Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-12-05
Her Last Promotion.

Handsome Mr. Ormsbee, the propri-
etor of the mammoth department store,
was talking over the drug counter to
Miss Choate, the perfumery girl. He
had his immense business well in
hand, and made regular trips through
all the departments, inquiring how
much was being sold of this and that.
He was a wonder to all of his clerks
on account of the seemingly illimitable
capacity of his brain for details. How
he could remember so infinitely passed
their understanding, and 1.-The more
they looked the more the wonder grew,
that one small head could carry all he
knew" Not that Mr.. Ormsbee's head
was unusually small; on the contrary,
it was a very we'll proportioned and
handsome head and sat his six feet of
manhood nobly.
Gradually it begun to be whispered
about that Mr.. Ormsbee was taking
most abnormal interest in drugs, and,
indeed, there seemed some show of
reason for this statement, for he was
certainly pduSlHS dI tndL pdl LlSuldl
counter oftencr than necessity seemed
to demand 1t must have been drugs,
because it was cut of all reason that
Mr.. Ormsbee should be suspected of an
absorbing interest in the perfumery
girl for he had never been known to
take an absorbing interest in anything
but business. Miss Choate was as tall
within two inches as Mr.. Ormsbee
himself and had a remarkably fine fig
ure, but her face was not handsome
not strictly speaking. To be sure,
there was something about her which
invariably made people turn and look
again, but it could not well be called
beauty. 1t was rather a dignifed re-
pose of carriage-an aristocratic bear
ing that stamped her as not being al
together of common clay. And this
was the light in which Miss Choate
was generally regarded 1t was known
that she was the daughter and orphan
of clergyman; that she supported her
mother and young brother with her
wages at Ormsbee's, and it was sup
posed that her advantages had been
rather better than the average, for
there was hint of elegance in her
manners, not usually discoverable in
clerks. For instance, she used the
word madame" instead of lady" that
world wide sign of the plebian and
she never took any part in the cheap
conversation carried on behind the
counter. The shallow ones thought
her disagree eably proud; those who took
pains to study her knew that she was
only dignified and reserved. She had
been at Ormsbee's for years-had be-
gun as cash girl, been raised to an
assistant at the drug counter, and f.
naly given full charge Of that stock
She had won golden opinions right and
left, and had gone on in the even tenor
of her way until young Fred Ormsbee,
nephew and heir apparent of the pro-
prietor, had begun paying her marked
attention. This did not please Miss
Choate in the least, and she limited in
polite terms more than once that he
was at liberty TO go about his business.
Now, Mr.. Ormsbee, the elder, held this
young man in tender esteem, having
superintendent his hearing from the
earliest days Of calf-bood He had
never withheld anything in reason
from his brothers. child, and when
that child made known to his devoted
relative the consuming passion where
with he was being consumed for the
aIeuapna aud aceomr11fz III rnaYYc ~ ME-
CEoate, the perfumery girl, the elder
Ormsbee said kindly.