The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1867-04-19
STOKES LOVE AFFAIR.
BY BUTTON COOK.

It was agreed on all hands that Ned
Stone was a very practical fellow. By
some this may have been said of him dis
paragingly, though others undoubtedly ap-
piled the words IA complimentary sense.
Practically has its eulogists, but it has also
its censor. There are people who will find
fault with prQ1p. because it isn't poetry;
the same sorSsbf people consistently de-
nounce practically because of its deficiency
in speculativeness. For it is common
form of criticism to condemn thing not
so much for being what it is, as for not be-
ing something else; that desiderated some
thing else being, in most cases, something
antipodeau and irrelevant to the original
and disrelished thing.
If Ned Stone had ever fault found with
him on the score that he ,ods practical and
that he wasn't poetical, he might have
answered with Mistress Audrey -supposlng
land lisa doubtful CASEY that he was In
formed Of the existence of that rustic
II do rot know what poetical is Is 1t
honest IN deed and word? Is it true
thing?" Certainly in both word and deed
he was himself honest and true. For
things that were otherwise he was quite
without sympathy. Indeed he was for the
most part without knowledge concerning
them being simple straightforward
gentleman, who went his own way, lived
his own life, and what it fell to his lot to
do, in curiousy sober, steady, homely
fashion. He never swerved to the right or
to the left. 1t did not occur to him, appar
emily, to deviate from compact plan of
consistent conduct He never seemed to
say anything he did not mean, or to mean
anything he did not say; the while his
openLess had about it that element of often
siveness which characterizes the unreserve
of some people; with whom speaking
their minds as they phrase it, is rather
like crackinga bad egg-an operation bet
ter pretermit,ed than performed.
Ned Stones mind ran pure and clear as
brook. You were of course at liberty, if
such was your humor, to deride it as being
merely water brook, after all-preterring
fount of strong claret, perhaps. Still, the
former, be it remembered, is available at
all times and lelectable ever in its own mild
way; whereas the latter is only for occa-
sions of festivity at long intervals, never
running for any protracted period, nor
always quite clear, and with all its charms,
capable upon provocation of giving you
headache or Of throwing you into fever.
He was broker in the city-nothing
more nor less than that. Whether his
labor and profits had to do with tea or
sugar, or ships or stock, | am not certain.
I found it sufficient to know that he was a
broker of some kind in the city. The fact
conveyed certain idea to my mind. If l
had sought to enlarge the Idea by clarifying
the fact, I might have found myself less
enlightened than further confused about
the matter, for inquiry, l notice often be-
willers as much as it instructs. He had
been very poor at one time Of his life, and
had had to work very hard. His industry
however, had in the end met with its due
reward. Arrived at middle age, he was
very comfortably circumstanced and he
saw no reason to doubt that his prosperity
would continue, When he announced to
his friends, therefore, that he thought of
taking to himself wife, it was felt gener-
ally that the step he meditated was pru-
dent and proper one, and only what might
under all the circumstances Of the case,
have been reasonably expected And when
he further stated that he had made an
offer of his hand to one Miss Georgiana
| Warren, the daughter of wealthy East
India merchant, and that his offer had
been accepted by the lady, We of course
FASTENED to tender him our hearty congrat
ulations on he happy occasion. When
say 'we," must be understood as employ
ing the editorial first person plural by way
of yelling ny own individuality, but as
speaking on behalf of myself and various
other friends of Ned Stones who were also
mn friends, and who cordially agreed with
me in wishing joy to our friend upon the
proposed important change in his life.
! Ned Ston, spoke of the matter in his
~ IN simple pber, way.
'"s,'Well, you know I'm getting on" he
so;d .taDd i'll am ever to marry, it S about
time q. houh thing of setting about it. a
saw wears b erce it will be too late. | shall
he ssttIed doyn then in a bachelor kind Of
Ife have adop.ed bachelor views and hab-
;ts and bachelo,s ways of looking at things,
wh;ch 7 Shouldn't Ge able to alter or &c!
out Of at any price. A few years ago
ooo,sldn't have aassscabe l i, to put the matter
W. .Jo;n,y and SO Il was out of the question.
R"t + slVays looked forward to getting
, mar Ihen I could afford it; and SC
nnm wbe, I can afford it, I'm going to
c cu~, ont he notion. You re very kind
I think / shall tie happy-in fact We nc
do .Ibt olont ;t-a.s happy as fellow has
anv riehs to expect 20 be. One ought not
to expect too much, IT course. B put l N
fond in my way, of this Ge'orglana w arren ;
and J think that she, in her way IS Iohd .!
me. She is not too young, ooi TOO 9lu J
not too good looking, nor too pfan IN. one
sensible enough, and accomplished t'nough
and don't see why she shouldn't m "a
me very good kind OF wife and, SIM, ar,
", | don't see Why | shouldn't make her :
very good kind Of husband. know IL
do all | can to make her happy and com
Portable, and we 10 doubt she'll do the
same on her side. What more is there to
be said =? Perhaps Tn. not very fond OF
old Warren, the father; and perhaps also,
old Warren, the father, isl,'t very iond OF OF
me. But still I don't see I. nat that nee :,
matter very much. I dare say we shall
understand each other better BY ana Dy
meantime we mast rub on as wt'n as we
can ; and l must try and make the pest OF
the old gentlem,n's humors, and MT run
counter TO him more than l can aV olo.
We needn't be meeting so very often, 81
know. Aad it seems to me that the OLD
fellow would be no fonder Of anybody else
who might want to marry his daughter
than he is of me. And if Georgina likes
me land she says she does, and it like
Georgian, land know 1 d. that seems
to me the chief part of the business. |
Il