Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1898-03-23

very anxious that he should marry anu
bring home a wife to keep house ana
make 1t homelike for them both, as the
mother had long been dead, and the
father and son were too much attached
to one another to wish to live apart.
Horace was not actually In love with
any one, but there were three girls ne
rather admired, so he tried an expert
ment. He announced his intention OF
taking a holiday, or, at all events, OF
going over TO the city for trip, saying
he was not quite sure when he would
be able to return. About II o'clock one
morning he went to the home OF the
girl he liked best, and when the door
was opened asked for Miss Ellen, and
told the maid to say that he had called
at that unusual hour to say good-by,
as he was leaving suddenly, and had
very little time at his disposal. He
was shown into n slttlng-room separ-
ated from another by folding doors,
and distinctly heard the voice Of his
charmer saying to her mother:
mo, mamma. l certainly will not be
seen at this hour IN this dirty old dress,
with no tucker In 1t, and my fringe not
curled."
In two or three minutes TIE maid re-
turned to the waiting Horace and said
Miss Ellen was very sorry not to see
him, but she was in bed with bad
headache.
"A girl who puts on dirty dress in
the morning and tells fibs Is not the
wife for me-" thought the young man
as he went away. and, turning into the
next row of villas, he rang the bell Of
a door which was on the chain and
stood little way open, giving him a
view of the staircase. On the half
landing stood the girl he had called to
see, scoldlng some one up above her SO
vigorously that she evidently did not
notice the ring at the bell. Her voice
was so shrill and her ill-temper SO evil
dent that Horace instantly took a card
out of his case, scrubbed up. p. c." on
it when the servant answered his SUM-
mons, and went his way.
The third girl he meant to call on
lived half a mile away, the house was
small, and her parents had the reputa-
ton of not being very well off,. He
knocked and gave the same message to
the maid as he had done at the first
house. She was not an accomplished
housemaid, and left him standing at
the open door while she went and
spoke to her young mistress in back
hno hn IL IL,
ASK Mr. Tremlow to come In" and
he was shown straight into the sunny
back parlor, where Miss Mary Jones
sat in low chair with vegetable
dish on her lap and large basket Of
green peas on the floor beside her. She
collar, and black tie, and a very large
white apron, pinned up quite high on
her breast and her hair was Just rs
nicely done as when he had last seen
her at Cinderella dance.
She said not word about her occu-
patton; it was evidently quite natu-
raj thing for her to shell peas in the
morning, but she laughed and talked
SO pleasantly that Horace stayed till
she had finished and rose to take her
peas TO the kitchen. Then he went, but
the next day he made an excuse for
coming again, and though he still talk
ed of going to the city there did not
seem to be any hurry about it,
Mary Jones was quite as qulck-wit.
ted as other girls and soon understood
what he meant. and got one of her
brothers to convey TO him, in the most
casual way In the world, that she was
engaged TO a curate in the North, and
they were TO be married as soon as he
got living.
Horace did go TO the city then.
but In few weeks he returned and
lived With his father and middle-aged
housekeeper till the old man died. Even
then he made no pretense of being
marrying man. and when chaffed about
single blessedness by his friend told
the story Of the pea-shellng, and
laughlngly said he must walt for
Mary's eldest daughter.