St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-08-01
THE FALL OF THE !
! ~ MIGHTY. ~ !
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BY MARGUERITE S1ABLER.

.SOoOoOoOoOoOoOS
Z VEN in the 'hfties there were
u 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
sfacle, they were 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 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 q
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 nigh 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 room seemed ire
sistibly drawn in 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
own 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 |
to be the center of their
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
with all the ardor Of
his twenty-five untried years, that
this woman, and no other, should be
his wife, and that right away. In
those whitehead days, when a year
was told off in heart-thrpbs, when a
man lived q lifetime of ups and downs
In a few months, patience was lost
virtue. Consequently, "Little Balti-
more," fired with the courage that
lares, 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 to
South Park, Mr.. Alfred Starkweather
Little, with his indestructible Balti-
more dignity, approached the Olympus
II his divinity. As he entered the
the melting tones that had
irst set his heartstrings to vibrating,
cached his ear:
lie parlate d'amor
O care for
Taking the selection for an auspi-
ious omen, he advanced unannounced.
Hiss Delmar was seated ut the piano,
me of the few bulky, old square
Iianos that had at an early time
made their way around the Horn.
Ialf rising and still stunning
ightly with her left hand, she nodded I
and said: ooh, it's you
gain, is tip
Taking the ouposts at a dash, Little {
Baltimore answered: 'sYes, it is L {
nd more fortunate than / had dared {
d hope, finding you alone" +,
ssAnd more unfortunate than you l
because am in most .
isagreeable mood" the girl an
wered, ungraciously. Z,
.Impossible!" Little Baltimore 4