The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-08-07

The rosy Hours fee-et-ness."
Then came q comic interlude, fol-
lowed by another and another couplet.
Then with q disgusting burlesque OF
fervor:
"You Widespread, Come to-morrer.'"
"Midger" exclaimed Eleanor ,..reprov-
ingly, and hurrying to reach the door.
Too late. She raced upstairs, and down
through the house sounded:
sTo-morreri Yes, and we shall ber-less
A thousand sweet ter-morrers."
While the noblest sentiments of my
soul were being thus held up to scorn,
I paced the room in great excitement.
But Eleanor apologized sweetly, and
though the wretched tune, welded to
those words, kept ringing in my II
(for, to this day, I only hum Johnny
Sands" and back comes every line),1
set about another effusion at once:
Lenore. art thou a dream,
A fading vision?
So fair thy form doth seem,
It's like some passing CLEAN
OF course it was printed in the Comet,
a marked copy sent to Eleanor. and /
closely followed the tribute. As l en-
tered Nudge was skipping along the
hall like INDUSTRIOUS g~rasshpper.
..Helloi'' said she, and nodded; then.
swinging around the newel-post with
one long arm, she landed herself q
third of the way up stairs. There she
sat down, flung defiance at ME with a
flourish of her hands, and began shout
ing out my last poem to the tune of
'.Pop Goes the Weasel"
"Ifyou were a boy Kissed at her,
with concentrated rage, sid wiring
your Yillainous little neckirn
sPoohr" responded Nudge. with con-
tempt.
That evening was unlucky. Very
early the bulky shadow of Jack Glenn
ents filled the doorway.
brought you some sugar-plums,"
said he.
And Eleanor actually fell to devour-
ing French candy. 'If 1 were in love
with a girl I'd bring her something to
eat" | remembered that expression Of
Jacks too well, and, filled with gloom
worried out those dark lines,
A life all wild and tempest-driyen.
They looked very Byronic set up in
good type in the Comet. But Nudge!
She danced back and forth, laughing
in my face while she twisted them, by
every barbarous trick Of dd Hbttun
singing, to the air of "a frog he would
a-wooing CO." One particularly ardent
stanza was her special delight, and she
clasped the air and rolled up her eyes
to illustrate it worthily.
20, fairest, when thy tender glances
Shall learn to greet loves warm advances,
When all thy plant, rosy graces
Are trembling to my close. embraces,
Then shalt thou know. with bliss supernal.
That love, love only, is eternal"
It's useless to linger over all these
distressing particulars, but after two
weeks of hot june and July nights de-
voted to agonizing for rhymes. / felt
that I had passed a ~true-lover's full pro-
baton, I practiced a declaration and
delivered it most passionatcly, The
time was twilight.
..Eleanor,'' said I, ssfate has designed
us for each other. We have been ac-
quainted two long weeks. My love is
madness-desperation. Dearest, be
my wifers
1 attempted to seize her hand, but
Eleanor sprang up briskly, and made
short work of the romantic twilight by
blazing every burner in the chandelier.
Then she said, very distinctly:
please stop this nonsense. I don't
like it."
Eleanor" 1 cried, "do you reject
mepn
"Hold your tongue said the young
lady.
But 1 have poured out my soul to
you in poetry"
"Ye-es," answered Eleanor, with
leisurely sarcasm, .'and how charming
it is, set to music!" Then she laughed
cruelty laughed.
Eleanor, don't drive me to suicide,
I sobbed out, wildly; and I'm ashamed
to confess Twas SO rude as to try to en-
brace her.
She slipped neatly under my extended
arms, and. facing me angrily, delivered
the final blow:
"Go away, go straight out of che
house, you silly, bad, insulting boy
You're a horridlittle goose. and nobody
would marry you" Then she marched
upstairs.
I felt for my hat, and stumbled te
the front door. On the steps / passed
Jack Clements. He was carrying {
dainty basket of early peaches.
Something to eatr I CALCULATED
! with a sneer, which Jack p~rovokingl,
answered by pleasantly smiling. as j
he were in good humor and good luck
rushed home, rushed out again
rushed to the Comet Office, tried Il
write, tried to sleep, tried to eat, triet
, to tire myself out by walking. and a
: last, in the early morning, sat down OF
a bench in Union Square. By tina
time l was no longer in love. "You'r,
n ho1.r} liffla craNoa oD1 ah0Ir- 0.1r
, marry you!" Those words ranked il
l eyes bent on vacancy 1 was meditatine
: in the style of the melodramatic hero
'.but howP That is the question:" Jus
then-tizz! went something under tn,
/, bench IN which 1 sat, a small DO,
( hooted at me-, and l remembered j
t was the noisy, detestable Fourth of July
! The military were already gathering il
9 knots about the park: the drum an,
1 fife stuug my tired ears, and l wandere'
3 off toward the East River. A steame
that looked rather inviting was jus
casting her cables, and, half in a dream
}, l stepped on board.
3 Every half-hour or so the boat wer
humping up against some dock, an
!, people hustled on and Of. At one
these stoppages the man at the gang
plank yelled .'HicksviIle Landing I
b and l thought I'd 60 ashore. Strikin
into a shady country road. l followed il
beguiled by the distant CLINT Of a LAKE
!: Moodily / was searching IN answer t
> that riddle, "Revenge!-but how ?
, As if by magic an answer presente
itself. There peeped out from tt
y bushes skirting the road a pretty litt
It head running over with dark ringlet