Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1904-06-02


tached man and leave him entirely
heart and fancy free was almost
criminal.
Generally speaking, she did much
less harm than one might suspect.
for the modern man of the society
which Annette most affected is not
the material of which novelists who
write of broken hearts and death
therefrom may pin their romances.
Most of them were rather adept
themselves in the pleasant, if danger
Gus. game, and it was in this fact
that Annette found excuse for the
lightness with which she treated the
many victims of her undeniable ply
steal and mental charms.
The first man who made love to
her and found his attentions welcome
enough up to certain point and Ia
booed thereafter swore by all the
saints that she, with a most fend-like
cruelty, had wrecked his whole life,
crushed all his faith in womanhood
and condemned him to die of brok-
en- heart it, indeed-and here ne
threw out dark hints about suicide
and lot of other absolute rot.
This frightened Annette dreadfully,
the while she felt delicious sense OF
her own Importance in the scheme of
the world
She argued the whole matter over
with herself and her inherited puritan
conscience, coming at length to the
decision that although she did not
love the man, it was clearly her duty
to marry him since she had certainly
encouraged him somewhat in the
earlier stages of their acquaintance
ship.
Unfortunately. before she could com.
muniCate this decision to her rejected
and supposedly desperate sutton, his
engagement to her dearest enemy was
duly announced and Annette was duly
hidden to be bridesmaid.
After few experiences, more or
less Of similar character, Annette
decided that broken hearts she need
not fear, and began to live up to her
privileges as a much-sought beauty.
Through it all she had gone with
out the quickening of heartbeat,
and she now played the game as sci.
entifically as she did bridge, which is
saying a great deal since the posi-.
bile combinations of an affair between
a man and maid are infinitely more
numerous than the possible hands to
be obtained from several packs of
cards
In meeting Robert Ainley, she rec
OgniZed a type new in her experience,
and resolved at once, with the en-
thUsasm of true scientist, to dis
sect him in order to add something
to the awe-inspiring amount of knowl-
edge in regard to the habits and
modes of thought of the genus home
already in her possession.
He was not she ascertaned at
first acquaintance, a butterfly sort of
young man, nor misunderstood
young man seeking anXioUsly for soul
sympathy, nor yet a fortune hunting
young man. In short, he did not be.
long to any of the great varieties un.
der which she had heretofore been
wont to classify all men.
Fired with the excitement of hav-
ing discovered something out of the
range of her previous experience. she
approached the battle-ground with a
glad heart
Perhaps he will be original enough
not to fall in love with me at all,
she thought, half pleased at the pros
pect. And perhaps | shall really
fall in love with him at last" she add
ed to herself with a smiling incredrl.
itv
He met her fairly on neutral ground
the hotel plaza-and the battle be.
gan. Sometimes they met at tho
beach, sometimes they sat in the de.
serted music room. and she played
for him some of Chopin's glorious. il
plaintive, songs of love longing.
sometimes they rowed on the narrow
bay.
All this was, she reflected, quite as
+; had been with many other men.
But there was one great difference.
He never grew in the least sentimen-
tai
Chopin he could discuss intelligent
II. and he was not ignorant Of the
poets. but these he discussed in the
same calm, Unconditional manner with
which he might have carried on a dis.
cussion over the mistakes Of schopen.
hauer with some bespectacled and
bewhiskered German scholar
Even a stroll on the beach in the
moonlight failed-and Annette had
never known such supreme test To
cave the result for one moment "a
he balance.
Thus II stood on the day Annette
vas to return to the city They were
. rendezvous near by and TO take
stroll before dinner For this An.
rette was DRESSING.
Strange to say the more VIC was
confirmed III her original opinion
hat Ainley was very different from
IL