The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-09-28

native or q red Indian ia blue frock.
OF course I had determined long be-
fore / ever heard of Mary Bruce that
under no circumstances would allow
myself the luxury of falling IN love. But
love unfortunately is Ike measles; it
comes and it goes and there is no help
for It. Accordingly fell madly in love
with Mary Bruce. We met ct parties.
1 dined occasionally at Inverness ter
race, and at last one day at water
party came to grief; al my stern reso-
buttons vanished and proposed
We had gone by the z. w. L. to Hem
ley, party Of eight. There were Miss
Bruce and her aunt--a married sister Of
Mr.. Bruce two daughters, the two
Bolds and myself We had arranged to
lunch at the Red Lion. Henley, thence
to row leisurely to MARROW, dine at the
Complete Angler and go home by the
last train It was a baking July day,
tropically hot, bat bright and glorious,
reminding me of Honolulu or Levaka
more than Of muggy England! After
lunch we padded gently down through
Ha1nbledon Lock to Medenham, by
which time the Bolds had developed
strange If not original views as to shandy-
gaf. We strolled about the abbey and
made much fun Of its bogus character;
had a game Of romps with the pretty
children Of mine host of the Terry
hotel, and then rowed on to Harley
Lock, which was then in a disgraceful
state Of disrepair. The Bolds went off
to pay flying visit to some friends
of theirs who lived at the Mill house,
close to the lock. While the water was
running off, Mary Bruce, who was in
charge Of the hitcher aft, allowed the
boat to come too close to the sill, and
suddenly the stern was lodged on the top
of broken pile.
IN ten seconds the boat would have
been overturned and we should have
been shot into the lock. But Mary re-
tanned her presence Of mind. With a
vigorous shove of the hitcher she pushed
the stern Of the boat off the pile, and by
the greatest good luck we avoided what
must have been most serious catastro-
phe. Even as it was we got athwart the
lock and nearly came to grief This
episode has been thus particularly re-
ferred to because it was the one that
settled me. made up my mind as we
rowed down to Bishaln after exploring
the backwater at Harleyford and the
tumbling bay at New Lock that would
that day ask Mary to be my wife. That
she liked me felt sure, but whether her
liking had developed into love, whether
she would entertain my proposal, or
whether my proposal would entertain
her, knew not. But I was fully re-
solved to put the matter to the proof; /
would risk it if could get the opportu-
nifty to do So and opportunities can be
manufactured.
We landed at Bisham to look at the
church and inspect the fine old monu-
ments of the Holly family and others for
which Bisham is celebrated. Then |
proposed that the Bolds should scull Mrs.
Macfarlane, who was tired, down to Mar
low, while l took the girls through the
Quarry woods to the point and back over
the meadows to NARROW. L'hcmme pro-
pose. He does, indeed I, for example,
proposed to ask Miss Bruce to be my
wife, and that was the only proposition
that came off. Whether Mary had given
the Macfarlane girls hint, or whether
those young ladies chow hated themD
acted of their own volition, l do not
know, but they were hmpets; or. rather,
taking into consideration their lanky and
faced structure, they were barnacles.
They stuck to us with the pertinacity Of
ungorged and unsated leeches, and gave
us no chance of moments uninterrupt-
ed talk until at length they landed us at
the Complete Angler. Fortunately the
dinner was good one, or the faculty for
making myself unpleasant would have
been abundantly exercised. Ny devices
were not as yet exhausted.
After dinner persuaded the Macfar-
lanes and the Bolds to go up the town to
see the house where Shelley lived and
where he was visited by Byron. Mary
had once before made a pilgrimage to
that shrine and so had l. Mrs. Macfar-
lanes views inclined more to forty winks
than to poetical associations, and she at
last fell asleep in her armchair. Mary
and sat on the lawn for some minutes
and watched the passing boats. Neither
OF us seemed to have any remarks to Of
fer. Finally, asked her whether she
would cross the road few yards only
and inspect Mr.. Borque's garden. She
consented, with some difidence.
cit isn't right to leave auntie," she
said. "What win she say if she wakes
up and finds that we are gomez?
I felt inclined TO say, "Oh, bother
auntie" Instead Of that | exclaimed
that five or six minutes would serve to
walk round the garden, SO that our abb
sence would not be likely to be discoy-
cred We crossed the road and entered
the inclosure.
When a man does q thing for the first
time in his life he is apt to be awkward
about it. For the life Of me / did not
know how to begin. / was as nervous
as a recruit under fire for the first time;
my heart thumped away as if it didn't
like the business and was anxious to
get out and away. What l did possess
ed at all events the charm of unconveE-
tionality.
grasped Mary's hand suddenly, and
before she had time to utter word
said, looking her straight in the face:
sfMarV will Won 1siva mo a kiceost