Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1899-08-08

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| shawl.
He had a quick sense of the pic
| turesque. this smooth shaver old gentle
| man. and he was one OF the few who
/ looked a second time. His eyes softened
| \ little. too 1t was as if a breath OF
clover fields and orchards had been watt
ed to him by that bit of black shawl in
| the cotton-gloved hand.
Someone in passing had broken OFF a
| spray from one of the plants, and it lay
whiting on the hot curbstone. The gen
tleman stopped, picked it up, and carried
| it into his office in the great stone build
| ing on the corner. When he was seated
at his desk it was still in his hand He
| looked at it curiously. 1t had large, oval,
| dull-green leaves, delicately serrated; q
pungent, wholesome odor rose from it,
prevailing over the other odors IN the
room-odors of Russia leather, OF tobacco
| and of the street.
The gentleman inhaled its fragrance
What is it?'' he asked himself Il
| seem to remember-ah, yes. | have it.
1t is-rosemary! Yes. That's what it is.
Rosemary.
The stcely eyes softened still more and
| fixed themselves like those Of one hyp-
noticed The full, proud mouth grew
tender.
There was clump of rosemary in
mothers garden" SO ran his thoughts,
land near it was 4 great mat of clover
pinks. They bloomed in June. l can
| smell them now. There was huge
bush of southernwood there, too, and
some tawny lilies, and spiderwort, and
monkshood, and striped grass. Strange
| how the old names come back to me.
! The lilac bushes in the corner were like
trees to me in those days. | used 20 sit
under them and play at matching blades
| of striped grass with sister Mary, and
| WHY VIII
and why mother never let her work hard.
! / know now. She faded away and died,
and there was only me left. | remember
| those Sundays in summer, when | was
not allowed to play or run about. How
| long they were, and how hot! Like to-
day, but with such a difference! Mother
always had a spray of rosemary and
pink folded in her handkerchief when
we started for the meeting house, and
| some caraway seed in her pocket, which
! she gave me now and then during the
| service when she saw l was almost
| asleep. | taste them now and smell the
! rosemary and the pinks. and the pine
odors coming in at the open window and
| the varnish on the pews, all mingled to-
| gether. And | hear the creaking of the
| women's fans. and the horses whinnying
under the shed behind the meeting house,
| and the minister's droning voice-hOw it
| all comes back to me.
"And Abby-Abby Grover-her folks
pew was across from ours, and used to
| try my best to make her laugh in meet
| ing, but l don't think | ever succeeded.
She was a nice girl. Abby was. Not
pretty, but with something about her
that was better than beauty. And her
| eyes and hair were really lovely, | re-
| member.
abby generally wore a sprig of rose
mary pinned to her dress when l went
over to see her Sunday nights in summer.
That was after we grew up. We used to
| sit on the orchard wall and talk until
the whippoorwills began crying and
Abby's mother would come to the door
and say the dew was falling and she
| guessed we better come in.
Il fancy / did most Of the talking,
| though, for Abby was one OF your silent,
deep sort. | told her all my plans for
my fortune in the city. And she would
listen patiently, though | must have been
a terrible bore, and look at me with her
nice clear eyes and say, How ambitious
| you are Joey! Joey. Fancy any one
calling me Joey now
began to get on in the world and she
helped me, too, Abby did. She lent me
her little savings from school teaching,
and, later on, when the farm came to
her, she raised money on that to start me
| in business. Is there anything woman
will not do for the man she loves?'
At this point the cOlOred deepened on
the old gentleman's forehead and deep
breath like sigh expanded his glistening
shirt front.
"Of course, I paid her back, every dol
lar, with interest," went on his thoughts
''and meant to keep my promise of
marriage, too. 1t was Abby herself who
| broke the engagement, when she found
out that | loved another girl better. 1t
was the right thing. She did not seem
to take It much to heart either; but she
never married. At least l never heard
that she did. 1t is twenty-five years or
more since ] saw the old place. There
was nothing to draw me there after the
Old folks died. | wOnder-I wonder what
became of Abby! Dead, probably. She
not so very old either. She was two
years younger than l, and l am not yet
| turned CO
a clerk came in and laid telegram on
the desk. The old gentleman took it.
The steely look came back to his ewes.
Ihe old woman in the black shawl was
still standing on the street corner. She
looked tired and anxious, and the plants
IN the basket had wilted sadly. The cars
looked more alike than ever, and she did
corner had scowled at her unpleasantly
two or three times, and Aunt Abby felt
almost ready to drop, what with the heat
and the fatigue and the dread that the
policeman might speak to her, and she be
hopelessly uisgraced thereby.
Suddenly her face broke into delight
ed smile. A ruddy, youngish man came
hurrylng up to her.
Wall therer' exclaimed Aunt Abby,
as he shook hands with her and kissed
her, and began asking questions and an
swering them all in the same breath
wall. there. now, William Henry, if
that don't beat all!
Then she told how she had waited in
the station, and then on the street corner.
unit! she was ''all het up and had left
her palm-leaf fan on the train, and won
dered II the plants would come up again,
and asked how Lucilla was, etc. etc
Meantime the man had picked I'D the
black satchel and the basket, and hustled
Aunt Abby goOd-naturedly into the car.
and the two were gone
And the sprig of rosemary lay forgot
ten Oh the floor under the old gentleman s
| feet-JGlia Schayer in the Outlook
Interesting Facts.
Mrs. Mckinley has $4,000 which she
does not know how TO snend CONGRESS-