Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1892-04-08
of the west. and she ana Mrs. Densler

l..
were bosom friends
There were a number of other peo-
pie in camp who would have given all
they possessed to occupy the position
of bosom friend TO Miss Fiske. These
were. it must be stated, mostly men. of
whom there were at least twenty of
the eligible variety. l am quite conf
dent that a frank confession on the
part of the seven or eight bachelors
who became regular callers at Maj.
Densler's would develop the fact that
a round half dozen availed themselves,
during that fall, of opportunities more
or less favorable for proposing to the
pretty schoolma am. But She couldn't
accept all of them, and wouldn't ac-
cept one. | am inclined to think that
she gave each and every one of them
big-sisterly lecture, winding up with
serious dissertation on the mission of
womankind and an argument in favor
of universal celibacy, for l overheard
DeLong and Parry, two of the rejected
ones, comparing notes, and their ex-
periences were strangely similar.
wondered why Stansbury was so
Indifferent. | was, for reasons unnec-
essary to explain, merely looker-on
and could, therefore, give the matter
disinterested study had only known
Stansbury a few months, he having
come to the camp a stranger the win
ter previous, but we had been thrown to-
gether good deal, and | had often heard
his opinion on the subject of women and
matrimony-and they were not very
complimentary or delicately-expressed
opinions. Still, | have heard other
men talk as he did, and have observed
that when the enemy appears. at some
period, they capitulate even more easily
than do some other men. l had rather
expected that Stansbury, under the cir
cumstauces, would succumb to the
charms of the pretty schoolma' am
but he didn't He called upon her as
often as any of the other boys did, but
his spirits remained the same, and he
didn't grow pensive or lose his appe-
tite. / tried to draw him out once in
awhile by mentioning Miss Fiske, but
he treated the subject in his usual off
hand way Not that he made discour-
teous remarks about Miss Fiske-he
was enough of gentleman not to ap-
ply any of his coarser remarks to any
individual member of the sex. But he
scoffed, nevertheless.
One day we were talking about poor
DeLong, who was in a. bad way with
the case of unrequited affection before
mentioned, of which. by the way, about
every body in camp had heard. De
Long was not at all backward about
telling of it, SO people felt at liberty to
talk all they pleased, and only the
evening before. Miss Fiske herself,
with tears in her lovely eyes, had told
me how very, very sorry she was for
the poor chap. / could not doubt it,
she spoke so sadly and looked so dis
tressed, and told Stansbury that the
first thing we knew Miss Fiske would
pity poor DeLong so much that she
would accept him.
Stansbury pushed his chair away
from the table, and looked at me
in peculiarly disagreeable, sarcastic
way he had sometimes:
Don't be an ass, William. You don't
know women. Here are all these
feather-headed idiots futtering around
and getting singed for their pains, and
she doesn't care''--here he snapped his
fingers contemptuously- for the
whole crowd of 'em. Why, Billy, I'll
bet you anything that when she leaves
she'll be laughing openly at every fool
man of 'em. Humph! She's u flirt.
All women arc, but she's little more
So
Tho next afternoon / walked up to
see Maj DeRslcr ON business, but he
ard Mrs DeDsler were both out, and
yvere not expected home for half an
hom. II was warm, so / went down to
the shady road for stroll. Coming
around n short turn, and hearing low
voices, | looked up, and there, not two
rods away, were Stansbury and the
pretty schoolma'am. He was sitting
on a fiat rock, and she was sitting on
his lap as if she were quite accustomed
to it. II was about as contented a
little group as it has ever been my
fortune to gaze upon. They did not
see me, and had no wish to disturb
them, so hurriedly retreated
That night, when Stansbury came
into my room for his usual goodnight
chat, could not resist the temptation
of giving him sly dig, which was,
perhaps more broad than sly. The
shot hit Stansfield leaped almost out
of his chair
"You-you saw" Then, with
something Of an effort to assume his
usual cool manner: "Wcll, Billy, sup
pose may rs well confess. But-wcn,
Old man, hate like thunder to be
talked about, and SO does she. You
understand, don't you? You see. when
it isn't To come off for awhile, the par.