The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1874-08-20
HOW I ESCAPED BACHEL0RDOM

A STORY TOLD BY FARMER BROWN.
| have no words for her sweetness l
can't describe her; perhaps were to
do SO! or even could I place a picture
before you. you might not see her as
did and do. Every eye makes Its own
beauty, and to me she was more Deauti-
ful than any other living creature. Mel
lie Brodie, I mean lovely Nellie Bro
die. whose father was the sexton OF our
church, good old man, but!prosy, and
prone to tell one or two good stores
about ghosts, proved to be no ghosts al
ter all whenever one found MN. Many
and many time have listened 10
them, out of his little porch, OF sum
mer's night, with the moon bright above
us, and mysterious chirps and cries IN
the bushes, and the smell of the even,
inc primrose growing far sweeter, ana
sweeter, and Nellie, still and quiet as
a mouse. sitting with folded hand be-
tween us. ,,..
We are busy folks enough by day; but
we idle away the long summer evenings s:i =
together and thought no harm OF IT, IL
is good to be idle sometimes, III that
happy sort of way; and to tell the truth
} I liked it. No man could say that
neglected my duty. A better farm nc
, man ever had. and larger crops none
, gathered, and no starved cattle gra,ze'
' in IN nv meadows. AS for my dairy-bu
that was sister James doing. A gooS
house. A pretty bright-eyed girl VIII
: a warm heart, and a laugh that seeine' 'I'
G TO be catching. Alone together we ""
1t were, and we were fond OF each otheI:
d T never told her | liked Nellie Brodi.
d but T did not hide it from her. Nelii
!, and she were great friends. over an
10 over again tried to find out from Jel
"a nie what she said about me--Nellle
If mean-but the girl would never let
A. word slip out A true woman hides al
~ otLar woman's secrets. / knew that an
M built on it. ,s o;s No,,i
:" ~ disliked me Jennie would give me
u hint sisterlike, and save me from mo
tification. Either she knows nothih'
le or ,be knows Nellie likes me. ~
ng Al, ,er that, | may say | courted ne
he lie She knew loved her, I'm sure
av that !. even if [ had said so out al
a. ont she could not help knowing 1t.
l., Rut there was other young men
~. ~ the place, of course, and many Will
,ot enough to listen to old Brodles s s.otl
~, n for t6e sake of looking at his daugnte
al and many Jealous pang ] had IN tho
'ea davs for Nellie ha the same pret'
'na kindly ways to all, and the same SIN
toi Sow oyarv one
he T used to think that a "no fr'
hat Nellie's lips would go straight throu
'tte my heart, like bullet, and l iounu {
ORR hard to risk the hearing OF 1t.
lpe must say it to all but one OF u.s. anc
ugh was not so handsome as one, and
90 witty as another; and not so rich
a third, I think / never knew
plain was, until I had my photo,grt
taken one day, by man who NAG
d a gallery in the village. thought
,icb first he must have made too much
= ,o NV mouth and too little OF my ey
= NV, W INIT m he showed me plainly that the
' chine must take good likeness
n cause it was machine ana coui:
rth' make a mistake. | took the I'LL
cap home and put them in a drawer,
one showed them to nobody; but they
here the little vanity had out OF me, tho
with I kept saying over and over az I;
. 6 What do looks matter for many
nre. 7 meant, you see, to give Nellie
,oiso. for her album, but thought II loo
i'iA0 i;Le III that il was not best. I've h'
III. other people speak OF the same ieei
ssrn. since, in regard to photogaap,o'oi t 81,
'ern. 7 am not sure now that they are "i'
J. If s.at I
sixty p'yii Waiting and watching, hoping
rney- fearing / let the time slip by; aud
ceed- ter came with its frost and snow,
luent oId M Rrodie told his stories b,
Are instead of on the porch; ant
lamp light fell on Nellies yellow
Ia in as she sat knitting, making the pl
been est picture you ever saw anu ,hn
too up my mind to put my tate TO @ tne
iners before Christmas, and didn't. io'
been when Young fellow is in love he
- % The courage. But one thing L vow
Data. & Nellie should take sleigh ride
ea rlsel iSi Tom Armstrong had said--I
loWeu .'oa h;mNtbat he meant to drive the
miles est cu''oi, "a. r. ,;rI in New Bl
renee. and the Prs..iiiE; Tsii;" Su tbe nrettiest
myth, He meant Ne,rto n,;,ht ~ be what he {
n nine HIS .urno"s hnnII never 90 with
nOther hut Mem. ou ,n;,,, mo
Pacific She sho,ilu e. S,,y T foat anil by me
miles The snow ie', raah;nc aa for miles a
, them yon couia hrG To- ,bonob the SIX
al, and but grea. ear, a,m' as ,bonob Il had beer
10 ex- grown oiou, e. No1l;a;n in tho efteI