Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1895-06-27
A SCHEMING sCoUNDREL.
,f2.SlMr'rI,Y I sA"'Fr'T11

\.
half century and didn't show n
scratch Az least, didn't see any.
Enough a friend of mine--onc of those
fellows who go about among their ac-
quaintances doing everything thew can
10 make truth odious-had a habit of
eeliing me every day or two that a
man OF fifty was scarcely as ''chipper''
us man of thirty, whatever he micbt
think about it himself.
IN addition to my fifty years | was
(which was not counted npainst mo nv,
tnose persons best able to analyzc true
gfaees OF character) rich. Not multi.
millionaire, perhaps, but enough to
make q bachelor very comfortable, not
to say luxurious. My business was
easy, and | had no help to bother after,
except a clerk or private secretary, as
1T sounded more elaborate to call him,
una young woman who manipulated
the typewriter in my office. Concern
ing these two persons have consider
able to say.
My private secretary, whose name
was Jeremy Hilton, was without any
exception the most modest and lady.
like young man l ever met He had
come to my service highly recon-
mended by friends of mine in the
country, and though he had been W it'll
me for seven years in town, he never
came into the Office of morning that
was not reminded of the green fields
and the running brooks and that sort
Of thing, indigenous to all traditions of
the rural neighborhood. He was only
about ten years younger than was,
and have many times sat watching
him plodding away at his desk, silent
as sphinx and faithful as fanatic,
and wondered why it was that he
should be as he was, and as was. ]
with the money, and he with the mum
berless good qualities that would be an
ornament to wealth, even though he
lacked in that polish which wealth
seems to demand.
But / paid him a good salary, for ]
could afford to, and his twenty-five
hundred year appeared to be almost
as satisfactory to him as my twenty
five thousand was to me.
Yet he wasn't half the man / was in
youth and love of life, and used to
twit him about his advancing years,
and tried to get him to go and call on
the ladies with me. By all that is
lovely, you should have seen him the
first time asked him to go with me
to call on a particularly bright and in.
teresting young woman l knew, and
whom he had met on one occasion when
she had come to my Office with her
mother to see about piece of property
the mother wanted to buy. The girl
had flashed her brilliant eyes on Jer.
envy, out of pure mischief, because
had told her of his dif1idence, and she
wanted to make him feel as uncom.
Portable as she could, and for minute
or two was fearful that would lose
my valued servant, SO evident was
his desire to incontinently run away.
He blnshed two or three colors, and
stammered so when he tried to talk to
her that | thought he would get his
tongue twisted around his teeth, and
in moment of confusion would bite 1t
off. When she had gone, l asked him
how he would like to go up and call
some evening, and he showed signs at
once of hysteria. Then i told him II
he would not do that, would send him
up to the house next day with the pa
pers for the mother and daughter to
examine and sign, and, though he said
no word and bowed in humble submis-
sion to my will, felt SO sorry for him
that took them up myself.
And here, l may say that a little
thing like woman never had the least
effect on me. At least, in respect OF
giving me the panicky feeling that
overlook Jeremy every time woman
came in sight. He was a bachelor, OF
course, for how could man OF his
sheeplike courage be anything else?
He couldn't, and Jeremy was living
example of it. Even the young woman
who manipulated the typewriter was
source of discomfort to.Jeremy.
She had been with me for three years,
and was a most exemplary person, not
to saw a very intelligent and cookbook
inc one. Being a woman, she did not
pet as much salary as the man, but she
was quite well satisfied with the nine
hundred dollars year paid her, and
must saw my official family was very
ooreoable in its relations to me and to
itself. / felt this particularly, because,
for some time past Miss Higgins-tha,
was the young woman's name-nao
been occupying good deal OF my at,
tontion and / am pretty sure that II
Jeremy had been dashing young fell
low or n dashing old one, he would
have made me have more or less pal
nitations of the heart and other dlsa-
rreeable sensations which are expert
enced even by the best OF men under
some circumstances.
But jeremy wasn't AFRAID o,
Jeremy. and the more he tried to hght
shv Of MissllIiggins the more | twitted
her ON the growing fondness for her
had detected and was daily detecting
=, INV faithful secretary. Miss Higgins
", nj always laugh at these small
nleasantries of mine and would give
me her very sweetest smile, partly,
rosume IN recognition OF various
services rendered her, which were no.
called for in the contract when she
came into my employ.
yybv shouldn't l be agreeable TO her'
An EXCELLENT young woman OF excei
lent family, with nothing in the e. whole Y. %
vide world against her except that she
wy, W. moor OF course, that was an OBJ
;sct;anable feature to some, but II was
go. 70 me- for / had money enough fol
.,o and could afford to be entirely
s Ava, when it came to a ques
t tion 81 the disposition Of my real senti
. s,on T had real sentiments, too ano
tpsv were all for Miss Higgins lkney
n r of girls, old and youngssF h
and CAV, pretty and not s8s. :
and less rich, but l didn N
them every day, in SUM- !