The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1910-05-19
A WOMAN'S mo"

in Canadian canoe, and Cyril pleaded
his cause passonately into my left ear
in the intervals between pushing boats
and punts out of our path. Why he
chose such a ridiculous time | have never
understood. and I found it exceedingly
difficult to convey my answer to him
with the decision and clearness | should
have liked-that answer being a decided
negative.
A widow of %, with a tidy income.
never lacks admirers of a sort; add d
certain amount of good looks, which ]
know. without conceit, | possess, and
men become positive nuisance.
mo. Cyril, DEAR" [ said, 81 really
couldn't. Yon know l like you awfully,
ard. what's more, you amuse me, and,
of course, we shall always be pals. But
marriage dear, never again; so let's
leave it at that"
"All right" said Cyril, in thai pc
culiarly aggravating way he has; ''all
right, old girl, but I'm long way from
Ibeaten, and you wait and see; I shall
marry you somehow"
The second time he proposed to me
was in a box at the theater. 1t hap
pened to be a very pathetic play, and
Cyril. who has no idea of the fitness of
things, kept whispering words of love
and alteration, while the audience were
in a state of dreadful suspense as to
whether an erring wife would return to
her husband or no. When I had the OPP
portunity, which was during the entr-act,
II said to him: "Now, Cyril, don't be
silly; you know quite well that I have
given you my final answer"
Cyril said nothing much beyond re-
iterating his former statement that
was the only woman in the world for
him. and other nonsense of that sort,
and that he was not beaten. The third
time that he proposed to me was in my
own drawing room. He had been IN a
more or less dormant state for awhile,
and that being so, | thought there was
no great harm in asking him to tea.
We first of all talked the usual banal-
ties; but somehow, though l tried des-
perately hard to keep off dangerous
topics, we soon found ourselves in deep
water.
''I say, Muriel," he said, Muriel being
my name, Sits going to be beastly not
seeing you all October and November,
and I've been thinking things over, and
I have on idea, rather good one, l
think"
ooh" I answered, whats the idea /?
Something sensible, hope. You know
my mind quite well on certain points"
eyes, ] know all that, but, as a mat
ter of fact, you don't know yourself as
we'll as do. What are the plain facts
Firstly, that I simply adore the ground
you walk on, that ] am head over ears
in love with you, with the complete
You, mental, physical and spiritual, or.
if you like it better, body and soul. [
want your colnpanionship all my life,
and with it I can do things, without it |
can't Secondly, you are all alone, and
you admit amuse you; well, then, why
shouldn't amuse y0I perpetually? Any
now, you can't really suppose that I'm
going to accept a negative answer Why,
Muriel, dear, it's impossible, and if you
won't make up your mind the way [
want, then I am going to do it for you.
propose we get married on February z.
I'll 90 ahead and make all the arrange
ments, and it'll just give you time to
clear off your engagements"
l must admit his cheek simply par
alyzed me, and | said: "Now, look here,
Cyril, you know [ am quite fond of you,
but there is a limit even to friendship.
The idea OF your daring to make a
cold blooded proposition like that to me
is simply staggering"
He made no direct reply, merely MUIR
muring some nonsense about Monte
Carlo having points over Cairo in the
month of February. Then he buttone2
up his coat, and said he must be oil !;
kissed my hand--he's never dared to go
farther than that-and said: "All right,
Muriel, don't worry; you'll hear from
me, and remember the seventh"
The next I heard of Cyril was about
month later, that being towards the
end of November. He wrote a long let
ter, narrating all his shoots and so on,
and ,hen, if you please, ended up with
the following postscript: Don't forget
the 9TH of February. I am quite sure
that Monte will be more amusing than
Cairo, unless you particularly want to
90 to Egypt. We shall have ripping
time, and I can't tell you how I'm look
ing forward to it."
Of course, / lad to answer, and like
wise gave him my views on the matter
in a postscript. 1t ran: Don't be an
idiot. I hate silly. jokes, and I don't
even know where I shall be on the date
you mention"
December passed off quickly, Cyril
only writing once, saying he was making
all his arrangements, and sending me q
perfectly lovely bracelet flexible gold
snake with an emerald head and tiny
ruby eyes. 1t was simply too fascinat-
ing, and, as Cyril said it was for Christ
mas, | saw no harm in keeping it, be-
sides which I was fond of him in way.
In January was once more back in
town at my own fiat, and he came to see
me. He looked awfully fit and nice after
his country spell, and never even re-
iects till just as he was going, when he
said casually, Don't forget the date,
dear, will your
81 thought that joke was quite ex-
ploded," I answered uneasily, for some
how there was something very COMPEL
ing about him, which I wished to hide
from myself
Exploded, dearest; what do you think
I am about?" and he caught me by the
hands and looked straight into my eyes.
Don't you know the truth yet, that |
love you with every fiber of my being
and don't you also know that I'm going
to make you love me every bit as
much ?"
With his departure, feeling that I
had been very near the brink of sur
render overcame me, ana I began to al
low to myself that my life was at times
more than little lonely, and that being
looked after by Cyril had it's points
Day by day / turned the question over