The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1894-04-18
SARGE PLUNKETT.
The Old Man Stuck in the Mud with Bob
lied Steer-A Courtship Of fe
Oiden Time.

"heavy" matters once in 3 while-I
am tired of tariff. of finance and OF
"hard, hard times"
If the coming of spring turns the
young mans fan y to love matters, l
can't see why the old should not be ex-
cused little on the same line. We
like to live over again our ''courting
days." and it tickles US to think Of
what fools We were. So bashful, so
hard to find words that suited-fools,
regular fools, in the light Of subsequent
revelations. I hummed and hawed
and seasawed for two or three years
trying to "pop the question:" when it
could have been did in fifteen minutes
lust as well. After I had worked up
courage to arrive at the point it looked
as if would never get there-I could
never get the answer. The old 'oman
was mighty shy in her young days and
she got me desperate with her shs ness,
and to this day she brags that she
never did say "yes," and she did not;
it was this way. One Sunday after
noon we went to old Hebron church to
singing. 1t struck me that afternoon
as watched that she had a right
smart to do and say to other young
fellows, and that I was nothing more
than knot on log. I knew that I
had lost twenty-five or thirty-five op-
portunities of getting some fine girls
and was still losing-there was lots of
them wanted me. When the singing
was over and stood at the buggy hold
ing the horse waiting for her to get
through talking to three or four young
fellows I gritted my teeth and swore
right there that would bring the mat
ter to focus or burst a biler. We
started of home after the young men
had talked to her as long as they wanted
to and I set my eyes to watching the
front wheel on the right and never
once spoke till we had gone more than
a mile. She saw there was something
the matter with me, she saw that I
meant business about, something, and
I think she was pretty scared. At last
I raised my head and spoke. We were
right at the top of a long red hill and
could see away down the road for
mile. think that my voice had such
a ring of business about it as it had
never had before: as I turned and said:
See that big pine tree side the road
yonder?"
"Yes," said she.
"That one with the squirrels nest up
at the second limb?"
"Yes," she said again.
"Well," said I, as I cleared my throat
in an independent sort of way, t'if you
do not give me my answer before we
pass that tree our engagement is of.
I've stood this foolishness long enough.
Do you understand?'
eyes," said she, with a tremble in
her voice.
"But," said I, feeling a little sorry
for her trembling condition, ''if you
don't want to say yes you can just
give me your hand. Lay your hand in
mine. Do you understand"
eyes, "said she, and we rode along in
silence.
"Down the hill we went, and I kept
my hand lying open on my left knee.
Through the sandbed and up the next
hill we were rolling and not word
nor move. My heart was beating
fast as we arrived within ten feet Of
the tree, and I gave it up. When the
horses head was even with the tree I
raised the whip to give him lick, and
it would have been hard one, but I
did not strike. Like a flash she began
jabbing her hand in front of me for1me
to take and I took it-that is all the
"yes" I ever got. but it did just as well.
To think Of them times, Of our feel
ings, Of all that shyness and bashful-
ness, is tickling now. 1t took me
month to ask the old folks for her,
when could have got her in minute.
Tia. IS what I tell her when we have
our spats, but privately, don't putt
that way. I thought l would die when
I had to walk out before the crowd to
get married, but after it was over, I
saw what fool had been. We had
a mighty fine supper after the marriage
and I never will forgive myself for not
eating more than I did, scarcely eat
anything. I was glad when supper
was over, and We did pretty we'll watch
ing the young people play till they be
gan to break up to go home. That
meant bedtime, and as thought upon
it, I got right spotted. "Fool, fool,
fooln that is what I think now as I
look back and remember my bashful-
ness of that night.
I don't know whether the young
people of this day and time are as fool
ishly bashful as we used to be, but they
are foolish just the same. A young
couple of my acquaintance have just
returned from off their bridal trip
"tour" they call it-and from what
can learn, they have spent enough mo-
ney to have made crop on. Twenty
FIVE or thirty years from now, this
same young couple will look back and
b ink of what fools they were. In the
olden time we couldn't talk up to each
other like they do now, and it was
mighty trying on our greenness TO get
through with the ceremonies of the
occasion, but it didn't take whole lot
of money to pay railroad fare, sleeping