Lurana Sheldon

“ I have taken great interest in reading the correspondence department of ‘My Queen,’ and I wish to say right here that I know of no one to whom I would rather tell my troubles than the author of ‘Marion Marlowe.’ If there is such a girl as ‘Marion’ in the world, I would like to meet her. She is a perfect lady without being prudish or silly. It may sound egotistical, but I think I am a little like Marion. I am not afraid to speak out if I think I am right, and I do not blush or simper over foolish matters. Do you not think that men admire a sensible woman. ”

“ Bert Jackson sprang to the ground and threw the carriage door open.
“Come out here, you old sinner, and let me lick you!” he roared as he almost lifted Dollie to the roadway beside him.
“Go on, driver!” yelled the lawyer, shrinking back in his seat.
“Not by a darn sight!” bawled Bert, making a dive into the carriage.
“Quick, Bert! Let him go,” cried Dollie in dismay. “Oh, stop quick! There’s a lot of people staring at us already.”
Bert dropped back to the street with a groan of rage. As the carriage rolled away he shook his fist at it vigorously. ”

“ Almost as if she had read her sister’s thoughts Marion Marlowe spoke after the laugh had subsided:
“I shall be glad to feel that you are safe, dearie; that you have a good husband like Ralph to protect you.”
“And you, Marion, I wish you did not have to work in hospital!” cried Dollie, impulsively. “I am sure I don’t see how you can endure it!”
Dr. Brookes gazed steadily at the fair girl whom he loved, but the look in her sweet face did not give him encouragement. ”

“ I am sure Miss Shirley must be a lovely woman herself to be able to construct the character of ‘Marion Marlowe.’ I am very much in love with a young man, and for that reason I wish to read all about Marion Marlowe, for I want to see how she talks to her lovers. I am afraid I am a little inclined to be silly, but when one loves very deeply is not this excusable? ”

“ That boy is very impudent to be watching us,” she added.
“And your employer is very thoughtless to invite you out with him,” said Marion, stoutly. “A man of his age ought to know better, Dollie.”
“But he did not mean anything by it, Marion,” said Dollie, quickly. “Why, he is as nice as he can be, and he’s almost as old as father.”
“That is what I said; he is old enough to know better,” said Marion, grimly; “but here he comes, Dollie; I know him by your description.”
“Yes, here he comes,” repeated the fair-haired girl, gayly, “and I do so hope he has arranged everything satisfactorily. ”

“ As they parted at the L station, Greenaway spoke rather suddenly.
“I’ll turn my life insurance over to you if anything happens, Reg; but, by the way, what is your sweetheart’s name? I seem to have a feeling that I ought to know it.”
Reginald Brookes glanced at him in a little surprise.
“Her name is Marion Marlowe,” he said, very slowly, then, as Greenaway ran up the stairs, he looked after him curiously.
“He’s a funny chap,” he muttered, uneasily. “Now, why the deuce did he feel that he ought to know my little sweetheart’s name? Confound the fellow! He has no business with such feelings!” ”

“ She is as safe with me as she would be with her own father.”
“Nevertheless you have not considered the risk to her reputation,” said Marion, calmly. “Dollie is your typewriter; she is in your employ. It is not proper at all for you to make a companion of her.”
“But if I choose to, Miss Marlowe, surely there can be no harm. And as for the opinion of the world, what does that amount to?”
“It amounts to a great deal to a poor girl,” was the quick answer. “A man may shock the proprieties all he pleases, but the woman who does so will always have to suffer. ”

“ It seems incredible to us that any girl should make a solemn promise lightly. To be honest, you will be obliged to confess your folly.
“How much can a girl believe of what a man says to her? Please answer this question if you can, Miss Shirley. My gentleman friends are always praising both my beauty and my grace, and, oh, the promises that they make, Miss Shirley! ”

“ I would never have left you with her if I had not supposed you would listen to her.”
“Miss Allyn is too suspicious; she is like [9] you,” said Dollie, spitefully. “She always sees something wrong in a gentleman’s attentions.”
“Listen, Dollie,” said Marion, almost facing her in the street. “Alma Allyn is a great deal wiser than either you or I. She has lived in a city always, and met hundreds of men; we know she is our friend—then why can we not trust her? You know that she warned you about that very thing—about lunches and theatres with your employer, Dollie!” ”

“ Marion’s gray eyes grew tender as she glanced at him shyly. It seemed almost immodest to her that she should be advising him in this matter.
“‘For better or worse’ does not mean that,” she said, very slowly. “When sin and crime come between husband and wife, it is time to separate to avoid contamination. No true man or woman will hold the promise, ‘until death,’ as indissoluble under such conditions. It is contrary to all the laws of human nature.”
Mr. Ray listened eagerly. ”

“ She rarely said anything about her own life, but the name of her twin sister was frequently on her lips, and this sister was now a nurse in Charity Hospital.
“My sister Marion is as beautiful as a saint,” she had told Miss Dixon. “She has magnificent gray eyes and such a queenly air. Oh, I could talk forever and not tell half of Marion’s virtues!”
“If she is prettier than you are she must be beautiful,” Miss Dixon had said, honestly. She was one of the few plain women who could see beauty in others and admit it. ”

“ And so she had, for Dollie was truthful at heart. Now that she had found shelter for her weakness she was almost blissfully happy.
It was Bert who spoke first when the story was ended, for the fine, manly youth was too strong willed to be entirely overcome by a tale of sorrow.
“Well, I am mighty glad that tragedy is ended,” he said, very soberly. “I’m glad for the poor woman that she is at rest at last, and I’m glad that Mr. Ray is free from such a creature; but, best of all, I am glad you roasted the old lawyer, Marion, for somehow, ever since I first saw him I’ve hated the old duffer!” ”

“ You certainly are very much like “Marion Marlowe,” and that is as great a compliment as any girl can have paid to her. Any girl who respects herself can and should talk sensibly about love and marriage, although it is only fair to allow her a few blushes. The natural modesty of a young girl will always make her feel a little shy in the presence of her lover, but she should never allow this feeling to prevent her from discussing the subject of marriage in all its phases with him after they are sufficiently well acquainted. ”

“ He had to, you see, for the blonde woman was his wife—he recognized her instantly—she was living!”
“How horrible!” cried Miss Allyn, as Miss Ray stopped speaking. She had thought just then of what Dr. Brookes had said and was beginning to put “two and two” together.
“Oh, and I thought he loved Marion!” burst out Dollie impetuously. “I was as sure as anything that she would marry him some time.”
“That is the hardest part of it! He does love her,” sighed Miss Ray, “but I was obliged to tell her his miserable secret, and it is that which has brought her into this awful trouble.” ”

“ The superintendent thought a moment—she had almost forgotten that.
“You will have to go up on the ‘dead boat,’ the Fidelity,” she said, decidedly. “Tell the captain I sent you and it will be all right. That is due at half-past eleven. You don’t mind, do you, Miss Marlowe?”
Marion did not even shiver at this ghastly suggestion. She was fast growing acclimated to these daily horrors.
“I guess it won’t hurt me,” she said with a smile. “I can stay on deck, where I will not see the coffins.”
When the Fidelity stopped, Marion hurried aboard. She had seen the two pine boxes and wished to avoid them. ”

“ Dollie burst out crying again and it took both women to comfort her. She was now thoroughly alarmed about the condition of her sister.
She had entirely forgotten the doctor’s allusion to “May Osgood,” but Miss Allyn was pondering it over and over in silence.
It was almost midnight when the three young men returned, but they came triumphant, bringing Marion with them.
“Put her right to bed,” said Dr. Brookes, authoritatively. “The poor girl is worn out from this evening’s experience. If the shock is not too great she will be all right to-morrow.” ”

“ Bert Jackson winked at him behind her back, but there was a look on his face that the doctor had never before seen there.
“By Jove!” he thought suddenly, “I believe the boy does love her! Well, why shouldn’t he? Who could help it? She is the sweetest, the noblest, the bravest girl in creation!”
Thus ended another tragedy in Marion Marlowe’s life—it was a happy termination in spite of some sadness.
Dollie, her darling sister, was married to Ralph the next day, and even Archie Ray and his sister were present at the wedding. ”

“ Such men as her employer do not give up their projects so easily, but this accident of yours has made her do a little thinking. I fancy her lover will have no cause to complain of her in future.”
“Poor Ralph,” sighed Marion, “I pity him sometimes! Dollie is such a child! Really, I am almost sorry there is an engagement.”
“Don’t let it worry you,” said Miss Allyn, brightly, “and, now, before I go, I am going to tell you some good news. Your friend, Mr. Ray, is back in town, and you have no idea how anxious he is to see you.” ”

“ Well, I don’t know that I blame you, doc, for after all, what’s the good of money if you can’t be independent!”
“It is just this way,” said Brookes, seriously, as the two friends started slowly up Fifty-ninth street. “She is a beautiful girl, a country lass, and fresh as a daisy. I’m sure I don’t know how she can endure that place, but she is determined to stay there and take care of those poor wretches, and some way I thought she would be happier if I went over and helped her.”
“Oh, how generous we are!” said Greenaway, laughing. ”

“ I am afraid all lovers appear just a little silly to those who have never experienced the “grand passion,” Ida, but there is a time and place for everything, even silliness, so if you do whisper baby talk in your beloved’s ear you can rest assured that we shall not blame you. I am glad you like “Marion” and that you are studying her character. We intend that she shall be the purest type of American girl. She will be a good model [30] for all young girls to follow, but we trust that her imitators will have far less trouble in their lives than our unfortunate heroine. ”

“ We must take the world as we find it, sir, and conform to its edicts.”
“Then you think it is wrong for your sister to eat her lunch with me?” he asked, with a slight sneer. “Perhaps you imagine that her employer is not respectable?”
“I mean, sir,” said the brave girl, firmly, “that I love my sister dearly, and that I will not knowingly allow her fair name to be sullied. She is engaged to be married, sir, to a noble young man. ”

“ Dr. Brookes can tell you what there is to do—what anguish there [28] is to soothe, and what wrongs are to be righted! Suppose I had not been there yesterday,” she said with a shudder, “just think what a hideous thing would have happened!”
It was her first allusion to the awful tragedy, but Marion knew it must come, and she wished to have it over.
“Oh, sister, what happened?” asked Dollie, instantly. ”

“ How Matt Jenkins, the keeper of the Poor Farm, would swear if he could hear that,” he said, roaring. “That’s doing pretty well for an orphan boy to be adopted by a millionaire, isn’t it, Dollie?”
[5]
“Oh, it’s just beautiful!” cried Dollie, in genuine delight. “Oh, I just wish all of the boys from the Poor Farm could have such a chance! ”

“ Don’t cry, Dollie!” said Miss [14] Allyn, sternly. “If those three young men who love Marion cannot save her, I shall be greatly mistaken; besides, if you cry so you will not be able to hear what Miss Ray tells me, and I am sure you wish to know what has happened to your sister!” ”

“ The tragedy of the “vitriol patient’s” death was almost a tragedy of two cities—the great city of New York, where crime is conceived and fostered and the smaller city on Blackwell’s Island, where crime is punished and ended.
A few hours after that sad death in the Prison Hospital, the lawyer, Augustus Atherton, stood on the steps of his office waiting for his typewriter, Dollie Marlowe, to join him. ”

“ You seem to believe that marriage is the chief end and aim of woman. If you are so anxious to marry you had better “pop the question” yourself or else try to get a new lover who will be more speedy in his declarations. Possibly the young man has not yet made up his mind as to your worth as a wife, or possibly he has not money enough to marry, or some such reason. ”

“ With one fearful effort, she grasped Dollie by the shoulders, and, running a couple of steps, gave her a push with all the force at her command, which sent her head first into the arms of a big policeman. Then Marion turned to follow, but she was a second too late. The fellow on the automobile seemed merciless in his intentions. ”

“ Augustus Atherton, attorney-at-law, was seated in his office looking over some papers.
Suddenly he tapped a bell upon his desk and his office-boy entered.
“Tell Sands to bring me a copy of Halstead’s testimony, Bob,” he said, shortly, “and tell him to hurry; I want it this minute!”
“Mr. Sands is out to lunch, sir, won’t be back for half an hour,” said the boy, respectfully, “but Miss Marlowe has the copy; shall I tell her to bring it?”
“Yes, at once,” said the lawyer, wheeling around in his chair.
In less than a minute his “typewriter girl” entered the office. ”

“ If looks could kill, I should certainly die this minute, and yet that black-hearted fellow once dared to make love to me! Oh, how I despise such treacherous creatures!”
When Marion reached the Astor House dining-room, she stood perfectly still and looked around.
A dozen people turned their heads and commented on her beauty.
[7]
Dollie and her employer were not there, so Marion made her way to the parlor. The instant she looked in, she saw Dollie sitting by the window. ”

“ You can believe everything that a gentleman says to you, and but very little of what a knave, a rascal or a roue whispers in your ear. Men who praise you to your face are nearly always insincere. Men who make promises easily are apt to forget them easily. We would advise you to discourage these promises at the moment they are made. Do not expect anything from men and then you will not be disappointed. We suppose, of course, that these promises refer to engagements like suppers and the theatre, etc. We cannot imagine what other promises men in general can be making to a respectable young girl. ”