The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-09-22

THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE AT A
HOUSE PARTY.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE AT A
HOUSE PARTY.
Among sundry maxims and observations
of King Solomon, collated by the discerning
men of Hezekiah. it will be recalled that the
way of a man with a maid is held up TO
wonder There be-" says the wise King.
who composed little in the crisp manner
of Mr.. Kipling, three things which are too
wonderful for me; yea. four which know
not; the way of an eagle in the air; the way
of serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship
in the midst of the sea; and the way of
man with maid" Why he neglected to in
clude the way of a maid with a man is not
at once apparent. His unusual facilities 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 hesitated to confess
their entire lack of understanding 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 wickedness'" Perhaps it was Solomons
| mischance to observe phenomena of this
Miss Milbrey's way, at any rate, with the
| man she had decided to marry, would un-
| doubtedly have made more work for the
unnamed Boswells Of the King, could 1t have
been brought to his notice.
For, as he journeyed to the meeting place
on a bright October afternoon, she con-
| fessed to herself that 1t was of a depth be-
| yond her own fathoming. Lolling 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 island as they
| swirled by her, she found herself wishing
| once that her eyes were made like those of
doll. She had lately discovered Of one
| that when 1t appeared to fall asleep. it
| 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 forever unresolved. 1t was not
| that she could not say II have done no
| wickedness;'' let 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 IL be, is
| neither ours nor hers, and Mr.. Darwin
wrote big book chiefly to prove that it
| isn't. From the force Of her environment
and heredity Miss Milbrey had debated al
| most exclusively her own chances Of hap
piness under given conditions; and IL she
| had, for time, questioned the wisdom of
| the obvious course, entirely from her own
selfish standpoint, it is all that and perhaps
more than, we were justified in expecting
| from her. Let her, then, cheat the reader of
no sympathy that might flow to heroine
4 ctr, rlir far h vI, e
she clear-headed enough to have discovered
that selfshness is not the thing of easy
| bonds it is reputed to be; that its delights
| are not certain; that one does not unerring-
| ly achieve happiness by the bare circum-
stance Of being uniformly selfish. Yet even
| this is 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 selfshness is way of sure de-
| light, to be Stunned only because its joys
have been overvalued even by its profess
haps. even though, after due and selfish re-
Election, 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 its plen-
| airy feeding, 1t is all that, we insist and
| heroine.
And so she had resolved upon surrender
upon an outward surrender. Inwardly she
knew 1t to be not more than capitalization
1 under duress, whose terms would remain
| forever secret except to those clever at in
| duction. And now, as the train took her
| swiftly to her fate, she made the best of it.
There would be townhouse fit for her; a
| country house at Tuxedo or Lenox West
! bury, a thousand good acres with greener-
les, game preserve. trout pond and race
course; cottage at Newport: a place in
| Scotland; house in London, perhaps. Then
| there would be jewels such as she had
i i1Snged for. portrait 15ura by ch s she
| thought of going to Felix or Doucet 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
| appease? Would he annoy her, enrage her
/ perhaps, or even worse, tire her? He would
| be very much in earnest, OF course and so
| few men could be in earnest gracefully. But
| would he be stupid enough to stay SO? And
| If not, would he become brutal? She sus-
| pected he might have capacities for that
| Would she be able to hide all but her pleas
| ant emotions from him-hide that want, the
great want, to which she would once have
done sacrifice?
Well, it was easier to try than not to try,
| and the sacrifce-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 is, to be surev'
But her troubled musings ended with her
| time alone. From a whirl over the crisp.
| firm macadam, tucked into one of Phimister
| Gwilt -Athestan's automobiles with four
other guests. with no less a person than her
| genial host for chauffeur she was presently
| ushered into the great hall where huge log
| fire cracked welcome, and where blew a
| lively little gale of tea chatter from a dozen
people.
Tea Miss Milbrey Justly reckoned among
the little sanities of life. Her wrap DOTTED
and her veil pushed up, she was in mo-