The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1896-02-06

NJ6 II sifileurs had proved the
NH hit of the evenings en-
EN r.. tertainment.
SV 20: An hour or so later,
~ - " the "crowd" having
dispersed, Birdy Jackson, Hartley and
were idly discussing the events of the
affair in the smoking room. jackson
and | were stopping over night with
our host, being old chums of his, and
living some distance out of town.
"No idea you could give us such
ripping performance, Birdy," re.
marked Hartley land when'your wife
joined IN l was perfectly astounded.
Jackson laughed softly.
"No. she doesn't do it at'all badly"
headmitted. "You know, Dick, there's
bit OF romance attached to that
whistle of hers; in fact, il was the
means OF bringing our matrimonial de-
sires to an abrupt point Mt an extreme
ly critical period in our courtship."
Hartley gave me gentle kick.
'Then y0dr union had Spice of
romacce about it?" he said.
''Ratherl Unique in the annals of
love making, / should say. But folks
are 80 incredulous nowadays, I've
never attempted to tell the yarn but
once, and then l swore I'd newer do il
again"
But he had to on this occasi on. and
soon began to interest us as follows:
''First OF all, you must know, INfr.
King me-" I'm called
Birdy on account of having practiced
from earliest infancy cheap form of
musical recreation. Though cuffed as
n boy, severely reprimanded for warb.
| ling i'll slack business hours and sound.
ly execrated by the neighbors, never
theiess persevered.
"a year this last summer / came in
for sum of money, which rendered
me practically wealthy and indepen-
dent man, and to celebrate my good
fortune | threw up my business berth
and went into Yorkshire TO spend n
few weeks with n professional bachelor
friend and to idle generally.
while there / was introduced to n
Colonel and his daughter Evelyn, aged
twenty-five, who lived at Tho Chase,
and were intimate friends of my chum.
Nice girl she was plenty of go with.
out being the least fast In less than
a fortnight | was over head and ears
in love with her. The subsequent al-
ternoons at The Chase were too hot for
tennis. Colonel Alton spent them
snoozing in isstudy; Evelyn's elderly
companion and her fathers house
keeper-ior Mrs. Alton had been dead
some years-nodded in the shade of
her favorite elra, and my friend had
invariably to leave ifor an important
case before the tea came out. Very
nice of him, thought.
Thus thrown together, Evelyn and l
monopolized the arbor, and l used to
amuse her by trilling selections from
the operas, latest airs (comic and
serious), and she would occasionally
Join in as kind of FLIP to my per-
formances. Though woman in every
respect. she could whistle. In most
of the well-known tunes, up TO date or
pathetically aged, she excelled, owing
to the fact that during the winter
months for some years past she had
always ofiiciated at the piano for the
village popular concerts, wnen the
vocal and instrumental items were
naturally of an amusing and light
order-at times scarcely high class,
perhaps.
'rhen came the tins when the
Colonel had to be approached. The
man gave me prompt and curt re-
fusal. He had other views for his
child. l tried remonstrance, then
dogged persistently, but with no
avail. Evelyn stood out like brick.
This burst of independence resulted
in her immediate Punishment to
regions unknown to me, under the
surveillance of a relative of mature
age and experience, and all communi-
cation between us strenuously denied
and forestalled. All chances of elope-
nent, even, were reduced to nil.
"A few days later 1 left my friends
for Bournemouth, there to recruit my
shattered health and hopes, and think
things over quietly. l was crushed
for the time being. As l alighted
from my cab at the entrance to the
North Cliff. where had taken rooms,
an elderly lady came down the steps.
der face seemed somewhat familiar
to me, though / could not at I'll time
recall to mind when and where had
! 'een it before. When she storted as