Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1897-02-18
HOW POLLY PROPOSED.

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 I'M
awares. am the right side of so, any
how; but being in receipt OF pension
and small private income to boot, l
have cast anchor in my present abode III
the expectation of weathering many a
winters storm yet.
Being without known relation in
the world, 1 willingly fell in with the
suggestion that 1 should pick up my
mornings alongside my old friend and
messmate, Capt. Travers, late r. NJ,
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 most comfortable
party, fat, fair and 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 we
had often met during our naval careers.
His sister 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 o
favorite parrot-his the common Afri-
can gray, with red-tipped tail, and
mine the purer variety, without trace
of color, but otherwise similar.
1 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,
I began to feel what lonely old bache-
lor was, and what set-off 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
shyness in the presence of the opposite
sex has logged my footsteps from my
earliest recollections. Give me gale
of wind in the Bay of Biscay, 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
we'll worth living; but as dispenser Of
delicate attentions to the fair sex, in
tensely as he inwardly adnires their
pretty ways, Capt. Manley does not, no,
he certainly does not, show up to ad-
vantage.
Although fond of pets generally, l
have an antipathy to cats, especially at
night. 1 am not aware that our neigh
borhood was particularly beneficial in
It's aspect or other qualifications to
feline constitution, but know that un-
til was inhuman enough to start an
air-gun cannonade on my numerous
nocturnal visitors, 1 was frequently un-
able to get respectable nights rest.
One Internal black and white Tom de-
fed my finest efforts. If average cats
have nine lives, am sure this one must
have had 10, and I began to wonder
what sort of uncanny being this was
that had no objection to letting my bull
lets pass apparently through its body
without suffering any Inconvenience.
But after all it must have been my bad
craftsmanship, for one afternoon lsaw
my enemy quietly walking up the low
fence that divided my back garden from
Capt. Travers'.
The opportunity was too good to he
lost, and quietly getting my air-gun, l
took steady aim and fired. There was
no mistake this time, and without
sound poor puss dropped on to my
nower-bed as dead as the proverbial
loor nail,
My exultation, however, was of short
duration, for to my horror and dis
may, on proceeding to pick up his an
fortunate carcass and give it decent
burial, saw that my shot had passed
right through the unlucky animal and
killed my neighbours parrot, which had
been put out to sun itself in little
sum1ner-house that stood at the bottom
of the garden.
I was staggered at my position; L
knew the parrot was supreme fayorite
with Miss Travers, and how could ever
explain my carelessness l could not
Imagine. Suddenly a way out OF my
dilemma presented itself to my mind,
and fastened to put it into execution.
| knew that the Travers were out, and
would not be back for some little time,
50 hurrying indoors and taking my own
parrot from it's cage, carefully painted
Che end of its tail with red ink in imita-
tion of its deceased comrade, and find
ing no one was about, I stepped lightly
over the fence and substituted the liv-
ing for the dead bird, which 1 buried,
together with the cat, in my own gar
den. knew that my parrot would not
readily talk before strangers, and
hoped that by the time it had got used
to its new surroundings, it would have
forgotten it's former accomplishments;
Mt any rate, must risk it.
Alasl Uneasy lies the head that
wears q crown" sang some poet, who, l
expect, never wore anything harder
than nightcap, but, true as it may be-
compared to the torture of my mind
now launched on q course of duplicity,
It would be bed of roses.
It was towards the end Of the follow
ing week that I happened to be ont in
the garden and saw my old friend come
stumping down the path of his own
garden in his dot-and-carry-one style,
and, seeing me on the fence, he cried:
"Holloa! captain, You're quite
stranger! What's been up? Rachel
has been talking about coming in to in
quire about your health, rs she was
afraid something must be wrong"
eyes, I have been BIT poorly" said
I. Oh! how easily the words slipped
out, although had been rs right as
Independently that particular sum
should be endued with more rectitudc
41.ox 81 FoIIo,.,c have Dever hppO n hlc