Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-04-30
A SERIES OF GRIPS.
Various Phases the Disease As
sumed-The Last Grip.

sumed-The Last Grip.
'Ah-ah-ah-chewr' sneezed HARDWOOD
Harrison as he wendell his way towards
the library where he knew Miss Con-
stance Clayton was probably seated
with her little, blue-satin-slippered feet
in front Of the glowing CRATE.
Harwood lived with his rich, fashion
able, maiden aunt, and this winter, as
usual, Miss Constance was making her
long visit.
The only cloud on the horizon at
present was the affiuent aunt's anxiety
lest she should miss having the fashion
able prevalent influenza. why, just
think Of It'll" she said at the breakfast
table in a tone of despair, "here are
Mrs. Ashton and two of the Vandergrits
and several f the McKinstry families
all sick with Ia grippe, and here am,
just as we'll as ever. declare, 1 am
simply mortified But with strong
imagination and an unwavering deter
mination a great deal can be accom-
plished.
That evening, after Harwood had COM
fortably seated himself by the charming
Miss Constance and her blue satin slip
pers, by the glowing CRATE, while trying
to fight off fits of sneezing and coughing
which continually threatened him, he
managed to lead the conversation round
TO point at which he had been aiming
for many weeks. In fact, he had just
taken possession of four plump little
fingers, and commenced telling Iher of
q. I,ytv 1Oro a.
possession of him, and the declaration
ended in decided symptoms of the grip.
She seized the opportunity to remark
that "some physicians claimed the grip
was contagious" and moved to the other
side Of the CRATE.
After this temporary interruption,
Harwood manfully braced up and was
again turning the conversation to the
point on his mind-or heart-but 1t be-
ing difficult to make love at a distance,
he was on the point of crossing the rug,
to kneel at the Observation-Disclosures
shine, when in rushed a servant in a
whirl of pleasurable excitement, an
nouncing, with evident satisfaction,
that her mistress felt sure she now had
the grip, and wished HARDWOOD to hurry
for DIR. Grimshaw. the most fashionable
physician on Fifth avenue.
The faithful maid was a devoted at
tendant, and shared in her mistress ex-
hilaration at the prospect of being as
fashionable as her sick society-sufferers-
HARDWOOD for some days had been
struggling with the prevailing infu-
Snza; but tonight, when the grip had
been the cause of two such Interrupt
tions, he felt sudden horror and dread
of the disease which seemed to have a
grip on his fate. He especially realized
this, when, on leaving the house, he
met a man on the steps whom he had
always felt was powerful rival in his
path 20 Miss Constance's affections.
After leaving his message at the doc
tors office, his first impulse was to rush
back and break up the tete-a-tete be-
tween Miss Clayton and his dreaded
rival; but, instead of this, he wandered
slowly home. tortured by indescribable
pangs; he was unable to decide whether
it was from jealousy or the grip.
The next night was the date for the
german at the Talkmans, and Har-
woods cold had so increased that he
realized the impossibility of keeping
uAb Gnk0kOhChbg anu bulo u66nt JQHJ
his dreaded rival would escort Miss
Constance. However, he took solid
consolation in the knowledge that his
rival was the worst waltzeF in New York.
The night of the dance, while Har-
wood paced the floor at home with the
grip, he could think of nothing except
the rival careering through the waltz
with Constance in his arms, who on
this occasion was arrayed in one Of her
most beautiful toilets To Harwood's
eyes she seemed vision of loneliness;
and the more beautiful she looked, the
more ferocious were his feelings toward
her escort. These thoughts combined
with his cold, did not tend to sooths his
mind for slumber.
After numerous attempts at reading
and various limitations of writing, he
finally settled himself by the CRATE fire
with an unaeknowledged determination
20 be up when Constance should return.
He was unconscious of the fight of
time, till, suddenly, the sound of a
suppressed sneeze, q real grip sneeze.
aroused him. His first thought was
that one of the servants was passing
through the hall; but on glancinp at the
clock he realized that the lateness of
the hour made that unlikely,
so he cautiously moved through the
rooms into the hall, and again a smoth-
cred sneeze caught his ear. 1t seemed
TO be in Constance's room, but it was no
feminine sneeze; so cautiously APP
preaching the door, which was partly
open, he peered in, and was a trine
startled to observe aquiet, business-like
sneak-thief having the grip on large
bundle of plumber.
At this moment the gentleman was
busily engaged in tying to get into his
pocket small silver iewel-box which
HARDWOOD recognized as an heirloom
most precious to Constance. This
reused him to sudden action; and with
out stopping to realize that the only re-
volver the house afforded was carefully
locked in his writing-case, he calmly
stepped into the room, and before he
was fully aware of the situation he was
rolling on the floor in a very lively
struggle with the burglar. who, finally
freeing himself, fed from the room,
leaving his plumber and Harwood on the
floor.