The Portland daily press., 1893-11-02
HIS TYPEWRITER.

Burt Cline Halsted, broker, turned over
a new leaf on New Year. II am going to
settle down. he said in calm, business
like manner.
Everything that Cline did was done in q
businesslike way, whether it was purchas-
ing bouquets to send to favorite actress or
having his bald head shampooed
One day Cline, as / said, turned a leaf.
He did it methodicaliy, calculatingly and
firmly. Hewas polishing his dome before
the glass, and as ne laid the brush down he
said, II must get married"
Very punctilious and discreet was Cline.
He proposed to get married just as he pro-
posed to buy Brighton ga" It was good
investment.
Then he set about it in the most extraor-
binary manner. II don't want" said he,
'any giddy beauties. want a mature, sem
sible, SOBER economical, level headed, mod
est, healthy, good tempered, prudent, af-
fectionate, sagacious, lovable, motherly,
genteel, sterling woman. Girls make me
weary, and I'm going to organize the bust
ness of getting what want. can give an
hour day for the next year to the finding
of what want, and Pm too old business
hand to have what don't want"
When you get one of these financial in
tellects regularly to business. he knows
what he is about, and he doesn't make any
mistake.
So Cline at a organized himself He set
up a matrimonial bureau in that private
office with cathedral windows, put his No.
II boots on sentiment, threw the forget
menots out of his soul and came down to
hard facts.
He would advertise. Yes, he would. No
nonsensical rot about cultured gent desir-
ing to meet cultured lady, but straight
business proposition. Itwould involve i'm
mense clerical system. Very well, would
get typewriter. Dictate answers for an
hour every morning.
First thing to do. get typewriter. Must
DE business girl. Girls bad, but have to
put up with it. No women typewriters in
the market; all girls Beastly shamep'
One morning there came to Clines gen
eral office in Broad street a girl with baby
waist, pearl gray pelisse over her shout
ders and comedian ring on her finger.
One Of Cline's young men noticed her first
standing by the door. He went round and
said:
what can we do for you, MADAME"
Il am typewriter" said sailor hat very
meekly. II came to answer an advertise
ment."
Then they directed her into the little Of
fee with the cathedral windows, using q
sign language of their own and telegraph
ing to each other by winks. Then they saw
the sailor hat go through the fatal glass
door, on the other side of which Cline kept
his grim official severity.
He was signing checks It was one of the
most serious moments of his life. Helooked
up and saw the sailor hat on the brown
hair. 1t aggravated him just little, as if
a very proper parson should see ballet
girl in his country church, and she should
bow to him sweetly.
He leaned back in his chair, stuck his
legs out straight and fastened his CONNER
cial eye on his checkbook.
well, young woman, want discreet
confidential secretary to answer correspond
ents. She's got to be here at 10 O'Clock ev-
cry morning, attend to business strictly,
and she can get away at or 8. The salary
is s. a week. Do you think you can sit
down to that kind of drudgery for that pit
tance and keep the business to YOURSELF"
All that Cline ever heard was demure
little eyes, sir" that had the same sugges-
ton of tremolo in it one gets from fine
raspberry jelly.
Cline's private Office had a new feature.
There was an instrument under the win
dow with black tin roof over it, and lit
tie sailor hat, with a blue ribbon on it, hung
on the bronze peg opposite the door.
''Now, them" said Cline, putting on
most forbidding air of strict business.
"You understand that the matter for
which have engaged you is entirely aside
from the regular business of this Office. BY
the way, what shall call you? Miss what?
Chalcey? Well, never mind the Nelly.
I'll call you Miss Chalcey; its more bust
nesslike, and don't want you to talk out
side of this room about any of the business
you have to transact here. Do you under
stand? If you get that into your head to
begin with, there'll be no trouble"
Then she turned her demure face toward
him and said. Eyes, sir,' so meekly and
patiently and profoundly that he noticed
her eyes.
They were agates-moss agates too.
Funny little spots in them that swan and
danced round and melted into each other
in the most absurdly molten way, as if
there might be little caldrons under them
where the light was boiled and softened
down into some ridiculous girl nonsense.
The worst OF it was the way they always
seemed to be just on the point of boiling
over, as if light, like music, had some kind
of inscrutable pathos in it,
So they got along very nicely without
any nonsense. Cline would come in about
half past 10 or II, look to see if the sailor
hat was hanging on the peg, grunt out,
Good morning, Miss Chalcey,' and then
sit down to his desk to open letters
OF course she got to know all about it
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