Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1878-09-06
A TWILIGHT IDYL.
Young Mans Fearful Experience In the
Ice Cream Season.


est girls IN Burlington. They were
nice girls. Beautiful, accomplished and
modest. And Mr.. Henderson was
nice young man too. He wore that
evening little straw hat with baby
blue band, a cut-away coat, a pair of
light, wide pantalOons, a white vest,
button-hole Bouquet, and fifteen cents.
The evening was very warm, and as they
walked these young people talked about
the base ball match, the weather and
sunstrOkes. By and by one of the young
ladies gave delicate little shrek.
"Ooool What funny sign |"
"Wherel Where2 Which one,
Elfride ?" asked the other young lady
eagerly.
Ha-Yes," said Mr.. Henderson in
troubled tones, looking gently but reso-
lutely at the wrong side of the street.
"There, exclaimed Elfrida, artlessly
pointing as she spoke. "How funny 1t
is spelled; see, Ethel"
"Why," said Ethel, "it is spelled
correct, Isn't it, Mr.. Henderson p
"Ha-whv--aw-why yes, yes, to be
sure" and Mr.. Henderson very huskily,
staring as hard as he could at window
full Of house plants.
"Why, Mr.. Henderson, said Elfrida,
in tones of amazement, "how can you
say SO? Just see, ice, ice, c-r-double
EN-, cream, that's not the way to spell
cream"
sob, Elfrida," cried her companion,
"you must be near-sightod. That isn't
an e, 1t is an a. Isn't it, Mr.. Hender-
son? ?"
And Mr.. Henderson, who was praying
harder than he ever prayed before that
an earthquake might come along and
swallow up either him or all the ice
cream saloons in the United States, he
didn't much care which, looked up at
the chimney of the house and said:
THAT? Oh, yes, yes; of course, why
certainly. How very much cooler it has
grown within the past few minutes"
the young man suddenly added, with
kind of inspiration, "surely that cool
wave the single service dispatches an
nounced as having entered this country
from Manitoba must be nearing us once
more"
And he took out his handkerchief and
swabbed a face that looked as though it
had never heard of a cool wave, nor even
looked into the face of man who had
heard of one. He knew, when he talk
ed OF its being cooler, that his face
would scorch an iceberg brown in ten
minutes.
By this time they turned corner, and
the appalling sign was out of sight. Mr..
Henderson hreathed like free man.
"I always like to stroll along Jeffer-
son street in the evening" said Ethel
Its 50 lively. My, just look at that
crowd of people going in that door.
What is going on there, Mr.. Hender-
son ?"
Mr.. Henderson looked across to the
other side of the street as usual, and
said:
"Oh, yes; that was a clothing house. -
"Why, no, Mr.. Henderson" ex-
claimed Elfrida, "that's an les cream
saloon"
Ethel laughed merrily. EDO you
know" she said, 81 wondered what SO
many young ladies could want in gen.
tleman's clothing house9"
Mr.. Henderson said: cha, ha, to be
snre." And oh, the feeble, ghastly tine
ture of mirth there was in his nervous
Ma, ma IT sounded as though a boy
with the earache should essay to laugh.
Is it true, Mr.. Henderson" asked
Ethel, "that soda fountains sometimes
explode?"
MIR, Henderson, gasping for breath,
eagerly assured her that they did very
frequently, and that in every instance
they scattered death and destruction
around. In many of the Eastern cities.
he said, they had been abolished by the
law, and the same thing should be done
here. In New York, the young man
went on, all the soda fountains had been
removed far outside the city limits and
were located far in lonely meadows, side
by side with powder houses.
I" am not afraid of Them" said the
daring Ethel, 81 don't believe they are
bit dangerous"
'Nor l." echoed Elfrida; "I would
not be afraid to walk up to one and
stand by it all day. Why are you SC
afraid of them, Mr.. Henderson ?''
Mr.. Henderson CRASHED his teeth
and secretly pulled out a great sheaf Of
hair from his head in nervous agony
Then he said that he had once had fan
young sister blown to pieces by one OF
these terrible engines of destruction
while she was drinking at it; and he haG
never since been able to look at soda
fountain without growing faint.
"How sad, said both young ladies'
and then Ethel asked:
Glow do they make soda water, Mr.
Henderson ?"
And while the young man was gettine
ready to recite recipe composed main
ly of dirt and poison, Elfrida read aloud
four ice cream signs, and Ethel read OF
refreshing, and healthful," and Elfridf
read ladies and gentlemen's ice cream
parlors," twice, and Ethel looked at The
door and said, ooh, don't they look mic;
and cool in therel How comfortable ant
happy they do look I" And Elfridf
then said, eyes, indeed, it makes THU
dusty street and scorching Sidewalk
seem like an oven, just to look in al
them even, and then young Mr.. Hen
derson, who for the last ten minutes hat
been clawing his hair, and tearing of
his necktie and collar, and paving thu
air, shouted in tones of wild frenzy:
ooh, yes, yes, yesl Come in, come
In and gorge yourselves Everybody
come in and feed up whole week.
salary in fifteen minutes. Set en- up
Sody, ice cream, cake, strawberry cob
bier, lemon ice and sherbet. Set ZEN
up It's on me. Oh yes, 1 can stant
it. Ia, ha, ha am John Jacol
Vanderbilt in disguise. Oh yes: i
don't cost anything to take an evenin,
walk in Burlington. Oh no Put on
your frozen pudding Ha, ha, ha-a-al'
They carried the young man to hi
humble boarding house, got him int,
bed, and sent for his physician. He i
not not nr,Eirnlz. Il .l...-.....