The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1915-10-29
His Ideal Girl
BY MARY MORRISON RAYNAL.


The only trouble about having a col
lege president for a father is that 1t
makes you so fearfully elastic in your
affections. AS soon as you get to low
ing somebody good and hard he grad
yates, SO you have to begin all over
again.
But no more lovemaking for me!
I've met my Waterloo; my hearts
dead within me. think it might help
to tell you about it--there's nothing so
CHASTITY as bearing sorrow alone. Is
there?
Well, you know l don't care for
blonde men, they are so Englishy. And
/ don't care for handsome men, they
are so conceited. But this man, both
blonde and handsome, was divine. l
met him at the October German. After
the dance everybody was teasing me
about my rush from the Yankee. "lIel-
ems Yankee" they called him. He
was mine, too, by right of discovery.
He had come down here for his
health, some heart trouble, regina pee
toris, think they called it. That's
the reason he did so little work, and
had so much time to frivol with US.
OF course held my breath to see
II he was coming to call. When he
did, though, had the modification OF
my life. He had been abusing his
clearinghouse, and without thinking
! said:
do come in the dining room and
let me find you something to eat!"
When we got in there, will you be-
lieve it? / couldn't find anything but
bread and preserves. That's the aw-
full part about having so many little
brothers, they are more deyouring
than a plague of locusts. Imagine
feeding that swell Bostonian on bread
and preserves just as ii he had been
a tramp. He was nice about ii
though, pretending that it reminded
him of childhood days.
After that he was here continually.
Such good times as We did have! He
was so clever l fairly sprained my
mind keeping up with him. And as
for sentiment, he piled it on, thinking
We liked that sort OF thing down here.
He was always talking about afiini-
ties, mental telepathy. and ideal
womanhood. He held, with Browning.
that a soul rested here merely for the
meeting and mingling with that other
soul for which il was created. Having
lost that, it lost what it had lived for.
Then growing more personal, he told
me that his father instantly recOg
nized, upon meeting his future wife.
the ideal of his cherishing. naturally
he expected to do the same.
Terribly exciting, wasn't it? strug-
gled to live up to my idea of his ideal
girl until almost had nervous pros
tration. When a tender pause would
come in the conversation, with the nre
Pickering low, I'd think surely he was
going to tell me that l was it. But
he only implied unutterable things,
was never really tangible.
We got on famously, though, until
junior speaking. That's great time
in our college. The mothers and best
girls all come. the star-speakers COM
pete for the orators medal, and the
Glee club furnishes music between
each number. Darlington, the leader
of the Glee club, is quiet fellow with
a lovely voice. When the boys heard
that his sister, who was coming, had
a voice too, they asked for her to sing
a solo.
That night the hall was packed, t,n
juniors quaking, when suddenly some
thing burst from behind the scenes.
We were too dazed to believe our
eyes. There futtered a buxom per-
son In frock that had almost run to
train. In a musical voice she began
to sing:
ANY rags, any bones, any bot
ties today?
For the old ragman is ercomin'
this way"
Flirting her fan as she sang, she
ogled the student body with her bold
black eyes. The boys, thinking it the
biggest circus they'd ever struck, APP
piauded until they all but knocked
the -four out.
There, in the midst, sat father with
the poor old professors, petrified with
horror. They couldn't very well drag
the lady off the stage, and there was
no more stopping her than an alarm
clock. Actually, in her ardor, she lift
ed up her train to cakewalk up and
down before their reproachful eyes.
oh, 1t was rich! | laughed until
cried, then felt so sorry for CARING
ton / almost cried in earnest-to have
a sister come to his own college to
make such fool OF herself. Later We
found she was only his stepsister.
who'd always lived in Texas, 80 he
hardly knew her himself.
AS the girl had pile or money her
mother had brought her up here to
cut her wisdom teeth on us, then she
was going to take her to New York
to catch a crown prince. For Carrang
tons sake l called on her and she did
mt seem quite so breezy off the stage.