Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1921-04-20
Sly Cupid
By AGNES BRoGAN
(@, 1920. Western Newspaper Union.

|
and often thwarted cherub. Yet, new
er discouraged, he still plies his bows
and arrows. Cupid had an unusually
hard time where Coralie was con-
cerned, for COralie was determined
not to yield to his cajolories; Coralie
wanted to go through life free and un-
fettered by household cares, to paint
her pretty, though Indifferent little
pictures, to travel, and play her violin,
and do in fact, just as it pleased her
sweet fancy. So while Coralie was
| pleasant and charming to the usual
and commonplace youth, she was
cold and forbidding to any whose
qualities might make him appear
dangerous in attraction.
Coralie did not wish to be attracted
matrimonally, especially to young
men of limited means. Phillips
means" were very limited indeed,
and Phillip was big and good looking
and provokingly lovable. So Coralie
snubbed him numerically, and when
Phillips kindly charm oyercame, as it
were, surreptitiously her frigid de-
meanOr, and he was enjoying for a
brief season Coralie's friendliness-she
was sure in self-defense to start quar-
rel. After which the big saddened man
and the pert, pretty girl would cease
| speaking to one another, and avoid
all possible places of meeting. But
Cupid, though he may have sighed at
such times, and petulantly laid his
arrows aside, was sure to take them
up again at the first promising mo-
ment.
The last quarrel had been very Bit
| ter, for Coralie wounded Phillips
| pride, and when he, himself, deter
| mined forever to end all intercourse,
| things did look serious. Phillip could
be a stubborn, determined being, and
though Coralie did not know it, his
mans will was stronger than her own.
The blow which hurt Phillips pride
was a purposely singing remark,
made by Coralie concerning his lack
of skill as a lawyer, evidenced in the
lack of clients, which made his pro-
knew that this reference would be
sure to raise between them the bar
rier that her own increasing inclina-
tons needed. She had been growing
of late, all too fond Of Phillip, and
the picture Of meekly yielding the
freedom of her future, was discom-
fitting.
So blndly, and unhappily, Phillip
raised the barrier. "He would never
he solemnly declared, trouble her
with himself or with his failures
again." And Phillip kept his word.
Resolutely, he avoided every possible
place where Coralie might of necessi-
ty be, every entertainment to which
she had been wont to CO. And as the
girl with a sigh which she fancied to
be Of relief, followed the same de-
termination-well, It looked discour-
aging for Cupid.
When Phillip learned in q round
about way of Coralie's acceptance Of
another young mans attention, 1t did
not help to lower the barrier, for this
certain young man had long been a
rival And when Coralie indirectly
heard of Phillips devotion to sort
of young widowed relation who had
openly admired him, Coralie sneered
If such pretty lips could sheer
and kept farther out of Phillips way
than ever. When she mapped out a
European tour, which was to be part
of her future care-free plan, and be-
gan to buy dresses, she was quite
gleeful and enthusiastic over the
shopping.
And as time passed, Phillip tried to
realize that pretty haunting face,
and an inevitable drawing charm, are
not all that Is needed to make happi-
ness. The young widow sympathiZed
with him, and was kind. Phillip even
INDUCED in distant future picture Of
the widow seated at his domestic |
board, but the picture was vague.
Well meaning friends, who tried diplo- |
matically to draw the stubborn ones
together and patch up the quarrel,
failed dismally, before Coralie's mock
ing contempt, and Phillips undated
sternness. The barrier grew high and
impregnable; then Cupid, smiling,
peeped over the top. Phillip jumped
from the chair before his desk, about
this time with a sudden raving, jab-
bling, toothache.
The dentist had warned him about |
that old tooth and he had neglected 1t,
but now the suffering man grabbed |
at his coat, damned on his hat and |
ran for the morning suburban. He'd
sit in Docs Office" he grimly decid- |
ed, until that worthy should remove
the article of torture. And when
Phillip slumped dejectedly into seat
in the train, a startled, yet evidently |
pleased-startled, face looked up at him.. |
Coralie was on hurried trip to her
dressmaker in the city.
Phillips toothache miraculously
vanished, warmly pleasant sensa-
ton around his heart seemed to have
overwhelmed it. Coralie sighed and |
smiled, and then slipped her hand
through his arm. "Wellw she ex-
claimed relievedly, "Thank goodness
Phill You at last ~ dearest" Yur-
INJURED Phillip, II was on my way to
the dentist, but would you-Oh! will
you-go with me, dear, to get mar
riage license insteadY'