Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-07-09

NOT MADE TO ORDER
BY LOUIS D. LANCE.


William Beattie was a lonesom
man ever as he had been a lonesom
boy. All through his lonesome yout
he had the most ardent feelings tc
ward the girls with whom he came II
contact, but something in his retiring
nature forbade him to express thes,
feelings or to get on even friendl,
terms with the objects OF his admira
ton and desire.
In the meantime ne was most faith
full and efficient in business and pros
pered accordingly. At thirty he fount
himself comparatively a rich man
with boundless prospects before him
But he was not satisfied. Far from
II, he was restless. morose-savagely
angry with his fate.
What boots it that I have success
money. the respect and fear of men,
he said to himself, when | cannot
have the love Of woman-the one great
thing have wanted all my life?"
You have not tried" replied his in
ner self, relentlessly.
Il cannot" he responded, savagely
Mature left some void in my make
up, and try as will, l am tongue-tied
In the presence Of women"
William Beattie. however, realized
thoroughly the value of wealth, of hard
cash. He knew its power over men
| and unnnn onl In htu h,,cinaos laal
ings he never made any mistakes in
dealing with m any more than he
did with men. 1t was only when he
attempted to put himself into personal
relations with women that he became
tongue-tied and impotent.
Finally at thirty he made a great
resolve.
Il can never win a woman's love
that is clear" he said to himself. And
a woman's love is the only thing in all
the world that l want. have
achieved business means. have all
The money l will ever need-and plenty
more coming. Nothing can stop that.
| have never failed in a single enter.
prise to which I gave my mind and
energy. Why not give this same
mind and energy to secure what !
want more than all elsa woman's
love. To feel soft arms about my
neck, to have languid eyes look into
mine, to have a clinging. yielding form
in my arms. To have children clamor.
ing about my knees-for all this |
would work harder, sacrifice more,
than ! have ever done. In fact | would
give all | have acquired and all I hope
to acquire"
why don't you do something about
it?" inquired his inner self. relent.
lessly.
Il am going to-" he replied. sharply
Il am going to devote all my energy
and brains hereafter to securing a
woman to complete my life. Since
cannot win a woman, I will start out
at the beginning and rear one for my
own purposes. ] will buy a baby girl
and have her reared and educated for
the express purpose of becoming my
wife"
And with this determination he
started out. He haunted orphan asy.
lums and lying-in hospitals. He
sought the poor districts. where chill.
dren are. Of necessity, a burden. 1t
was long before he found what he
wanted. but eventually he did find 1t.
1t was in st. Anthony's orphan asy-
lum-and the face of the little girl
a child of five or six-attracted and
thrilled him. Her dark, passionate
eyes. her olive skin, her jet-black hair,
her 1.-the young figure-all gave prom.
Use Of glorious w%omanhood.
Inquiry developed that she was the
daughter of a poor Italian girl of mar
velous beauty, who had been brought
to the lying-in hospital acros the way
by a b~ig-hearted stranger, with plenty
of money. and an air which bespoke
blue blood. He had paid all her ex-
penses literally In advance, and then
had faded away and was heard of no
more.
After her recovery, the young moth.
er, being unable to take care of the
child, had placed 1t in the orphan asy.
lum across the way. Beattie eagerly
the mother. Though worn BY
years of coarsening toll, and still more
co~arsening associations, she still re.
tained a remnant Of a passionate type
of beauty which put Beattie's nerves
on edge and made his pulses bound.
Not at all intellectual was Anita Maj.
foil, not educated or refined or intel.
lectual. but she possessed all the
splendid Latin possibilities of love-
and showed it in every motion.
IF she were sixteen instead of thir.
ty, and fresh instead Of being a worn
out wreck, and young and pliable and
tractable, l would marry her today and
defy the world"
He heard her pitiful story-the old
story of a pretty and v%oluptuous young
Italian girl, a debonair man of the
woodland a child without a name.
Who the handsome stranger was who
across her orbit for a brief
moment, and then passed on, she had
no sort of conception, except that he
was a gentleman, and that his dial.
lance by the wayside with her was a