Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1882-01-27
eourngo. / l tSiut she read the- -secfSt.

Almighty having made them 70 match
the men, -. 49,.
| q His face was study while I talked
Amusement, annoyance, mortified van
ity, with a decidedly gratified. look, all
shone in his countenance, and when I
ended he laughed a quiet laugh that had
no discourtesy, though a little bit of tri.
umph in it,
/ continued "Now, since 1 have an
swered all your questions, may 1 ask
you onep"
"Yes, me'am," with meek imta-
ton of my manner.
"Why, in the name of all that S
sensible, did you persist in talking to
me, in the face of all the discourage
ments offeredp"
"Becausc have pcrverse fondness
for overcoming obstacles, and because
l saw plainly that you could talk if you
would, and my persistence has proved
that my intuitions were correct. Butt
he added, seriously, al should be sorry
to have you think me designedly rude.
If you had been in sorrow, or had been
a young inexperienced schoolgirl,
should not have annoyed you; but saw
you were cross rather than sad, and that
your ridiculous yes sirs' and mo sirs'
were the result of perversity rather than
difiidence. | am n gentleman, and emf
nently respectable. and you are very far
from being afraid to talk with any one
without the formality of an introduction
No, madam, you had not permitted the
sunshine of this morning to enter your
soul, or you would have been more genial
a,,d ,t ~ H., ,,l
you for your very succinct account of
yourself, antecedents and surroundings.
am lawyer, and cannot help thinking
that you would make n splendid wit
ness. Ipropose that you forgive me my
inquisitivcness, and forgive you your
-your-well, your unsociality, and we
make up, or, more properly speaking,
begin again."
| consented, and for the next twenty
minutes tried my best to efface the first
hours work. L think succeeded, and
who never talked to mortal man or
woman about myself or my affairs, found
myself talking to this stranger in free,
,nconstraincd manner, as remarkable as
it was pleasant
He was cultivated gentleman, with
u manner modest, and yet perfectly
self-confident. / made some assertion,
or expressed some opinion, from which
he dissented, saying: ~
n'You are wrong, and if had time i
could convince you that | have more
correct views on this subject than you
have.h
gave him look of amazement.
You thing | am curious blending
of impudence and egotism, don't you?"
he asked.
81 think you have wonderful con-
fidence in yourself and your own
eloquence; but have been called
an egotist myself too many times
to consider it at all term
of reproach. l find that one who un-
derstands himself and his own abilities,
who possesses power, and knows it, is
generally the one people call an egotist.
One must believe in oneself who would
win faith from others. You know Mil
ton, writing Paradise Lost, said he was
writing an immortal poem, and the peo-
pie probably cried: What an egotist! y
"Thank you," he said, "you plead
my case nobly; and now," taking out
his watch, in five minutes we will be
in Hammond, and / want to tell you
something. l like you. lam interested
in you, and l do not want this acquaint-
ance to drop. want you to give me
your name and address, and permission
to write to you. Will youP"
mo sir.'' ~ r.a..t.7. s.T
"Why?" rrt7 trrf ,#
"Because, though you fancy that you
are interested in me, L know it was only
that / piqued your vanity, and have
amused and filled an hour for YOU. You
will forget that such person exists by
the time you reach home"
"Very well; if I forget you 1 shall
not write. If I should happen to re-
member you' may remind you of it by
You do not know but l am mar
ried woman, with an invalid husband
and nine small children"
" 1t is not written on your face"
"Well, then, perhaps I have lover
waiting somewhere for me-"
"Then you will tell me so. Perfect
frankness is true courtesy, and surely
you would not jest when you can see
that L am in earnest"
There was no withstanding his SINGER
ity. l said:
81 am ashamed of my foolish testing.
1 seem determined to do myself all pos
sible injustice; and if your persistence
astonished nae at first, it amazes, bewil-
ders me now."
% see it does, and that expression,
made up of pique, surprise and incredu-
lity, is charming. really your most be-
coming one think"
=" 1t promises to be my only one while
talk with you," l retorted.
/" And l shall write to you, and you
will write to me, and your name is
Margaret Doyle,n ] ssid. "Write
to me, and be sorry for it, for prompt.
ness is my failing. When my first letter
comes, you will read it with pleasure,
and answer 1t sooni the second, you will
say, oh, another letter from that Miss
Doyle the third, Bless me! this is
getting to be monotonous, bore, in
fact--see If it is not so."
Miss Doyle, we have reached Ham
mond. Iwant to thank you for the per-
mission you have given. You do not
know how sincerely thank you.
have no faith in you as prophecies. ]
shall write to you as soon as reach
home" and he helped me off the cars,
gave my hand a warm, friendly clasp,
and whispered, "Good-bye, Margaret
Doyle" The next minute the cars
swept on, and the fact that seven music
scholars awaited me pressed itself upon
my mind
What a foolish, imprudent thing had
done! all day long / thought of it. His
face looked up from the page of g Rich
ardson," and above the false notes and
discords that my pupils tortured out oi
the piano heard hislow pleasant tones
He had that rare possession, cultiva-
ted voice. But somehow | could moi
feel any great remorse over my mis-.
conduct. The troubles of the morning
were quite forgotten, and made W
my mind that the world wasn't such 1
bad unhappy world, after all, ant
that even music-teaching had it
bright side. The day went by, the
week went by, and though said l die
not look for his letter, I did not sue
ceed in deceiving myself. 1t came, a
frank, honest epistle, full of strone