Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-05-29
DAILY SHORT STORY
THE GIRL WHO WAS TOO GOOD.
IOriginaI.I

1 FDtAbE VI NoA- hoN oC-
voted myself exclusively to study. and
| this had broken down my health.
was advised by my physician TO go TO
some quiet country place and do moth
ing from morning till night hut lounge.
chose the village OF y. When
went there The leaves were budding.
| the air was soft and baImy. the walks
were beautiful. and | gave myself up
| to strOIling. OR one OF my routes there
was young ladies' seminary sur
rounded by high brick wall. One
morning while passing heard a voice
| 1T was soft and meiodiouS and EVIL
IDENTIFY came from young girl-utter-
ing a string of words that could only
be expected from one OF the opposite
sex:
by thunder! A thousand devils! Con-
found it,
The explosives were not all as limo
cent as these. There were many that
would have done credit to the forecas-
tie A repetition Of them would repel
the reader, though to me the words
came out with such apparent uncon-
seriousness OF guilt that | was simply
amused. 1t was like a child just learn
ing TO talk. getting hold of expressions
the meaning of which IL does not I'M
derstand. The girl did not seem to be
angry with any one. She was evident
~ fascinated with the sounds. bringing
them out with great gustO, as we stu
dents fired from ont our threats the col
lege yell. / was attracted To the girl
without even seeing her. l pictured her
as one of those little imps who by their
rORutsh ways faScinate all who come
within their influence. She must have
laughing eyes, a dimple in each cheek.
the wbitest of teeth constantly display
ed In smiles by the parting of a pair Of
red lips. Then when romping with 9th
er girls | fancied her kicking off their
hats. though if seen by man she
would turn. scarlet. With my concep-
ton Of her l fell In love. and. having
nothing else 10 occupy my mind, l
dwelt upon her charms constantly. |
passed the school often. hoping again
TO hear the incOngruity Of a charming
voice utterng such rough expressions.
but this was not likely, and, though l
often lOitered for hours under the wall,
1 never heard the youthful swearer
Ten years later l chose a wife. / al
ways regretted that fate had never
thrown the swearer in my way. though
| feared if | had met loved and won
her she might have been altogether
too peppery for me. My fancee. the
daughter Of "a clergyman. was her very
OppOsite-a girl of character, one who
took great interest In the charitable
work connected with her fathers
church fndanH CHI Ia1
model woman. After all. thought /.
my little swearer must have turned out
full Of the old Nick, If not positively
bad. Girls who have spice in them are
attractive, but one never knows when
a taste for wickedness is going TO
make them A trial TO their husbands
Nevertheless ! wished that my fan
Gee had just dash Of this same spice
She seemed TO me to be almost too
steady. Men of my kind. men who are
themselves reserved. dignified. me-
thOdical. always superior to tempta-
tion-because. have often thought,
we are not OF a nature to be tempted
usually admire our OppositPs. / felt
myself getting a trifie wParied by my
fiancee's similarity TO myself As our
wedding day approached this feeling
grew upon me. Was | not about to
make mistake-the mistake OF
whole lifetime? This set me TO brood
ing when | should have been looking
forward to the delights of novel con
ditiOn.
In time this something on my mind
attracted the attention Of the girl who
was TO be my bride. Instead Of up
I'm
have done, she bore my condition with
out a murmur This only dissatisfied
me the more. IF she only had enough
wickedneSs in her" / said To myself
TO tell me To go TO the deuce | think
l could be happy. AS II il. she ia killing
me with her self control. her piety. her
interest in good works. | should have
known better than to marry A min
listers daughter"
My condition was such few days
before our wedding that after a bitter
mental struggle, which left me awake
all night. | resolved To gu 10 my bride
expectant and make a confession.
went to her house in the morning after
breakfast and asked for her. She came
down with happy look on her face.
but when she saw my cnreworn ex-
preston IL left her at once.
| led her to the library and shut
the door
81 have called" / said lugubriously,
ito say before il Is too late that fear
we are going to make a mistake. and
il Is better TO back oH nj the last mo
ment than ruin a whole lifetime have
come TO the conclusion that we are too
much alike-bOth too steady, too up
right. too serious indeed. You are too
good
so this Is what has been troubling
yOu," she said, her expression rela King.
by thunder, A thousand devils! Con
found it,
Are You | gasped.
The girl you have told me about so
often? Yes. From what you said
about her l supposed you condemned
her. II appears / have made a mis-
take"