Speaker 1: Quicksilver Cassandra by J. K. Baines. 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 room for no one 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 was 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 a woman. Then
Speaker 1: Jingleberry had studied the sex all his ears, and they
Speaker 1: were thirty two for nothing. In short, Marian behaved so
Speaker 1: like a sister to him that Jingleberry, knowing how dreams
Speaker 1: and women go by contraries, was absolutely sure that a
Speaker 1: sister was just the reverse from that relationship which in
Speaker 1: her heart of hearts she was willing to assume towards 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 it is in man
Speaker 1: that makes a coward of him in the presence of
Speaker 1: one he considers his dearest frith 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 or will
Speaker 1: you will you? And there he had as often stopped
Speaker 1: contenting himself with such commonplace conclusions as go to the
Speaker 1: matina with me tomorrow, or ask your father for me
Speaker 1: if he thinks the stock market is likely to strengthen 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 propose,
Speaker 1: and propose he would ruat caleum. His confidence in a
Speaker 1: successful termination to his suit had been reinforced that very
Speaker 1: morning by the receipt of a note from miss Chapman
Speaker 1: asking him to die with her parents and herself that evening,
Speaker 1: and to accompany them after dinner to the opera. Surely
Speaker 1: that meant a great deal, and Jingleberry conceived that the
Speaker 1: time was ripe for a blushing yes to his long
Speaker 1: deferred question. So he was here in the Chapman parlor
Speaker 1: waiting for the young lady to come down and become
Speaker 1: the recipient of the interesting interrogatory, as it is called
Speaker 1: in some sections of Massachusetts. I'll ask her the first
Speaker 1: thing said Jingleberry, buttoning up his Prince Albert as though
Speaker 1: to impart a possibly needed stiffening to his backbone. She
Speaker 1: will say yes, and then I shall enjoy the dinner
Speaker 1: and the opera so much. The more, ahem, I wonder
Speaker 1: if I am pale? I feel sort of. There's a
Speaker 1: mirror that will tell. Jingleberry walked to the mirror, an oval,
Speaker 1: gilt framed mirror such as was very much the vogue
Speaker 1: fifty years ago, for which reason alone no doubt, it
Speaker 1: was now admitted to the golden white parlor of the
Speaker 1: House of Chapman. Blessed these mirrors, said Jingleberry, gazing at
Speaker 1: the reflection of his face, so reassuring. I'm not at
Speaker 1: all pale. Quite the contrary, I'm red as a sunset.
Speaker 1: Good Omen that the sun is setting on my bachelor days,
Speaker 1: and my scarf is crooked. Ah. The ejaculation was one
Speaker 1: of pleasure. For Pictured in the mirror, Jingleberry saw the
Speaker 1: form of Marian entering the room through the Poortierre. How
Speaker 1: do you do, Marian? Been admiring myself in the glass,
Speaker 1: he said, turning to greet her. I er here he
Speaker 1: stopped as well he might, for he addressed. No one,
Speaker 1: Miss Chapman was nowhere to be seen. Dear me, said Jingleberry,
Speaker 1: rubbing his eyes in astonishment. How extraordinary I surely thought
Speaker 1: I saw her. Why I did see her, that is,
Speaker 1: I saw her reflection in the glad ha. She caught
Speaker 1: me gazing at myself there and has hidden. He walked
Speaker 1: to the door and drew the portiere aside and looked
Speaker 1: into the hall. There was no one there. He searched
Speaker 1: every corner of the hall and of the dining room
Speaker 1: at its end, and then returned to the parlor, but
Speaker 1: it was still empty. And then occurred the most strangely
Speaker 1: unaccountable event in his life. As he looked about the parlor,
Speaker 1: he for the second time found himself before the mirror.
Speaker 1: But the reflection therein, though it was of himself, was
Speaker 1: of himself with his back turn to his real self
Speaker 1: as he stood gazing amazedly into the glass. And besides this,
Speaker 1: although Jingleberry was alone in the real parlor, the reflection
Speaker 1: of the dainty room showed that there he was not
Speaker 1: so for Seated in her accustomed graceful attitude in the
Speaker 1: reflected arm chair was nothing less than the counterfeit presentment
Speaker 1: of Marian Chapman herself. It was a wonder Jingleberry's eyes
Speaker 1: did not fall out of his head, he stared. So
Speaker 1: what a situation it was to be sure to stand
Speaker 1: there and see in the glass a scene which, as
Speaker 1: far as he could observe, had no basis in reality.
Speaker 1: And how interesting it was for Jingleberry to watch himself
Speaker 1: going through the form of chatting pleasantly there in the
Speaker 1: mirror's depths with the woman he loved. It almost made
Speaker 1: him jealous, though the reflected Jingleberry was so entirely independent
Speaker 1: of the real Jingleberry, the jealousy soon gave way to consternation,
Speaker 1: for to the wondering suitor, the independent reflection was beginning
Speaker 1: to do that for which he himself had come. In
Speaker 1: other words, there was a proposal going on there in
Speaker 1: the glass, and Jingleberry enjoyed the novel sensation of seeing
Speaker 1: how he himself would look when passing through a similar ordeal. Altogether, However,
Speaker 1: it was not as pleasing as most novelties are, for
Speaker 1: there were distinct signs in the face of the mirrored
Speaker 1: Marian that the mirrored Jingleberry's words were distasteful to her,
Speaker 1: and that the proposition he was making was not one
Speaker 1: she could entertain under any circumstances. She kept shaking her head,
Speaker 1: and the more she shook it, the more the glazed
Speaker 1: Jingleberry seemed to implore her to be his. Finally, Jingleberry
Speaker 1: saw his quicksilver counterpart fall upon his knees before Marian
Speaker 1: of the glass, and hold out his arms and hands
Speaker 1: towards her in an attitude of prayerful despair. Whereupon the
Speaker 1: girl sprang to her feet, stamped her left foot furiously
Speaker 1: upon the floor, and pointed the unwelcome lover to the door.
Speaker 1: Jingleberry was fairly staggered. What could be the meaning of
Speaker 1: so extraordinary a freak of nature? Surely it must be prophetic.
Speaker 1: Fate was kind enough to warn him in advance, no
Speaker 1: doubt otherwise it was a trick. And why should she
Speaker 1: stoop to play so paltry a trick as that upon him.
Speaker 1: Surely Fate would not be so petty. No, 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 simultaneity,
Speaker 1: it led, Instead of following or acting coincidentally with the reality,
Speaker 1: and it was the part of wisdom, he thought, for
Speaker 1: him to yield to its suggestion and retreat. And as
Speaker 1: he thought this, he heard a soft, sweet voice behind him.
Speaker 1: I hope you haven't got tired of waiting, Tom, it said,
Speaker 1: and turning jingle Berry saw the unquestionably real Marian standing
Speaker 1: in the doorway. No, he answered shortly. I have had
Speaker 1: a pleasant, very entertaining ten minutes, but I must hurry along. Marian,
Speaker 1: he added, I only came to tell you that I
Speaker 1: have a frightful headache and er I can't well manage
Speaker 1: to come to dinner or go to the opera with
Speaker 1: you tonight. Why, Tom, pouted Marian. I am awfully disappointed.
Speaker 1: I had counted on you, and now my whole evening
Speaker 1: will be spoiled. Don't you think you can rest a
Speaker 1: little while and then come. Well, I want to, Marian,
Speaker 1: said Jingleberry. But to tell the truth, I really am
Speaker 1: afraid I am going to be ill. I've had such
Speaker 1: a strange experience this afternoon. Tell me what it was,
Speaker 1: suggested Marian sympathetically, and Jingleberry did tell her what it was.
Speaker 1: He told her the whole story, from beginning to end,
Speaker 1: what he had come for, how he had happened to
Speaker 1: look in the mirror, and what he saw there. And
Speaker 1: Marian listened attentively to every word he said. She laughed
Speaker 1: once or twice, and when he had done, she reminded
Speaker 1: him that mirrors have a habit of reversing everything. And
Speaker 1: somehow or other, Jingleberry's headache went, and well everything went,
Speaker 1: end of a quicksilver Cassandra