The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1895-03-28

down in front of the train, and she
might go home alone, and he would
never be able to bother her any
more. In fact he apparently played
the heavy father somewhat.
| "Of course Fanny laughed, and said
she'd like to see him do it; and if
there's one thing it's unsafe to do to
a love-sick man, it is to laugh at him.
You may abuse him and insult him,
and he will probably fight you, and
that will do him good; but it is best
not to laugh at him. He didn't say
anything more, and Fanny went on
chatting him, telling him it was a
pretty thing to do to ask her to go
out walking with him, and then be-
have like a stuffed idol, or whatever
their equivalent for stuffed idol is
Ia glass of fat half-and-half,
should think. Then Jim said sudden
ly that he was sorry she hadn't en-
Ijoyed herself that afternoon. And
when the train came up, he stepped
Iquietly off the platform onto the line
in front of it. l had just come home
from AK, and was spending the eve
lining alone, when Fanny-or what was
once Fanny-rang at the house and
demanded admittance. My man, on
the other hand, refused her admit
ltance and between them they kicked
up such row that 1 went down to
see what the matter was. Fanny-a
Ifringeless, dishevelled Fanny-was
about half way through her vocabu-
larry of expletives; but my man had
finished and had begun again from
the beginning. He is a sort of saw.
age and has only few simple words
They were both very much out OF
breath. 1 went with Fanny to st
Georges. Jim had not been killed
Outright, but he died before morning
He left me the piano-organ.'
And Fanny?' I asked.
''Fanny is his executrix and legatee
We went to the funeral together, an6
| took care of her. She wore large
black ostrich feather in her hat, ant
was very hysterical. She gurgled OF
my shoulder. Afterward she made me
an offer of marriage"
In the silence that followed JacE
walked to the window and looked
out. The gas had just been lit in the
streets, and the pavementS were
greasy and shining with a cold slee
which was driving down from the
east The room had grown dark dur
ing his story, and pale bilious squares
of light had sprung onto the ceiling
from the gas-lampS outside. HI
stood there in silence for littl'
while, and then turned back into tht
room and lit the candles. A maj
came in to clear away the tea things
and just as he was leaving the room
Jack spoke to him.
Bring in the piano organ," he said
And standing in the middle of thu
room, he played the "Intermezzo'
from "Cavalleria Rusticana," all bu
the first three bars, which 1 hat
, iplayed outside on the landing, ant
} when it was finished we were boil
silent again, for it seemed to us tina
: | it was Jim's requiem. :
, Then Jack turned to me.
} "Poor old Jim," he said. "Of cours
it was a devilish silly thing to do
but it was fine answer to Fanny
chaff. 1t would have been finest o
ali if he could have made her believ
that he was able to do it without do
| ing it. But Fanny is so obtuse-I hat
to tell her three times that l reall.
must decline the honor of her hant
: and heart-nothing but the practica
: demonstration would have convincet
r her. Yet, after all, it is better to d.
) a fine thing and die, than to continu
: not doing fine things and live.
don't mean that Jim had done any
thing fine before, but, at any rate
) he has done one fine thing more thai
) most of us ever WILL