The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-12-14
and listening to the other girls haV-
inS q good time with the bows.

~~S@ @NSS
Ing q good time with the boys.
I wonder. wonder lie Elsie really
liked II. She never wanted anything
20 do with the men. She said love
was a sacred thing, and came once
only In a lifetime, and If you didn't
find your love returned you just kept
quiet about 1t, and went on holding
yourself in as long as you lived, I'm.
I'll You either died or pinned away. /
I remember young Rowell. He was
a queer, poetical sort of chap, with a
far-away look In his eyes, and when
he was staying here n summer-it
must have been five years ago-he and
. Elsie just naturally gravitated toward
each other. They'd saunter off to-
gether into the shade Of the old apple
tree and sit there, with their books In
their hands. First young Rowell
would read a bit and then Elsie'd
read a bit-and all the time the other
young folks were enjoying themselves
In a healthful, natural way in ham
mocks, and walking off In pairs, and
buggy driving. .
Well, what naturally happened?
Florence Keith came down for the
week. She was a fluffy little thing,
full Of spirits, and she hadn't been
here a day before she fixed young
Rowell with her basilican stare. Next
day, when Elsie wandered off with her
book, young Rowell didn't turn up.
uoSl kolxon THo~Crro ofF - con tho
hermit In his cave-Joe Briggs, who
works winters In the boiler factory.
And all that week Elsie was left alone,
and at the weekend young Rowell
saw Miss Keith on the train as far
as Philadelphia, and then went on his
own way.
Marry? No, nothing but a summer
Irritation, of course. Maybe Elsie
wasn't mad. She didn't eat hardly
anything the rest of her stay here, and
she used to NOPE more than ever,
and read her love poems to herself
under the apple tree.
You know, the same crowd comes
down here pretty regular year after
year. Next year Elsie was just the
same, only a little more so. She
wouldn't have a thing to do with the
young men, and Florence had things
all her own way. Young Rowell?
Oh, he'd gone West. Yes, he married
a rancher's daughter out in Utah. He
doesn't appear again in the story.
"For the lords sake, Elsie, why
don't you make up to some Of the
young fellowsT" I asked her. I think
1t was the year after that. you're
g~ood-looking, and you can be bright
when you want to. What d'you want
to scare 'em off for2 They don't
want a highbrow. Why, the sight of
those books Of yours puts the lid on
your chances"
TIL never forget how Elsie looked
at me and answered: "'Tis better to
have loved and lost than never to have
loved at ALL"
I hadn't a thing to say to that, and
I let her keep on loving next year,
and the next. The fifth year little
Florence Keith met her fate. She'd
played with the boys hearts so long,
It was high time she got caught her
self. Young Middleton was the son
Of the banker of Boston-ever hear Of
him9 Worth q few cool Millions, but
nothing like what some Of those bank
ers have got. Still, he was a good
catch, and the odd thing was, Flor
ence really was crazy over him.
And there was Elsie with her shady
book mean her book and her shady
nook, and-next thing that happened
vas when Florence and Middleton
had had a little tiff. I vas walking
along the creek, and who should I see
but Middleton and Elsie, sitting side
by side staring into the pool.
II shall love again." I heard
Elsie say in her wistful way. "One
life-one love. All me! TITS better to
have loved and lost than never to have
loved at all"
I turned and raced back. Florence,
for the love of Mike get your hooks
into him. I gasped. ELSIE Davis is
out for battle"
It was too late. Well, what could
you expect1 They were engaged by
supper time, eloped that night, and
were married next morning wei the
state line.