Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-04-27
A LOVE AFFAIR.

The girl am going to tell you abou
is rather pretty, and her name is Edith
She has dark hair, and her eyes are blue
and she dresses we'll. She has beer
graduated from seminary of good re
pute, and her disposition is amiable to :
degree which more than a year ag,
brought all the young men of the neigh
borhood at her feet. I think she won
tennis championship in singles some
where last year, but I am not certain
about that. What can recall amons
her most pronounced accomplishments
I will put down here later on. me
her SO long time ago that I have for
gotten the circumstances Of our meet
ing, but I guess they We're of the ordi
nary sort. I live two doors from he
house, and drop in to see her and Mrs
Burke at least once a week. Even he1
marriage, which hurt me so much al
the time, did not separate us for very
long, and I think have lived to forget
my first rash determination never to
look upon her face again. called the
night Of the wedding, and have been
calling regularly ever since. am be-
ginning to believe that it was good
thing, after all, that she didn't marry
me.
What I want to tell-and it won t
take long to tell it in my dry fashion
is the story of old Brownies courtship.
make my living by keeping the cash
accounts Of a big Market street whole
sale house, and Browne is the man
whose desk is next to mine in the count
ing room. Our salary is about the same,
and although he is two years younger
than l am, I being 81 now, we both
have held the same positions for 20
years. Browne weighs more than 200
pounds, and I weigh trifie less.
Mrs. Burke, who is Edith's mother,
came to me this summer and had quite
long talk with me about her personal
affairs. She said that her late husband S
estate was pretty much entangled, and
that to keep her present establishment
on Arch street going she would have to
rent some of the handsome rooms in the
house to boa1ders. Of course she didn t
NoAo W w lAdU, anu VI SOu1oO uCpIS-
Gated the plan, but in the end it turned
out that we both had to give in.
Old Browne rented the second story
front room the day after I told him
about it. He had been living away up
town, and he was glad to get little
nearer to the Office, besides enjoying all
the social prestige which geographical
conditions could give him. He moved
into the rooms with dozen trunks and
wealth of bric-a-brac, which, to my
mind, did not become his age. Mrs.
Burke was glad to accept the reference
to me which he gave her, and Edith
smiled upon him when she gave him his
night key.
I thought good deal of Edith, and
every night or two we played cards in
her mothers rooms. She and played
partners against young Bob Smith and
Mrs. Burke. We were pretty evenly
matched, too, for Bob played a stiff
game Of whist, and well, you may
remember that [ was one of the Pente-
cost clubs prize team last fall. Edith
and I won most Of the games, though,
for Bob was too Internally lazy ever to
do anything well. And then he never
seemed to mind it if he lost.
The presence of old Browne annoyed
me great deal, and don't mind say
ing so. About week after he took his
rooms there I found him occupying my
seat at the whist table when I called.
He was fumbling the cards in his awk-
ward fashion, and Edith was laughing
at him. Bob was engaged in giving an
imitation of me telling war story, and
even Mrs. Burke was approving the ri
that stopped the game, but I was I'M
comfortable all the evening. But Bob
had the good sense to apologize, but old
Browne simply Uttered for an hour over
what he seemed to consider a good joke
on me.
After that all my affairs seemed to
go wrong, and began to seriously con-
slider whether l shouldn't rent every
room in Mrs. Burke's house myself.
was actually contemplating this propo-
sition one night in my own apartments,
smoking my last bowl of tobacco the
while, when the colored girl who waits
on the door said that man had called
to see me. I have few callers, and
thought it might be Mr.. Phipps, the
managing partner of my house, whom
had invited to come to see me more than
month ago.
With this idea in mind I told the girl
to delay the man below stairs for mo-
ment while slipped into other clothes
Then the door opened, and old Browne
came ambling in. I was disguised on
the instant, but I managed to conceal
my real feelings and invited him to be
seated. He looked all around him to
see if I was alone, set his hat on the
floor and then accepted my invitation
with kind of sigh.
THANK you," he said, Il only want
to see you for a moment
I offered him pipe, and he declined
it. 1 told him my cigars were out.
1T doesn't make any difference, he
said. sid rather not smoke. I came
here to ask you some things about the
Burkes."
The Lord only knows how I looked at
him as he hesitated fol moment.
II have seen enough Of them," he
went on, ''to believe that they are per-
fectly respectable people-otherwise
would not have taken lodging there.
You and are old friends, and you will
fake away even the slight doubt there
is in my mind. Are they perfectly re-
spectable?"
Somehow or other managed to nod
my head, but his presumption was par
alyzing me.
''Thank you again." he proceeded.
"The reason that [ asked you is that I
am going to marry Edith.
1t took me couple of minutes to
master my emotions but 1 am proud to
say I did it. My reply was cool-al-
most chilly.
"Indeed!' I said. "Has she accept
ed your"
ssNo, because I haven't proposed yet,
I have given the matter good deal of
thought, but before I took SO serious a
step in my life wanted some such wise
old head as yours to advise me. Now
I am happy, and We'll get married at
once.
n rboo1y hands with me- and fine old