Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1874-05-16
A PRACTICAL LOVER.

1t was agreed on all hands that Ned
Stone was very practical fellow. He
was broker in the city. He had been
very poor man at one time in his life,
and had to work very hard. His indus
try had in the end, however, met it's due
reward At middle age, he was com
fortably circumstanced. When he an
nounced to his friends, therefore, that
he thought of taking to himself wife,
it was thought generally that the step
he meditated was Il prudent one. And
when he further stated that he had
further made an offer of his hand to one
Georgiana Warren, the daughter of a
wealthy merchant, and that his offer
had been accepted by the lady, we, of
course, FASTENED to tender our heartiest
congrubalation ON the occasion.
Ned Stone spoke of the matter i'll his
own simple, sober way
Well, you know, I'm getting on,
he said, "and if I'm to marry it's about
time | should think of setting about it.
You're very kind. L think | shall be
very happy-in fact, I've no doubt of it
as happy as fellow has a right to
expect to be. One has no right to cx-
pect too much, of course. But Tn
quite fond in my way of this Georgiana
Warren, and think that she in her way
is fond of me- She is not too yeung or
too Old, not toe good-Iooking, nor vet
too plain she is sensible and accom-
plished enough and [ don't see why
she should not make good sort of a
wife, and, similarly. | don't see why
shouidn t make very good sort of a
husband. Perhaps I'm not very fond
of old Warren, the father, and perhaps
he isn't very fond of me. But | don
know as that matters much. / dare say
we shall understand each other better
by and by; meantime, L must try and
make the best of the old mans humor,
and not run counter to him more than
can avoid. And it seems to me that the
old fellow would be no fonder of any,
body else who might want to marry his
daughter that he is of me. You see it's
our atfair-Georgiana's and mine-and
not his; though its hard to make him
see it in that light. But l dare say it
will come right in the end. That's
what | tell Georgana when she takes
up with rather gloomy views about her
father $ temper. She has good sense,
and, think, looks at the matter very
much as do-only, of course, she can I
help feeling that he is her father,
whereas, thank goodness, he amt
mine"
1t will be seen that Ned Stone was not
a lover to ''sigh like a furnace" As to
writing a woful ballad to his mistress
eyebrows, l don't fancy he could have
accomplished such feat, even if his
life depended ON his doing so. The
thermometer of his love stood at tenn
perate, with no tendency toward an up
ward rise. The "marks of love-" as
they are generally understood, were not
discernable upon him.
He never said Il word as to the agi
tated state of his breast, nor to the ex-
citement of his feelings. He did not
regard Miss Warren as an angel or
goddess. Probably he would have beer
the first to contradict any allegation
that might have been made to the effect
that she was anything of the kind. Miss
Warren appeared to him what she
seemed to everybody else-a nice, sen
sible English girl.
called upon Stone one evening. He
WAS alone. He looked little grave
and held n small, sealed packet. We
discussed various indifferent subjects
then l inquired concerning Miss Geor
giana.
"Oh, haven't you heard ?" he an
swered. But, of course, you couldn
have heard. The affair is off. Our en-
gagement has come to an end"