The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1897-01-29
HOW POLLY PROPOSED.

we sha'n't be longi" said the gray par
rot
l regret to say that the irrepressible
young man that brings the daily milk
Is the tutor of my parrot in the latest
up-to-date slang of the day.
/ am an old Sea-captain-at least. not
old, perhaps the word slipped out un-
awares. | am the right side of 50. any
how; but being in receipt of u pension
and small private income to boot,
have cast anchor in my present bode in
the expectation of weathering many a
winters storm yet.
Being without a known relation in
the world, L willingly fell in with the
suggestion that | should pick up my
moorings alongside my old friend and
messmate, Capt. Travers, late L. n,
who, having left one of his legs on the
west coast of Africa while capturing a
SLAYER, was penSioned off at an even
earlier age than myself, and now lived
with his sister a most comfortable
party, fat, fair ard 40 or thereabouts-
in the adjoining house to mine in the
neighborhood of London. We had al
ways got on well together, our tastes
and dispositions were similar, and
had often met during our naval careers.
His sister l had not previously been ac-
quainted with, but, being in many re
spects like her brother, we were soon
firm friends.
Capt. Travers and myself had each a
favorite parrot-his the common Afri-
can gray, with red-tipped tail, and
mine the purer variety, without a trace
of color. but otherwise similar.
| had not long settled down in my
new quarters, and got everything ship
shape. or what seemed so to me-a very
important difference, as l know to-day
when, almost unconSciouSlY at first.
began to feel what lonely old bache-
lor / was. and what a set-ofT to all my
other belongings the figure of Miss
Rachel Travers would be by my fire
side. But just here the curse of my
life began to make itself felt. Inherent
sbyness in the presence of the opposite
sex has dogged my footsteps from my
earliest rccollections. Give me a gale
of wind in the Bay of Biscay. a tornado
in the tropics. or 20 hours duty on deck.
wet through to the skin. and Capt. Man
ley. late of the p and o. service.
will thank you for it. and consider life
well worth living; but dispenser OF
delicate attentions TO the fair sex. in
tensely he inwardly admireS their
pretty ways. Capt. Manley does not. no.
ke certainly does not, show up to ad-
vantage
Although fond of pets generally.
have an antipathy to cats. especially a1
night | am not aware that our neigh
horhood was particularly beneficial IN
its aspect or other qualifications to
feline constitution, but l know that un-
til | was inhuman enough TO start an
air-gun cannonade on my numerous
nocturnal visitors. | was frequently Un
able to get a respectable nights rest
One Internal black and white Tom de-
fed my finest efforts. If average cats
Lave nine lives, l am sure this one must
have had 10, and | began to wonder
what sort of uncanny being this was
that had no objection to letting my bui-
lets pass apparently through its body
without suffering any Inconvenience.
But after all il must have been my bad
craftsmanship. for one afternoon saw
my enemy quietly walking up the low
fence that divided my back garden from
Capt. Travers'.
The opportunity was too good to be
lost, and quietly getting my air-gun, l
took steady aim and fired. There was
no mistake this time, and without a
sound poor puss dropped on to my
fiower-bed as dead as the pToverbiai
door nail.
Nv eNultation, however, was of short
duration, for to my horror and dis
may. on proceeding to pick up his un-
fortunate carcass and give it decent
burial, / saw that my shot had passed
right through the unluclly animal and
killed my neighbor's parrot. which had
been put out to sun itself in n little
summer-house that stood at the bottom
of the garden.
| was staggered at my position; /
knew the parrot was supreme favorite
with Miss Travers, and how could ever
explain my careleSsness | could not
imagine Suddenly Il way out of my
dilemma presented itself to my mind,
and l haStened to put it into execution
l knew that the Travers were out. and
would not be back for some little time
so hurrying indoors and taking my own
parrot from its cage, | carefully painted
| the end of its tail with red ink i'm imita
ton of its deceased comrade. and find
ing no one was about, l stepped lightly
over the fence and substituted the liv-
ing for the dead bird, which L buried,
! together with the cat. in my own gar
den. l knew that my parrot would not
readily talk before strangers, and L
hoped that by the time it had got used
TO its new surroundings, ii would have
forgotten its former accomplishments;
at any rate, l must risk it,
Alas. Uneasy lies the head that
wears CROWN sang some poet. who.
expect. never wore anything harder
than nightcap, but, true as it may be.
compared to the torture of my mind.
now launched on a. course of duplicitX,
ii would he bed of roses.
1t was towards the end of the follow
ing week that l happened to be out IN
the garden and saw my old friend come
stumping down the path of his OWE
garden in his dot-and-carry-one style,
and, seeing me on the fence, he cried;
.HolIoa, captain, you're quite
stranger: What's been up? Rachel
has been talking about coming in to IN
auire about your health, rs she was
afraid something must be wrong"
'.Yes. have been bit poorly" said
I. OH how easily the words slipped
out. although l had been rs right as
INDEPENDENTLY that particular suIE
should he endued with more rectitude
than its fellows | have never been able
to discover-this by the way
~ bit of cold. perhaps" said Capt.
TTavers. "Well, come over the fence