The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1897-11-04
now POLLY PROPOSED


ola perhaps tac ssti slipped oul o
Ausres. sm au the tigbt eide ei hl'y
suJ boz, bgt bsias 10 receipt ois peutlo
dstm,ll ptly.e ilo1me t. bot bsv
c.st auchor 10 nv ptesfrt ato Sc 10 the &
pecIs,lou Of tsesta,ros msuy siuter'
ttarm yet
Being u.tboBts tB9sn reistioo 10 %
~orli. wliHnsIy fell 10 ~itb the "a
scstiou th.t should pick up my moo
logs .IJueslde ny old friend sni nee
mate. C.ptsin TraYers. lsts Il n, who
having leit one ot bis legs 10 the wee
coast Of AtfIea while capturing slayer
vas pensioned O ST 40 even earlier sgt
than myself aud nos livei with Bis sister
"A most comfortable party. fat, fair ant
forty, OF tbereabouts F. Ia the aal)inire
house to mine 10 the nels hborhood Of Lon
don. We bad slwsys got oa we'll together
oot tastes sbd LisposItlons we're similar
and We had often met daring our nayhl
careers His sister | had not been
previously acquainted with, bat being ia
many respects like her brother. We we're
sCoa drm friends
Captain Trayers and myself had each =
iivorite parrot - bis the common African
gray. with red tipped tail and mine the
purar variety, withouts trace Of color,
but otherwise similsr,
bad Dot long settled down 10 my new
quarters and got everything shipshspe.
or what seemed 80 10 me-a very import
snt difference, ss know toisy when,
almost nucoDsciously, st fret, began TO
irel what loudly old boch.lor | was amp
what set of to all my o'her belongings
the figure Of Miss Rachel Travers would
be by my freside, But Inst here the
course Of my life began TO make itself felt.
Inherent sbyness 10 the presence Of the op
posite seI bad dogged my footsteps from
my earliest reoolleouoos. G sc me gale
OF wind 10 the bay OF Bisosy, a TORNADO 10
the tropics or twenty hours du'y Oh deck,
wet through to the skin, aud Captain Man
ley, late OF the Z. and o service, will
thank you for it and consider lie well
worth living; but asa dispenser OF deli
cate attentions to the fair ser, intensely as
be iuwsrdly admires their pretty ways,
Csptain Manly does not no be certslnly
does not show up TO advantage.
Although fond Of pete generally, have
an sntipsthy 10 cats, especially At night
| sm not aware that our HeIghborhood
was particularly beneficial 10 its aspect or
other qualifications TO ielioe constitution,
bat ktow that until | was inhumsn
enough 10 start au sirguu csnDonade on
my numerous nocturnal visitors was fre
quently unable to get respectable nights
rest. One internal black and white tom
dehed my finest efforts. II average cats
have nine lives am sure this one must
have had nineteen and began to wopder |
" hat eort OF uucsnny being this was that
b sd no objection to letting my bullets psts
spparently through it's body without suf
Ierug any inconvenience. But after ell
i IN ust have been my bad craftsmanship,
Ior one afternoon saw my enemy quietly
walking up the low fence that divided my
back garden from Captain Trsverss.
The opportunity was too good to be
ost, aud, quietly getting my sirgun,
.ook a steady aim and fired. There was
10 mistake this time, and without sound
poor puss dropped upon my flower bed,
10 dead IS the proverbial door nail.
My eIultstion, however, was OF short
iurstioo, for, to my horror and dismay.
N proceeding to pick up biz unfortunate
,sroass and give it decent burial | saw
hat my shot bad passed right through
he unlucky animal and killed my neigh
,or's parrot, which had been put ut to
no itself in little summer house thst
tood at the b.ttom Of the garden.
was staggered at my position; | knew
be parrot was a supreme fsyorlte with
,lIss Travers and how | couli ever e1
,lsiu my csrelees1ess could not imagine.
,uidenly way ont Of ny dilemma pre-
ented itself to my mind and | hsstebed
O pat il into execution, ! knew the
n ~ ha han
or some little time, so hutryiug indoors
nd taking my osn parrot from its cage !
,sreiully painted the end Of its tail with
ed ink 10 imitation Of the deceased com
sde and fading that no oue was about !
topped lightly over the fence aud substi
uied the living for the dead bird, which
buried. together with the cat, IN my
xp garden. | knew that my parrot
Gould not readily talk before strangers,
nd hoped ths, by the time it had got
lsed 10 ito new surroundings 1t would
ave forgotten lie former accomplish
nentt; at any rate, II ust fisk 1t.
Alssl UuessT lies the bead thst wears
c ovn. sang some poet, Who, / expect,
ever wore anything harder than night
ap. tut true ss It msy be, compared 10
be torture Of ny mild, uos launched 90
course OF dap iei'y, 1t would be bed
1 roses.
II vas toward The end OF the following
reek ihst happened 70 be oai 10 the
arden sud sss ny old friend come stamp
ns dove the path Of bis own garden 10
lie dot and carry ooe style sud seeing me
70 the ience eried:
HolloSl Captain, you're quite 4 strap
,er' Whats been OPT Rachel has been
slkins about coming 10 70 euqaIre sbou'
.our Lesltb, IS ste was sifsii something
nust be wrong.
Yss, bsye b,caA BIT poorly aid | /.