The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-06-27
A SENTIMENTAL SETTLE
 MENT.
BY GEORGE sHEDD.

fronvriaht 1903. by Daily Story Pub
 fishing Co.)
 Eugene Markham was getting along famously enough before he fell In loVe and then with his usual luck ne fell heels over head in love with an heii ess. The other fellows were not enNi ous of his success in his work-thaI was all honest enough. But TOT .', na who had weathered the financial storm far enough to be self-supporting py his work as sculptor. to fall into cool million just because the favor or pet ticoats-that was the unenduraple thing about 1t.
 All of us had had our little analrs with petticoats; were having them all the time, in fact, and still are, but the idea of that legged, lantern-jaw- ed, tow-headed dabbler in mud, who shied at the fair sex, and had never had a real bona fide affair, anyway, falling into the very midst of the Four Hundred the first fiop-well. 1t tended to discourage honest endeayor.
 Gene was in love all right, though. Nobody could discount that. He left off work almost entirely and took up poetry for diversion. The old crowd saw little of him, and we did not lose much at that. When he did drop into the particular studio where the pipes and beer were in evidence. he was stupid enough. He seemed to be sort of turned inwards. He even gave up the Saturday nights at Maffiolfs; said he'd have to cut out the wine now that he was about to be allied to an angel-or some such stuff as that.
 The only time he ever woke up and noticed things during those weeks was when somebody would listen to him talk about her. Then he was all en- thusiasm. She certainly had him going all right.
 And I reckon she was about as badly gone on him. She really was a pretty sort of girl-not the most acute in the world, but an honest sort of person, despite all the fol-de-rols she was sur rounded with. And swell-well, there was no doubt about that. Clothes and carriages and footmen and coachmen, and all the fixings of the upper crust It used to give the boys the Jim-jams to see her drive up to the door of the little old building where most of us drew our drawings, made our musicp constructed our poetry or rehearsed our parts. Well, we never could get reconciled to that carriage and team' and as for the coachman and footman well 1 believe somebody would have murdered them only that they seemed to be a great snap for Van Blinks, the cartoonist who certainly did get abun- dant use of them. I often wondered If those menials or anybody In the Fltz- gerald family ever saw the papers; still l don't suppose they would have recog- niZed themselves
 The funny thing was that the girfs family didn't make any row over the match. I reckon Miss Florence came pretty near having her own way in the house anyway Old Fitzgerald, pore, was defunct, and mere took things rretty easy. As for the girl, she not only was very much in love with him, fut u-as immensely proud of his artiS- tic attainments.
 Well, time ran on, as Houston Is for ever saying in his novels that never get beyond the seventeenth chapter, and the happy day was set-that is, infor- mally Then funny thing happened. You see Gene had no idea how things were done among the rich and great, and after he and the girl decided to get married and there appeared to be no objection to him on the part of her family, he naturally thought that was all there was to 1t. So he was some what surprised one day to receive summons to appear at the office of Aaron Cannon, attorney for the Fitz- gerald family, either in person or bS attorney, and arrange terms.
 Not having lawyer. and having, on the contrary. a deadly fear Of the cult. he went himself. He had no idea what 1t was all about. He hadn't anything 10 Settle on anypouy lllHStll hS didn't want anything settled on him.
 The keen-eyed attorney soon made it evident to the young sculptor that spooning and a ceremony were not all there was to the holy bond of matri- mony.
 "Have you any estate at all, Mir. Afarkham?" he inquired.
 Nothing but two or three thousand I have saved during the last three or four years" he replied. flushing.
 How is it invested?' asked the law yer.
 Tt is not invested" replied Mark ham. shortly. Its in bank. Do you want it?'
 Tut, tut. young man." remarked the attorney. All these preliminaries are necessary. I assure you, before we tie up great estate like that of the Fitzgeralds We'll we'll waive that. Now, it is proposed to settle on your wife a million dollars In gilt-edg ai bonds and securities. It is further intended to settle on her the house at No. Avenue. You will as sign your curtesy interest on your prospective wife's estate. For con