics
!, of the region, the plain, busy, earnest pee
: | pie. I've actually thrilled to think that thi
; was my country-felt that queer little tick
: | ling tingle that locates your spine for yot
! | l. m sure there's no ennui here. Some on
: said the other day, "Ennui Is disease tha
comes from living on other peoples mon
: | ey.' said no. that I'd often had as fine a
| attack IL I'd been left billion, tina
! ennui Is when you don't know what to d
. | next and wouldn't do II IL you did. Wei
| here they always do know what to do mex
: and as one of them told me, I'VE Away
get up early the day before TO do it,
Auntie. dear. the trip has made me NOR
!. | restless and dissatisfied than ever. 1t make
me want TO do something-to risk some