Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1877-11-21
NV Ministering Angel.

WOnuerlng wall oi IT'LL nian
without occupation, home or fam
lily ties. Nettie was Toms wife''
cousin. l had heard it said befor,
l went down to Long Branch, OF
Toms invitation, that Nettie hat
alphabetically declared that she
knew she would detest Walter
Bryne, for she hated an idle man
she despised a rowing man, and
rich young men were always horrid
Being gifted with the moderate
amount of self-conceit, and accus.
toned to receiving rather fiatteriDg
attentions from the fair sex,
stroked my moustache and shrug-
ged my shoulders, resolved that
Miss Annette Raymond's destins-
ton was a matter of profound in
difference to me.
The first time ] saw her she was
bobbing up and down holding on
to the bather's rope. Tom was
driving me over to his cottage, and
pulling up his horses:
"There's Nettie," he said, sin the
broad straw hat and scarlet suit.
Halloa, Net !"
A pair of saucy black eyes gazed
at us, and piquant, pretty face
was visible undes the straw hat.
where's Amy" shouted Tom.
"Got headache"
Tom laughed as we drove on.
"Amy won't battle unless l am
with her." he said, "she is almost
nine-tenths afraid"
While l was in my own room, ar
ranging my bachelor belongings,
Nettie came across the garden, in a
crisp pink muslin, with her black
hair loosely BRAIDED and tied with
pink ribbons. She was more than
pretty then, the most brilliant
burnette beauty, not more than
seventeen years old, slender, grace
full, and altogether bewitching.
For three weeks we quarreled
about ten times day. Nettie
Knocked at my lazy speech, tainted
my stylish costumes, made fun of
my neckties and my gloves, and
gave me to fully understand that /
was q coxcomb. l bore it philo-
sophically, but in my heart ragged.
/ was not accustomed to being
treated in that style, but Nettie
seemed to ignore my book account
entirely.
We nearly came to better IN
Outstanding once, when Miss Net
tie was carried out by the under
tow, and might have been drowned
if l had not been a powerful fellow
and a good swimmer. l brought
her home, all limp and senseless,
and she was very quiet all day, and
almost begged my pardon for all
former offenses in her gratitude.
But the next day she was worse
than ever, and the day after that ]
left.
l wandered about aimlessly to
the White Mountains, up and down
Niagara until October, when q
party going to Europe tempted me,
and sailed away from New York
and Nettie. was not in love, but
certainly 1 thought more frequent
ly of those saucy black eyes, the
sweet ripping voice and beautiful
face of Nettie Raymond. than l
had ever before thought of any
woman's charms.
1t would be too long q story to
tell all of my adventures in the
next two years, but it was just so
much later in my life, when l
found myself travelling bomeward
from Florida, sick and wretched.
We had been wrecked off the
cost of Florida, and ! was i'll with
a fever contracted in New Orleans,
when l was tossed up, high and
dry, in suit of sailors clothes,
hurriedly snatched up, as my sailor
nurse and myself dressed in the
confusion, unconsciously appropri-
ating each others clothes. My
watch, purse, and papers, were all
in my pockets, but in the sailors
coat found money enough to car
ry me home, to such home as ]
could command, q room in a board
ing-house.
But / was terribly i'll, and every
day the prostrating heat was weak
ening me. 1t was like insanity,
the longing had for a breath OF
Northern air, and so sped on and
on over the iron road, looking more
like a walking corpse than a living