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WINNETKA WEEKLY TALK, FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 1915. Courtship a la Mode Dy === GEORGE COBBETT (Copyright, 1915, by W. G. Chapman.) De Viney, polished Frenchman and man of the world though he was, felt strangely disconcerted as he found himself face to face with Miss Elsie Vining. They had never met face to face be- fore without the presence of a third person. Indeed, from the beginning it had been quite obvious to observers that an excessive amount of worldly ceremony, amounting to the ridiculous in the free land of America, surround- ed the pair. In the big ballroom the cynics looked at each other and grinned. "They've gone into the conserva- tery together at last," said Charlie Twiss. "Look at old Mamma Vining! Doesn't she look conscious that she's pulled off a good thing?" "And look at papa," said his friend, Bobby Brooks. "He seems to think his millions have worked something almost as good as a stock exchange coup." The heartlessness of the marriage de convenance in America is so much greater than in France just because it is so unnatural an institution. In France De Vincy would haye been con- scious that it was a fair exchange--his title against the dowry. Indeed, he did not feel that he was about to per- form a disreputable action when he started for America to win a wealthy bride and thus increase the family reve- nues. The only thing really upon his conscience was that the agent, Smith, as he chose to call himself, had speci- fied Miss Vining as his prospective bride. "She's pretty enough, in the cold American way," he said to the vi- comte, '"She's nearer twenty than thirty, and she will inherit money enough, our American representative tells me, to pay all your debts hand- somely, as well aS our commission." What did unnerve the vicomte was the realization that the few short peri- ods of their association had aroused in him a certain feeling toward which he had long been a stranger. In fact, the sight of the girl's beauty had aroused the latent chivalry of the man. As his prospective wife he regarded Miss Vining with that deference which lies in the heart of every Frenchman. "This is the first time we have been together," he said lightly. The girl stood facing him, her fin- gers twining nervously about the fronds of a fern. "Yes," she answered in a mechani- cal manner. Then, with a sudden out- burst: "Cannot we be utterly frank with one another? I am so surround- ed by hypocrisies amd deceits. . . . Come, let us have a half hour of per- fect frankness." The young man sprang to his feet. "Do you mean that, Miss Vining?" he asked, catching fire from her words. "Utter frankness?" Yes." "Whatever the--the pain it costs?" "Whatever the pain." "Then listen," he began. "I have come here to ask you to be my wife. Everybody in the ballroom knows that we have not come here by accident, I believe?" She nodded again, and a sudden sense of that espionage made him reckless. "Well, then, I have taken it for granted that you would consent. My family's fortunes are at an ebb, and it was necessary that one of us should purchase an heiress in Amer- ica." He saw her wince slightly, but then she smiled. "Go on, please," she said, facing him boldly. "I was selected by my family coun- cil. I must tell you that according to our ideas there was nothing deroga- tory to our honor in the proposition. It was to be a fair exchange. My title against your money. I was given a -- a -- IN a Ee N hb - Df 3 od | YY] Sh br ALS ns Le -- Ay . 2, 'o l= "This Is the Been Together." list by Smith, the agent who finances these adventures." First Time We Have "Ah! I did not know that they were financed," she said. "It is a common practice. Smith invested ten thousand dollars in the game. If I failed to win a bride he lost it. If I gained one he was to get five times his investment. It is a lucrative profession, you see." "And he trusted to your honor to get one?" she asked with withering emphasis. "Yes. And so I have come here to ask you to be my wife tonight." "Well, you have been very frank,"- answered the girl. "Now I will be equally so. I was brought up in lux- ury, with the idea of making a fash- ionable marriage with a man of title. It didn't matter who he was--English, French, German, Italian, or what his character was, or his age, or his per- sonality, so long as he had a title. The higher, the better, you know. Well, when you came to New York, of course we all understood your motive in call- ing upon me. When I am with a plain American he takes me to theaters and the opera alone. Sometimes he may take me out in his auto. But for you, you know, I had to play the part of an ingenue. I was a delicate hot- house flower, who must never be shown alone. I had to have a chaperon with me always. That was part of the game. You understand that?" "No, I didn't understand that," an- swered the man, wincing in his turn. "But pray go on, Miss Vining." "That is about all, except that I was hawked round Europe last year and the year before. They nearly married me to an Italian prince. But at the last moment it was discovered that he was a courier from Turkey, masquer- ading. Probably he, too, was in touch with your man Smith." "I hardly think so, Miss Vining," an- swered the young man thoughtfully. "You see, Smith 1s an honest broker, so to speak, and only handles the real article." The flicker of a smile played about her mouth for the first time. "Well," she resumed, "I don't count myself one whit better than you, un- derstand. We are both simply the vic- tims of circumstances. The bargain proposed was a very suitable one. It isn't that all the people in our society are like this, you must know. It is just the new-rich--us! The decent families wouldn't have anything to do with us. They married their own peo- ple. However, I suppose I oughtn't to disparage my own family. And now,: monsieur, suppose we play out this farce to the end." "By all means," he replied. "Miss Vining, I have the honor to ask your hand in marriage." "The answer is 'no,' ' said the girl. Then she looked in amazement at his chagrined expression. In fact, such a reply had never occurred to him. "But seriously," he urged. She flashed up angrily. "Did you seriously believe, then, that I would be willing to sell myself?" she cried. "Why, never--never, sir. I have al- ways resolved that. If I do play a parasite's part at least my heart is clean. When I marry, if any man of my own nation is willing to take me, soiled as I am, he shall. But this--" Her anger was so genuine that the man did not know how to reply. "But I will ask you one question," she continued. "A woman's curiosity, you know. Why did you select me out of all the girls upon the list that the man Smith gave you?" "Why?" he repeated stupidly. "Yes. Rich as we are, I know sev- eral families that are richer and have eligible daughters." "Why, because I fell in love with you," he retorted. "What!" she cried incredulously. "After telling me that?" "But I have never said I did not love you. In fact, I have loved you since I first saw you." "Is this part of the game, too?" she demanded; but he saw that her lips were quivering. And suddenly some interior emotion surged up in him and banished the last touch of cynicism. He fell upon his knees before her and clasped her hands. "Miss Vining--Elsie, I love you with all my heart," he cried. "Can you-- do you think that if I prove my love I can win you?" She had broken down under the passion of her heart. The anger which had held her evaporated, leaving only a very miserable and very helpless girl. He rose to his feet. "I am going back to France," he said. "1 cannot expect you to believe in me. And yet it was my love for you that prompted me to say what I have said. I could not win you with a lie. So I told you, as you asked me. But before I go, will you tell me that there may be a hope for me at some distant time? Let the money go, the title go; just look upon me as one who loves you and desires you." "I don't think--there is any need | for you to go back to France," she said softly. Ten minutes later Bobby Brooks nudged Charlie Twiss. "Here comes the bridal pair--bridle pair, perhaps would be a better term," he said. "My! Don't they look pleased with themselves!" "They ought to, seeing what each has got out of it," answered Charlie. "Say, I shouldn't be surprised if there was a romance in it after all," suggested his friend. "Well, if money and a title aren't romantic, what is?" replied the other. "But still, you never can tell." HARD TO DEFINE BEAUTY Subtle Quality Makes Its Appeal Only to Those Gifted With the Right Insight. That which is beautiful is always pretty in the broad sense of the term, but mucn that the world in general counts as pretty is anything but beau- tiful in the esthetic eye. Prettiness is of the face and obvi- ous, but beauty is of the soul, and therefore, more subtle. Some very crudely colored calendars will appeal to many as being beautiful, though to the cultured eye they are far from suggestive of grace in either tone or form. There have been many attempts to define beauty, yet it cannot be said that any definition has thrown much light upon the subject. It manifests itself in such an infinite variety of forms, though there is a general agree- ment that its highest expression is in the female form divine. Even here the diversity is so extensive that the people of no two races, let aldne na- tions, have ever agreed upon the same type. The Madonnas of the world's artists are striking instances of the different conceptions of the utmost spiritual grace. This much is certain; mere pretti- ness, whether in woman, painting, sculpture, music, poetry or literature, is either a primal or artificial har- mony in no wise pleasing to those who have come to know the best. And much of that best is not so very diffi- cult to appreciate. It is largely a mat- ter of education and of habit. Some people perceive harmony with readi- ness in certain forms and are yet ob- livious to it in others. There are col- or-blind musicians and tone-deaf sculp- tors. Dependable Stock. Here is one that was told at a social function one evening, when the conver- sation turned to the ways of Wall street: ~ Some time ago Smith dined with a friend named Jones. Jones rallied around Wall street and had to do with stocks and bonds, and eventually the talk between the two traveled in that trend. "By the way, Jones," remarked Smith, "I picked up something dirt cheap the other day. It stood at 83 when I bought it and by the time I got home it had touched 89." "Gee whiz!" exclaimed Jones. "That's like having a donation party thrust on you! What was it?" "A new thermometer," was the chuckling rejoinder of Smith. influences of the Moon. The many and erratic motions of the moon are so intricate that space here is not enough for their technical ex- planation. The most important of the influences of the moon is in its caus- ing the ocean tides by its powerful magnetic attraction, and it is an in- fluence that is best understood in its effect by the mass of the people. The old superstition in regard to planting and sowing, and in doing many other things at a certain "time of the moon," still fostered by ~ few of the almanacs and believed in by many, was long ago made obsolete by the development of science and general in- telligence. Must Have. Joaquin Miller's $41,000 estate di- rectly contradicts the popular belief regarding the improvidence of poets. But perhaps * somebody saved his money for him.--Cleveland Plain Dealer. Not Sure Yet. "Your wife is out of danger, then?" "I shall think so unless the dcctor comes back."