The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-08-26
MAUREEN'S LOVER
BY Constance Craigie RaIkett

ground once more.
Then you won't CO." j said
Indeed. ] won't" she replied. and
then there was vision OF gathered
skirts and tiny feet, for Maureen had
departed by the way she had come.
My wife and looked at each other
ana gave sigh Of relief.
IL hate the city" she said suddenly,
but thought IL was my duty 10 take
her there"
Just what felt myself" / told
her but apparently we won't have to
uproot ourselves after all; You see, she
has made up her mind"
1T never takes her long To- do that"
III she made mp her mind 10 marry
anybody, for instance, and we didn't
approve" she suggested, "what could
we DOR
My face, ! presume, presented
blank, for my wife jumped up and
went out OF the room laughing.
Maureen wasn't my only care, either.
! had son called Tom, and he was az
| wild as q hawk and so ! need hardly
say that he and my ward h-inted In
couples. lie was year or two younger
than she was, hut he would have fol
lowed her 10 the moon willingly, had
there been path there, and there had
never been an cscapade Of hers in
which Tom had not had his full share
! had had tutors for him, but one
after another these gentlemen had in
formed me that-woll, one Of them had
lnsinuated that | had better engage
one OF the wild beast tanners from n
travelling menarcgie, as such n person
might succeed in instructing Tom.
For an ordinary man IL was hopeless
task, ne said, To attempt to'teach him
anything.
My wife had warned me not TO en-
gage any young man as tutor this time,
Now Maureen is grown up" she said,
your own common sense will tell you
that il wouldn't do at all"
! agreed hastily, and sat down To
accept the suggestion of "A friend who
had proposed sending me certain
Professor Bryant, who, my friend said,
was quite clever at dealing with boys.
lshad visions of spectnclcs and n brain
stuffed with classical lore, of some old
dry-as-dust specimen of humanity, and
i gave n sigh of sympathy with Tom.
| remembered my own mad youth, and
understood him better than most pco-
pie could, except Maurcen.
But the boy must learn; he was go
ing To college soon 10 prepare himself
for the bar, and he needed preliminary
tuition.
My letter was written and duly dis
patched, my terms were accepted by
Professor Bryant" and 4 few days
| later came n telegram announcing his
arrival
| had spoken TO Maurccn about il,
and she had coaxcd Tom into n state
OF quiescence, which was a shade bet
ter than the open rebellion which he
usually showed to new arrivals Of the
genus tutor.
sent a carriage 10 the station 10
meet the professor, and stayed az home
To receive him.
went out to the hall when heard
the wheels on the drive, and | shall
never forget my feelings OF surprise
when the professor" came into the
| lamp-lit room. He was sixfoot-thrcc,
at least--a fair-haircd, blue-eyed giant,
and IL he was more than six and
| twenty. Tm--well add To that the fact
that he was the most attractive man |
ever saw in my life and you will un-
derStand that, as he stood there facing
me In HIS rough tweed suit, was mcn-
tally calculating:
what will Molly (my wifc) sayr
What she did say was so different
from what had expected that | was
struck dumb, and only stared az her,
wondering for the hundred thousandth
time at the inconsistency Of women.
she Just looked at me, her eyes
bright and her cheeks quite pink, and
she said:
Hes the handSomest man I ever
saw; he is one of the Bryants OF Dor
chester. cousin OF my mothers dsn't
that queerN. He's as good as gold and
as nice as he can be. and | do wish
he'd fall in love with Maureen.'
Which speech, rs I have already re-
marked. struck me dumb
There was no use in reminding her
You said so and so week ago" she
would have waved me aside with sr
airy zone is Mt liberty 20 change ones
mind" So I. mctaphorically, took Q
back seat. aud waited TO see wha
would happen next.
What did happen was refreshing
novelty. Tom took to Bryant at once
: he also took TO his books, and worke,
like beaver. morning. noon, and nigh
except now and again. when he an'
; Bryant took holiday and went fish
ing OF this art Bryant was foun'
90 be a past master. and Toms respec
. for him increased accordingly.
, The other noticeable fact since his ar
\ rival was still more extraordinary.
Maureen became strangely quiet
{ oddly shy-a new lovelincss ha'
] touched her face. and even I knew
{ was something which could not be nc
counted for by any physical cause. I
b was almost the difference between al
3 "Undine" before she had soul an
= after she possessed one. or at least III