The Tupelo journal., 1910-07-01
ADVISING
NATALIE

peIIGCI SuAu6 lQdg N0J6llc DHkcI WH0
throwing herself away on Tom Arnold.
1t was not that they had anything
definite against Tom. The objection
was mor against what he wasn't than
what he was. He Just wasn't much
Of anything. He was twenty-four and
had Z clerkship in an Office where by
industry he might achieve $3.50 q
month in ten years or SO and then
might stick there for the rest of his
life. Not that the of a man
Is his income, but It Is the measure
Of his position in the world. and Ma
talie was the kind Of girl who would
be wasted in %obscurity.
Natalie was so extraordinarily and
commandingly pretty and so generally
fascinating that 1t was irritating to
the community at large that she was
not to be carried away in a golden
the requisite bank account behind 1t.
"Of course" said Mrs. Flicker, who
had been a friend of Natalie's mother
and who watched rather exasperated-
ly her fathers indulgent method Of
bringing up his daughter. 1T isn't
that one is mercenary-or that don't
believe In falling In love or anything
like that-but why under creation
Natalie couldn't have picked out some
one else to fasten her affections on is
a mystery. II her mother had lived
I'll warrant she'd have broken up the
Tom Arnold affair! Men are SO stu
pid!"
Natalie and Tom had been chums
always. And Tom had always been
just an ordinary boy. u~nnoticeably or
binary looking, and with no flashes OF
brilliance to compensate for his looks.
His devotion to Natalie was his chief
charm. But he did not get excited
about 1t.
Moreover, he did not appear con-
scious that 1t was extraordinary that
Natalie seemed completely satisfied
with him. He didn't know any reason
why she shouldn't like him. They had
grown up together, Tom having the
run of the house. her father being so
used to seeing him about and having
him under foot that he had not real
lied Tom was no longer a boy. OF
course, being her father he never
would realize that Natalie also had
grown up.
Mrs. Flicker and other women did
what they could to give Natalie a
chance, as they called 1t. They In.
vited her to dinner and artfully asked
eligible young men at the same time.
They called her my dear" and lee
tured her on making the best of mes
opportunities and the awfulness of
matrimonial mistakes.
With his salary-or lack of 1t. rath-
er-Tom could not spend much money
in entertaining Natalie. Mrs. Flicker
almost wept when she considered Ma
talie in the glory of her willow
plumed hat and $3.50 velvet suit going
to a mere vaudeville show.
She's just wasting herself and
she'll regret it some day." %prophesied
Mrs. Flicker. "If she'd only take an
interest in some one else! But she
doesn't seem to be amused by another
man on earth! don't wonder Tom
is crazy about her. but what she can
see in him is beyond mel"
Therefore when n day Natalie con-
ided to Mrs. Flicker that she and
Tom were at outs that good woman's
heart leaped for gladness.
Hes far too particular" Natalie
said. Il wouldn't stand 1t the other
evening. He acts as though his word
was law and"
I'm glad you have SO much spirit"
said Mrs. Flicker. while she inwardly
thanked her stars that Irving Law
renee was coming to dinner that
night. Telephone your house that
you are going to stay with us this
evening for dinner"
Irving Lawrence was exactly the
sort of young man Mrs. Flicker would
have picked out for Natalie. He was
handsome and clever and prosperous
and nobody knew where he would
stop now that he had begun to climb
in business. Natalie found him de-
cidedly agreeable.
Three months later Natalie's be-
wildered father was issuing wedding
invitations for the marriage of his
daughter and Irving Lawrence. That
young man had fallen a victim to Ma
talie at first sight and his wooing had
been tempestuous. Tom Arnold SIM
ply had been swept off the boards.
IT am glad. Natalie" Mrs. Flicker
told her, that your childish infatua-
ton for Tom died a natural death.
You would have been crazy to marry
him. You see it now. don't you"
Natalie turned her big solitaire
| around on her finger. Il suppose So"
| she said. IL haven't seen Tom for
weeks"
well, you don't want to see him."
| said Mrs. Fletcher sharply. I'm SO
glad you're going to Europe on your
wedding trip!"
It was Just four days before her
wedding day that Natalie and Tom
| Arnold eloped and were married. She
| had met him on the street and dis
covered in FIVE minutes talk that she
hadn't really fallen in love with Irving
| Lawrence at all. OF course, she was
very sorry to treat Irving 80 and
apologized prettily in the letter she
wrote him.
Mrs. Flicker hasn't got v II yet.
| Every time she goes to see Natalie In
her four-room fiat. where she is doing
her own work and seems supremely
happy, she comes away madden than
before.