Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-06-13

author. Before noon of that day every
inhabitant of the village was aware
that a stranger lived, moved and had
his being among them; and every girl
of the said village had privately deter
mined to captivate him.
| Now it so happened that there was
only one really pretty girl in the place.
| In romance, every town swarms with
! beautiful maidens; but, in reality, a
| small place may consider itself fortu-
nate if it has one or two really hand
some young ladies'. This young lady
| possessed the very commonplace name
of Kitty Kline. She had been told
about her pretty face times without
| number; consequently she had an eX-
ceedingly good opinion of herself.
To Kitty the arrival of this fine
looking fellow was a joyful occurrence,
for. to tell the truth, she had long
wanted "A little Irritation of her own,
such as she had read about in the few
magazines and books that had come in
her way This was rare oppor-
tunity which she determined should
not be lost.
The next Sunday Mr.. Kennedy was
at church, the center of all eyes,
the subject of all remarks. and re-
ceived a great deal more attention
than the minister himself
After service, the superintendent of
the Sabbath-School invited him to
come that afternoon, the elders and
deacons all shook hands with him, and
the minister said he was glad to see
him out. This pleased Mr.. Kennedy.
for, like the most of us, he enjoyed APP
probation.
He went back to the tavern as fully
resolved to captivate all the girls as
they were to ensnare him. And when
both parties make such resolutions as
these, then look out for fun.
SO the next few weeks were one I'M
ending round of picnics, sewing-bees,
cuttings and all the other amuse
ments of a country village, the hero of
which enjoyed it immensely. Then
there were long walks by moonlight,
and quantities of small talk and flat
terry that quite turned the heads of
those simple country girls and set their
hearts 70 iiuttering.
When Kennedy found out that he
was supposed to be an author he took
no pains to have them think otherwise,
but rather encouraged them in the de-
fusion. So, in a little while, it was
an established fact that he was man
of letters.
1t was soon seen, much to the dis
gust of the other girls, that their hero
rather preferred the company of Kitty
Kline; and that highly-delighte young
lady was not slow to show him that he
was very agreeable to her. One night,
as usual, these two walked slowly
home, lingering long at the gate.
When at last he turned away, kitty'S
foolish head was filled with fattery,
and her heart beat fast As she thought
what he had said. AS she stepped on
the porch, she was startled to feel a
heavy hand upon her shoulder. but
her fright turned into annoyance as
she perceived it was only Stupid Steve.
She Immediately supposed he had
overheard their conversation at the
gate, during which Kennedy had said
to her: 81 consider myself quite
honored in receiving the least atten-
ton from you, as Madam Rumor has
informed me that you have been re-
garding with great favor beardless
boy, who rejoices in the name of Stu
pid Steve"
Madam Rum@r has spoken the
truth to you III only one respect, Mr..
kennedy-that is in regard to the
fellows name for such another block
| / Rtfh .I oil
enough to tlirt with and to make use
Of in various ways Such had been
their words, and it is no wonder that
| Kitty felt her face burn as she remem-
| tered them.
Stoves real name was Theodore
Stephen Flemming; but he had always
been called Steve, and after while
the word Stupid had been pretixed, be-
| cause he was even more bashful than
the average country youth of eighteen.
! But he had the pluck in him for max
ing man. for when his mother and
| father died within three months of
each other, leaving him all alone at
seventeen, instead of depending on his
uncle the only relation he knew of. he
went light on with the farm and man
aged TO make quite a snug little profit.
Then in the long winter evenings he
did not 90 to the tavern, the common
resort and general lounging-place of
nearly, if not quite, all the men and
boys of Tishbury. But the neighbors
noticed that there was light burning
late in the little brown house. They
pronounced it some of Stupid Stoves
silly notions. During these winter
evenings he had accomplished more
than the neighbors had ever dreamed.
Hard, weariSome. earnest study, that
trained his mind and served him a
good purpose in after years. After