Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1885-06-27
ACCOMAC G. Fl. VA, SATURDAY, JUNE 81

atsand joked numerically by his
BROTHER for being so foolish as to
I'D afraid of a woman.
can't help it," said poor 10
seph.
When he went down to the par
lOr@an hour after his arrival, he
f0ninl on opening the door, that
There were several ladies there,
aHtiah his heart began to- tlump, and
his face to get hot, before he got
uyer5l he threshold. Railways made
him chilly one moment, and fever
isbSth, next to go through the Or
-dr,ilsos an introduction to IL wrman
NoWshe felt more unnamed than
ever, for.she was there.
Avery pretty little child waas
pllying in the room. 1t looked up
at HIM tlelightedly, and then tod
died 5toward him, and grabbed him
round his shaking knees, and lisp
ed,ssaspapa, papa!"
GOOD gracious!ps Mt. Brown
coladn't have kept back the fright
enIa exclamation for the world
His face became covered with pro
fuse pcrspilation, and the ladies be-
gan TO litter at the cllild's periur-
mauce; which demonstration ON
their part was hardly calculated to
make the poor man feel very much
at ease.
".Mrs. Hooper, this is my BROTH
cr Joseph" said William. present
ing HIN to the first LAZY they came
to-. Whereupon Joseph seized her
hand and shook it as lift had been
the end Of a pump-hand!e, without
being in the least aware Of what he
was doing. Mrs. Hooper evidently
thought he was very demonStra-
tive man.
"This is Mrs. Drake" said Will
liam, when he succeeded i'll getting
his brother away from Mrs. Hoop.
er.
Joseph attempted to bow, trod
on the baby's toes, and came near
f;linting with fright when cherub
Setup a doleflll wall.
"And this is Mrs. Parks, said
his brother, Indicating the woman
who came to the baby's rescue.
AS her hands seemed to be pref
ty well occupied with the baby,
Misunderstanding couldn't very well be
indnlged in, so Joseph bowed sew
eral a times, chopped she was well
and ed for IL better acqnain.
tan IA deep and solemn voice,
aita$ he fell Into the nearest
clair,z longcd to commit sui.
s's Viii. he'd ! ais9s.o ,t., y:
nodded tSNaea the woman with ting
baby, and whispered, "thc widow
,"Good gracious!" thought Joser '
"a young one. too, and it calls n%
father! It's no use to hold out; if
she goes for me, and she will
know it. The young ones instinct
trelixit what's i'll the mind, and that's
why it came to call me. Papa! Dear
me! It's coming this WAY. It's
looking ut me. I'm in for it.
"Papa, papa" cried the "young
one" putting up her hands for Jo-
seph TO take her.
"You mustn't mind her." said Mrs.
Parks with the prettiest blush he
thought he had ever seen. "She
calls almost every gentlemen papa,
since her father died"
oil don't mind it much if-if
YOU don't" stammercd Joseph, at
which she blushed up roster than
before.
The child insisted on coming to
him. He had never felt quite so
awkward as he did when she climb
ed on his knee. He was afraid to
touch her. Children and china al
ways seemed to him to be compoS
ed of the same fragile material. He
WAS afraid of breaking them. lie
felt that the ladies were bewitching
him, and wanting to laugh. lie
knew that his face looked like a
boiled ham, aud it seemed us ii the
thermometer had gone up to LOO
degrees in the shade. Nevertheless,
he lived through it.
"She's real NICE" he confessed to
the bedpost that night, that piece
Of furniture bearing the closest re-
semblance to something human of
anything in his room. 81 b'lieve I'd
like to-to marry her, but Id never
dare to ask her."
Cold chlIs rau down his back at
the thought.
In less than two days Mr.. Joseph
Brown was in love. Deeply and
sentimenta1ly in love. So much so
in fact, that he picked up Il rose the
widow had dropped, and took it to
his room, where lie sat and locked at
it for an hour before he realized
what he was doing.
"You poor old fool" he said, adj
dressing his reflection i'll the glass
you're done for, amt you! 1t takes
widows to fetch a man to time. I've
always heard 50, and now l know it,"
He sighed.
During the next two weeks Jo-