The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1921-07-15
Edith's Little
Filtration
&c, 1921, Western Newspaper Union)
BY HAZEL SMITH.

summer? He called himself the count
Of something or other, didn't he, and
claimed that the wrong branch Of the
family had got hold of the title? SO he
has settled down in America and be-
come n~aturalized, has he? And he
really had money Of his own and a
not a fortune-hunter, Well, Of course
that does put his persecution Of Edith
Moore upon a different level, ana ii
may be, as you say, that he loved her
and not her forture-only he GER
t6lnly took d queer method Of showing
his affection, not TO speak Of her being
already engaged to George Turner.
And he's married whom? Elsie Moore!
Edith's sister! Well, that surely is
news, and now since you don't seem
to know all the circumstances about
last summer I'll enlighten YOU in turn.
You know | always stayed at a quiet,
old-fashioned place up III Mount Des-
ert. And I'd met Edith Moore and her
sister Elsie each summer since they
We're little bits Of things, SO that when
she whispered to me the news Of her
engagement to George / was nightly
for his vacation a day or two later and
tell you it made me glad TO see how
happy they were,
Monsieur RambOuChe was staying at
the same place. You remember how
he used to vent his spleen on Amer
lea 1t was good enough to live III
for a while and to spend a holiday in.
but as for being u citizen He tried
me u little, but | couldn't exactly re-
sent a man standing up for his own
country, though why should he coIne
here and then make fun Of US?
What made me angry was when he
attacked American women. The WOln-
en- Of his land, according to him, were
paragOns of virtue, and We mustn't
believe those wicked plays and novels.
When they We're married they stayed
at home, and helped their husbands
at their Offices as well, and before
marriage they made their mothers
and fathers and brothers, and sisters
lives happy. And as for tlirting-Why,
hadn't France had to take over the
English word because there wasn't any
for it in French?
Monsieur seemed to be pretty fond Of
Miss Edith all the same, and | believe
she really liked the little fellow, for
all she used to laugh at him. Any
way, when George came up he went
round scowling and muttering, and
George and Edith had no end Of fun
out of him. Then George had to go
back, but he promised to run up
again for the weekend a while later.
day after all.
Now it's a singular fact, my dear,
the way our wOmen's tastes run. Ac-
tually, after George had gone back 10
New York Edith entered upon quite a
platoniC Irritation with Monsieur Ram
bouche. / suppose she felt that, loving
George. and therefore being perfectly
secure against a change Of heart, she
might as well make the most Of her
last days Of liberty. But those French
men certainly know how to make love.
And so-well, one evening | was told
that Monsieur had been seen deposit
ing a little piece Of hair in a locket.
I suppose they have a different code
In France. Now that you tell me
Monsieur actually has money Of his
own | can acquit him of the grosSer
crime. Perhaps he was sincerely in
love with her and showed it in his own
fashion. But, anyway, the upshot was,
ne told her that unless she married
him he would write to George, enclos-
ing the mementO, and then there
would be pretty price to pay.
He did write to George, and Seht him
the hair, and told him he was "a
coward and that he and Miss Edith
had made him a laughing stock, and
If George would come over to France
with him he would show him how
gentlemen settled such matters in his
own country.
OF course, In Monsieur's mind that
settled everything between George and
Edith. And Monsieur, not dreaming
tldl OSClSC "Ouiu NOAhS, "oS t"h''S
the air upon the beach when George
Turner and Edith came strolling along,
arm in arm.
At the sight Of them Monsieur al
most tainted. Then he stood mp brave
" and began to denounce Edith in
~unmeasured language, while n
smiled ~scornfully at him and chung to
Georges arm.
You little fool" said George, when
he had finished W don't fight duel
In this country"
you don't understand" he STAN
mered. "She gave me her hair, this
lady who is engaged to marry you
Don't you understand now? She is
false, like all American women. Bien
If she does that before marriage what
will she do after? She is a fiirt."
"See here, Monsieur Rambouche,"
said George, taking him by the arm.
I'm going to overlook all this because
of your disgusting ignorance. In this
country, my friend, 1T Is a girls privi-