Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-10-20


'Gainst women! Thou the siege dost In,
Much too, in the female way.
/ am sitting on the back porch of
my little vine-clad cottage this lazy
May morning, putting immense vol
umes of smoke from my old meer-
schaum pipe, undlsturbed by aught
save the chirpings of the songsters of
spring, and the CHEEKY voice of my
sister Bessie, as she goes singing
about her household duties. / am
thinking deeply-thinking of my
pretty next door neighbor, Kittie
American. She is witching little
girl with the blacklist of hair and the
bluest of eyes. She does not look
her age by five years, which her Wild
owed mother innocently told me was
less than my own by ten years, and
l am turned thirty-five.
1 have known Kittie nearly year.
1 have ridden with her, played with
her, and worked with her; and to-
day, for the first time, the startling
revelation has dawned upon my OBJ
tuse intellect that l am deeply in love
with her.
About fifteen months ago | came
from the north, bringing with me my
only sister, Bessie, and my cousin,
Basil Willoughby, and settled down
in Bonnie Brae, one of the pictur-
esque little villages which comprise
the suburban belt of Baltimore.
Basil is literary man, and l am an
artist. My sister keeps house for us
two old bachelors, though the term
can hardly be properly applied to
Basil, for he is only tall, slender
STRIPPING of twenty-four Summers, as
fair and delicate of feature as a girl !;
while am dalk, short, heavy-sot,
weather-beaten and fast growing
gray.
| puff and puff until | have thor
oughly made up my mind that to-day
shall settle my fate, at least so far as
Miss kittie American is concerned.
| Carefully knocking the ashes out of
my pipe, / arise and walk leisurely
over to Mrs. Americans. | find
Kittie out in the yard, busily engag-
ed in wedding her flower beds and
| soiling her pretty fingers. She looks
up with sunny smile as she sees
me, and exclaims inquiringly,-
"Not painting this morning, Mr..
Borroughs?''
"No, Miss Kittie," reply, 81 am
suffering from an acute attack of
spring fever, and have come to you
for sympathy and consolation.
81 greatly fear you have come to
f the wrong individual" she says,
laughing merrily, 'for | am going
t to ask you to turn gardener and help
me to rid my flower bed of these hor-
rid weeds.''
"Let us compromise, Miss Kittie
by taking a stroll in the woods after
. wild flowers" 1 reply.
i, "Done % she exclaims, as she runs
into the house after her bonnet anC
soon we were strolling along together
0 in the most contented manner possi
BILE.
e never noticed before how grace
t full her 1.-THE, petite figure really is
how lustrous her eyes, OF how tempt
n ing her rosebud mouth, and l an
/ seized with an almost uncontrollabl,
desire to take her up in my arms ant
u imprint kiss upon it. What viv
. id fool man is when he has beel
badly hit! but what man very deepl,
: in love ever yet possessed vestig,
i of practical common sense of whicl
the all-absorhing passion did no
Il wholly deprive him?
h We stroll leisurely through tn
e leafy woods, conversing on variou
topics of art and nature, culling viii,
If flowers here and there, and finally
. when we have done, Kittie seat
- herself on the trunk of fallen tree
and l stretch myself indolently a
Il length upon downy bed of dr.
e leaves. / wonder if / shall have tn
courage to carry out my original de
IS sign, and con over what l shall sa
i and how l shall say it. l gaze a
'e Kittie long and searchingly. Althoug
she is looking the other way, sh
must be aware of my scrutiny, fo
y presently she turns to me and ask
l. quizzically,-
"Are you thinking of putting m
s on canvas, Mr.. Borroughs?'
: 81 confess / was not, but indee
q q would like to, Miss Kittie," l re
ply earnestly-so earnestly that
,s faint color mounts to her forehead.
lie A long pause ensues, and then
W say abruptly
le "Kittie, / love you; will you b
u my wife?''
She looks at me moment in uttt
% amazement, and then coolly replies,-
"Mr. Borroughs, do not beliey
- I cam
ID care your affections otherwise el
zy gaged?'' inquired eagerly.
Of "No, 1 think not" she answer
placidly.
q "Then why can't you?" l as
" !. calmly.
,a swell, have reasons
he "But what are they?" l query
It. trife impatiently.
e, ''Well, Mr.. Borroughs, you are