The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1888-10-13
FITZIIERBERT.
Tho Love Affair OF Plain John
Emith, and How 1t Ended.

Ny namc Il John Smith plain
Smith, without change or addition
Of vowel, and I was in no way discOn-
tented with II til ! fell In love with
Katie Rogers. Katie had never
snccrcd nt II, but her elder sister,
Miranda, had moro than once limited
that IL was Mother romantic nor un-
common; nnd her father, in his some
what lengthy discour-"s about the
British nr5'ocrncy, had an a2grnyat-
ing way Of lOO,Nng apOlOgctically at
mo every time hc spoke Of "a good
name
In our commercial community Smith
was cOWptcd u bcitcr urm3 than ROg-
ers, and young Smith, the rising cot
ton broker, more distinguished NOM
Der Of society than old Rogers, OK
Captain Of dragons, who could scarce
ly pay his thirty pounds rent aud
never wore decent hat.
Iquito agreed with my ncighbors on
these points till fell In love with Katie
and grow familiar with Miranda's
sentiments about "tho ignorance Of
Philistinc Rivcrblnk."
Captain Rogers was descended from
FiizrOgcr, who camc over with the
Conqcror, and as listened rcycrcnt-
ly 90 the history Of the family progress
through eight centuries, there was II
total collapse Of my Once-fOOlish pride
in belonging TO what n local papcr call
cd conc Of the oldest families In River
bank For Rivcrbank was scarcely
IA old as my father, having grown into
town with u spccd rarely clualcd on
this side of the Atlantic
In u general way | do not undcr-
vnluc myself but IT, was with n deep
sense Of humility that implorcd the
descendant Of Filzrogcr To become my
fathcr-in-law. We wcro alOnc to-
gcthcr In the dining-room Of the thir-
ty-pound house, hc sitting in shabby
armchair, standing on a still shah
bier hcxthrug He looked up mt the
Battle Roll Of lIastings,' - which hung
over the mautclpiccc, and down at the
fire, kept low by economical Miranda.
Thnn hoyin, yoigh,d tho mast gIorics
Of Fitlrogcr against the present price
of Goals, ho accepted my proposal with
the magnificent cOudcsccn5ion Of II
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hcr .i.,,r y,s ,rioyi.y IN ",hr hr.t
NIT" ,,. ,.I,, a., Id,
,isit ov,,,I,d r,r voor,s onI
nonus h,yorI is orir;n,l l;ri, !
h,ra,, T., t,al ,,r,.I, rnnas, l., uhosa
a., I;,t.,. I,,,.,,'. r,,,,'l LII,
wore not lonc. and she moro tbon oncc
opoloci2cd for tboir w. vltv bv plcod-
inr ~ por,i,ulpr ,,ropcmcnt " tho
nature Of vh1,h she rcyrr cxnloipcd.
Nv confidence sank, my i,oIousy
r,s,
Al last she comc homo. and thcn 7
noticed u chance in her that scriouslv
olnrmcd mo, She WAS rolcr nnd
oui,t,r and ut tiu,s thrrc wos - visit
ml lool, in lcr owes. surrcstiyo of
something in her mind. II could not
bc nnxicty nhou, her ra,hr,'s nccuni.
orv affairs b,,uus, ,,,,out tho, tim, no
onnc,rcd in . n,w hat and Mir,pd,
krnt b,ttcr Grrs Thcsc outward and
visible sirns or pro,p,rity would hovo
riycn IN, sipccrr pl,asur, if II had not
boon for the susnicion tho, old Rorcrs
was moro than over dispo,cd to take
the Norman Conquest tone with me,
and for the certainty that Mtrauda's
snccrs at "pcopIc who could not count
their graudtathcr5" were all for my
bcncGt.
What did .his sort of thinr mcanp
Had Katie boon tempted away from
mo by a loycr with a lon,rcr pcdirr,cp
Would Rogers tell me some day. like
the father In o'd-ta,hioucd romance,
that he had "othcr vicws" for his