Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-07-03

ItS socket rather than perform any such
piece of digital benevolence Bless her
she has taken the noblest of all revenses-
| utter forgiveness
1t will be best for me to gain little
time with Uncle Crawford, | conclude.
about that Cleveland business he offers
| me- Let there not be any out-and out re-
fusal of the proposition; let there be only
a polite demur, gentle representation
After all, | still further deliberate, a few
days will decisively settle matters. I am
| too old veteran not to understand a final
repulse, when it Is final. No doubt. in
| deed, the repulse will come | am decent
| looking enough, have perfect enough
manners, am yet distant enough from the
selgnorial domain of forty although it is
true | feel the pangs of premature decrep-
ltude to the extent of at least one averaged
| gray hair per fortnight, each being pallid
| little ghostly aveneer, | suppose, of some
| separate sin, pecadillo, indiscretion. late
| supper, brandy-and of the past: and
| lastly, when | get up my best energy
| toward the putting together of words, my
designs escape respectfully enough, I
should judge, the effect of complete trivi-
atty. Altogether, provided I bring to
bear upon this proposed undertaking a
good deal of determined force, there are
more than even chances, perhaps, of my
success in it.
SO l reflect; and with such reflections,
after consuming a cigarette or two amonr
the strawberries, l stroll indoors and 90
to bed without again seeing Miss Martel
On the following morning, when we
meet at breakfast, | make an attempt to
discover what other nice things there are
about her besides her nice hair Quite q
number, | declder to-wit, genial gray ewes,
nose that is selt-assertant without being
self satisfied, mouth that you don't
specially care to have any smaller because
of the regular shapely teeth lis frequent
smile shows, and a figure that is full of
easy curves, though trim and slender
She presents an exact physical reverse
of Mrs. Heaths lazy, lavish nodded Ju-
nonlan type She never lounges on otto
mans and other tufted temptations of the
flesh, and the weather of Java itself doesn't
seem to affect her disregard for fans NV
first attempt at being downright entertain
ing is made a little after breakfast Heath,
good, accommodating nondescript that he
is, has just permitted himself to be drag
ged out into some dolefully idyllic situa-
ton under a tree by that inane little Bar
tholomew girl, who either can't or won't
see the ugly antagonism between
fresh green grass and virginia. -colored
duck trousers. Mrs. Heath has posed
herself on one of the hall lounges,
while Louis Brunette, having his
inch from her cheek, treats what he reads
aloud from a blue-and-g gold "Lucille'
with enough elocutional cruelty to make
Mr.. Owen Meredith commit justiiable
homicide
| these N
sitting-room begin an exchange of re-
marks. | grow nervous very soon, and
lose lots of confidence. | am trying to do
what have never before tried to do
create good impression. | find it anna
Zingly hard work. | discover that through
out my mortal career, up to the present
moment, have rigidlv avoided the most
shadowv sort of effort to make ANYBODY
like me. | have Systematically adopted "a
course of coolest Indifference as to whether
Toms opinion of me surpassed Dicks in
friendly tervor, or whether Harrv's was
more cordial than either, AS for women,
they generally have done three good
fourths Of the talking, made every vestige
of anything like an "advance,n and shown
dispositions to continue gracious as long
as | remained near by to render them SO.
1t is the old story. Set ''lily-handed
barOnet' to breaking stones, and you will
find what sad work is the result. I STUN
bic in my sentences; | serve up an over
done piece of ciyility one moment and an
UNDERGONE piece the next | am the vile
antipOdeS of my customary suave self
She appears, however, to be quite I'M
conscious Of all this. | feel infinitely com
forted by the thought. That loathed
Cleveland business wears already faint
haze OF distance across its hideOus pros
pect. 4 vague picture begins even now
to shape itself in my fancy. | repOssess
all the old lost luXuries Of living; | regain
that beatitc state which prevents man
from having any special regard about
how the few odd thousands of his income
happen to take flight All, what three
fold joy to have again after once having
had!
Yes, she undoubtedly talks to me as
though she liked ne, Perhaps she de-
tects certain Turing felicity about my
moustache, or a powerful fascination in
the size Of my car, or an intense attrac-
tiveness in the way my hair meets the
nape of my neck, or any other feature OF
the nonsensical sort by which women are
very often charmed into nonsensical at
tachments.
0 moustache, O ear, O hair, O nape of
neck, 0 every personal beauty which |
may have the good luck to possess, plead
now in my behalf! Perhaps by to-mor-
row my awkwardness will have worn off
trif1e, and something of such pleading
may be done with my own lips. Mean
while cannot despond. l have indeed
every reason to hope.