The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1894-05-11
Aliscell a1lentls.
THE MATCHMAKER.

of gossip in the town of Linwood.
Hollis Hartman was the chief mer-
chant of Linwood. He was a hand
some bachelor of 80, and he had the
nerve to call his place of business,
with it's two counters and one clerk, an
emporium. He had inherited the
business and other property from his
father and was laying a Midas touch
on every enterprise he took hold of.
At present he was building a house
quite an ambitious brick, with more
rooms than the usual number of four
down, and two up stairs, which was
the common formula for Linwood
residences. OF course Linwood specu
lated as to his purpose in building it.
When men passed the growing struc-
ture, standing high in a commanding
position, on the grassy slope of gen
tie hill, they nodded carelessly to their
companions and said: Mice place !
Wonder what Harriman's going to do
with it % The women nodded, too,
but with more decision, and oracular-
ly, with suppressed earnestness, re-
marked, Depend upon it that Hollis
Hartman is going to get married"
The truth of the matter was that Lin
wood industries were bringing an in
crease in population, and Mr.. Harri-
mans house was being built as what
he called "a spec"
Miss Ferret was troubled with a
keen desire to solve the mystery, for,
not having any business of her own,
she dearly loved to NEEDLE with that
of others. So one pleasant spring
day, after having spent an hour or
two in pricing all the costliest goods
at Mr.. Harriman's store and having
numerous samples supplied by the
long suffering clerk, she bought a
book of t'improved needle pointed
pins and a ) cent roll of tape before
turning to the proprietor with the in
sinuating question:
"Who is the happy bride you will
take to the new house, Mr.. Harrison -
Its a dead secret" whispered he,
with a glance over his shoulder at the
grinning clerk, who Immediately as
sumed an expression of deep solemn
Come over here where he can't
hear us. Now. You needn't be
afraid to tell me. Inever carry tales. :"
Mr.. Hartman thought it would
be good joke to give her il tale to
carry and see what would come of it,
So, without taking that sober, second
thought which is often a deterrent to
the too free play of the unruly mem
Der, he smiled and whispered, You
certainly won't tell %
Never! I'm sure to be close as
wax and mum as an oyster"
"Well-now be sure you don't tell
tits Judge Mayo's daughter
Blanche"
Miss Ferret fairly flew along the
street on her way home, spreading the
news as she went, for she was almost
bursting with a sense of her own i'm
portance at being the first repository
of the exciting information. And
those to whom she confided it, with
many charges never to breathe sin
gle syllable of it, went off at tangents
in as many different directions, carry
ing it far and wide.
81 must go up and tell Blanche the
joke, and we'll have good laugh over
it before she hears from any other
quarters, " thought Hollis Hartman as
lie smiled to himself. But one thing
and another conspired to hinder, and
the story had winged it way through
out the community for three days,
and Blanche Mayo had received a
dozen congratulatcry calls from wo-
| men anxious to be shown the trousseau
before the merchant made his appear
ance. When he finally did so, he was
dumfounded to find that Miss Mayo
received him with power of cool
stare in her clear blue eyes equal TO
40 brownstone fronts"
With the hope of dispelling this
GOODNESS he told his funny story, but
for some reason which he failed to
| PlonaI,n 1iI In, 1oh
80, SIR" she said, you made my
name the butt of joke and gave it to
a meddlesome old gossip to carry all
over this town. l am highly honored,
assure you. 1t was Il manly thing to
do"
But, Blanche"--
"Miss Mayo, if you please"
II didn't think you would take
it that way"
mo. | dare say you didn't. It's
very amusing, no doubt, to SANDER a
young woman to whom you never
never"--
ISLANDER? Blanche-Miss Mayo
do you think so meanly of me as to
believe that would SANDER you ?"
"What is SANDER but the malicious
utterance of false report, which is
always dangerous when it involves a
woman's name p
You knew, of course, that we were
not-not''- Blanche's voice faltered
and died away.
Mr.. Harriman's throat was very
dry. He cleared it before speaking.
"Not-not formally non'
"What-what do you mean by
formally p"
Mr.. Hartman had not meant any
thing special by it. He had blunder-
ed upon the word while trying to tenn
porize and excuse himself. But now,
as he looked at Blanche while she
asked him this question and saw lit
tie softening of the icy expression of
her countenance-a little flush of en-
barrassed pink color usurping the pal
lor of her face-he thought to himself,
for the first time, that no other fellow
should ever have her if he could pre-
vent it.
1t is of no use to tell you how this
artful young man, after much self
abasement and many protestations,
managed at last to convince this irate
young woman that he had only spoken
out of the fullness of his heart desire
and hope and prayed that she would
set the seal of her formal promise
on what, perhaps because of his firm
determination to win her, he might
have taken too much for granted
You and | both know that he never
could have succeeded had not hel
heart, long since enlisted, traitorously
pleaded in his favor.
They have been married for three