The evening times., 1899-03-10
A Bogus Proposal
(From the Boston Po~t.J

(frOm the Boston f">l-J
Ny brothers trouble was summed up In
these lines:
swear ! adore her each morning rise,
Yc; when I'm before her all nv ciopuenee aies-
All this he confessed to me. his sister.
To think of Jack being afraid OF girl
was simply rich. and l could not help Civ
ing vent 10 my mirth. Jack, however.
could see nothing funny in loving girl
and being completely tonguetied in her
presence. and left my room, slamming the
door behind him in no gentle fashion.
Later | went TO my brothers room 10
put away his laundry / patted admir,ns-
ly his clean ducks" ! always wanted to
be man. but never so strongly as when /
saw my brother in all the gfOiy OF white
duck. \ temptation came over me 10 put
them on and few moments later fount
me transformed into stunning summer
man.
We were strikingly alike, my brother ana
/ In fact, when he borrowed my b-cycing
suit for his part as new woman in .
play everyone thought IL was | until he
undeceived them by attempting to put his
hands in his pockets in truly ma cuiine
style
brilliant thought. My brother had
gone 10 the city, and would no re. urn unit
midnight Why not go and propose for
Jack? | would whistle for Marian and
wait under the old apple tree until she
/ stole from under the eye of her father.
| who did not approve of Jack. and then
! propose in the most lOver-like manner.
| The difficulty lay in the prospect of be
! ing unceremoniously elected by Marians
/ father | now really appreciated the di-
/ fculties of a man forced to court surrep-
+ titiously.
Love of adventure spurred me on. how
ever. and casting last admiring glance
at myself in the glass. i ran downstairs.
| was much encouraged when auntie
called to me: Why, Jack, l thought you
were in town
] Everything went beautifully I whistled
their favorite whistle, and was soon re-
warded by the appearance of the lady.
for the time being, of my heart.
/ | have always thought what perfect
J proposal would make were | d man. and
! | think l did. | led up TO it in the most
approved manner. and at the proper place
drew her head tenderly to my manly bosom
and kissed her hair. her hands. her lips.
She remarked that she had never no
I ticed how much alike my sisters voice and
mine were. but was evidently unsuspicious.
l own felt little guilty; she was so low
ing so glad that l loved her.
was enjoying my novel experience quite
as much as Jack could possibly have done
and time flew rapidly as I made plans for
our future. l have often wondered how
/ Jack-Dut tnaI ) dnOtneT matter
! We were suddenly brought TO earth by
I a noise a few feet away. in the direction
| of a hedge. She begged me to fly, and l
| needed little urging. Jokes concerning the
popular method used by fathers to dispose
of unwelcome suitors flashed through my
mind. and the flash was weak enough
to tremble as l pressed her TO my heart in
| a last fond farewell.
When | reached home light was burn
| inU in hrOt g
turned? Running hastily to my room.
let down my hair. slipped into dressing
gown and surveyed ruefuily the ones re
splendent ducks Why hadn't / re-
membered that Jack always spread a
handkerchief before he sat down, and
that even a proposal would not make him
so far forget himself as to lean against
tree. However, the deed was done.
/ went to Jacks room and peek i ".
He WAS lying face down on the L1l
rs that you, Sis he called
l went in, and when | saw his face was
thoroughly frightened.
Jack" / cried what is it,
After a few minutes lie said: "j told
you about Marian. Vel, it was a drcaLL
l came out on the nine, and went over,
intending just to sit under the old az ,lp
tree where we always meet. l reached
the hedge and saw her with her head on
some lucky f., ow's shoulder. OF course,
she's not to blame, and In not worthy
of her, but-on. Sis couldn't YOU have
helped me?'
/ drew a deep breath and wadaG into
my confession, not pausing until even the
ruined clothes had been owned up to.
think he thought 1 was crazy; for ne
stared at me open mouthed, and when
l had finished his sole comment was:
| well I'll be darned,'
/ can't say he was pleased but rly de-
votion touched him, and ne refrained
from any harsh remarks.
He took ''the goods the gods provided, -
and they lived happily ever aftcI, and
it's fact that she thinks the incest pro-
posal a girl ever had was the one under
the old apple tree.