The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1874-01-29

beaprcad before so0e new divinity
| This alfenatioa had gone on 70
so~le time. Poor. sAnguine, homel,
Sapan,ha Britton had looked smiling
" and expeotantly at each successiv,
gentleman who bore the handker
chief; but in vain. @S'manthy'
could never understand why her Sc
ductiye smiles were so unavailing
Presently, Betty Harsha was chosen
By somebody- Betty had : pretty
round face, and pink checks, and Va,
sure to be chosen, sooner or later
Everybody knew whom she would
choose. Morton Goodwin was the
desire Of her heart. She dressed to
win kim; she fixed her eyes on him
in church; she put herself adroitly in
his WY; she compelled him to escort
her home against his will; and now
that she held the handkerchief, every
body looked at Goodwin. Morton,
for his part, was too young to be in
sensible 10 the charms Of the little
round, impalsive face, the twinkling
eyes, the red, pouting lips; and he
was not sverse to having the pretty
girl, in her new, bright, linsey frock,
single him out for her admir~tion.
But, Just 1t this moment, he wished
she might choose some one else, for
Patty Lumsden had taken > minute
from her cares as hostess and was
looking 1t the play. She stood be-
hind Jemima Huddleston, and never
was there finer contrast than between
the large, healthfnl, high-colored
Jemima, typical country belle, and
the slight, intelligent, fair-skinned
Patty, whose black hair and eyes
made her complexion seem whittier,
and whose resolute lips and proud
carriage heightened the refinement
of her face. Patty, as folks said,
favored her mother, woman Of
considerable pride and much retine-
ment. who, by her unwillingness to
accept the rude customs Of the neigh
borhood, had about as bad reputa-
ton as one can have in . frontier
community. She wns regarded 10
excessively 'sstuck up" The stigma
of aristocracy Was very pleasing to
the Captain. His family WAS part Of
himself, and he liked to believe them
better than anybody's else. But he
heartily wished that Patty would
sacrifice her dignity, at this juncture,
to farther his political aspirations.
Seeing the vision Of Patty stand
ing there in her bright new calico
an extraordinary bit Of finery in those
days-Godwin wished that Betty
would attack somebody else, for once.
But Betty Harsha bore down on the
nepiexcd Morton, and, in her eager
ness, did not wait for the appropri-
ate line to come-she did not give
the farmer time to s'stomp" his foot,
and clap his hands, much less 70
whirl around and view his lands but
pumped down. upQa fha hep,dker,s
chief ksforc Morton; who took -
his own time to kneel. But draw Il
out as he would, he presently found
himself, after having been kissed by
Betty, standing foolishly, handkef-
in hand, while the verscs in
tended for Betty were not yet 6n-
ished. Betty's precipitancy, and her
inevitable gravita,ion toward Morton,
had set all the players laughing, and
the laugh seemed to Goodwin to be
partly at himself. For, indeed, he
was pcrplexed. To choose any other
woman for his strue love" even in
play, with Patty standing BY, was
more than he could do; to offer to
kneel before her was more than he
dared to do. He hesitated . moment;
he feared to offend Patty; he must
select some one. Just at this instant
he caught sight of the eager face Of
S'manthy Britton stretched up to him,
as it had been to the others, with an
smile. Morton saw = way
out. Patty could not be jealous Of
He spread the handker-
chief before the delighted girl, and
later she held in her hand
the right to choose partner
The fop of the party was "Little
Gabc," that is to say, Gabriel Pow
ers, junior. His father was "Old
Gabe," the most miserly farmer Of
the neighborhood. But Little Gabe
had run away in boyhood, and had
been over the mountains, and made
some money, nobody could tell how,
and had invested his entire capital
in ssstore clothes" He wore q mus
tache, too. which, being an unheard-
of innovation in those primitive
times, marked him rs man who had
seen the world. Everybody laughed
at him for a fop, and yet everybody
admired him. None of the girls had
vet dared 10 select Little Gabe. To
bring their linsey near his storc-cloth
to venture to salute his divine
mustache-who could be guilty Of
such profanity? But S'manthy was
morally certain that she would not
soon again have chance to select
"true love-" and she determined to
strike high. The players did not
laugh when she spread her handker-
chief at the feet Of Little Gabe. They
were appalled,. But Gabe dropped
on one knee, condecended to receive
her salute. and lifted the handkerchief
with delicate flourish of the hand
which wore . ring with large jewel,
avouched by Little Gabc to be .
diamond jewel that was at least
transparent.
Whom would little Gabe choose? !?
became 1t once a question of solemn
import to every ysung woman Of the
company; for even girls in insey are
not free from that liking for fop 80
often seen in ladies better dressed.
In her heart nearly every young wo-
man wished that Gabe would choose
herself. But Gabe was one Of those
men who, having done many things
by the magic of efrontery, imagine
thst anything can be done by impu-
dencc, il only the impudence be suf-
ficiently transcsndent. He knew
that Miss Lumsden held herself aloof
from the kissing plays, and he knew
equally that she looked favorably on
Morton Goodwin; he had OWNED