The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1908-10-30

accepted my Aunt Maltrevor's in
vitation to her river picnic, for the
simple reason that | dared not refuse.
A broken leg or doctors certificate
the only excuses Mrs Maltrevor recog-
nizes, and | could produce neither. Be
sides, Dulcinea was sure to be there
and public opinion would expect me to
be In attendance
| may, perhaps, say a few straight
forward words about Mrs. Maltrevor
later. Dulcinea you will take for grant
ed. l cannot describe her-she is
neither the most beautiful, the most
accomplished nor the eleverest of the
girls | know but there is that about
her which is beyond the power of adj
jectiyeg to describe. Most men will
understand me-they all know at least
one girl of that sort.
perhaps might mention that l have
always known Dulcinea; we grew in
beauty, so to speak, on opposite sides
of the same road; and when she put up
her hair, | started smoking. When
~she left school, l proposed and she re-
fused me. Unfortunately our friends
(and for the moment the definition
must include Aunt Maltrevor) don't
know this, and they smile on us both
In the fatuous way that the world al
ways does reserve for matrimonial fol-
ly. And when Dulcinea gets up prom
Using Irritation (as she did with Jack
Guthrie in the spring. people only
murmur 'Ioyers quarrel while If |
pay ardent If somewhat spasmodic at
tention to some other girl Dulcine0
declares | flrted Outrageously with
Daisy Gordon at the Hockey Dance) |
only hear a whisper, "Oh, those foolish
young people" SO you see my position.
Now about the picnic.
Mrs. Maltrevor's plcnics are pretty
important things. The country people
are always represented, and as many MS
three motor cars have been garaged on
her tennis lawn at the same time while
the reporter Of the local paper always
spreads himself on n florid report of
the function, which (acting under my
aunts orders), vigorously sub-edit.
On the present occasion | rather
wanted to see Dulclnea; she had Just
had her twenty-irst birthday, and |
had seGt her some red roses and Il short
poem which began:
A poet, miss would write sonnet
Felicitating you upon it.
so naturally | wanted to see how she
would take it.
Arriving punctually at I 80, at the
lock which Mrs. Matrevor had ap-
pointed as rendezvous, | found the lady
surrounded by the youth and beauty of
Maston (this phrase deleted regularly
from the local reporters outburst) and
simply overtiowing with good humOr
This, as | discovered later, was partly
because my Uncle Matrevor had got
toothache, partly because sre had roped
I'm a broken-down baronet for the picnic.
Dulcinea | could not see for the mo-
ment (she had gone off, | found, to look
for forget-me-nots with Jack Guthrle),
so, having been presented to Sir Hugo
Jones, retired into private life and
made myself agreeable to Daisy
Gordon.
A small tlotllla of boats lay In tho
stream ready for us, and ms soon as my
aunt had introduced the baronet to
everyone except Mrs, Neville Ponsonby
and the Hon, Ethel Ponsonby (whom
she had asked specially to snub), we
began to embark,
/ watched the process with admlra-
tion. My Aunt Maltrevor being my
uncle's mistake and not my own. | do
not pretend to understand her, but
there is little doubt that, excluding her
toupee, and her complexion, she is com
posed mainly of tact. If such thing
had been conceivable, should have
said she winked at me as she despatch
ed Jack Guthrie or with Daisy Gordon
on one of the first boats TO start, and,
conceivable or not, believe she did
wink as she waved her hand to me In
parting. having left Dulcinea and me to
bring up the rear In single sculler.