Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1907-07-13
ClCELY'S IDOL.

ClCELY'S IDOL.
We girls could never understand what
Cicely saw in little Dickson. To our
minds he was a most unsatisfactory
| young man. He was always late for
everything. We called him little Dick
| son because there did not seem enough
of him to call him Mr. 1t was not his
tardy appearances, nor his large head
and small figure, which always suggested
a cartoon to our unprecedented minds 1t
was his uncommon form of selfishness,
which Cicely, poor dear, would never al
| low. He never paid her those little at
| tentions which mean so much to girls,
and which we were accustomed to expect
from our attendant SWANS.
Then there was another reason why
we found him so very unsatisfactory.
For two years he had simply haunted
Cieely-till other men left her alone and
looked on her as his special property
left her side when he appeared, and
ceased to invite her to go out walking,
or to the theater, and so on. Yet he
never said anything definite. He talked
lot about his queen, his love, his guild
ing star, and such vague things, but he
| kept clear of any real engagement, and
took care not to compromise himself in
any way When we talked this over in
the secrecy of Cicely's bedroom, after the
manner of girls, she would always defend
him.
"Tom is too NOBLE" she said-Tom is
his horrid name-'to engage any girl I'M
til he has an assured position. He con-
siders it wicked to be engaged to a girl
till he can definitely offer her home"
This was an umanswerable argument,
and, if she was content, it was not our
affair; still, we thought it looked lot
more like caution than an exaggerated
sense of honor.
Then, too, at Christmas, or Saint Val
entine. when our boys were rather glad of
the excuse for offering trifling gifts, he
never thought to send anything to Cicely.
She would not have accepted expensive
presents, but there are small things like
flowers and chocolate that anyone may
take. Cicely felt the same as any other
girl about il, only she would not own it.
Well, it happened at last that little
Dickson was to leave Slowton. He was
to go to London to practice with his
father for three years. Then, having
gained some experience, MS uncle was
prepared to take him into partnership to
allow himself more leisure in his declin-
ing years. So that the future OF little
| Dickson seemed to be we'll assured.
Now, we thought, he would say some
thing definite to Cicely. Either propose
outright, or ask her to wait his return,
or to correspond, or something. Even
gentle Cicely herself admitted that she
thought that the time had come.
The night before the date fixed for his
departure happened to be Cicely's birth
day, and her folks gave a party, a sort
of combination birthday and farewell af-
fair. We girls made up our minds that
if he did not propose on this occasion it
should not be for lack of opportunity.
1t was nice party. We four girls
each asked our own particular swain, and
two other girls for decency's sake, and a
couple of nice young men to talk to
them, and that was just right for Cicely's
drawing room without being crowded.
Like most of these kinds of parties
we were all bit stiff at first. We sat
round and talked and asked few rid
dies, and at last somebody sang, and the
ice was broken and things began to go all
right. Cicely and little Dickson disap-
peared into the conservatory. This was
lust what we expected and we united our
wits to keep them from being interrupt
ed. This was no easy matter. Clcely's
father was very fond of young people
and he had a mania for acting charades
and dressing up for tableauX. Most OF
us preferred music and conversation I'M
der cover of it: but tonight we were en-
gagged in Il noble cause, and sacrificed our
own desires CALAMITY
let us dress up" said old Mr.. Carson
coming in with a load of fantastic gar
ments. He had travelled in the east a
7 good deal, and had collected quite a mu
scum of strange costumes. I'VE car
have some capital groups With these
dresses"
We crowded round him and admired
where's Ccely ?" ne asked. ITS her
birthday; she must choose sides"
ooh, never mind Gcely," we cried
she is looking at some sketches, and
does not want to play at present"
And then we acted and dressed up, and
kept the dear old man from intrudine
into the conservatory, and all the time
till supper was announced she and that
little Dickson were alone together among
the plants. sitting under the pink lantern
we had hang there to suit Cicely's com
pleNion
Supper was n welcome call to us. We
felt we had earned it. But, somehow
when the lovers came out into public
view they did not look so radiant as we
expected.
"Surely." whispered Kathleen to me
on our way down to the supper room
surely that little wretch has spoken, she
looks rather dumpy,"
They don't always show what they
feel" said l. But l, too, had my mis-
givings.
| Wen, the party came to an end and
went home, as even the incest parties
must do little Dickson took leave of us
all, for Ne was going the next morning at
S o'clock He clasped both Gcely's
hands, and said in a tragic voice:
Goodbye, Miss Cicely; the thought OF