San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1889-04-11
BUTTONS.

Alice Smith, tho cash glrl IN fOurteentn
street dry goods store to her friend, Mary
Simmons
Mary blushed and looked guilty, al
though she hastily disclaimed any knowl-
edge Of the person alluded to.
"How should know where he Is?
don't even know his name. can't inn
agine why you girls are always teasing
me about him." And Mary petulantly
went on with her work Of rearranging
the disordered showcase and with femi-
nine tact displaying the newest goods in
the most conspicuous places.
But, despite her disclaimer, pretty
Mary was thinking more about But
tons" than. she was willing to confess.
In fancy she could see his broad shoul-
ders and the half bashful, half conscious
smile on his face rs he appeared before
her counter on tho previous week. He
certainly was strong young man. She
could tell that by his brown. muscular
hand. And besides there was such an
honest look In his eyes. She recalled his
hesitation, too, when he asked for the
buttons, from which tho girls had nick
named him, and Mary argued from his
ingenuousncss and his respectful manner
that he must be entirely different from
the Young men whom she encountered
on her way homo at night and whose
bold glances Of admiration always made
her blush.
A hundred times day Mary found
herself looking down the long store
toward the door, expecting and even
hoping, although she did not confess the
hope to herself--that he would come
again. Twice he had been there already,
and, to tell the truth, he had bought
enough buttons to keep him in those use.
full articles for five years. What he could
want with SO many buttons was moro
than Mary could divine.
In anticipation of his coming Mary ar-
ranged and rearranged the buttons In
the case. There was an almost endless
variety of buttons. China shirt buttons,
bone coat buttons, wooden buttons COW
cred with cloth; glass buttons, iris tinted,
rejecting the gaslight In cleaning rays.
But not one of these shone 30 brightly as
the eyes which had met hers over the
counter for one brief moment and then
had been hidden by the long lashes which
dropped over them.
The chances of his coming back seemed
very small indeed to Mary when she re-
membered that he had bought two cards
of shirt buttons and enough trousers
buttons to start "a small store.
II wonder If he is going to sew them
on himselfY" said Mary to herself,
smile indenting two dimples In her
cheeks. "If he does, he will have but
tons all over him.
In fancy Mary could see him sitting in
his shirt sleeves with a slender needle
between his clumsy thumb and forefin-
ger, trying to fasten q button on his
oil Thn
pressed lin, the slip Of the needle as II
Stole under his thumb nail, the muttered
imprecation; and sho laughed at her
thoughts in such merry way that the
floor walker censured her, and she re-
sumed her work with conscious blush.
But the memory of Buttons" gradu-
ally faded from Marys mind as the
weeks went by. He did not put in an
appearance again, and as the girls
stopped their chatting there was nothing
left FOR the interest to feed upon. Then
came the anti-poverty fair, in which a
great many of the girls were interested.
Their sympathetic hearts were attracted
by the golden hopes Of possible era
when ali want. all misery, all poverty
would be done away by the new theories
which were 80 rife In this city. What
comforts, new dresses, unlimited Ice
cream and peanuts were contained In
those magic words "anti-povertyp
And so, urged on by her desire to help
the community at large, and perhaps
hoping just little that sho was going to
be benefited personally by the movement,
Mary entered into tho fair with all the
zeal of zealot.
She was assigned to take charge Of a
stand containing articles OF vertu and
bric-a-brac, and In addition to these was
an assortment Of sleeve buttons, most
beautiful array. made Of gold, pearl,
ONYX, and some inlaid with precious
stones.
Every night after the store closed
Mary hastened, sometimes very tired and
footsore from standing all day, to Madi-
son Square garden. There were prettier
girls than Mary behind some of the
counters, but none with more demure
and winning manner, none with more
sunshiny smile or brighter eyes, and SO
the table over which she presided had no
lack Of customers.
One night when the band was playing
and the bunting shining in the -gaslight
Mary looked up and found "Buttons
confronting her. AS their eyes met he
stammered:
"Oh, excuse me, miss. didn't know
It was you. I Just called around to see
if-if"-
"If what?" said Mary, kindly, anxious
to relieve his embarrassment
The Young man fingered his cane un-
easily, and carefully averted his gaze
from Mary, for he could feel that she an.
ticipatcd his want. Then he mustered
up courage and blurted out:
'oIf CON had anv buttOnsF
Before sho could reply he added has
tily: II. .......,
bought Of you down at the store had
such small eyes that could not get the
thread through them. II may he that
the thread was too coarse. But. con-
found It ALL" no continued, his cmbar-
rassment melting away before her as
suring and sympathetic smile. i've
had to pin my shirt collar together ever
since caino TO the city. Besides that,
YOU can Imagine what job IL Is for me
10 pin ono Of these stidly starcbed col
lars around my ncckT'
"But thought gentlemen were In the
habit of wearing collar buttons" said
Mary, ,.ith a reassuring glance.
$50 they do here In tbec city. But when
I left Otseco county nv mother made me
half a dozen new shirts In the old fash
ioned way. and perhaps I-I-T-
Here be coIOred up again. and Mary
cane 10 the rescue with;
Ofoourze. you ike 20 wear The shirts
because your mother made them u
tell you how you can fix T. BRING tbe
Shirts down n the store to-nDorrow and
I'M get a poor woman % fX button holes
In the shirt 20 that you can use collar
buttons
He stammercd out his thanks and,
-bevviIdered tyv TIE glamour of the bright
evr.s which hezued - kindly upOn him.
IL bought a s. red velvet album. for
--hich Sc Rad 10 use ard Which Eug-
ga=-ed each time be iooksd a. . - i lay