The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1896-02-27

>8N LcI/N man, bon vlvant,
VITA hero Of an endless
array of more or less
exciting love scrapes,
gentleman and all around good fellow
he, Charlie Brown, actually in the
meshes of love, frightfully, sentiment.
ally, desperately in love.
And with whom? A girl he con.
iessed did not care snap for him
Mary Chisholm, rich, cultured, trav.
eled. cynical and proud.
'Look here, Brown" said Van
Tweet, one day, in Browns room,
throwing one leg over the over and
looking his friend straight in the eye
"something very serious is the matter
] have quietly studied you for some
time and diagnosed your case very
carefully. You are in love. Come,
now, who is she? Out with it.
Brown tried to look surprised, and
thea flippant.
"Tut, TUT" said Van Tweet, "you
can't simulate any beguiling non.
chalance before me; You can't deceive
Van Tweet. If you are in trouble over
an affair of the heart, make me your
contidant. l haven't a thing in the
world to worry about. haven't even
a thing to think about just now. Let
me in on the ground floor. Now, then,
it's love, isn't it?"
Brown swept his hand over his fore.
head and stretched h''rself. like man
who is undergoi" -ggle with
himself, and then he our sed out:
''It's lovel just think of it'll L..
me-. falling in Lowell Don't you think
trepanning would be good for me?"
And he jumped 10 his feet and
towsled his hair like tragedian.
"Sit down, Brown. IT'S a mighty
good thing you relieved yourself OF
this secret. The fever has mounted
from your heart to your brain. A few
months more of this suppressing agony
and / don't know but trepanning
would have proved the only remedy.
Sit down, say. Now, tell me all, and
after ! am in possession of the facts,
as we say i'll n newspaper office, I'll
help you to do some thinking"
1t was the same old hypnotic power
which he exercised over all men and
all women, too, that made Charlie
Brown relinqush all resistance to Van
Tweets appeal,
"All right" said Brown, after
moments reflection. "I trust you with
my secret on your promise of silence.
! have been, like Tantalus, the posses.
1or OF n ravished heart ever since met
Miss Chisholm at the beach last season.
"Oh, it's Chisholm, is it?" said Van
Iweet, interrupting hiln.
81 don't know what possessed me to
fall in love with her." continued
Brown; "but she provoked me-"
"That's right; the woman IS always
to blame" put in Van Tweet.
"She provoked me by her internal
indifference, There she was, the con-
scious centre of lot of fellows, all
trying to make themselves agreeable,
and she only laughed at them-laugh-
ing at them rs n queen might Mt a
roomful of gibbering parrots. She
thought she was too good for the
lot"
"And most likely she was right in
her conclusion" said Van Tweet.
"What did that concern you? Did
you try TO make parrot of yourself
us well?"
"Try?" echoed Brown. "Try?
Great Scott, was the worst of them
all.
"You crouched at her feet and
twanged your Tyre like the rest-you,
BrownP
Van Tweet was evidently surprised.
"Oh, not like the rest" "ssid Brown.
"Catch me bearing any voman's train.
No, did worse, as l am about to tell
you. First, studiously avoided her.
She must have noticed it, and before
long she seemed not to see me at all.
/ knew what that meant She was GO
ing to punish me by pretending that
there was no such person as Charlie
Brown on this terrestrial plane.
$50 I laid myself out to be Us coidly
seornful as she. You ought to have
seen us. And 30 things went on, un.
til we were all in the slrf together,
and it fell to my happy lot to rescue
Miss Chisholm from drowning.
''It was more serious matter than
l had reasoned. Expert swimmer as
she is, she completely lost her senses
and she folded her arms around my
neck as impulsively as if we had been
old acquaintances. All this occurred
under water, or / shoIildn't have
minded it half as much.
"Anyhow, 1 rescued ler, together
with about n ton oS salt vatar vb;ob