The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-07-31
LOVE ON A TOB0GGAN.

snap of my fingers for your son Tom
"Sir, your language is ungentlemanly"
MADAME, so is yours"
We were both at white heat Mrs. Jupp
the aunt and legal guardian of my adored
Julia, positively trembled with rage, and
looked round the room as il in search Of
some weapon with which to attack me. She
was large and stout, had deep bass voice,
and hideous, wiry curls, and wore glasses of
such an intense magnifying power that she
seemed to be always glaring at one like
hungry Gorgon, by the way what is
Gorgon1 and could drive men away from
the vicinity of her niece-my dear lullaby
simply favoring them with stony stare as
fixed and awful as that of the Sphinx.
Leave my house, sir" she said at last,
rising aud pointing to the door, with a very
fine dramatic action Anger is more be-
coming TO a large, stout woman than to a
small one-uniess she gets red in the face.
q will not so until You give ME some bet
ter reason for the stand you take in this
ma tier.
Il have told you once-she is engaged to
my son.
Il don't believe 1t, said boldly, though
perhaps rudey; but ny lovely Julia was
rejected in Il distant mirror, smiling at
me and shaking ner head, and was reck-
less. Mrs Jupp gasped, and if masnified
glance from her glaring eyes could have
killed me would have died on the spot
MIR. Edgerton, If my son were here
"Confound your SOM said l. ] really
used IL much stronger word, forgetting for
the moment where | was
am not quite certain what hit me- but
| think Tvs foptstnnt 1 off ri
found gilded claw-common to that art
icle of furniture-in my coat pocket A
man servant, whom | had often fed in
other days, picked mo up and escorted me
TO the door, murmuring sympathetically
the while, that TO be sure, Mrs Jupp was
leetle uncertain at times Uncertain!
There is nothing uncertain about her l
am small man, and tremendous bump
on my forehead is conspicuous; nor is one
black eye becoming to any one so | SUNK
down the street like criminal, vowing Ven
geance against the Old tyrant in petticoats,
| who only wanted Julia to marry her son
in order TO keep the money in the family,
| for Julia was quite an heiress, though of
course that fact had no weight with me
Business of some kind had brought Mrs.
Jupp to st Paul, and there she took a house
and established herself with her lovely niece
for the winter In the first stages of my
acquaintance | was of much service to the
Old lady, and ran about and did her misera-
BILE errands for her like q born idiot | also
had every opportunity of falling in love
with her niece, and this | did as rapidly as
| possible and with such success that in two
months from their arrival | announced our
| engagement to the aunt, with the above de-
scrlbed result though 1t must be understood
that have only given the termination of
my negotiations-the preliminaries being
tame and uninteresting. The next day
spent in my room trying experiments with
raw beef AS applied to black eye and
nursing various schemes of vengeance and
the lump my forehead at the same time.
The day following ventured down to my
Office, and from there sent an impassioned
note to my darling Julia, a note filed with
despair, VOWS of eternal love and appro-
pirate quotations. My note was returned
by the grinnins Office boy, who said the old
lady had opened it in his presence, read it
| aloud and told him to take it back to that
| little fool-meaning me-and added that
she would box bis-the said boy Sears If
ma ever brought another | discharged the
boy on the spot and told him he was an
idle, good for-nothing yagabond During
the day friend called in, and after some
stupid drivel which almost drove me crazy,
said, apropos of nothing; by the way,
called on the Jupps last night Old lady
SAYS they leave here on Saturday and are
going straight to Europe Didn't see the
fair Julia-always thought you were little
smitten there, you know
Smltten Yes by both OF them. Ii the
fool only knew that he was sitting so to
speak, on volcano, be might 90 away He
did 60 away at last, and relieved my feel
Tags by throwing tn inkstani into the fire
place, aud kicking the waste paper basket
all around the room Leave on saturday.
Good heavens and this was Friday began
to wonder If the water in the Mississippi
was very coli-supposing one could cut a
hole in the ice--or if poison were better
and had really worked myself into com
Portable sort OF gloom when III came that
Internal boy again and handed me a note
which looked If it had been kicking about
IN the streets for month | knew the
writing at once-it was hers and in my iov
gave the lad 80 cents and told him he
might have a holiday next week and 20 tC
his grandnother's funeral-having dim
idea that he had once or twice asked leave
of absence for that purpose
My dear George, so ran the note Il an
locked up III my room and am crying al
the time Aunt comes to the door every
hour and shouts yes, shouts through the key
hole Have you heard from George: yot
ought to see him with u black eye He i.
SO lovely-it's so becoming, and other hor
rid things like that She Is going to tax,
| TO ~
Europe, and Oh, George, ] shall die know
j shall. But | must tell you how to see M
once more. She has promised Mrs Smith
Jones that horrible woman to SO with he
and SEQ the toboggan slide to morrow, at /
O'Clock, and she is afraid to leave me be
hind and will be obliged to take me will
her! DO you understand This i
our last chance, but what cal
, we do We leave ut 4 o'clock, an
my cousin Tom will arrive here about /
go back with Us and act policeman tn
, journey. Susan, the house maid, Is goiu
to take this note to you ii IL is littl
stained and yellow don't mind, as | have I
, send 1t out in the coifeepOt with the hraa,
last things, for aunt Is the only person VIII
, comes into the room she brings in all M
meals herself. food bye, dear, dear George
Your unhappy but loving JULIA.
f. S.-Df coura. there Is no possible us
in my thinking anything could happen
wouldn't run away II l could but | wi
take my lewelry with lie.
L. +. 81 have promised Susan throug
, the keyhole, that you will give her So
| rushed into the outer Office, and Their
eat Susan, pretty girl, whom l had ofte
seen flirting desperately with one of til
young clerks, who is really incorrigiole, an
has been caught making love to the scru
woman when other material failed II
: blushed on seeing me, and Dipped the wron
- end of his pen into the ink called til
, glrl into my office and gave her $40 instea
of S.. and heard all of the particulars
i Julias Imprisonment, and how Mrs Jup
was abusing the whole household anu raj
2 Ing Cain generally. She had deposited
u pail of water and broom in the hall, b
9 hind the door, and had given strict orders
the servants to summon her instantly shoul
present myself again at the house. Susa
said 1t was quite settled that the old lad
would 80 to the toboggan slide the next da