Speaker 1: A Quicksilver Cassandra by John Kendrick Bangs. It was altogether queer,
Speaker 1: and Jingleberry to this day does not entirely understand it.
Speaker 1: He had examined his heart as carefully as he knew how,
Speaker 1: and had arrived at the entirely reasonable conclusion that he
Speaker 1: was in love. He had every symptom of that malady
Speaker 1: when Miss Marian Chapman was within range of his vision.
Speaker 1: There was no room for anyone else there. He suffered
Speaker 1: from that peculiar optical condition which enabled him to see
Speaker 1: but one thing at a time when she was present,
Speaker 1: and she was that one thing, which is probably the
Speaker 1: reason why in his mind's eye she was the only
Speaker 1: woman in the world, For Marian was ever present before
Speaker 1: Jingleberry's mental optic He had also examined as thoroughly as
Speaker 1: he could in hypothesis the heart of this only woman,
Speaker 1: and he had, or thought he had, which amounts to
Speaker 1: the same thing reason to believe that she reciprocated his affection.
Speaker 1: She certainly seemed glad always when he was about. She
Speaker 1: called him by his first name, and sometimes quarreled with
Speaker 1: him as she quarreled with no one else. And if
Speaker 1: that wasn't a sign of love in woman, then Jingleberry
Speaker 1: had studied the sex all his years, and they were
Speaker 1: thirty two for nothing. In short, Marian behaved so like
Speaker 1: a sister to him that Jingleberry, knowing how dreams and
Speaker 1: women go by contraries, was absolutely sure that a sister
Speaker 1: was just the reverse from that relationship which in her
Speaker 1: heart of hearts she was willing to assume toward him,
Speaker 1: And he was happy in consequence. Believing this, it was
Speaker 1: not at all strange that he should make up his
Speaker 1: mind to propose marriage to her, though like many other men,
Speaker 1: he was somewhat chicken hearted in coming to the point.
Speaker 1: Four times had he called upon Marian for the sole
Speaker 1: purpose of asking her to become his wife, and four
Speaker 1: times had he led up to the point and then
Speaker 1: talked about something else. What quality is it in a
Speaker 1: man that makes a coward of him in the presence
Speaker 1: of one he considers his dearest friend is not within
Speaker 1: the province of this narrative to determine, But Jingleberry had
Speaker 1: it in its most virulent form. He had often got
Speaker 1: so far along in his proposal as Marian, uh will
Speaker 1: you will you? And there he had often stopped contenting
Speaker 1: himself with such commonplace conclusions as go to the matinee
Speaker 1: with me tomorrow, or ask your father for me if
Speaker 1: he thinks the stock market is likely to straighten soon,
Speaker 1: and other amazing substitutes for the words he so ardently
Speaker 1: desired yet feared to utter. But this afternoon, the one
Speaker 1: upon which the extraordinary events about to be narrated took place,
Speaker 1: Jingleberry had called resolved not to be balked in his
Speaker 1: determination to learn his fate. He had come to purpose
Speaker 1: and the purpose he would grew at Coliam. His confidence
Speaker 1: in a successful termination to his suit had been re
Speaker 1: enforced that very morning by the receipt of a note
Speaker 1: from miss Chapman asking him to dine with her parents
Speaker 1: and herself that evening, and to accompany them after dinner
Speaker 1: to the opera. Surely that meant a great deal, and
Speaker 1: Jingleberry conceived that the time was ripe for a blushing
Speaker 1: yes to his long deferred question. So he was there
Speaker 1: in the Chapman parlor waiting for the young lady to
Speaker 1: come down and become the recipient of the interesting interrogatory,
Speaker 1: as it is called in some sections of Massachusetts. I'll
Speaker 1: ask her the first thing, said Jingleberry, buttoning his Prince
Speaker 1: Albert as though to impart a possible needed stiffening to
Speaker 1: his backbone. She will say yes, and then I shall
Speaker 1: enjoy the dinner and the opera so much more. Ahem.
Speaker 1: I wonder if I am pale? I feel sort of. Uh,
Speaker 1: there's a mirror that will tell. Jingleberry walked to the mirror,
Speaker 1: an oval, gilt framed mirror such as was very much
Speaker 1: in vogue fifty years ago, for which reason alone no doubt,
Speaker 1: it was now admitted to the gold and white parlor
Speaker 1: of the House of Chapman. Blessed things these mirrors, said Jingleberry,
Speaker 1: gazing at the the reflection of his face so reassuring.
Speaker 1: I'm not at all pale. Quite the contrary, I'm red
Speaker 1: as sunset. Good Omen that the sun is setting on
Speaker 1: my bachelor days, and my scarf is crooked. Ah. The
Speaker 1: ejaculation was one of pleasure for Pictured in the mirror,
Speaker 1: Jingleberry saw the form of Marian entering the room through
Speaker 1: the portieres. How do you do, Marion? Been admiring myself
Speaker 1: in the glass, he said, turning to greet her. I ah.
Speaker 1: Then he stopped as well, he might, for he addressed
Speaker 1: no one. Miss Chapman was nowhere to be seen. Dear me,
Speaker 1: said Jingleberry, rubbing his eyes in astonishment. How extraordinary I
Speaker 1: surely thought I saw her. Why I did see her?
Speaker 1: That is, I saw her reflection in the glass. Ha
Speaker 1: ha ha. She caught me gazing at myself there and
Speaker 1: has hidden. He walked to the door and drew the
Speaker 1: porteriera aside and looked into the hall. There was no
Speaker 1: one there. He searched every corner of the hall and
Speaker 1: the dining room at its end, and then returned to
Speaker 1: the parlor, but it was still empty. And then occurred
Speaker 1: the most strangely unaccountable event in his life. As he
Speaker 1: looked about the parlor, he for the second time found
Speaker 1: himself before the mirror. But the reflection therein, though it
Speaker 1: was of himself, was of himself with his back turned
Speaker 1: to his real self, as he stood gazing amazedly into
Speaker 1: the glass. And besides this, although Jingleberry was alone in
Speaker 1: the real parlor, the reflection of the dainty room showed
Speaker 1: that there he was not so for seated in her
Speaker 1: accustomed graceful attitude in the reflected armchair was nothing less
Speaker 1: than the counterfeit presentation of Marian Chatman herself. It was
Speaker 1: a wonder Jingleberry's eyes did not fall out of his head,
Speaker 1: he stared. So what a situation it was to be
Speaker 1: sure to stand there and see in the glass a
Speaker 1: scene which, as far as he could observe, had no
Speaker 1: basis in reality. And how interesting it was for Jingleberry
Speaker 1: to watch himself going through the form of chatting pleasantly
Speaker 1: there in the mirror's depths with the woman he loved.
Speaker 1: It almost made him jealous, though the reflected Jingleberry was
Speaker 1: so entirely independent of the real Jingleberry, the jealousy soon
Speaker 1: gave way to consternation, For to the wandering suitor, the
Speaker 1: independent reflection was beginning to do that for which he
Speaker 1: himself had come. In other words, there was a proposal
Speaker 1: going on there in the glass, and Jingleberry enjoyed the
Speaker 1: novel sensation of seeing how he himself would look when
Speaker 1: passing through a similar ordeal. Altogether, however, it was not
Speaker 1: as pleasing as most novelties are, for there were distinct
Speaker 1: signs in the face of the mirrored Marian that the
Speaker 1: mirrored Jingleberry's words were distasteful to her. And that the
Speaker 1: proposition he was making was not one she would entertain
Speaker 1: under any circumstances. She kept shaking her head, and the
Speaker 1: more she shook it, the more the glazed Jingleberry seemed
Speaker 1: to implore her to be his. Finally, Jingleberry saw his
Speaker 1: quicksilver counterpart fall upon his knees before Marian of the
Speaker 1: glass and hold out his arms and hands toward her
Speaker 1: in an attitude of prayerful despair. Whereupon the girl sprang
Speaker 1: to her feet, stamped her left foot furiously upon the floor,
Speaker 1: and pointed the unwelcome lover to the door. Jingleberry was
Speaker 1: fairly staggered. What could be the meaning of so extraordinary
Speaker 1: a freak of nature? Surely it must be prophetic. Fate
Speaker 1: was kind enough to warn him in advance, no doubt
Speaker 1: otherwise it was a trick. And why should she stoop
Speaker 1: to play so paltry a trick as that upon him.
Speaker 1: Surely Fate would not be so petty. Now it was
Speaker 1: a warning. The mirror had been so affected by some
Speaker 1: supernatural agency that it divined and reflected that which was
Speaker 1: to be, Instead of confining itself to what Jingleberry called
Speaker 1: simul tineity, it led instead of following or acting coincidentally
Speaker 1: with the reality. And it was the part of wisdom,
Speaker 1: he thought, for him to yield to its suggestion and retreat.
Speaker 1: And as he thought this, he heard the sweet, soft
Speaker 1: voice behind him. I hope you haven't got tired of waiting, Tom,
Speaker 1: it said, and turning Jingleberry saw the unquestionable real Marians
Speaker 1: standing in the doorway. No, he answered shortly. I have
Speaker 1: had a pleasant of very entertaining ten minutes, but I
Speaker 1: must hurry along. Marian, he added, I only came to
Speaker 1: tell you that I have a frightful headache and I
Speaker 1: can't very well manage to come to dinner or go
Speaker 1: to the opera with you tonight. Why, Tom, pouted Marian.
Speaker 1: I am awfully disappointed. I had counted on you, and
Speaker 1: now my whole evening will be spoiled. Don't you think
Speaker 1: you could rest a little while and then come. Well,
Speaker 1: I want to, Marian, said Jingleberry. But to tell the truth,
Speaker 1: I really am afraid I am going to be ill.
Speaker 1: I've had such a strange experience this afternoon. I tell
Speaker 1: me what it was, suggest tested Marian sympathetically, and Jingleberry
Speaker 1: did tell her what it was. He told her the
Speaker 1: whole story, from beginning to end, what he had come for,
Speaker 1: how he happened to look in the mirror, and what
Speaker 1: he saw there. And Marian listened attentively to every word
Speaker 1: he said. She laughed once or twice, and when he
Speaker 1: had done, she reminded him that mirrors have the habit
Speaker 1: of reversing everything. And somehow or other, Jingleberry's headache went away,
Speaker 1: and and well everything went the end of a quicksilver
Speaker 1: Cassandra by John Kendrick Bangs