Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-12-19
MY LOVERS.

MY LOVERS. g
We were only shop-girls, you know,
and, for the matter of that, we are shop
girls still. But one day we had little
money left us-just a triile-and as we
were tired to death with pleasing other
people, we decided TO please ourselves,
and take vacation at the beach.
"For once" said Lefty, "let us be
grandees. Let us goin good style, If il
takes every cent. Let us go as we
might have gone II you hadn't been
sentimental and had married Mr..
Dunn"
"Mr. Dunn was bachelor, immense
ly rich, bald and stout, and no longer
young; not the lover had dreamed of,
not the realization of the ''dim sweet
vision" which had haunted my thoughts
for even shop-glrl has dreams and
fancies. / had been greatly surprised
when he asked me to marry him, and
live on Beacon Street, and drive in my
coupe. OF course he didn't mention
these things, but Lefty did; and / had
said: "No, thank you,' at once. What
poetry could there be in marrying Mr..
Dunn? Living in luxury on Beacon
Street would be pleasant enough, but it
would put love and romance and happi-
ness forever out of the question, i
thought. Lefty disapproved, know,
and so did Mr.. Dunn.
"Why don't you love meP" he asked.
"Other women have;' and he smiled
and blushed at the confession.
ooh, / like you very much as friend,
Mr.. Dunn" | said, to soften the blow.
Friendship Is easy enough TO win,
But one isn't loved every day."
he quoted.
1t was pretty slow at the beach, after
the first excitement of arriving and I'M
packing had worn off; after we had
gotten used to bathing, and sitting idly
on the piazza, with the sea rolling al
our feet, or reading novels in the ham
mock, or Watching the flirtations and
tho scheming. We didn't know any
body, you see, and there was nobody To
introduce us. We talked with some OF
the ladies, but they seemed TO have
known each other before; and while they
discussed this or that acquaintance, the
opera of the season past, the soirees
where they had met, we naturally
dropped out of the conversation. Then,
when there was dancing, we had nc
partners, and il was not exactly pleas
ant to play the wall-ilower while Others
were in the swing of everything. Lefty
had said: Il think we had better &C
home. and use the balance of our cash
in Joining the Harvard Annex, and i'm.
proving our minds when one evening,
as we sat forlorn on the piazza, who
should come TO meet us but Mr.. Dunn
n l.1 30 la IL,
my life before. He didn't seem To bear
me n grudgc for having refused him.
| He introduced me to all the young
swells and nabobs and their sisters as
his particular friends; in fact. believe
| he told one of the dowagers that had
| declined TO become Mrs. Dunn. He
didn't stay great while; he was due
| somewhere else--at somebody's country
| place-and | was rather glad when he
went; for although had refused him,
couldn't help feeling n sort of owner
ship i'm him, and when he flirted with
other women l didn't like it. One
| doesn't like ones discarded lover TO re
cover too soon, if ut all. We were nc
longer wall-flowers; we danced ant
sang and rowed and bowled with the
best. We were Mr.. Dunns friends.
think perhaps some of the women wer,
even grateful to me because / had mo-
married him.
However, it seemed to me that pres.
emily l forgot Mr.. Dunn altogether
Clarence Cuthbert began to fiji tn,
measure of my thoughts completely.
hardly knew if anybody else existed
"All men beside were to me lik,
shadows" We sat together secluded
on the piazza, or walked on the sandl
by moonlight, or strolled in the pin,
woods and read poetry, or sang together
on the rocks with the surf beating a
our feet He seemed the embodiment
of all poetry and lofty sentiment an,
romance. He had a voice like the wine
In the pines, or an Eolian harp, full o
tender meaning and deep unfathomabl,
feeling, / believed; he was like tina
princess whose lips dropped pearls an,
rubies of speech. He read Byron 81
beautifully that one felt he would hav,
written it all if Byron hadn't, and h,
had composed airs TO some of Shelley
divine verses, which he taught me {,
sing. Oh, il seemed to me just then a
II were q real live heroine breathin;
romance. About this time happene,
to have n severe neuralgia headache
which confined me in my room severa
days, and one evening when Lefty cam
up to bed she said,
81 don't know il were going to mar
ry one or the other, but / should prefe
Mr.. Dunn to Cuthbert.
''How disagreeable you are, Letty!'
said. "You had better come to bed.
''Mr. Dunn is sincere at least, IL he &
bald" she pursued; land he isn't s.
dreadfully bald either"
"Well, Clarence isn't bald at ALL"
mo, but he's been going on with Mis-
Erskine as IL you didn't cxist-strollin,
in the woods, looking into her eyes, an
repeating poetry. She showed me som
lines he had written to her, and belev
they were the very same he composed 3
you, only brown dyes swere changed
blue.n
"Letty, don't believe a word of Il
It's only her vanity and your jealousy
See these exquisite roses he sent me, an
this delicious note.''
II should think IL was n recipe fror
Miss Parloa. Miss Eskimo wore n fine
bunch-real Jacqucminots, dolla
apicce-in 10 dinner"
81 don't value mine according to th
price; they're Marshal Niels, too. II b
had sent me bunch of buttcrcups they
be as precious. Butyou don't deserve
read the note, and you sha'n't."
sI don't xvant 40 Il doro cov ft,o fk