The daily gazette., 1881-09-16
TOO BASHFUL
By HARLAN e. WARD.

"Hsng it oil, what can poor fellow
do I"
A great, handsome, good. natured,
honest. hearted fellow was Charlie
Winter, but 40 very bashful, that in
the presence Of the gentler sex he
never could have told whether he was
standing on his feet or on his head
Just now his failing was immensely
aggravated by the fact that he was
over head and ears in love with Clarice
Wilmer, the sweetest, pretties., most
bewildering little beauty In all the re-
gion round about her.
30 dear, wish knew way to tell
my love, and not be there myself
Deuce take the girls they bother you
on purpose. I believe, and always man.
age SO your Courage oozes out of your
fingers ends before you are quite ready
to ask the fatoful question ~
"Why don't you writer"
"Write shouldn't know word to
say and then I'd never dare to look
her in the face again."
80, what a spoony Simply say you
love her, and her If she will make you
happy. The face the music like man
and meet her next time as If nothing
had happened-unless she answers yes,
and then, Of course, you will act as if
something had happened.
Charley groaned despaIringly.
"Easy enough for you TO talk" he
muttered obviously. "Yo ou who have
been married seven years--with me the
case is different. / tell you, Tom you
don't know anything about it."
"Yes / do. Didn't have to do my
courting just the way you've got to do
yoursi Didn't Nell act just as Clarice
does, bewitching me at one moment,
and driving mo almost to suicide the
next - You're lunatic, you are, and
l hope Clarice win give you the nit
ten."
"I'm afraid she will.o
"'Faint heart never won fair lady,
quoted Tom Ridgely, Indignantly as
| he rose to take his leave. seriously,
however, Charley advise you to put
your heart on paper, and forward it to
Clarice by the post"
Charley thought about it after he
was gone. The more he thought the
better pleased with it he was.
"lrs terrible, but suppose l mustl'
he groaned, seating himself at his writ
I'M. desk, and clutching wildly at paper
pens and ink.
An hour of torture. Charley began i
dozen billet-doux and tore them up
then wrote dozen more, and tore then
up also.
"It's utterly useless" he moaned Al
last and .hen this great BOBBY laid biz
head upon the desk aud fairly sobbed
"Ill write and asked her TO 60 to th,
opera with me tomorrow night, anyway
and then, perhaps" he dared to thinl
no further.
"My dear--no, that never'll do--wal
ever q mortal so perplexed as AM ?
wish the the girls were all at the bottom
of the ocean, and Eve had never beeI
created. Well I'll begin again."
THIS time he was successful. His mott
WAS short enough. and some young la
dies might take umbrage at such an in
yitation but Clarice knew his bashful
ness. 1t read as follows, and was no
dated at all:
"Will you be kind enough to homo
me by the acceptance Of my escoit Il
the opera to morrow eve?"
And that was all beside the signature
"Well, there" said Charley, as he 40
+. II done, 81 promised sister Minnie
would write to her this week, so viii
do It now while my hand is In"
And, tossing the note one side, h
soon began his letter:
"SIsTER MINE ut read): Yours o
the 17th came to hand, and l bav'
meant to answer 1t before. The fact Is
/ am deep In love with young lady
! Glariee Wilmer, OF whom you've heart
me speak, and am afraid she don't re.
turn It. You know that l am so con.
founded bashful daren't speak Wort
about 1t to her, and neither can write
Sometimes l think I've got the neces.
sary courage, but when meet her
yanishes like dew before the sun, an,
I'm q bigger fool than ever. know
she thinks that I'm fool, but l can
help it'd rather face battery O
mitrailleuses, or any other engine of de
struc.Ion than . pretty woman, an
time, and Clarice Is the fairest, swee.es
aud most beautiful young lady l eve
saw"
Here followed three whole pages {
lovers rhapsody, inteIspersed with wal
ings of despair, and then the latte
wound up thus;
"I'ye asked her to the opera to mo-
row night, and II she goes. Ills possiel
that / may learn my fate."
}. "Three o'clock-can 1t be possible3
cried Charley, glancing at the clock, an
stuffing his letters into two envelope
which be packed in awful haste. eth
} mail goes out IN half an hour--l sha
be late a. sure as fate"
And paying no heed to the rhyme, an
little to the letters, he grasped his hi
and started for the post office.
! Clarice smiled her brightest Whe
: Charley called for her next night, b.
he fancied there was mischief In b,
eyes, which perhaps was not quite all
I fancy. At the opera she talked an