The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-05-21

1
| to the extent of a broken leg and num-
| berless bruises. | had ordered myself
! to be taken to the hospital. where all
| good bachelors go when they are i'll, but
a cousin of mine, fine fellow, except
| that he was married, issued orders to
| the contrary and took me home with
| him. There | was fixed up in royal
style, and his wife took charge of me
| with such motherly solicitudc that l
ceased to growl about not going to the
hospit&i.
Within q week 1 began to improve,
Rud about that time my cousins wife's
! sister came to the house on visit, and,
! ret having much else to do, she used to
| glnuse herself with me. l objected at
first, and vowed I'd rout myself out and
30 to the hospital, but those two women
| knew they had me where | was defense
| less, and they only laughed at me when
| | growled, and fed me on dainties when
| was taciturn and silent. I didn't want
to eat their truck, but my appetite was
something, and it forced me to over
come any prejudice L might have
| formed.
Later my Cousins wife's sister took
to reading to me, and she compelled me
| to listen to her because she did have eX.
ccllent taste in the matter of books and
could read exceedingly well. AS to her
voice, it was the sweetest | ever heard,
but of course she could have no credit
| for that. She was born with it.
| : H., - he
terie visited me, but not often. as tie
very presence of women was disagree
able to them. They condoled with me,
however, and ogetherwe frowned upon
! Providence for thus throwing me into
the hands of the enemy.
AS. time went by and my cousins
wife's sister continued to read to me |
unconsciousIy grew into the habit of
looking at her sitting on the low chair
near me, with her head bending over
the book, and ! began to wonder what
she used on her hair to make it so wavy
and glossy, and when she would look up
occasionally and smile in response to a
laugh or remark of mine at something
she had read would have a queer kind
of a feeling. as if | were threatened with
some kind of heart trouble.
One day 1 asked the doctor about il
and he actually grinned | say
"grinned,' because | mean "grinned.'
1t wasn't the kindly smile of the physi-
clan to a petulant patient, but a grin
and would have thrown him out of the
window had l been in my usual health
and strength
The first day | walked out on my
crutcheS my cousins wife's sister ac
more on her than | did on the crutch
| am sure | did, as far as the crutch or
the side next to her was concerned.
During the first two or three weeks
of my imprisonment | had longed fol
the time when | could get out once
more and join the coterie; then | be.
gan to think less about it, and now
when l was ready to start forth on my
journey once more, a free man, somehow
after my lately acquired fashion of re-
lying upon my cousins wife's sister.
asked her about it.
Well, if you will believe me, I was
never more surprised in my life than ]
was at the result of this simple question
on my Cousins wife's sister. She
blushed and stammered and said her
sister wanted her right away. and ]
just stood still in my amazement. She
had always been such a help to me, and
now, in little matter like this to go all
to pieces, almost made me lose conf
dence IN her. Then she looked up at me
and all of sudden ! felt that old heart
trouble come back and-and--and-
hope it is not necessary for me to go
INTO particulars. Suffice it to say that
between my cousins wife's sister and
myself we managed to have the matter
satisfactorily explained.
But there was the coterie and there
were those Internal resolutions! What
a fool man can make of himself when
he is left to his own devices passes
finite comprehensiona and almost crowds
the Infinite to the wall. I. Thomas Tom
mington, the chief, had basely BETRAYED
my trust, and concealment for long was
| 'Ai- 1D'''''iN' LUZ L
that concealment was my only hope,
and with this hope in my bosom | at
! tended the coterie's banquet in honor
of my restoration to the charmed circle.
What a hollow mockery that restora-
| ton was!
| was there and at the head of the
table, as befitted my relation to the
coterie, but my spirits were elsewhere.
Still put bold face on myself, and APP
plauded to the echo every anti-female
sentiment that was uttered. Ieven pro-
posed toast myself to the utter oblter-
alton of women. | thought it best to
draw it strong, and did. However. at
nine O'Clock pleaded that was not vet
strong enough to join in the late fes-
tivities, so | withdrew, and. shameless
wretch that | was, l hurried TO my
cousins house and sat up until ~ o'clock
with my cousins wife's sister.
At the next melting of the coterie |
began to feel that l was under suspi-
cion. Perhaps it was merely a guilty