Loyola College - Review Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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18 LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW —— “It’s a bargain, so far as I'm concerned, he said. This time a soft, small hand met his with a firm, friendly, honest pressure. And ГЇЇ refuse you, said Miss Flossy. Within two weeks, Mr. Morpeth found himself entangled in a flirtation such as he had never dreamed of. Miss Flossy's scheme had succeeded only too brilliantly. Тһе whole hotel was talking about the terrible behaviour of that little Benton girl and Mr. Morpeth, who should know better. Mr. ‘Morpeth had carried out his in- structions. Before the week was out he found himself giving the most life-like imitation of an infatuated lover that ever delighted the old gossips of a summer resort. And yet he had only done what Flossy had told him to do. He got his first lesson just about the time that Flossy, in the privacy of their apartments, informed the elder sister that she, Flossy, found Mr. Morpeth's society agreeable; it was nobody's concern but her own, and that she was prepared to make some interesting additions to the age columns in the census statistics 1f any- one thought differently; that she was eighteen, and knew what she was doing, and so on. The lesson opened his eyes. When she met him afterwards, there was another part of her scheme exposed. Do you know it wouldn't be a bad idea to telegraph to New York for some real nice candy and humbly present it for my accept- ance? I might take it if the bonbonniere was pretty. enough. He telegraphed to New York and re- ceived, in the course of four. or five days, certain marvels of sweets in a miracle of an unholstered box. The next day he found her on the veranda, flinging the bonbons on the lawn for the children to scramble for. Awfully nice of you to send me these things, she said languidly, but loud enough for the men around to hear—she had men around her already; she had been dis- covered—'' But I never eat sweets you know. Here, you little mite in the blue sash, don't you want this pretty box to put your doll’s clothes іп?” And Morpeth's fine bonbonniere went to the yellow haired girl of three. | But this was the slightest and lightest of her caprices. She made him send for his dog-cart and his horses, all the way to New York, only that he might drive her over the little mile and a half of road that bounded the tiny peninsula. And she christened him ''Muffets, a nickname presumably suggested by ‘‘Morpeth;” and she called him “Muffet” in the hearing of all the hotel people. Didsuch conduct pass unchallenged? No! Pauline scolded, raged, raved, wrote to Mamma. Mamma wrote back and re- proved Flossy, but mamma could not leave papa. His gout was worse. The Misses Redingtons must act. The Misses Redingtons merely wept, nothing more. Pauline scolded; the flirtation went on; and the people at the big hotel enjoyed it immensely. And there was more to come. Four weeks had passed. Mr. Morpeth was hardly on speaking terms with the elder Miss Belton; and with the younger Miss Belton he was on terms which the hotel gossips charac- terized as simply scandalous. Brown glared at him when they met, and he glared at Brown. Brown was having a hard time; Miss Belton, the elder, was not pleasant of temper in those days. “Апа now, said Miss Flossy to Mr. Morpeth, “‘it’s time that you proposed to me, Muffets. They were sitting on the hotel veranda, in the evening darkness. No one was near them, except an old lady in a shaker chair. There's Mrs. Melley. She's pretending to be asleep, but she isn't. She's just waiting for us. Now walk me up and down and ask me to marry you, so that she can hear it. It'll be all over the hotel before half an hour. Pauline will be frantic—and your happiness will be assured. With this pleasant prospect before him, Mr. Morpeth marched Miss Flossy Belton “ар and down the long veranda. Не had passed Mrs. Melley three times before he was able to say, in a choking, hasty, un- certain voice! x

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== LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW 17 “Ноу old do you suppose I am? І know. Your sister told me, you are sixteen! Sixteen? repeated Miss Flossy, with scorn, “Yes” and I'm the kind of sixteen that stays sixteen til your elder sister is married. I was eighteen on the third of December—unless they began to double on me before I was old enough to know the difference. “Eighteen years old! said the young man. “Тһе deuce! Don't think he was an ill bred young man. He was only a bit astonished; and he had much more aston- ishment ahead of him. “Well what is your plan of campaign? he said. am I to discover you? “Үев, and to flirt with me outrageously said Miss Flossy calmly. “And may I ask you, what attitude you're to take when discovered? | “Certainly,” replied the imperturbable Flossy. “I am going to dangle you. “То--дапр е me? “ As a conquest, don't you know, let you hang around—and laugh at you. “Oh! indeed? “There! don't be wounded in your masculine pride; you might as well face the situation; you don't think that Pauline's in love with you, do you? “Мо!” groaned Morpeth. “But you've got lots of money. Mr. Brown has lots more. You've eager. Brown is easy. That's the reason that Brown is in the boat and you are on the cold, cold shore talking to Little Sister. Now if little sister jumps at you, she is simply taking big sister's leavings; it's all in the family anyway, and there's no jealousy, and Pauline can devote her whole mind to Brown. There, don't look so limp. You men are simply childish, Now after you have asked me to marry you—” “ОВ! I'm to ask you to marry me? “Certainly. You needn't look so fright- ened; I won't accept you. But you are to go around like a wet cat, and mope and hang on worse than ever. The Big Sister will see that she can't afford to take that sort of thing from Little Sister, and then— there's your chance. == “Oh! There's my chance is it? said Mr. Morpeth. He seemed to have fallen into the habit of repetitions. “There’s your only chance,” said Miss Flossy with decision. Mr. Morpeth meditated. He looked at the lake, where there was no longer any sign of the cause of all this and he looked at Miss Flossy who sat calm, self-confident, and careless, on the sunny part of the dock. “I don't think it would be feasible.” “It’s feasible, said Miss Flossy, with strength, “ОЁ course it is. Pauline will write to Mamma, and Mamma will write and scold me. But she's got to stay in Toronto and nurse papa's gout and the Misses Redingtons are all the chaperones we've got up here, and they don't amount to anything—so I don't care. But why, inquired the young man, and his tone suggested a complete aban- donment of Miss Flossy's idea: Why . should you take so much trouble for me? Mr. Morpeth” said Flossy solemnly, “Tm two years behind the time-table and I've got to make a strike for liberty or die. And besides, if you are nice, I needn't be such an awful trouble. Mr. Morpeth coughed. РІЇ try to make the whole affair as little of a bore as possible, he said extend- ing his hand. The girl refused it. “Don’t make any mistake, she cau- tioned, searching his face with her eyes; “This isn’t to be any. little girl’ affair. Little Sister doesn't want any kind, super- cilious encouragement from Big Sister's young' man. It's got to be a real flirtation —devotion no end, ten times as much as ever Pauline could get out of you—and you've got to keep your end ’way—’way — way up! The young man smiled. · “ГИ keep my end up, he said, “but are you certain that youcan keep yours up? “Well, I think so, replied Miss Flossy. Pauline will raise an awful row; but if she goes too far, I'll tell her my age and her's too. Mr. Morpeth looked into Miss Flossy's calm face. Then he extended his hand once more.

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LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW - 19 «ведення MM Фен» “Flossy—I—I—I—I love you!” Flossy’s voice was not choking, nor un- certain. It rang out clear and silvery in a peal of laughter. Why, of course, you do, Muffets, and I wish you didn't. That's what makes you so stupid half the time. But — said Mr. Morpeth, vaguely; «« but [= But you're a silly boy, returned Miss Flossy, and she added in a swift aside “you haven't asked me to marry you! “W—W—Will you be my wife? stam- mered Mr. Morpeth. No! said Miss Flossy, emphatically, “T will not, you are too ridiculous. The idea of it! No, Muffets, you are charming in your present capacity, but you aren't to be considered seriously. They strolled on into the gloom at the end of the big veranda. “‘That’s the first time, he said, with a feeling of having only a ghost of breath left in his lungs, “that I ever asked a woman to marry me. “T should think so, said Miss Flossy, “from the way you did it. And you were beautifully rejected, weren't you. Now— look at Mrs. Melley, will you? She's scudding off to spread the news. And before Mr. Morpeth went to bed he was aware of the fact that every man and woman in the Hotel knew that he had proposed to Miss Flossy Belton, and had been ' beautifully rejected. Two sulky men, one sulky woman, and one girl radiant with triumphant happi- ness started out in two canoes, reached certain fishing-grounds known only to the elect, and began to cast for trout. They had indifferent luck. Miss Belton and Mr. Brown caught a dozen trout; Miss Flossy Belton and Mr. Morpeth, caught eighteen or nineteen, and the day was wearing to a close. Miss Flossy made the last case of the day, just as her escort had taken the paddle; a big trout rose—just touched the fly—and disappeared. Its this wretched гой!” cried Miss Flossy; and she rapped it on the gunwale canoe so sharply that the beautiful split bamboo broke sharp off in the middle of the second point. Then she tumbled it overboard, reel and all. І was tired of that rod, anyway, Muffets,” she said, “ Paddle me home now; I've got to dress for dinner. Miss Flossy's Big Sister, in the other boat, saw and heard this exhibition of tyranny; and she was so much moved that she stamped her small foot, and almost overturned the canoe. She resolved that mamma should come back, whether papa had the gout or not. Mr. Morpeth wearing a grave expres- sion, was paddling Miss Flossy toward the hotel. He had said nothing whatever, and it was a noticeable silence that Miss Flossy finally broke. You've done pretty much everything that I wanted you to do Muffets, she said in almost a whisper, but you haven't saved my life yet, and I'm going to give you a chance. It is not difficult to overturn a canoe. One quick turn of Flossy's active little body did it, and before he knew just what had happened, Morpeth was swimming toward the shore, holding up Flossy Belton with one arm and fighting for life with the other in the icy waters of a Maine Lake. The people were running down bearing blankets and brandy, as he touched bottom in his last desperate struggle to keep the two of them above water. One yard fur- ther, and there would have been no strength left in him. Не struggled up the shore with her, and when he got breath enough he burst out “Why did you до it? It was wicked! It was cruel. “There!” she said as she reclined com- posedly in his arms, “that will do Muffets. I don't want to be scolded.” The delegation of rescuers came along with blankets and brandy, and took her from him. Morpeth presented himself at the door of the parlour attached to the apartments of the Belton Sisters. Miss Belton senior was just coming out of the room. She received his enquiry after her sister's health with a white face and a quivering lip. І should think, Mr. Morpeth, she began, “that you had gone far enough in