Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1895-11-11
AN ODD COURTSHIP.


Port Ryerse, small, hill surrounded
village on the Northern shore of Lake
Erie. Eoenezer was 40, a miller by
trade and bachelor by choice. Polly
was maiden of 37-everybody de-
cIared that was her age, though all
had seen and read these words traced
by Polly's own fingers in the sand on
the beach times without numbers:
''Polly Fedelia Virgins, aged 22.'
Ebenezer lived in lonely house
near the mill. Polly lived with her
sister, and was the only dressmak-
er, milliner and general seamst1 ess
the place afforded.
One bright afternoon Polly threw
aside the shirt she was making for Mr..
Stlckney and taking her sisters chill
dren went down on the beach for a
walk. Half an hour afterward Eben-
ezer was walking in the same direc-
ton. He had been kept away from the
mill all day by felon on his thumb.
He walked along over the beach,
holding the afflicted thumb tenderly
in his palm. At length, through an
opening in cluster Of elders, he dis
covered Polly Virgins. It was raw
day in early spring, but Polly's hat
was off and she was bowling and ges
ticulating, and apparently engaged in
earnest conversation.
"Polly is either going crazy or she
is trying to perform like them theater
folks we saw when we went on the
excursion to Buffalo"
So saying, the miller crept cautious
ly up to the intervening bushes and
peered through, softly chuckling with
delight as he watched Polly go
through one of her surprising bows.
But the broad smile gave place to
look of astonishment as he heard Pol
ly say:
eyes Ebenezer, consent to marry
you on four conditions"
He saw her glance timidly, not at
the whiskered face among the bushes
but at stump, then, as if she had
been asked what those conditions
were, she went on:
colored, pigeon tailed coat that your
grandfather was married in. You
must smoke cigars, if you can't live
without smoking, instead of always
having that old black pipe in your
mouth. You must shave off those old
fashioned, grizzly gray whiskers, and
raise a mustache, and quit riding that
dingy- white, bob tailed rackabone of
a horse everywhere you go, and with
your coat tails hanging down to cover
his ribs, too.
Ebenezer looked sober enough now,
and hung his head like a scolded boy.
He was very proud Of his personal ap-
pearance. And if there was a time
when he thought he looked particular
ly grand, it was when he was dressed
in his Sunday suit and mounted on his |
faithful white horse. He was trying /
to make up his mind whether he ought /
to step out and call her the bigges5
simpleton in all creation or go off /
about his business, when Polly began +
talking again in a tender, Gliding
tone, as if her feelings had been hurt:
ooh, Ebenezer, how can you ask if .
[ love you? Didn't Jim Winters pack
off to California, just because [ would
not have him? Didn't Ruby Cakes
try to drown himself because I nit
tened him? Didn't [ refuse Jerry Vail
only last Sunday, just for you? And
after I've waited all these years, you
ask me that"
And Polly covered her face with her
hands as if to conceal either her tears
or her bushes, but shortly she uncov-
cred her face-and pretty pale,
though somewhat careworn face it
Was-and continued:
you're very kind and thoughtful,
Ebenezer, to ask me about fixing up
your house. Where you lived so many
years can't help being happy home
for me; but I might suggest one or
two little improvements, seeing you
asked me. You might just cart the
rubbish out of the front yard-the \
swill barrel, and ash heap, and grind
stone, and such-and make up some
posy beds. I've got lots of seeds, and
you can have some Of them-holly
hooks, and marigolds, and astors, and
double peoples etc. They will want to
go by the window, and you'll have to
move the pig trough. Then your spare
room would be more like something
if it had carpet, and sofa, and
picture or two, and centretable and
above everything else, curtains for
the windows.
''You haven't got many dishes, [