The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1869-01-19
MISCELLANY.
GUESS WH07

There has been story going the
rounds of the papers copied from Cham
ber's Journal, entitled Gin woman's
clothes; How one man found a wife" IL
is good story, but it isn't true; it's one
of those stories "madc to tell, There
are a half dozen places, as cast my eye
over it, which reveals the work of the ar
tist--where he laid on his brush here and
there to heighten the effect which his i'm.
agination had produced. I'll wager ten
to one there is no "Mrs. Charles TEN
ple'' to this day, but that " Mr. Charles
is some briehess barristcr who made that
story out Of whole cloth, for the sake Of
the "very hard cash. which no doubt he
was paid for it, and with which perhaps
he made peace with his washer woman or
MS lanuIduy. But. as l said it's good
story, and it's set me thinking; thinking
of something that happened so many
years ago. in my own life; OF something
| would have been bound by honor not
to tell if the course of my life had run
differently; of something have vowed a
thousand times to myself not to tell, as it
is, and yet as many times have been on
the point of breaking my vow, because it's
such good story of how another man
got wfe-that other man being myself
Men are not''good at keeping secrets,
at least not such secrets. How many
man has vowed as solemnly "not to tell.
How few have ever kept the VOW as faith
fully even as l. / tell it now, because /
know it will be a secret still You will
never guess who it is that tells it,
No filthy lucre has tempted me to tell
this story. l tell it because it is strictly
true. AS Horace Walpole on his death
bed said of stories in general, so say of
mine absolutely, :" it is false in names and
dates, true in everything else"
l was born on the Green Mountains of
Massachusetts. was graduated at Yale
College. l was tutor there for three
years after my graduation. From thence
l went to Cambridge to study law. Dur
ing the last months Of my study l board
cd some mile or so out Of the town, with
a very pleasant landlady, who had for
boarders besides myself and my chum,
Frank Forester, three young ladies, who
attended n private school in Cambridge.
! was very pleasantly situated that six
months. should have been in paradise
had ! been, like other men, able to enjoy
to the depths of my nature the society of
the fair sex, and had |, charmed by their
sunny smiles, been enabled to do and APP
pear my best. But this | could not do.
| was the farthest possible from being
"ladics man" My natural diflldence
amounted almost to curse. My mother
was the only woman | had ever known,
and as her nature was like my own, shy
and reserved we had never drawn near
together. | had no sister had been
brought up with the boys; had been to
school with boys, and taught boys, and
with them under all circumstances | was
at case. First in rank at school and col
lege, a consciousness Of my own powers
sustained me in the company Of men, 80
that in spite of natural reserve and difii-
dencc i got on well enough, and almost
always made friends. But with women
it was different. .r.s,. ....T
Few men so truly admired and from
the depth OF the heart respect women rs
| did and there are few doubt if there
ever was another one, so little able 10
make such admiration and respect mani.
fest My natural dlflldence, in the pres
ence of even ono woman, turned TO fear
in the presence of two or three, into alb
solute terror. AT such times | forgot
that " knowledge is power forgot my
own merits, past triumphs or future pros
poets. ! remembered only my defects
that | was tall, and smooth faced and shy
yes, awkward. then thought to the
last degree--and this thinking of course
increased the trouble. So this summer,
which would have been so pleasant in the
opportunity for familiar Intercourse
which our daily life afforded, was to me
one OF almost torture. .r....5 ,--.r,,
How l cnvied Frank Forester, his
easy, graceful ways. lie hadn't any
brains TO spare, but the girls all liked
him. Inevor heard of him but once after
We left the law school, and then l heard
he had married q rich wife, and all his
struggles were over. But, for myself,t the