Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-01


\ swarthy flush spread. and not unbecomingly
over the clean cut face. There are limits to my
practicaty Besides, the rich women are usually
older. and want to marry young wife whose de-
velopment l could
''Rule?"
mo; direct"
DO YOU think you could direct mine?"
WHY not | am man of the world. You
mere child.
II like your nerve.
But you are and l love it in you l love your
freshness of mind and body and your high vitality
Do you want to hear mores'
WELL then, | admire you tremendously You
w are the only woman l have ever wanted to
marry There is something about you that is
'Prmitve?"
No: arcadan Your name, Proserpne, just fits
you which is rare, women usually have r1dlcu-
iously inappropriate names. The Blanches al
WAYS dark and the Peneopes anything but domestic,
and the Ophelas horribly sane, and the Llys short
and fat but you real daughter OF Ceres. Id
love paint you with sheaf OF wheat IN your arms,
or eating pomegranate-
Oh comet!
You are emblematic; heroic in the classic sense;
the typical woman of young, healthy, vigorous
nation You are the type from which painters and
sculptors take the abstract feminine, -strongly
framed, full figured, clear eyed, unaftected,-the
woman of the epic verse.
The intense expression of the girls eyes had
deepened and her breath little more quickly.
She gave forced laugh. You improve as you go
along" said she. "Y You will be really making love
to if you keep on "
Shall keep on?'
She shook her head slowly mo ought to have
money platform A man ought not to make love to
a woman unless he loves her. and if you loved me
there would have been any question about our
dividing guess you'd better stop
No doubt you are right. You see, did not begin
by making love you for that But We said
what meant to. So what do you think of it all?
DO you really want to know!
1t may hurt
Never mind. Let's have it"
WELL them / think this, she paused and her
w broad forehead knit in the effort to concen-
trate her ideas. ITO begin with, you are neither
haven't the bigness of the American to give up to
what you feel to be mine by right, and you haven't
the of the foreigner to take what's legally yours
and think no about It. Instead, you stand
there with your New England conscience in hand
and your pocketbook in the other, and offer me
half-hearted compromise: to marry you for what
taking what you know to be mine you offer
little allowance,-which you can stop whenever you
like, else to take me with the money because you
like my style. And you think that because I'm
Western ranch girl you can dazzle me and make me do
what you like. Even then, you don't want me badly
enough-or else you're not enough of sportsman
totake chance and first hand over my share and then
wade in to win or lose me, the may be!''
She sprang up from her chair and stood facing him,
cheeks flushed, lips scarlet, and eyes flashing Marry
you? You! By heaven, | shouldn't marry you if
you were rich as Cresus and Ambassador to England!
l am such fool I'd sooner marry any poor cow
puncher who was man, and who loved me, and live
the rest of my life in lean-to! Oh you make me
sick!" She sank back painting, and the long lashes
dropped over her angry, brimming eyes.
THE man leaned back in his chair and drew out his
cigarette do you mind?" he asked
quietly
She did not answer with so much as look. He
slowly drew out cigarette, lighted it, and inhaled
the smoke.
Perhaps you are right said he at least in your
estimate of me. I've often thought precisely the
same thing But it's too bad