The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1907-11-12
The Testing Of
q Man
BY WInnIHM pnoss.
+npratttptttpppp rrnpnpp
Copyright 1901. by Authors syndicate)


7 ONG ago, some person more or
l. less wise-they are woefully tire
some, these sawmake.s - declared
that when a woman will she will.
That's all very well, and perhaps
it is, for the better part, true;
but there are slips between lips
and cups, pitchers often are brok-
en- by making steady company of
the we'll curb, and, in fact, one can't
always safely bet on sure tip. have
little doubt that woman will when
she will, if she can--but there's the
rub, as Shakespeare wrote, and was
most uncommonly abused by Critic
Goldsmith for being so disagreeably
vulgar, thereby proving that poet is
without honor in his own generation.
If she can. One must reckon with
this essential "if she can" 1t was be-
cause of this lack of reckoning that
Medora Folsom-something very dear
to woman, her pride, entered into
the shackles of matrimony with
a rude and husky male person
who had big feet and coarse hands,
which is quite contrary to all the con-
ventions of maidenly expectancy,
when Inaidenly expectancy is delight
fully dwelling upon the prospect of
marriage. All properly constituted
maidenly expectancies do that, and
Medora Folsom was altogether a most
properly reconstructed girl, and had been
well taught, having good mother.
In itself this last is a full marriage
portion for any young woman who is
not looking for eoronets.
Medora lived on the North side, up
near Lincoln park, in one of those
pretty by streets running lakeward,
which are by no means aristocratic
and by no means plebeian, but just
good, comfortable, respectable, we'll
to-do American-which is fine enough
for anybody, even crown prince or
the raiah of Singapore.
And Medora, who was 20 years old
and as sweet a girl as ever bloomed
in the countless myriad of girl gar
dens this old world has looked on since
Osiris was only man and had not
thought of becoming deity, had
given her the rare happiness of being
wooed by two ardent lovers lat one
and the same time" as the ringmaster
would say. 1t had looked for quite
awhile as if John Brown would carry
away this winsome prize and bear it
TO his tent triumphant. lie had the
first innings--which always counts,
and Medora really liked him--which
helpS--and her mother favored his
suit--which may or may not have been
an advantage. Upon this latter point
one may be pardoned a tolerant de-
gree of skepticism. The basic quality
of glorious woman is contrariness.
If you want her to- she likes to make
you believe she would rather not; if
you urge her, she SHES; if you coerce
her, she backs; if you command her,
she bolts. My opinion is that it was
largely because of her dear mamma
that Medora refused John Brown, the
first time he asked her.
She didn't send him away peremp-
torily, fatty, about his business-that
would have thrown the poor fellow at
the feet Of some other girl-the bold,
saucy, thing-and have outraged all of
Medora's finer feelings, but she plead
ed that she didn't really love him vet
enough to want to marry him, forever
and forever (this was in Chicago, but
Medora was a good Episcopalian), and
that, for the time being, there was no
hope. Besides that, Folsom is a pref
tier name than Brown, don't you
think? It's matter of taste. |
know woman whose name was once
Miss Angela Beatrice Montgomery, vet
now her calling cards bear the title.
Mrs. Adam Potts. And she is proud
of it.
So John, poor John, fingered, and
used to make long calls on Sunday even
ing after service, when all the family
was in the parlor, and talk about the
weather, the new vested choir and
what a sympathetic voice the rector
possessed. 1t was rather slow for Me
dora. | think she rather resented this
accomplishing alteration, which ac-
cepted its fate and kept its mantle
sheet. | think that at times She half
wished she were Sabine maiden and
John was Roman swashbuckler with
no twentieth century foolshness about
so pliant willow as a mere girl.
And, resenting, when Aylmer Hast
ings came along, gay, self-centered.
tan, dark, with white hands-so diff
ferent from Johns, who was an engi-
neer and sometimes conveyed fra
GRANGE of oiled rags-she seemed to
yield to his impetuous suit and to poor
John grew very naughty, disdainful
and eoIdly polite. Soon she let it be
quietly understood that she and Hast
ings were engaged. There was no
formal announcement. and no wedding