Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1911-12-21
THE SUBSTITUTE MISTLETOE.

If there is anything in the world more
aggravatlng to young woman than a
young man who will not, or cannot, see
that she favors him above all the rest, it
| has not yet been listed.
Prudence Milton as much as year ago
discovered that Alfred Ruthven possessed
all the qualities that 60 to make a man
noble and splendid and brave-no, not
bravel A brave man would have pro-
posed to Prudence long since. But AL
fred, Prudence knew, was handsome and
intelligent, and prosperous. Just one
thing he Observation-Disclosures. Alfred
was bashful on the love subject.
A great many men are so. They can
discuss politics, and musical subjects, the
drama, literature, art, science and the
classics fluently with young woman,
but they shy away from the real heart
interest like an aeroplane lodging church
steeple.
Why, Prudence had inveigled Alfred
into long walks with her in the Silvery
moonlight of spring andthe golden moon
light of Summer-all TO no avail. Once,
in August, she was boating with him,
and she had pretended to be afraid the
boat would capsize.
"What would you do. if it did ?" she
asked him.
Naturally she expected him to reply
that he would plunge in after her and save
her or perish in the attempt. Such a
heroic remark as that would Of course
lead into a more passionate avoWal OF his
reasons for being willing to lay down his
young life for her-and then, of course,
he could easily hop-Skip right along to a
request that, since he was willing to die
for her, she might consider favorably
proposition to share his life with him, or
words to that effect.
But when she asked him, with trem-
ulous shake in her lovely voice, and with
world of faith and trust in her lustrouS
eyes:
"What would you do if the boat cap
sized?
He never even stopped rowing. He
just said
at wouldn't matter much. The water
isn't over three feet deep here"
Prudence almost capsized the boat from
sheer vexation then. When woman
becomes vexed with man because he
does not realize that he loves her, you
may 60 out and stake all your worldly
possessions that sooner or later she will
bring that man TO his knees, or her feet,
as you like TO put it.
Let us pass lightly over the glorious
days of fall, when Prudence allowed Al
fred to call several times and find her in
the kitchen with an apron on helping her
mother put up jellies and preserves and
things. Let us even pass lightly over
the evening when she showed him the
blister upon her fair white hand made by
sputtering drop of apple butter. Yes,
pass lightly over it. Any sane man, any
man inIpossession of ordinary faculties,
when a beautiful young creature held out
a little white hand and showed him a
blister thereon-lot big blister, just a
sort of beauty spot OF blister-would
have taken that hand in his and all but
wept over it. He would have asked her
TO give that hand to him and to come
along with it herself, and would have
sworn by high heaven and the marching
stars and the sun and moon and sky that
never again should that wonderful hand
know the wearying stress of toll What
did Alfred do2
He looked at the blister appraiSingly--
without taking those taper fingers in his
and he said:
"Stck needle under it from one side
and let the water out, then put a little
peroxide on it tomorrow"
Shades of Romeo Memories of Dante
and Beatrice Was it any wonder that
Prudence brought her pretty lips together
in a straight line and registered a mental
VOW that Alfred should rue this speech
some day?
Letus nowpass lightly on again. Come
we now to Christmas eve. Prudence had
by ways and means familiar to the femi-
nine mind conveyed to the bashful Alfred
the intelligence that she had made for
him a Christmas remembrance. Never
mind how she did this. You, if you are
a man grown, will be able to bark back
into your own past and bring up some
instance of woman's diplomacy wherein
she was able to tell you something with
out saying anything in particular. Just
gave your intuition chance.
Knowing this, Alfred knew that it was
his bounden duty to reciprocate-and to
reciprocate in advance. Always, always,
a mari must reciprocate in advance to a
lady.
So Alfred might have been seen step
ping hesitatingly up the steps OF the Mil
ton home on Christmas eve. He carried
a small package in one hand. 1t was his