The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1894-05-11
BROWNIES COUkTSHIP.
Why He Didn't NJ airy the Girl of
His Choice.


His Choice
The girl l am going to tell you about
is rather pretty and her name is Edith
She has dark hair and her eyes are blue
and she dresses well. She has been
graduated from IA seminary of good re-
putc, and her disposition Is amia BILE to
degree which more than "A year ago
brought all the young men of the neigh
borhood at her feet. | think she won
"A tennis championship in sin giles some
where last yeaI, but | am not certain
about that What | can recall among
her most pronounced accompli sh ments
/ Will put down here later on. | met her
50 long a time ago that | have forgot
ten the circumstances of oar meeting,
but | guess they were of the ordinary
sort. | live two doors from her house
and drop IN to see her aud Mrs Burke
at least once week. Even her mar
riagc, " which hurt me much at the
time, did not separate us for very long,
and | think | have lived To forget nv
first rash determination never to Look
upon her face again. | called the night
OF he wedding and have been calling
regularly ever since | am beginning
to believe that it was Il good thing alter
all that she didn't marry me.
WHAT 1 want u teil-and il won't
take long u tell it in my dry fashion
is the story OF old Brow ue's courtship.
| maize my living by keeping the cash
accounts of big Market street hole
sale house, and Browne is the man
whose ,.cs Is next to mine in tie
couLting-room. Our salary is about the
same, and. although he is two years
one now. we both have held the same
positions for twenty years. Browne
weighs more than two hundred pounds,
and | weigh n trifle less
Mrs Burke, " ho was Eiith's mother,
came To this summer and had quite
= long talk with me about her personal
affairs She said that her late hus-
bands estate was pretty much en-
tangled, and that to keep her present
establishment on Arch street going she
would have to rent some of her hand
some rooms in the house to boarders-
OF course, she didn't want to do that,
and, of course. l deprecated the plan,
but in the end il turned out that we
both lad to give in.
Old Browne rented the second story
front room the day after l told him
about it, lie had been living aWty up
town, and he was glad to get u little
nearer to the office, besides enjoying all
the social prestige which geographical
conditions could give him. He moved
into the rooms with a dozen trunks
and a 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.
thought "a good deal of Edith, and
every night or two we played cards in
her mothers room. She and l played
partners against young Bob Smith and
Mrs Burke. We were pretty evenly
Ih:ttcheI, too, for Bob played a stiff
game of whist, aud well, you may
remember that l was one of the Pen
tecost clubs priz. team last fall Edith
ami won most of the games, though,
for Bob WAS too internally lazy ever To
do anyt hing well. And he never seemed
to mind ii If he lost
The r.sence of old Browne annoyed
me a great deal, and 1 don't mind say
ing so. About a week after he took his
rooms there | found him occupying my
seat at the whist table when 1 called.
lie was fuinbling the cards in his awll-
at hun Bob was engaged in giving an
imitation of me telling a war story,
and even Mrs. Burke was approving
tie ridiculous proceedings l coughed,
and that stopped the game, but | was
uncomfortable ali the evening. 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 l began to seriously
consider whether shouldn't rent every
room in Mrs Burlc's house myself 1
was actually contemplating this prop
osition one night in my own apart
m"nts, smoking my last bowl of to-
bacco the while, when the colored girl
who ats on the door said that a man
had called to see me. / have few callers,
and thought 1t might be Mr.. Phipps,
whom had invited To come to see me
more than u month ago.
With this idea in mind | told the girl
to- delay the man below stairs for
moment while l slipped into other
clothes Then the door opened, and
old Browne came ambling in l was
disSusted on the instant. but i man
aged To conceal my real feelings and
| invited him to be seated. lie looked
all around him to see if | was alone,
set his hat on the floor and then ac-
cepted my invitation with kind OF
| sigh
Thank you," he said, Il only want
| - see you for a moment"
offered him "a pipe, and he declined
it told him my cigars were out
1T doesn't make any difference, he
| said. I'D rather not smoke L came
here to ask you some things about the
| Burkes-'
! The Lord only knows how l looked
at him as he hesitated for a moment
Il have seen enough of them," he
I went on, Ito believe lat they are per-
fectly responsible people-otherwise
| would not have taken lodging there,