Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-09-18
WITHOUT ANY COURTING.

Peter Patterson was ill-at least he
thought so, and was depressed; he had
headaches, and so hated the dusty street,
In WHICH the summer heat burnt and
the summer sun shone before the green
leaves had draped the streets, and the
squares of grass and wisteria vines and
plotted geraniums which have come to
be so blessedly popular IN New York,
lent its summers freshness.
"what shall do, doctor? ?" he said
to the white-headed old physician.
"You say nothing ais me, but can
tell what nay feelings are better than
You can. / know / shall be down with
something soon. l rode in car with a
dozen dirty children, the other day
going tothe smallpox hospital, / haven't
doubt-very red and nasty looking, all
of EN- and while was buying some
thing in store the other day, horrible
old woman begged of me because her
husband was sick with typhoid fever.
No doubt / have caught both diseases,
and it's the complication that puzzles
you. Couldn't relish my coffee this
morning; left my milk toast untouched.
Hateful life, that of bachelor at a
hotel On, dear me
"Why don't you marry, then ?" said
the doctor.
"They need so much courting," said
Mr.. Patterson. ''You spend six months
or SO, at least, dangling at woman's
apron strings. You must go to theater
ans opera, if she is gay, and to church
meeting if she is pious. At fifty man
likes his slippers and dressing-gown and
easy chair of an evening. If it was
just stepping over to the clergyman's
and getting married, put ring on her
finger and saying or nodding yes, two
three times, why / wouldn't mind it,
you know"
"Ah, well, counting is the fun of it
all, in my opinion said the old doctor,
but every one to his taste. And my
advice to you is to go into the country"
ITO another hotel and more merce-
nary walters q said Mr.. Patterson.
mo" said the doctor; go to nice
private home / know one-a motherly
widow lady who cooks dinner fit for
king. River before the house, woods
behind it, orchard to the left, kitchen
garden to the right; no fever and ague
no mosquitoes Heavenly am going
mp there tomorrow, and I'll see If shell
lake you
Very WE'LL" said Mr.. Patterson, "I
think ia try it."
And you must drink plenty of milk,
and eat plenty of nice homemade
bread" said the doctor.
Eyes, I will," said Patterson, over
joyed at last at hearing something that
sounded like prescription. Sand you
would advise milk"
"Quart every day." said the doctor.
"And if / should be very i'll she'll
nurse me ~ sset
Mr.. Patterson thought the matter
over, and thought better of it every day,
and when the little note informing him
that the widow would be willing to
stake him in and do for him" reached
him, he had his trunk and portmanteau
already packed, and was ready to start
that afternoon. As for the widow, the
doctor had prepared her for her boarder's
peculiaritles thus:
"Nice fellow; solid plenty of money;
thinks himself Ill, but isn't; ought to
be married told him so, but he hates
the idea of counting; marry him off
some day, no doubt: evil you have
we : Yes Call in clergyman. Over.
Very peculiar old bachelor but then
old bachelors are peculiar generally"
The widow was what Yankees call an
amazingly smart woman. She had0mar-
ried at sixteen, and had never failed to
have washing over before other people
were hanging out theirs. Her bread
always rose, her cake was always good,
and her butter was always sweet. At
forty-fve she had married Off all her
daughters, and was well-to-do, buxom
and happy.
Her son and his wife boarded with
her, and SIZE added to her plentiful saw
ings by taking a summer boarder or two
If they happened to offer.
Fifty and bachelor" said Mrs.
Huntle, looking In the glass. swell,
Il seems a pity, but then when elderly
gentlemen marry it is generally some
hity-tity girl that leads them terrible
life, and likely it's for the best"
Then she looked at the glass again,
for the widow was but woman after
all 80
Mr.. Patterson came to the widows,
and obeged the doctors prescription
faithfully. He ate bread and drank
milk, robbed the orchards like a school
boy. and acclaimed over the strawberry
short-cake after a fashion that would
have made his reputation at the bar.
Then, too, Mrs. Muntle did not smile at
his aches and pains. and insist that he
must be perpetuaHy well because he had
fresh complexion and dimples in his
cheeks. She had savory herb teas and
potions, which she produced when he
complained Of being miserable, and she
had that blessing to hypochondriacs-a
homeopathic box and book In the house.
There were remedies in that box for
everything; and it was pleasant to find
that when there was crawling sensa-