Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-06-25
! THE FALL OF THE
5 ~ MIGHTY. W

BY MARGUERITE S7ABLER.

T. VEN in the 'ffties there were
l. social lines in San Francisco
drawn hard and fast, and although
they might sometimes be made zig
gag in order to get around an OBJ
stacle, they We're none the less in
evidence. In the case of Nine. Del
mar and the beautiful Veronica the
clan was divided into hostile camps.
In the conservative set the name of
Nine Delmar was always mentioned
with a struggling of the shoulders
and an uplifting of the eyebrows, but
they of the radical camp boldly OPEN
ed their arms to this woman who
carried herself with the air of a
duchess. In this infant city there
was no ancient history, they argued,
and needless to say this was the pros
porous camp that took things as they
came, and foated on the high tide.
With them it was not considered po-
lite to have a family tree where
there were so many suspected pasts
and so many obvious futures, and
every house in the town, from the
stately row in South Park to the
cabins at the foot of the hill, was
built more or less of glass. The
society that was characterized as
"Gringo and diluted Castilian," with
the accent on the adjective, was a
society of the present.
As for Veronica, what else could
they do but take her in? Therein
may have lain the secret of their
generosity toward her mother. We
~ronica, with her radiant beauty, her
rather startling love of display and
high-handed manners, was not a
good foil for the average girl, but be-
cause of her marvellous voice and
great musical talent, no social gather
ing ever seemed complete without
her. As for the men of the town, they
were all frankly in love with her, for
no one seemed to try to resist the
spell of her fascination. When she
danced. the circle of aspirants for a
waltz closed her in until the last one
was gone; when she sang, every
black-coat in the oOm seemed ire
sistibly drawn in a. mystic circle
around the piano; and when the even
ing was spent and Veronica had SAID
goodnight, the more ardent of her
adorers skurried to the corner she
must pass, in order to get a last care
less nod and another glance from
those burning eyes, as bright as the
stars above her.
All this homage the naughty Vero'
MICA accepted with a nonchalant in
difference, as the gorgeous scarlet
popies in her balcony accepted the
suns and dews from heaven as their
W inalienable right, and dropped
and died without them.
To Mr.. Alfred Starkweather Little
of Baltimore, this state of affairs was
not long to be endured. The girl had
managed to be the center of thei1
admiration without showing the least
preference for any one in particular
but when little Baltimore" as he
had come to be called, felt his heart
beat seriously for the first time, he
determined, with all the ardor OF
his twenty-five untried years, that
this woman, and no other, should be
his wife, and that right away. Ir
those whitehead days, when Il yeal
was told off in heart-throbs, when &
man lived a lifetime Of ups and downs
in a few months, patience was "A lost
virtue. Consequently, Little Balti
more" fired with the courage that
dares, decided a frank understanding
however desperate. would be prefer
able to the Indifference and coquetry
that tortured him now by turns.
Alighting one evening from the
numbering omnibus that ran out tt
South Park, Mr.. Alfred Starkweathel
Little, with his indestructible Balti
more dignity, approached the Olympus
of his divinity. As he entered the
hallway, the melting tones that hat
first set his heartstrings to vibrating
reached his ear:
lie parlate d'amor
O care for
Taking the selection for an auspi
.ious omen, he advanced unannounced
Miss Delmar was seated at the piano
II Of the few bulky, old square
pianos that had at an early time
made their way around the Horn
Half rising and still strummine
lightly with her left hand, she nodded
indifferently, and said: ooh, it's you
again, is it?
Taking the ouposts ut u dash, Littl'
Baltimore answered: Yes, it is
and more fortunate than | had dared
to hope, finding Won alone.'/
And more unfortunate than yo'
suspected. because ] am in q mos
disagreenblc mood" the girl an
swercd, r~ngracionsly.
"lmpossitle!' LITTLE Baltimore