Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-09-19

of carrying out peoples Judiclous plans
for his welfare and Marifs.
She did not seem TO pine with hope
deferred; people could not honestly think
there was any occasion to pity her for
her lover hardness. A cheerier woman
never lived. She was literally bubbling
over with jollity. Round-!aced and
black-eyed, with a funny little bounce
of her whole body when she walked, she
was the merry feature of the whole
place.
Her mother was now too feeble, but
Maria still corded boots for the factories
as of old. David Emmons, who was
quite sixty, worked in them, as he had
from youth. He was slender, mild
faced old man, with fringe of gray
yellow beard around his chin; his head
was quite bald. Years ago he had been
handsome, they said, but somehow
people had always laughed ut him a
little, although they all liked him. 1.-The
slowest of all the slow Lcydenites" out-
siders called him, and even the "slow
Leydenites' poked fun ut this exaggera-
ton of themselves. 1t was IN old and
well-worn remark that it took David
Emmons an hour to go counting, and
that he was always obliged TO leave his
own home at seven in order TO reach
Maria's at eight, and there was a stand
ing joke that the meeting -house passed
him one morning on his way to the shop.
David heard the chatting, of course;
there is very little delicacy in matters of
this kind among country people,; but he
took it all in good part. He would
laugh at himself with the rest, but there
was something touching in his dcpreca-
tory way of saying sometimes: "Well,
don't know how tbs. but it don't seem
to be in my natur' to do any other way.
suppose was born without the faculty
Of gittin' along quick in this world.
You'll have to git behind an push me a
leetle, L reckon"
He owned his little cottage, which was
one of the kind which had the piazza on
the right side. He lived entirely alone.
There was q half-acre or SO of land be-
side his house, which he used for vege-
table garden. After and before shop
hours, in the dewy evenings and morn
ings, he dug and weeded assiduously be-
tween the green ranks OF corn and
beans. IL David Emmons was slow, his
vegetables were not None of the gar
tens in Leydcn surpassed his in luxuri-
ant growth. His corn tasselled out and
his potato patch was white with BIOS
SONS as soon rs anybody's.
lie was almost a vegetarian in his diet;
the products of his garden spot were his
staple articles of food Early in the
morning would the gentle old ba ,helor
set his pot of green things boiling, and
dine gratefully ut noon, like mild Rob-
ert Herrick, on pulse and herbs. HIS
garden supplied also his sweetheart an d
her mother with all the vegetables they
could use. Many times in the course of
week could David nave been seen
slowly moving toward the Brewster cot
tage with basket on his arm well
stocked with the materials for an inno-
cent and delicious repast.
But Maria was not to be outdone by
her old lover in kindly deeds. Not u
Saturday but goodly share of her
weekly baking was deposited, neatly
covered with white crash towel, on
David's little kitchen table. The sur
reptitious air with which the back door
key was taken from its hiding place
(Which she well knew under the Kitchen
blind, the door unlocked and entered, and
the good things deposited was charming,
although highly Intellectual. There goes
Maria with David's baking" said the
women, peering out of their windows as
she bounced, rather more gently and
cautiously than usual, down tho stroa OF
And David himself knew well the min
istering angel to whom these benefits
were due when he lifted the towel and
discovered with fearful eyes the brown
loaves and 1aky pies-the proofs of his
Maria's love and culinary skill.
Amongst the younger and more irrev-
erent portions of the community there
was considerable speculation as to the
mode of courtship of these old lovers of
twenty-five years standing. Was there
ever a kiss, q tender clasp of the hand,
those usual expressions of affection be-
tween sweethearsP
Some of the more daring spirits had
even gone so far rs to commit the mani
fest improperly of peeping in Maria's
David sitting quiet and prim on the little
slippery horse. hair sofa, and Maria by
the table, rocking slowly in her little
cane-seated rocker. Did Maria ever
leave her rocker and sit on that slippery
horse hair sofa by David's sidep They
never knew, but she never did. There
was something laughable and at the
same time rather pathetic about Maria
and David's counting. All the outward
appurtenanccs of Excepting company"
were as rigidly observed as they had
been twenty-five years ago, when David
Emmons first cast his mild blue eyes
slyly and lovingly on red-cheeked, quick
spoken Maria Brewster. Every Sunday
kindlcd in the parlor, the parlor lamp
was lit at dusk all the year round and
Maria's mother retired early that the
young people might "sit up" The ''sit-
ting up" was no very formidable affair
now, whateverit might have been in the
first stages of the courtship. The need
of sleep over balanced sentiment in
those old lovers, and by ten o'clock ut
the latest Maria's lamp was out and
David had wendell his solitary way to
his own home.
Leyden people had great curiosity
to know il David had ever actually
popped the question TO Maria, or il his
natural slowncss was ut fault in this as
in other things. Their curiosity had
been long exercised in vain. but Widow
Brewster, as she wayed older, grew 10.
quacious and one day told neighbor,
who had dropped in in her daughters
absence, that "David had never RELY
come TO the pint. She supposed he
would some time; for her part, she
thought he had BETTER but then, aftcra
knowed Maria didn't care, and maybe
twas jest as well us twas, only some
times she was afcarj she should never
live to see the weddin' if they wasn't
spry." Then there had been hints con
corning a certain pearl colored silk which
Maria, having good chance to get at
bargain, had purchased some twenty
years ago, when she thought, from sun.
dry remarks, that David was coming to
the point, and it was further intimatcd
that the silk had been privately made up
ten years since, when Maria mad aran
surmised that the point was about being
reached. The neighbor went home in
.