The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1910-01-20
Love. Dreams
Sad Ending

All llI(lQClil VtlllSll OlIdllClCQ lilS
Chances of a Young Man
Winning a Bride.
Life's eternal mystery hovers like a
pail over humanity. Threatening or
misunderstanding or Frightening
the wavering footsteps and leaving the
pathway strewn with broken hearts and
despair, or with sunshine and happi-
ness. Fickle as the Goddess of For
tune, inconstant as the heart of woman
and unstable as the mind Ofman. Tie
Ommiscient Being that turns life's
pages only knows swhether or not the
next leaf will conclude the mystery, or
unfold another chapter in the story, as
dark, or as bright, as the ones that have
gone before.
On such little things do the veal or
woe of humanity depend, that the heat
ing of a pulse, the turn of smile, or
the glance Of an eye, may darken with
limpenetrable gloom, or stay with icy
heart. The course of true love never
did run smooth, and the love of Gle
mentine Swaughnecke and Percival
Longuetung was no exception to the
rule. Clementine was the sunshine of
} the stately old Swaughnecke mansion
from which an hundred handsome
danes and gallant knights had gone
forth in days of yoEe to tilt with For
) tunes 6ckleness, or Life's uncertainty.
+, But CiementinC's life seemed immune
! from tie vicissitudes of the common
! lot. Beautiful as painters fancy,
t ethereal as poets dream and as glad
some as a summers day, surrounded
! by all the luxuries that wealth could
! buy, and with all the care that fond and
y loving parents could give, Clementine
: hal grown into glorious young woman
hood. She was sure of PercivaPs love;
+ so away off in a golden horizon Life's
d pathway faded in glow of shining
y splendor.
ii Percival Longuetung was the idea
4 young man of today. Handsome as al
oil Apollo, accomplished, polished and in
It telectual; but alas, he was seemingly
q lacking in one thing-individuality
= He had been reared too much by rote
q the inesse and the diplomacy were his
:. lie knew when to advance aud when t.
'e retreat; but the persona ity, that fin
~ sense of something being distinct.
r ones own, was lacking.
a. Clementine had not yet discovere,
10 this omission in Percival's character
~ To her he was the embodiment of al
,r manly virtues and attributes as well
ell Percival was an ardent wooer and
c. gallant young man and Clementine wa
u happy. The immortal flame Of burn
y y ing love glowed with unquenched fel
re vor in Clementine's bosom, and tn
st ruby rays were reflected with a phos
o. phorescent splendor from Percival'
~ 70 breast through his eyes; while opalin
q air castles from which gleame ed tie ir
of descence of youth crowded each othe
ng along life's pathway-there was not
~ ray more serene than theirs.
a Away off on the edge of the cles
re- blue sky, little cloud, no larger tina
ny a mans hand, fioated lazily along, {
~ was waited to and fro. 1t looked on
ck fieecy mist, but behind it was one
ds the blackest thunderbolts that 10,
at ever hurled to darken the sunshine
aa '.a two happy, loving young lives.
of Although the storm broke nearly thr,
ito weeks before the details became ge
or orally known, yet Clementine said
ae. was as fresh in her mind when she ma,
,or public the estrangement as though
me had been but the day before. o.
,ck evening Clementine was lying in Il
TOT hammock on the Lawn that surroun
ot M their handsome mansion, musing ov
ar past and future pleaeantries, when 81
ing fancied she heard someone approac
TO ing. Thinking, of course, that it W
,ap u Percival who was regular evenil
hat visitor at the Swaughnecke home, G
mentine closed her eyes and pretend
to be asleep. After submitting to WI