Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-05-30

q
conner was a handsome fellow-hand-
some enough for any widow to enjoy
gazing at. Though his mustache and
Imperial were snow white, his form, six
good feet In height, was erect and Wig
orous and he walked with stride that
If It did not show the elasticity OF
youth at least betokened q liberal sup
ply of vitality. The widow Clark got
to peeping through her blinds at her
neighbor as he walked past and then to
wondering when she should make his
acquaintance.
But Captain Mageddon flor that it
seemed was his name) did not display
any anxiety to make acquaintances.
He lived all alone In his little house and
seldom went out of It, A colored boy
made his bed and did HIS cooking. He
was scrupulously courteous and polite
to the inhabitants of the little country
town. He exchanged greetings with
the postmaster every day In the cheer
lest manner possible. He was quite q
fayorite at the resort known as "the
store" whittier he went every day to
order his supplies, and where he was
won't at times to regale the assortment
of prominent citizens there assembled
with story or two. .-.z.
Now, though the widow Marjorie
Clark was ifty-two good summers old
| Though she might have prevaricated 81
questioned on that subject before q
Judge and jury, and though there were
strealxs of silver here and there In the
locks that had once borne the hue of the
ravens wing, she was q decidedly
wholesome creature to look upon. She
had round, plump, white arms, as any
one could see who watched her lSnead-
ing the dough on baking day. She had,
moreover, smooth fresh cheeks, with
the tinge of ripe snow apples in them.
She had not an unsound tooth In her
head, and her laugh was like the ripple
| of thin stream OF water over pebbles.
She wore neat black gowns with 4eecy
lace rufnes at the wrists and throat.
Many were the SWANS who had sighed
at the feet Of the comely widow for the
last ten years; but the number who
had gone away sorrowing matched pre-
cisely the number of those who had
sighed. Mrs. Marjorie Clark she re-
manned, and seemed to be perfectly
happy so.
Perhaps it was a memory of her van
ished girlhood that caused the widow to
feel trifle piqued at the captains
obvious indifference. Other tenants OF
that house had-but why call up har-
rowing recollections? And here was
the captain, n next door neighbor for
six months, and he had never even
called on her. True, he bowed with a
| grave courtesy whenever they met, and
often exchanged verbal salutations
with her respecting the condition of the
weather and so on. But It was all done
with cold politeness that harmonized
very i'll with the widows neighborly
| feelings. If anyone had told her she
had fallen genuinely in love with that
| soldierly figure and earnest, manly face,
she would have been vastly Indignant
She grew more and more eXasperatec
at the captains unsociability neverthe-
less.
But there came day when this kind.
" interest ito call 1t by no warmer
name) was changed into something
closely resembling dislike, and very
stormy interview took the place of any
pleasanter one for which the lady may
have wished Deep down in her hear
Mrs. Clark cherished q passionate re
/ gard for lot of fat hens that she KEEP
fenced in in her trim backyard.
One morning the captains big re
triever, a shaggy brute with a mattet
coat and no conscience, burst through
the fence, put three of the latest hem
to death and so eternally scarified thu
others that they could do nothing bu
lie down and gasp for air. The widow
caught the brute In the act She forgo
he was Captain Mageddon's dog-forgo
everything except the wanton slaughte'
he had wrealed. She grabbed hin
q pluclSily by the collar, armed hersel
with broom handle and In two min
utes the dog, having been dragged ont
the widows front porch, was being be
labored with lustiness that cause.
him to fill the air with his bowls.
In about ten seconds Capt. Mageddo1
descended his front steps and wake,