The Falls City tribune., 1911-01-13

sIhlifs iI1Se bKisut PAt% ltIIiPt up III
him so ~enchanttngly. But one thought
possessed him. that lie bad made a
mistake. II very natural one under the
circumstances. aud that perhaps. after
all, h. would change his mind and
make a second application
\ few days later Louise was again
called into her fathers study.
Louise" he said. Il have n note
from Mr.. Carnthars in which he makes
a formal application for yonr hand.
He protests against what he calls our
effcte customs in such matters. but
since he must defer TO them. tells me
that he has made Il fortune in mines
in his country aud will be able 10 give
you every luxury"
Yes, papa"
81 have told him that his offer Is
fayorably considered, but that. not.
withstandlng our marriages in France
are arranged differently from those in
America. must leave the matter in
your hands. lie Is to consider him
self permitted to woo and win you"
Yes, papa"
chats all. You may go"
Perhaps the father of this young
lady was not sufficiently prone 10 con.
slider that about her age girls are liza.
bic to change from docility under
parental authority to IN assertion Of
independence. Louise knew that this
talk about leaving her TO accept or de.
cline the suitor as she liked was ab
surd. And the count knew II too
When she left him he felt assured
that she would accept Mrt Caruthers,
and he dismissed the matter from his
mind as an accomplished fact.
Since the sutton found himself
obliged to adopt the European matri.
monial method he concluded to do il
all that way. lie drove up 10 the
chateau one afternoon and, going in
called for Mile. Villicrs. She came
downstairs to meet him in appearance
Mt least II very different person from
the girl who had been looked vt by
him on their first meeting. She was
g~raciousness itself. There IA moth.
ing of embarrassment. Caruthers did
not waste much time in coming TO the
object of his visit, The words of his
proposal were formal; but, notwith.
standing he was Il b%lunderer. he was Il
true man and n modest one His heart
was in what he said with n frankness
truly American.
The girl waited until he had finish.
ed, then said:
"The honor you have done me. Nj.
Caruthcrs, is gratifying in the extreme,
but | must beg leave to decline It,"
Caruthers. who had supposed the
counts assurance that his offer was
considered favorably as tantamount
TO an acceptance, was startled. He
was not only startled. but disappoint-
ed-indeed. he was very much dlsap.
pointed. Then il occurred To him that
while there are different matrimonial
customs in different countries the hu-
man heart is the same everywhere.
This young girl who had been brought
up to consider herself bound to go
where she was given had declared her
independence. And, while before We
was not quite sure he wanted her, he
was now quite sure that he wanted
her very much.
The next morning CarutherS called
on the count and requested him TO
forego amy attempt TO Interfere with
his daughters decision. Tie count
looked very grave. listened with re-
spectful attention and bowed his risi-
tor ont with great ceremony. Then he
called Louise into his study aud gave
her a lecture on the sin Of young la
dies throwing over advantageous OF
fers provided for thcm by their IA
theirs. When the %harangue was fin
ished Louise arose and walked out OF
the room, her only reply being;
Yes, papa"
When Mr.. Caruthers returned to his
room, he sat himself down in an easy
chair and. snappishly biting off the
end of n cigar, remarked to himself:
'Drat this European way Of court
ing. I've made an ass of myself for
not doing the job in accordance with
American methods. What I've done
must be undone, and when IFS un-
done | must begin all over again. Now
one Of three things are 10 be consid-
cred. Either she wants me or doesn't
want me or doesn't know whether she
wants me or not. The natural suppo-
sition Is that she doesn't want nae. and
doesn't want me bad, Otherwise she
would not have rebelled against her
fathers orders. But by the Ameri-
can method the first thing for a fell
low to find out is whether he has any
chance or not"
Taking a seat before n writing desk.
he wrote Il note to the young lady who
had rejected him, asking her if he
might consider himself n friend. He
received a reply that he might. SO
he called, acting during the call as If
he considered the matrimonial part
of the matter ended During several
months Of visiting and being with the
young lady ut various gay world hap
penings he became more and more in