THE CROWNING ACT OF HEROISM.
One second more and her act would have been fatal.
Marion caught the child and sprang back like a flash. The next instant,
with a crash that echoed block after block, the mammoth box of iron
struck the walk where the child had stood and actually telescoped its
way straight through the pavement into the cellar.
There was not a sound for the space of a second, then the frightened
bystanders recovered their voices and a cheer went up that was swelled
from every direction. A policeman was just in time to catch the child’s
mother as she fainted, and at that moment a handsome carriage drove up,
with the coachman pale with apprehension.
“You had better go home with her, miss, for she has fainted,” said the
officer. “I’ll have to send for an ambulance if there is no one to go
with her.”
“She has only fainted,” said Marion, calmly, “but I’ll go home with her
with pleasure, if I can be of any assistance.”
Some one had brought a glass of water, and the lady was rapidly
reviving.
“Do come home with me, dear,” she said, turning to Marion.
The officer assisted them into the carriage, and again the crowd swung
their hats and cheered the brave girl to the echo. Two hours later
Marion burst into the little furnished room where Dollie sat, waving
a check for a thousand dollars in her hand, and with tears of joy
glistening on her dark lashes.
“Oh, Dollie! Dollie!” she cried, hysterically, “I saved a rich woman’s
child from getting killed, and she has made me a present of a thousand
dollars!”
Dollie stared at her in absolute amazement, and at that very moment in
rushed Miss Allyn.
“Oh, you darling girl! You have been and made a heroine of yourself
again!” she cried, happily. “And to think I had only been in town an
hour when I saw you do that heroic deed and got another ‘exclusive’ in
the evening paper!”
The girls were both hugging and kissing her, but she went on talking
rapidly.
“Poor mother left me a little money, girls, enough to pay my bills, if
I get out of work, but I’m back on my paper in the same old job, and
I’ve got the promise of a position for Dollie.”
“You thought of us the very first thing, of course,” said Marion,
laughing. “It wouldn’t be you if you were not doing us a kindness.”
“Oh, come off!” cried Miss Allyn, in her characteristic slang. “Why,
Marion, you’re a treasure! I’m constantly making money out of you! Why,
I couldn’t begin to tell how much I have made out of your exploits!”
There was a rap on the door and Bert Jackson came in.
“Hurrah! I’ve heard all about it!” he cried, delightedly. “It’s all in
the paper, and they say you are a daisy! I do hope that woman rewarded
you, Marion.”
“She wrote me up,” said Marion, as she introduced him to Miss Allyn,
“and the rich woman gave me a thousand dollars.”
Bert did a “two-step” around the room to show his appreciation.
“Now, what the mischief will you do with so much money, Marion?” he
asked, jokingly.
“Pay off the mortgage on father’s farm for the first thing,” was the
girl’s prompt reply, “and then there’ll be five hundred left for Miss
Allyn and Dollie and me, and I guess we’ll find a way to spend it.”
“You must buy some city clothes,” said Bert, with unusual gravity. “I’m
just dying to see how you and Dollie will look in swell togs. You are
too deucedly pretty to go around looking so dowdy!”
There was a general shout at Bert’s honest words, but through it all
Miss Allyn was gazing at Marion admiringly.
“Do you know what I think?” she asked, rather curtly. “Well, I’ll tell
you, Miss Marion Marlowe, and you can thank me or not. I think that
paying off your father’s mortgage is your crowning act of heroism!”
Just then a messenger boy knocked on the door and handed in a letter.
“It is from Ralph,” said Dollie, blushing as she looked it over. “He
has been forgiven freely by his aunt, and is coming over to see me this
evening.”
“And I have a letter from Mr. Ray,” said Marion, drawing one from her
pocket. “He says that they are all growing steadily ‘fat and happy,’
and that his sister Ada has a brand new lover, who isn’t such a cad as
the other fellow.”
“Is that all he says?” asked Miss Allyn, slyly.
Marion’s sweet face crimsoned to the roots of her hair.
“I’ll not tell you,” she said, laughing, “for I know your tricks. You’d
trot right down town and put it in the paper.”
And in this pleasant manner a long, dreary struggle ended. Marion
Marlowe had proved herself a heroine in more ways than one, and now,
with her friends about her, and a brighter outlook before her, the
courageous girl was enjoying a little respite.
THE END.
No. 3 of My Queen will be entitled “Marion Marlowe’s True Heart;
or, How a Daughter Forgave.” If you are pleased with Marion and her
adventures, the publishers trust you will continue to read her career
from week to week.
Questions and Answers
BY
GRACE SHIRLEY
Note.—This department will be made a special feature of this
publication. It will be conducted by Miss Shirley, whose remarkable
ability to answer all questions, no matter how delicate the import,
will be much appreciated, we feel sure, by all our readers, who need
not hesitate to write her on any subject. Miss Shirley will have their
interests at heart and never refuse her assistance or sympathy.
The following letters are a few which we have received from time to
time, addressed to the editors of our different publications, the
answers to which will be found interesting.
Street & Smith.
“I am a young man of eighteen, and perhaps you will think that I should
go to a man for advice in my troubles, but I have read your letters to
young women and am of the opinion that your advice would be better than
that of any man I ever met. I have been paying attention to a young
lady for six months and have tried to be a model lover. I only earn
eight dollars a week, but I have taken her to picnics and bought ice
cream and soda for her frequently, yet she does not seem to care more
for me than for the other young men whom she meets. Do you think it
wise for me to try any longer to win her affection?
“Alfred K.”
We are very pleased to receive your letter and assure you that our
sympathies are with all young men in their troubles. No—we would not
advise you to waste any more time on the young lady in question as she
does not seem to appreciate your efforts; but you must bear in mind
that no amount of ice cream will buy affection. If the young lady does
not love you for yourself alone, you cannot win her over even though
you were to invest your whole eight dollars in sugary inducements. We
would advise you to save the money you are now spending in this way in
order to buy groceries for some other young lady who, we hope, will
better appreciate your devotion in the future.
“You have been so helpful in your answers to others who have written
you for advice that I know you will help me out with my trouble.
“We have been married two years, and I had my husband’s attention
until recently. Now he seems to find more pleasure in chatting with
other women when we spend an evening out than he does in talking
with me. I have no idea that he is unfaithful, but I want him all to
myself. How can I make myself more interesting?
“Mrs. Alice M.”
We would suggest that you let your affection for your husband work out
its own salvation. You will surely have cause to congratulate yourself
more if he prefers you after seeing other women than if he saw only
you. It is no compliment to a woman to stick to her because she is the
only woman in sight. If your husband talks with other women and yet
gives you no cause to doubt him you have the best possible proof that
you are more attractive to him than any one else.
We think that you are probably over-jealous, and that your husband only
fulfills the requirements of society in making himself agreeable to the
women he meets. You should do exactly the same as he does—make the most
of others’ company when you meet them at any social function, and be
more than happy when you and your husband are alone together and can
exchange those mutual loving confidences that are so gratifying.
“I have read with interest your letters of advice to others and hope
that you will be kind enough to advise me in my trouble. My husband
earns fifteen dollars a week, and after our expenses are paid there
are four dollars left, out of which I only receive one for spending
money. As I work very hard to economize for him, do you not think that
he should divide more evenly? I have asked him, and he says that one
dollar a week pin money is enough for any woman.
“Mrs. A. H. B.”
We are very sorry indeed to hear that these troubles exist between you
and your husband. The question of finances has broken up many a family.
We can only advise you to reason with your husband and try to convince
him that his own dignity requires that his wife should be possessed of
sufficient funds to enable her to escape humiliation when in company
with other women whose husbands are in similar financial circumstances.
“I have read your letters to other young women and take the liberty
of asking you to kindly answer this: I became engaged to a young
man about six months ago. He gave me a beautiful engagement ring of
sapphires and diamonds. Now I want to break the engagement and do not
want to give him back the ring. Would it be mean in me to keep it? I
do not think he will ask for it.”
It looks to us very much as though you cared for the young man’s ring
more than you did for him. Did you promise to marry him in order to get
the bauble? A young girl who will let her vanity carry her to such an
extent is deserving of the severest censure; but we trust that in your
case we are mistaken. Send him back the ring by all means! It was given
you as the emblem of your devotion. If you do not love him, you have
no right to wear it. Do not lower the standard of your sex by such a
foolish action.
“I am a young lady of fourteen, and a young man I know is very fond of
me. My mother tells me that I am too young to think of such things,
and insists that I shall go to school for two years longer. Now, as
she was married at fourteen, I do not think she ought to stop me from
marrying for I feel very sure that I should be perfectly happy with
Charley. Please tell me what you would advise.
“Lizzie C.”
In the first place, Lizzie, we would suggest that you speak of yourself
as a young girl, not as a “young lady.” No girl can be a “lady” who
ignores her mother’s sensible advice. You certainly should go to school
for several years longer. You are entirely too young to think of
marrying. Your mother was probably a far wiser girl at your age than
you are. Try to develop your character and learn as much as you can.
When you are twenty years of age you will make a far better choice of a
husband than you can possibly do now.
“I am spending the fall months in the Pennsylvania mountains. There
are a lot of young men at the hotel here, and we have straw rides two
or three times a week. Now, we girls always try to have a jolly time,
and we do let the boys kiss and hug us when we are off on a ride. Last
night a lady stopping at the same house as myself saw us and she read
me a terrible lecture on what she called ‘my loose conduct.’ Do you
think there is any real harm in a little innocent fun like that? She
threatened to write to my parents and have me sent home.
“Jessie C. M.”
It is true that young girls have been kissed and hugged since the world
began, and it is doubtful if this form of amusement does the amount
of harm that is popularly supposed, especially when the intent is
innocent. The stolen kiss is far more dangerous to morality than that
bestowed openly in the presence of one’s companions. No doubt the lady
you speak of meant her lecture for your good, but we trust that her
language was not merited. You should learn to be judicious and avoid
the appearance of evil. One thing is certain—the young lady who holds
herself aloof from undue familiarity, and maintains a reasonable amount
of maidenly reserve, stands a better chance of winning the permanent
affections of some good man than does the one who is too free with her
favors.
“One of the nicest fellows in the world has been paying attention to
me for over a year, he has never said outright that he loves me, but
I know he does from the way he acts. A short time ago I met another
fellow that I liked pretty well, and went out with him once or twice.
Now the first one has threatened to shoot himself if I go out with
the other any more. I don’t want him to do anything rash, and yet I do
enjoy an occasional evening out with my new acquaintance. How can I
adjust my conduct so as to suit my old beau for whom I really care a
great deal?
“Adeline.”
We do not think your old friend will do what he threatens, as this line
of conduct is confined solely to madmen and imbeciles.
If he belongs to either of these classes the sooner you are rid of him
the better. It is too much of a responsibility for you to be forever
trying to prevent a man from blowing his brains out. Until he declares
his love and asks your hand in marriage there is no occasion for your
being over careful of his feelings.
“I am greatly interested in your correspondence department, and
although I am an old maid of thirty-five I write to ask you a serious
question: Is an ‘old maid’ really such an object of ridicule as we are
led to believe? I have been self-supporting for twenty years, and able
to help many married women and children whose husbands and fathers
could not support them. Is there not something else in the world just
as praiseworthy as matrimony?
“Miss C.”
We are delighted to get this honest letter! There is no woman more
noble than a self-supporting, humanity-helping “old maid,” and yet we
must take exception to this term in your case. You are at the prime
of life—the age when the average woman is most able and loveable.
If it were not for the numbers of helpful women like yourself we
shudder to think of what would become of some of the married women
and children. We have seen whole families lean for mental, moral and
financial support upon some “old maid aunt” or sister. The woman who
has “hoed her own row” deserves the sympathy, admiration and respect
of the entire universe. When she does marry she will be to her husband
a “pearl beyond price,” a helpmeet and companion whose value is
inestimable.
“I am very much distressed over what you may deem a trifling matter;
nevertheless, I am coming to you for advice, my dear Miss Shirley.
“I am engaged to be married to a very nice appearing young man, but on
several occasions I have seen him kick dogs and cats, and as I am a
great lover of animals, it has troubled me greatly. I am almost afraid
to trust my happiness in his hands. Do you think I am foolish or a
‘crank’ for feeling as I do?
“Isabel.”
“A merciful man is merciful to his beast.” No, we do not think you are
foolish or a “crank.” On the contrary, we are sure you are a very wise
little woman.
The person who abuses an animal is more of a brute than the animal
abused. We have no words in which to express our disgust of the
monster. If you can not bring this young man to your way of thinking
you would do well not to marry him.
“I am in deep trouble and need help. You have been so considerate of
others that I know you will assist me in my misery.
“I am nearly twenty-five years old, and have been ‘heart whole and
fancy free’ until this summer when I fell in love with a man who,
unhappily for me, is already married, but who returns my love. We are
both of us unhappy and miserable except on the few occasions when we
can be alone together. I cannot think that I am right to love him, but
at the same time I feel that I cannot give him up, and he says that
he will never relinquish me. What can we do to improve our miserable
position?
“Fannie D. F.”
Unfortunately, the story of your love is not an uncommon one. The
little god Cupid is no respecter of persons or conditions, and he not
infrequently works sad havoc with the peace and harmony of the family.
We do not believe any one is to blame for falling in love, but we
do not hesitate to say that a man and woman situated as you are are
guilty of the gravest offense when you encourage an affection which
can only result in misery to some one. Both men and women ofttimes
marry hastily only to repent at leisure, but no self-respecting girl
will allow herself to be to blame for that repentance if she can avoid
it. We would advise you to discontinue meeting this man at once, as no
good will come of your further acquaintance. Try and interest yourself
in some worthy young man who has no obligations elsewhere, and in the
end we are sure you will be much happier. If you find that you cannot
overcome your love you can at least suffer and be brave, and so uphold
the standard of honor in woman.
“Were you ever in love, Miss Shirley? For if you have been I know
you will be able to understand my trouble. I have had a sort of
understanding with a young man for nearly three years without our
being actually engaged. Recently he has shown great attention to
another girl, and I am left alone much of the time. None of the other
fellows care to show me any attention as I have been so devoted to
my lover that I have barely treated them civilly. I feel as if I had
wasted all my best opportunities and had really no hope left in life.
Can you not show me some way to win back my lover?
“Irene S.”
We are afraid that your own deportment has been your undoing. Evidently
your attentions to the young man have been too pronounced and he has
tired of the love which he held so easily. Owen Meredith says that
“man’s heart is like that delicate weed, that needs to be trampled on
boldly indeed—ere it give forth the fragrance you wish to extract.”
Perhaps if you had not shown such marked preference for his company
you would have proven more interesting, as the spice of uncertainty is
pleasing to most masculine natures. You had better treat his “change
of heart” with total indifference, and perhaps in this way you will
re-awaken his interest.
“I am a salesgirl in a large store and I have read ‘My Queen, No. 1,’
with a great deal of pleasure. I wish I could meet a few girls like
Marion Marlowe, but, alas! they do not often grow behind dry goods
counters! Some of the girls I meet are nearly all very coarse in their
manners, and a few of them are positively vulgar. Why is it that the
girls or so many of them who work in the big stores are so dreadfully
rude and use such shocking language? It seems to me that there is no
excuse for using profanity or telling improper stories, and yet they
are both common occurrences, especially in the lunch rooms. Can you
not do something to make them different? Please scold them a little in
your correspondence department.
“Priscilla S.”
We are very sorry indeed to hear that your associates are so
undesirable, but we think that instead of telling tales about them you
should be talking to them kindly and urging them to be better. No good
will ever come of scolding the girls, and Grace Shirley loves them far
too dearly to ever scold them. The poor things inherit much of their
wickedness, and their poverty-stricken, uncared-for lives have made
them bitter. If you would read the story “For Gold or Soul” (No. 18
Street & Smith’s Alliance Library), we think it would do you good. It
will tell you how one young girl in a department store did a great deal
of good, and in such a way that it made everybody love her. Do not set
yourself up to be better than the girls, but just try to make them
better in a gentle, Christ-like manner.
“I am receiving attentions from two young men who have both proposed
marriage to me. They are very different in disposition, and I am at
a loss which to decide upon. One of them is quite poor, but tries to
do all he can for both my mother and myself, and when he is at our
house to supper insists on helping me wipe the dishes, and little
things like that. The other has a better position and more salary, but
he turns up his nose at a man who does anything about the house, and
always sits on the piazza and smokes until we are through the work.
Mother says the first fellow is the best, but the last one seems more
manly to me. Please tell me your opinion?
“Pauline B.”
We quite agree with your mother’s judgment. Some of the bravest men
we know are the most thoughtful of trifles, and any little thing that
a man can do to lighten the burdens of others is manly. We would not
care to see a man wiping dishes or making beds for a living, but his
ability to do these things does not detract from his manliness. Women
help their husbands with their accounts, and in many of the so-called
masculine vocations without losing an iota of their womanly charm.
There is no reason why a husband should be less a man because he
occasionally assists his wife in her household duties.
“Do you think it wrong for a wife to try to earn money? My husband’s
salary just barely supports us, and I have hard work to get any
clothes, even with the greatest possible economy. I could earn several
dollars a week teaching music, but my husband objects, and claims that
if I work it will be a reflection upon him and that he will consider
that I have deliberately insulted him. He does the best he can, and
gives me all he earns, but it is not enough for our needs. I will not
deceive him about it, but would I be wronging him if I insisted upon
earning my own pin money?
“Dorothy J.”
We see no harm in a woman earning money if she desires. Your husband
seems possessed of a peculiar kind of pride. If he is not able to
support you properly he should place no obstacle in the way of your
supporting yourself. Explain your motives to him freely and no doubt he
will soon come to your way of thinking.
“Won’t you advise me in a matter that is perplexing me? I had a
quarrel with my sweetheart a week ago, and declared that I would
never see him nor write to him again. Since we broke I have been most
unhappy, and I am now firmly convinced that I love him and am anxious
to have him back. He is as proud as can be, and I know he will never
come unless I send for him. Do you think that I would lose his respect
if I wrote him to come back or ought I to stick it out in spite of the
fact that I love him. I have gotten all over my anger, but I do hate
to break my word.
“Lulu H.”
A victory over one’s self is better than “sticking out” a foolish
quarrel. It is far more womanly to forgive than not to if there is no
real cause for anger, and to say “I was mistaken” is simply to say, “I
am wiser to-day than yesterday.” Your lover will probably value your
sweetness of disposition more if you make the first advances towards
reconciliation. A foolish resolution cannot be too quickly broken, but
Grace Shirley’s best advice is to try and avoid quarrels hereafter by
both of you giving in a little at the start.
“I have read the correspondence department of ‘My Queen’ with a great
deal of interest, and have decided at last to ask you a question. Has
a poor girl a right to take money from a man when it is offered in
the kindest and most gentlemanly spirit? I am working at present for
six dollars a week and of course it is very difficult for me to live
in comfort and still dress neatly. The young man whom I am engaged to
knows my condition perfectly and until we are married he insists upon
helping me. I have been roundly censured for accepting his aid, and
that is why I ask my question.
“Carrie L.”
We are very glad indeed to answer this question. The man who professes
to love a girl and then sits calmly by and watches her struggle without
so much as an offer of timely assistance is in our opinion a “mental
monstrosity.” Any lover with a heart in his breast will help the girl
he loves, and the greater her necessities the greater will be his
assistance. A self-respecting girl does not like to take financial aid,
but she would be foolish to refuse it if it meant bread and butter. We
are all “creatures of circumstance” and environment in great measure.
Good positions are not to be had for the asking, nor is genuine worth
and talent always rewarded. A true man always longs to protect the
woman he loves, and no such man will ever be dissuaded from bestowing
needed assistance because of the sickly twaddle of narrow-minded
people. Of course, the indiscriminate practice of taking money from men
is quite another matter, as some men are only too glad to place a girl
under obligations to them. A good girl can usually determine the motive
of the giver, and we would advise her to be very careful in accepting
such assistance.
“I have been engaged to a young man for a year, and I now discover
that he has an invalid mother that he expects me to take care of as
soon as we are married. I am very fond of my lover, but I am not very
strong. Do you think it is my duty to marry him and make a slave of
myself for the sake of his mother?
“Lizzie C.”
No, we do not think it your duty, Lizzie. The man who loves you truly
will never allow you to be a slave either to his mother or any one
else. If his mother is an invalid, let him hire a nurse for her. A
woman has quite enough to do to care for herself and her husband
without looking out for any of his or her relatives. Too many homes
have been spoiled already by these methods.
Talk to your lover kindly but decidedly, and let him understand your
feelings exactly. If he says you do not love him you may depend upon
it he is selfish. Ask him if he would be willing to do the same if the
invalid was your mother. The average man does not seem to understand
that it is quite enough for one woman to be a wife and keep her own
little home in “apple-pie” order. You must educate him, but you will
have to accomplish this with tact, else he will never admit it.
“Please allow me to tell you my ‘tale of woe,’ and then, if you can, I
want you to advise me. I am almost sixteen, and I work in a store, but
there is a rich man in town who says he wants to marry me. This man
has bachelor apartments, and he has taken me to them twice. The rooms
are beautiful, and I would dearly love to live there. I do not love
him, but I would like to be his wife and live in those pretty rooms.
The last time I was there he gave me some wine, and he says if I will
come there and be his wife I can have everything lovely. Now, all this
is nice, but he does not say when he will marry me. Do you think I
can trust him to marry me at all? I shall be dreadfully disappointed
if he doesn’t, but if he wants me so badly, why doesn’t he set the
wedding-day and hurry our marriage?
“Ada.”
If you were a year younger, Ada, we would ask the Gerry Society to look
after you! Please send me your address and let me come and talk to you,
for I am very much afraid that you are on the high road to destruction.
It seems incredible that a girl, even of your tender years, should not
understand this man, and we wonder that you do not fly from him as you
would from a pestilence. Please, Ada, do not go to his rooms again! You
will rue it if you do, of that we are certain. We would also like you
to send us this fellow’s address, as we are sure he is a rascal and
should be watched by the authorities. We only hope that your letter
tells all. Do not fail to write again, and give us your address.
MY QUEEN
A Weekly Journal for ... Young Women
CONTAINING THE FAMOUS
Marion Marlowe Stories
MARION MARLOWE is a beautiful and ambitious farmer’s daughter, who
goes to the great metropolis in search of fame and fortune. One of the
most interesting series of stories ever written; each one complete in
itself, and detailing an interesting episode in her life.
Published Weekly. Edited by Grace Shirley.
CATALOGUE
1—From Farm to Fortune; or, Only a Farmer’s Daughter.
_Issued Sept. 27th_
2—Marion Marlowe’s Courage; or, A Brave Girl’s Struggle for Life and Honor.
_Issued Oct. 4th_
3—Marion Marlowe’s True Heart; or, How a Daughter Forgave.
_Issued Oct. 11th_
4—Marion Marlowe’s Noble Work; or, The Tragedy at the Hospital.
_Issued Oct. 18th_
5—Marion Marlowe Entrapped; or, The Victim of Professional Jealousy.
_Issued Oct. 25th_
6—Marion Marlowe’s Peril; or, A Mystery Unveiled.
_Issued Nov. 1st_
Thirty-two pages, and beautiful cover in colors. =Price, five cents per
copy.= For sale by all newsdealers.
STREET & SMITH, Publishers,
238 William Street, New York City.
Transcriber’s Notes
Minor punctuation and printer errors repaired.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=.