Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-07-01

crutcn Les, III goln 10 give BrOOmS
her freedom"
An interval of silence followed. and
then l commenced to reason with him.
but he shook his head stubbornly, and
would not listen. He requested me to
get pen and paper and write down his
dictation. 1t was useless putting him
off; he would call another shipmate if
l refused. so | brought writing ma
terials, propped him up on the pill
lows and indited the following. sub
stantially. as it came from his lips:
My DARLING BRooMs: l address you
thus for the last time. l have met with an
accident. and only have one leg left to meet
another OF like nature. l am very sorry
for both our sakeS that all this has hap
pened, because through the loss of my limb
/ must lose you, for l know you have
enough sense not to care for only half
man. Burn up my letters and picture. The
latter, l believe, is full length, and no
longer correct likeness. Keep the parrot
/ brought you from the South Seas, by
which to remember me as l once was when
could climb to the main-top quicker than
any jolly tar aboard the Natalie. l hope by
the time get back you'll be married ard
settled down, with baby named after me.
If Tom was longer name I'd insist upon
you splitting 1t in two, just because-but
never mind why. Brooms, you'll make
some solid man the sweetest little wife on
earth. There, good-by, Brooms! l could
add to the brine of the old sea if l were
leaning over the deck-rail. AS it is I'm
wetting handkerchief, aand my friend
who writes this for me is witness.
Brooms, In never forget you, and am your
friend always. Tom
own signature He requested me to
mail the letter. and sinking back in
the folds of tho pillows exhausted,
was soon In slumber.
l did not dare detain the note. At
ter struggling against a strong desire
| to do so. | took it ashore with me in
| the afternoon.
Tom was caimer after that; he
| seemed stolcally resigned. He refused
to take any more thin broth. and de-
manded something to eat. !" His ir-
| ritability was sign of improvement
in health. Toms bluntness sometimes
might have been mistaken for anger
One morning about two months af-
terward he surprised everybody by
calling for his clothes and the crutch
that had been provided for him. Hav-
ing been up in chair several times,
we assisted him into his Clothes and
had the satisfaction Of seeing him
totter on deck.
That afternoon he received q letter
| from Brooms and this is what it said:
| ''MY PRECIOUS OLD BoY-For you are
| precious now that there isn't so much left
| of you; want you to distinctly understand
| that your relics belong to me. What there
| Is of you l want, if it isn't more than
! little finger. You needn't think I'm going
| to let you off, even if you do sacrifice a
member in the hopes that will. No, in
deed! I am not that kind of woman.
Oh, Tom! l am SO sorry that you have lost
| q leg. 1t will spoil all our pleasure at
dances, and you did used to enjoy waltzii
so much; but don't care if you will only
come home aud marry me. If you write
such letter as your last after you get this
one shall go stark mad and not try to re-
cover. think l shall be able to bring you
under the domestic yoke, because you can
not run away from me. l am going to let
my finger nails grow and get in training, as
| pugilistic parlance has it, for you | do
| hope you've got about enough of the Serv-
ice to last you for life. Oh, dear Tom,
won't you come back? l would love YOU
just as much if both your legs were gone.
Have you received the box of neckties,
etc, yet?
| yours. only, BRooMs"
l knew before Tom had finished
perusing the letter by the joyful ex-
preston on his face that Brooms had
not consented to the discontinuance
of their relations. He sprang up.
grasped his crutch. babe me follow
him. and hobbled into a corner, whore
he read me Broom letter.
'.Hain't she darlin' P" he asked
carefully placing the message in his
pocket
| Our vessel was government
cruiser. and had put into this port for
repairs. When she was finally re.
leased from the dry-dock the Natalie
set out for New York. where in due
course we arrived. Tom and myself
were honorably discharged from the
service and parted, he going TO Phila-
delphia and to Boston.
/ A few weeks later / received an in
vitation to Toms wedding. and de-
cided to attend it. The occasion was
almost pathetic. The beauty of
Brooms. upon which had heard Tom
| dilate so often, was undeniable. AS
she stood up with him, her beryl-
tinted eyes flashed with the fire of a
woman's love, her cheeks suffused.
her lips like wet coral, murmuring
the responses TREMENDOUSLY the white
serge all about her graceful throat,
and the orange blossoms in her Titan
hair. l must confess that for once the
matter Of fact Tom Abercorn excited
my envy. And when it was all over
and the guests presents had been
duly examined and admired. Brooms'
| father with redundant grac1ousness,
| handed her deed to an elegant
| brown stone house. and told the bride
| and groom it was to be their future
| home.
Tom is at present slap-up official
in the Philadelphia navy-yard. He
don't half earn n1s handsome salary,
the rascal There is scarcely any
| thing for him to do. Tom is lazy I
fear; but, then. he can afford to be.
and Brooms who is sole heir to her
recently deceased fathers estate, is
constantly teasing him to resign, and
let the old navy-yard go to grass. -
National Tribune.
The best whiskey for consumptives and
invalids must surely be the most whole
some for those who use it as beverage.