Mexico weekly ledger., 1885-12-10
WOOING.

~ 4
thought so-and depressed; he had a
headache and he hated the dusty
streets, in which the summer heat
burnt and the summer sun shone be-
fore the green leaves had draped the
trees, and potted geraniums, which
had come to DE so blessedly popular in
New York, lent their summer fresh
ness.
What shall / do. d~oetor?' he said
to the white-headed old physician.
You say nothing ais me, but l can
tell YOU what my feelings are better
than you can. know shall be down
with something Dor l rode in q car
with I half-iozen dirty children the
other day-to the smallpox hospital. l
haven't i doubt-yery red and nasty
looking, all of them; and while l was
buying something in a store down
Broadway the other day q horrid old
woman begged of me because her hus-
band was sick with typhoid fever. No
doubt | have caught both diseases, and
it's the complication that puzzles you.
Couldn't relish my coffee this morning;
left my milk-toast untouched. Hateful
life. that; of 4 bachelor at q hotel. Oh,
dear mel
why don't you marry, then?" said
the doctor.
They need so much courting." said
Patterson You spend six months or
30. ut least, dangling at q woman's
apron strings. You must go to the
,heatreI and opera if she is gay, and to
church if she is pious. At fifty a man
likes his slippers and dresslng-gown
and chair of an evening Ii 1t was
just stepping ove to the clergyman's
and getting married, putting a ring on
her finger and saying or nodding yes
tive or three times. why L wouldn't
mind it, you know"
"Ah, well, counting is the fun of it
all. in my opinion" said the old doc
tor, .'but every n to his taste. And
my advice to you is 10 get out into the
country"
TO another hotel and more mercen-
ary waiters!" said Mr.. Patterson.
No." said the doctor; ''go to q
nice, private home. l know one-a
motherly widow lady. who cooks a din
ner fit for a king. River before the
house, woods behind it. orchard to the
left, kitchen garden to the right; no
fever and ague; no mosquitoes. Heav-
enlyi L am going up tomorrow, and
FL see if she'll take YOU" .
VERY WE'LL" said Mr.. Patterson;
II think l will try it."
land you must drink plenty of milk
and eat plenty of nice homemade
bread"
"Yes. L WILL" said Patterson, over
joyed at least at hearing something
that sounded like a prescription. "And
you would advise milk?"
Quart OF it every day. said the
doctor.
'.Ill take a note of it," said Patter-
son, land if l should be very ill she'll
nurse me.n
-'Splendidly," said the doctor, and
went his way.
Mir. Patterson thought the matter
over and thought better of it every day.
and when the little note informing him
that the widow would be willing to
stake him in and do for him. reached
him, he had his trunk and portman-
teau already packed, and was all
ready to start that afternoon. As for
the widow, the doctor had prepared
her for her boarder's peculiarities thus:
Nice fellow; social; plenty of money;
thinks himself ill; but isn'ti ought to
be married; told him so. but he hates
the idea of courting; marry off some
day, no doubt; Will you have me?'
Yes Call in Clergyman. Over. Very
peculiar old bachelor. but then old
bachelors are peculiar generally.
TIE widow was what the Yankees
call an amazing smart Woman She
had married at sixteen, and had never
tiiled to have her washing over when
o:her people were hanging out theirs.
licr bread always rose, her cake was
always good and her butter was always
sweet. At forty-fiye she had married
off all her daughters. was well-to-do,
buxom and happy.
Her son and his wife boarded with
her, and she added to her plentiful
savings by taxing a summer boarder
or two, if they happened 10 offer.
FIFTY and 4 bachelor" said Mrs.
Muntle, looking in the glass. well,
it seems a pity; but when elderly gen.
tlemen marry it is to some hity-tity
girl that leads them to a terrible life,
and likely it's for the best.
Then she looked in the glass again;
for the widow was but 4 woman, after
all.
Mr.. Patterson came to the widows
and obeyed the doctors prescription
carefully. He ate bread and milk,
robbed the orchard like q schooiboy,
and reclined over the strawberry short
cake after n fashion that would have
made his reputation at the bar. Then.
toe, Mrs Muntle did not smile at his
aches and pains and insist that he must
be p~erpetually well because he had a
fresh complexion and dimples in his
cheeks. Sac had sayory herb teas and
potions which she produced when he
complained of feeling miserable, and
she had that blessing for all hypoehon-
driacs, q homeopathic box in the house.
There were remidies in that box for
everything; and it was pleasant to find
that when there was q crawling sensa-
ton in your flesh. or a kind of uneasy