The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-07-11

The desk and retreated into Georges
Office, followed by me.
One after another of business &C.
quaintances dropped in, but time wore
on slowly. never knew such a long
morning until it was 10 o'clock. The
winks, the grins, the sly chuckles from
some of the callers and the aggravating
abetting responses of George, and my
constant alarm lest she should overheaf
nearly gave me nervous fever. But the
worst was to come. Fortunately nc
one was in the inner Office but George
and myself.
Twelve o'clock struck and in walked
elder sister. I quailed and George
laughter.
"Well, dearie," chirped elder sister,
"has it seemed like long morning."
Eyes, somewhat, though have been
interested too. Hows maj"
every lonely without you. She sent
me to go with you to lunch so that you
would not think we had forgotten you"
"Oh, that will be NICE" said Carol.
"And ma said as it was your first day
we should be little extravaganza in ou1
luncheon"
''That's splendid. I'll see if I can "a
now.'
managed to get on my feet and blind.
ly got to the door, feeling that I didn't
care, and that George could go to the
deuce.
"You may go now, Miss Walton, fol-
your lunch. Please be back by
o'clock"
'"Thank you. Yes, SIR" So while she
got on her coat and hat elder sister ex.
planned that she had run in to see how
Carol was getting along. Run in! She
certainly wasn't out of breath.) And
then they went. Iawaited George. He
began:
"Wonder who will come tomorrow.
Ma? Wonder how many relatives she
has got to run in? Pity too. She seems
quiet enough. But these girls you never
can calculate what they are"
I am surprised that I did not mas.
sacre George, but have always felt
that his unpleasant manner should be
viewed in the light of an infrmity. He
went on:
every businesslike with 'Dearies' and
'Sweeties' and what not. Nice talk in a
business Office, eh, Dick? Tomorrow it
will be Darling"
His information of the last word was
positively distressing. I went out for
lunch and left him to take care of the
office. 1t was my only revenge.
The days came and left as visitors will
do. Our own individuality is the only
thing we can reasonably count upon in
this world as sure to remain.
For six weeks my little copyist came
regularly and did her work with neat.
ness and dispatch. For six weeks he1
family came almost as regularly at va.
rious times through the day. Ma would
drop in (ma used to drop in and elder
sister run in), and would say, "Well,
petite" Tt struck me the first time she
said that, and afterward, too, what a
singularly appropriate name, but ex.
tremely unbusinesslike.
Then sister would run in and say:
''Ma is making apple pies, and can you
get off quarter of an hour earlier,
dearie, and come home to luncheonr'
And Carol would say:
"Oh, wouldn't like to ask"
Then would speak up and say, "You
may go a little earlier today, Miss Wei.
ton"
Then another day her little brother
Rob would stamp in with bag OF
cookies ma had made or a bit of a rib
bon to be matched on Carols way home.
And once an old uncle tottered in and
delayed me one-half hour while he bab-
bled of his deceased brother Andrew
and Andrews fssanily-the same that
used my Office for a family room, I sup
pose. And after some particularly ag-
gravating chatter and interchange OF
feminine, unbusinesslike epithets ]
would go in to George, forgetting in my
vexation his de1noniac character, and
VOW I wouldn't stand it. Then he would
get up and implore me not to be harsh
and unlind to the dear little thing, and
unconsciously said, ''Who could be?''
And then he would shake and chuckle
and quote, 30 woman, woman, lovely
woman!" or repeat, "Well, petite, how's
biz?' or "Dearie, sauerkraut today.
Come home with me-" or "Carol,
darling, is the boss just as much gone
ON you as ever?' or some like idiotic re-
mark that he had coined out of his own
i1nbecile brain.
But when ma came in one day about
II o'clock in the morning and sat for one
mortal hour crocheting or knitting OF
some such useless feminine idleness,
felt that must speak. My office, a
business place rented by me for business
purposes only, to be thus desecrated was
too much.
So that evening when the little daugh-
ter was getting ready to go home ]
started out with her, as I had happened
to do some few times before, and on the
way to her home 1 told her straight up
and down that this thing could not con-
tinue. We finally arranged that I should
buy house in the northwestern part of
the city, and that in two months she
would wear my wedding ring. It has
been fully arranged, however, that ma
may drop in and the elder sister run in,
| but they are not to stay in as permanent