The Beaufort tribune and Port Royal commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879, 1877-11-29
A WHlSTlING GIRL.


ga whistling woman and Growing
hen never come to any good end, said
Ben, prophetically. "That's the fourth
tune you've whistled in the last half
hour, Lutte"
Lutte first finished the concluding bars
of "Kathleen Mavourneen, and then
retorted, calmly:
"Thanks, for keeping count. Twill
begin the fifth as soon as I've regained
my breath"
"You car whistle better than any boy
in this town." pursued Ben, in grudg-
ing way. "I'd be ashamed to whistle
better'n boy, if I was you"
"I'm not as easily shamed as you, Mr..
Benjamin. Whatever do, like to 10
we'll. If played marbles, I'd try and
do it better than any body else"
"Wen," remarked Ben, with the
beautiful candor of boyhood, call / can
say is, I hope you won't come to bad
end. Grandpa, don't you think it's
awful for girls to whistle ?"
"That depends on the way they
whistle" said grandpa, smiling, in his
slow, gentle way. eff they whistle as
well as Lutte, why, let them whistle. Ia
as soon hear her as flute"
"Lute rhymes to flute, you know,
observed Ben, as though that accounted
for the fact.
"I'n tell you how I learned to
whistle" said Lutte, softened by these
II hol
that dreadful cold, winter before last?'
"You ought to be more careful,
child" said grandpa, looking at her
anxiously. "You've gotta bad cold now
enough to put any body else to bed.
And sitting on the steps bare-headed
this late in the EVENING" Come in, child,
come in"
"Oh, there amt much the matter
with me now," said Lutte, carelessly,
coming up on the porch and seating her
self by grandpa. 81 only feel little
hoarse morning and evenings. I forgot
what / was talking about. Oh, / re-
member-about my dreadful cold. Well
could hardly speak above whisper for
a month, and singing was out of the
question. 6 You know how l love to sing,
grandpa. It seemed to me I never
thouSh sof as many beautiful strains of
music before in my life as / did then.
They used to buzz IN my head till /
thought 4 should go crazy. believe
they would have tormented me to death
if I hA1nf learned to whistle. / used
to go into the attic every day and prac-
tice till had mastered the art. You
don't knoB what relief it was to me,
and is to me yet. / feel quite independ-
ent Of colds and Miss Lutte stretched
out her feet, and leaning her head
against the wall, pursed her red lips III
preparatory way.
"H you knew what somebody thinks
your about whistling, you wouldn't be so
stuck up about il, " observed Ben, with
turned-up nose expression. 1t CALLED
the spirit Of. Master Benjamin nightly
to have q mere woman excel him In that
manly art. ''I bet you'd stop it IN q
iihy:as -,
Who is that dreadful somebody
"Guess." aas
"I won't guess. / don't care to know
"You do care. It's Cousin Reuben "
-triumphsntly.
"what did he ssy?" demanded Lutte,
quickly.
"0h I heard him and Dick Spur
talking in his room sbout you. Dick
said he didn't care how much you
whistled; whatever You did seemed
pretty to him. I'd be ashamed to have
any fellow as spooney about me as Dick
Spur is about you, Lutte.
"I don't care if you would. What
did Cousin Reuben say?"
"Oh, he said he thought it was un-
ladyhke, ili-bred, and all that sort of
thing. He said lots about it. I'll be
bound you never whistle before him
again, Miss Lutte"
"I'n be bound I do" cried Lutte,
flushing hotly. 81 don't care two figs
what he thinks. I'll begin whistling the
minuteI ] see him, and never stop till he
goes away. There 7"
own you whistle at meals too ?" in
auired Ben, charmed at having put his
sister in rage. "How will you man
age about eating?"
81 wish to goodness, grandpa" she
continued, not noticing Ben's remark,
"you'd never taken him to board with
US"
"Why, child, he had to board some.
where young man like him couldn't
keep house. OF course I couldn't lei
my nephew's son board anywhere else.
did want him to live here without pay.
ing any board" pursued grandpa, in his
slow, reflective way, "but he wouldn't
hear to it."
"I'd rather have Hottentot in the
house than doctor. Somebody's always
knocking him up in the middle of the
night and waking the whole house"
"Lute Farra, you know that's fib, y
said Ben, impressively. "Cousin Reu.
ben hasn't been called but twice in the
night since he's been here. What il
you do get walked up? Can't you 60 to
sleep again ?"
II never could bear DOCTORS" said
Lutte, snappishly.
"It's the finest profession on earth,
retorted Ben. "You don't know what
you do like"