Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-02-14

W collar who comes to
-, Z ENAA2 see her every Sunday
49, ~ evening is called
Agy. The rest of it
is Algernon fennyson Smith He
amounts TO less than the inside of a large
zero The hardest work i ever knew
him to do was to watch a man play soi-
taire Afterwards he said he was real
tired
Jennie thinks he is just too lovely for
anything She says he is SO literary and
intellectual! And she's tryiI to be that
way herself-reading poetry and all that
sort Of thing-but it s no use. Jennie is a
nice, pretty girl, too good for dude like
Algv, but she weighs $50 in the shade,
and she's just too intellectual to think
that the 20 cent candy Algy brings her
% good, and not intellectual enough to
know what's the matter with it. And as
for literary! 1t makes me laugh to see
her try to read the books that Algy tells
her are 80 full of soul. They put her to
sleep.
She used to take them over to Lu
Browns. Lu is literary herself Jennie
would get her to talk about the books,
and remember what she said. Then she'd
repeat it to Algy in the evening. 1t was
about the meGnest thing ever knew a
XII W uO, DcCdllSt LII was IdS-
cinate the poet herself, and was working
the literary dodge for all it was worth.
/ wouldn't stand any such trick as that,
SO / went and told Lu how the matter
stood, and the next day she filled Jennie
up with the funniest lot of nonsense /
ever heard. Jennie didn't know that
there was anything the matter with 1t,
and when the poet called she gave him
the usual dose. | was under the piano
A.. that evening. and l thought that there
would be row, but Jennie cried, and
Algy forgave her.
For a month or two before Valentines
day the poet kept limiting that he was
going to write Jennie valentine with
poetry in it. He didn't say SO right out,
but he intimated that it depended on the
muse or the spirit, or some other thing,
which he said was moving round inside
OF him. Jennie was all in futter
about 1t.
The night before Valentines day, Algy
called Jennie had been reading Brown
ing's poems in the parlor. She under
stood them about as well as she would
an account book in Chinese laundry.
They were too much for her that even
ing, and she went to sleep with her head
over the back of chair. i saw her there,
and then kept sharp lookout for Algy.
When he came let him in without max
ing any noise, and / showed him right
into the parlor. ! told Jennie afterward
that she had her mouth open 30 that he
could see clear down her throat. That
was lie, but l didn't want her to lose
any of the joke
While he was waking her up, hung
his long, yellow ulster on the hat rack.
Ifta ahOrIf fha i Tee
loud ! can hear it when he turns the
corner of the street. After had hung
1t up l went through the pockets.
usually do this because he might brinf
box Of candy or something and forget to
take II In with him. This night didn't
lind anything but letter. 1t had Jen-
MES name on it, and knew that it must
be the valentine he'd been talking 90
much about.
thought ought to know what kind
OF poetry he was sending to my ester, so
! took 1t up stairs and opened it with
little warm water and a lead pencil.
Before reading IL / asked mother for q
little peppermint, because l knew what
Algy's poems are like, and wanted to
Be prepared. Then / went back to my
room and read this:
The poet strayed among the paths OF song,
Enwrspped In dreams Of beauty like . cloud;
Ard yet the way was lone, the way was long,
The mists chung round him coldIy as u shroud.
Anon he saw face, and dreams were done
when Jennies voice spoke tremulous and low,
lght broke round him like the oneery sun.
And Venus murmured: CUPID. bring your
"Ratsp' said I; ''it's lucky I took the
peppermint. don't feel very well Is
When began to feel a little better I
decided that that poem had got to be
fixed. 1t didn't seem to me to breathe
the spirit of the writer. 1t needed some
thing little more definite about his per-
sonal appearance and that coat Of his.
Bsaidee, / didn't like to be entirely left
out of 1t myself; 90 sat down and wrote
revised edition Of it. had to hurry
up, for Algy wasn't going to STAY long
that night, because he was coming on
she next So / stirred up the muse, as
Algy would say, as lively az could, and
this was what ] put down:
The poet wrote his girl little song;
u was 20 pretty that II made him proud
Tho poets form was thin: his hair was long;
His old plaid ulster was tribe loud
Anon, gadsooks he was holy showi
He sat with Jennie till the rising sun,
And when II seemed a. II he'd never no
Tbs old man murmured Johnny, get thu gum"
This struck me as being more true 70
nature, and besides. 1t gave me a chow,
% folded 1t up nicely, put 1t into the
envelope and sealed it up. Then / slid
down stairs and put it back where I
found 1t. wasn't any too soon, for
Agy came out in two or three minutes
and put on bis coat. He took the letter
out Of rs pocket, and struck an attitude
while he looked at it. Jennie wanted to
zee the address. but he wouldn't let her.
mot yet" he said, and then he sighed.
"Ah, II 10 Q fragment Of my soul" Then
she giggled, because che knew 1t was the
valentine, but l simply gazed over the
hennssfs-n and smiled TO think Hhnne