The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-03-09

meantime developed into friendship.
He could not have told when and where
the great social barrier had been sur
mounted and left behind. He only
knew in an indefinite way that some
such change had taken place, as all
such changes do. not in intercourse,
but in the intervals of absence.
That friendship had rapidly develop
ed into something else Paul became
aware early in the season, and, as we
have seen from his conversation, Mrs,
Sydney scarborough, innocent and
guileless as she was. might with all
modesty have OWNED the state of his
feelings had she been less overshad-
owed by her widows weeds
She apparently had no such suspi-
cion, for she asked Paul in all good
faith to call the next day and tell her
all about Russia-"dear Russia"
."My cousin Maggie" she added, sis
staying with me. She is a dear girl. l
am sure you will like her,
Paul accepted with alacrity, but re-
served to himself the option .Sf hating
Mrs. Sydney Bamborough's Slsin Mag
! gle merely because that young lady
existed and happened to be staying in
upper Brook street.
| At o'clock the next afternoon he
presented himself at the house Of
mourning and completely filed up it's
small entrance hall.
| He was shown into the drawing
room, where he discovered Miss Mar
garet Delafield in the act of dragging
her hat off in front of the mirror over
the mantelpiece. He heard a SUPPRESS
ed exclamation of amused horror and
found himself shaking hands with Mrs
| Sydney scarborough.
! The lady mentioned Paurs name and
her cousins relationship in that casual
manner which constitutes an introduce
ton in these degenerate days. Miss
Delafield bowed. laughed and moved
toward the door. She left the room,
and behind her an impression Of breezi-
ness and health, Of English girlhood
| and a certain bright cheerfulness which
acts as a filter in social muddy waters.
ut is very good Of you to come; I
was moping," said Mrs. Sydney Bam-
borough. She was, as matter of fact,
resting before the work of the evening.
This lady thoroughly understood the
art of being beautiful.
Paul did not answer at once. He was
| looking at a large photograph which
| stood in a frame on the mantelpiece,
the photograph of a handsome man Of
twenty-eight or thirty, small featured,
fair and shifty looking.
"WhO is that?" he asked abruptly.
"Do you not know? My husband"
| Paul muttered an apology, but he
did not turn away from the photo
| graph.
ooh, never mind" said Mrs. Sydney
scarborough in reply to his regret that
| he had stumbled upon a painful sub
| ject II never
She paused
NO." she went on. 81 won't say
that"
But, SO far as conveying what she
meant was concerned, she might just
as we'll have uttered the words.
Il do not want sympathy which is
unmerited," she said gravely.
! He turned and looked at her, sitting
in a graceful attitude, the incarnation
Of a most refined misfortune. She rails
| ed her eyes to his for moment, sort
of Photographic instantaneous shutter,
exposing for the hundredth part of
second the sensitive plate of her heart.
Then she suppressed sigh-badly.
| Il was married horribly young" she
said, before I knew what I was do
ing. But even if I had known I do
not suppose I should have had the
strength of mind to resist my father
and MOTHER
| '"They forced you into it,"
| "Yes," said Mrs. scarborough. And
it is possible that a respectable and
harmless pair of corpses turned in their
respective collins.
! Paul, standing in front of her, look
ed down thoughtfully at the beautiful
upturned face. His hands were clasp
ed behind him, his firm mouth set
sternly beneath the great fair mus
tache. In Russia the men have good
eyes - blue, fierce, intelligent. Such
eyes had the son Of the Princess Alexis.
| AAClS w as oOulclullso 1Lld DullUOi-
ough that stirred up within him a quail
ity which men are slowly losing-name-
| ~, chivalry. Steinmetz held that this
man was quixotic, and what Stein
metz said was usually worth some
small attention.
PauPs instinct was to pity this wom-
an for the past that had been hers
His desire was to help her and protect
her, to watch over her and fight her
battles for her. 1t was what is called
love. But there is no word in any
spoken language that covers so wide
a field. Every day and all day we call
many things love which are not love.
The real thing is as rare as genius, but
we usually fail to recognize it's rarity.
That which Paul Howard Alexis felt
at this time for Eta was merely the
chivalrous instinct that teaches men
their primary duty toward women
namely, to protect and respect them.