The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1895-07-05
enced even by the best of men under

But Jeremy! | wasn't afraid of
Jeremy, and the more he tried to fight
shy of Miss Higgins the more twit-
ted her on the growing fondness for
her had detected and was daily de-
tecting in my faithful secretary Miss
Higgins would always laugh at these
small pleasantries of mine and would
give me her very sweetest smile, part
ly, | presume, in recognition of var
ious services | rendered her. which
were not called for in the contract
when she came into my employ.
Why shouldn't be agreeable to her?
An excellent young woman of excel
lent family, with nothing in the whole
wide world against her except that
she was poor. Of course that was an
Objectionable feature to some, but it
was not to me, for had money enough
for two, and l could afford to be en-
tirely disinterested when it came to a
question of the disposition of my real
sentiments, I had real sentiments,
too, and they were all for Miss
Higgins. | knew plenty of girls,
old and young, grave and gay, pretty
and not SO pretty, rich and less rich,
but | didn't see any of them every
day, in sunshine or rain, and | had
not the opportunity of judging them
as had in the case of Miss Higgins,
who seemed to me little nicer each
time saw her during those later days.
Things ran along smoothly enough
in the office until the soft, sweet days
of early June came around, and then
l venuured on taking Miss Higgins
driving with me. 1t was delightful
afternoon, and | was feeling extreme
ly good in mind, body and spirits.
Miss Higgins enjoyed the drive as we'll,
and being acquaintance of such long
standing and ON such an everyday,
practical basis, think we both had
very much nicer time than if our rela-
| tionG had been of the ordinary kind
existing between young men and
young women.
| In any event, | felt perfectly at
home, and Miss Higgins was looking
so much better than l had ever seen
her-she was twenty-four, and when a
woman is pretty at twenty-four she is
| pretty for keeps-that before l really
| knew what | was about / was making
love to her. Not making it, either,
exactly, for it had been made in my
mind for weeks, but | didn't quite
| know it until | began to talk to her
about it. Then it dawned on me all
| at once, and if it had not been for the
superior judgment and tact of Miss
Higgins, firmly believe would have
| made an egregious ass of myself.
But l didn't. l reserved that until
| a later period.
The point | had reached when left
| her at her modest, unpretentious
home was firm resolve that on the
| next day | would have business for
| Jeremy outside of the Office for an
| hour, and there and then, on the spot
where l had first met her, | would
make formal proposition-and get
| her, as matter of course. l was as
sured of that, because there was no
| other fellow in sight ; | was rich and
and passably good looking, not so old
| as people might thik l was, and on
| general principles i was just what a
sensible young woman, like Miss Hig
gins was, wanted.
| When next morning came l was in
hilarious humor, going so far as to
| slap Jeremy on the back, thus discon-
| certing him to such an extent that he
| stuck his red ink pen in the black and
almost said 'doggone it," his one
weakness of language.
"Old man." said / to him. "why
| don't you get married p
"Why don't you, sir ?" said he.
That's just what I'm going to do,
Jeremy" said |, land so quick that it
will make your head SWIM
Il hope not, sir,n said he.
Hope l won't get married p said |,
with a feeling that poor Jeremy had |
an idea that it would ks q aiassEtienof
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/ siif6dac n.iasaelfe{t 4aiaeskeped the 1
/ good Jeremy on the back again.
"Out of regard for you and your |
faithful services to me, Jeremy" said
| |, Il will go about it less rapidly than |
| as at first contemplated"
Have you anyone definitely in |
! view, sir ?" said he rather slyly, | |
| thought, seeing that he knew | was |
slightly variant in such matters.
Indeed | have, Jeremy" said ],
land | am sure you will be surprised, |
| and at the same time pleased, when | |
| tell you who it is to whom am about |
to trust my whole future"
Il AIN sure l shall be pleased, SIR"
said he, meekly.
''To he frank with you, then, Jer-
| envy" | said, more seriously, II am
going to marry Miss Higgins"
Jeremy looked at me as the cherubs
| looked up in that great picture of RAJ
phaels.
1.-The typewriter /" said he.
1.-THE same said l. "And by the |
way" l added, ':she hasn't come
! down yet, and it is half an hour after |
her usual time. l hope she is not feel
| ing any bad results from the drive she
took yesterday afternoon. L wonder
| if she is p
mo, SIR" said he, nothing is the
| matter with her l saw her on my
way to the Office and she said she
| this morning"
That's all right, said l, much re
lieved at will also be better for you
as there will not be that haste which
might give you a return of your verti-
go. Eth, old man?''
| Eyes, sir" said he, and for the first
| time | observed that he was growing
nervous. 'I-I-I wanted to say sir"
he stammered, as he lay down his pen
and faced me, that think you ought
| to try to marry some one else"
"Oho," l laughed. perhaps you
would like to marry her yourself?''
mo, SIR" said he, Il can't marry
her."
"Oh course you can't, you dear old
man." said l. I'm going to marry
her myself
That is not the only reason why l
cannot marry her, sir" said he"
This was a poser, and | wondered
what strange freak had struck Jeremy
The thought of losing me had unset
tied his brain, possibly.
What other reason could there
be?" said l, in doubt.
Because l have already married
her, SIR" said he. 1--WE have been
married three weeks, but we didn't
want you to know it until we could
get moved into our own little house,
then we were going to give you sur
prise supper, tor you have been ex-
ceedingly kind to both of us. and we
appreciate it more than we can say"
1t was the longest speech had ever
heard Jeremy make, and it wasn't the
pleasantest, but what could l do?
Nothing, except to forgive them and
hurl my heart at some other object to
knock it into forgetfulness. Then
Miss Higgins appeared promptly at
eleven O'clock, and had to forgive
her also.
Nice fix for man with a heavIng
heart to be in, wasn't it?
And she hadn't come down at her
| usuaI time so that Jeremy would have