The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-12-24
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
!. A QUEER
C0URTSHIP
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| SCTaWny uEuEe lOOhSu. lOE. LIE HHOIiU
like series of badly connected angles
and whose STOPPING shoulders and mar
row chest were clad In faded black
jacket. C9E a' h9ial
This garment, with it's rusty surface
and pulled seams, suited we'll the sad
looking woman into whose dreary life
came one little bit of color, which shall
! try to describe. bra nwc15 a
| Her face correspondent well with the
rest of her appearance, for it was faded
and worn and surrounded by fringe Of
straight, dusty brown hair pulled tightly
back from the sallow, weary face, whose
one redeeming feature was the eyes
dark gray and oh, so sad!
She had that expression of wistful
waiting sometimes seen in the eyes of a
faithful dog who has lost its master and
seems ever to wait always patiently and
to watch ever expectantly for the beloved
| face.
She was a Norwegian, named Eta,
and lived in our family as cook for
nearly year. 3.atr ha
Weeks passed by and early autumn,
which had brought her to us, shed leafy
tears and departed suddenly, leaving us
all unprepared for winters, advent, which
announced itself in a cold dismal rain.
Up to this time Eta had never received
a letter or any communication from the
outside world. She never left the house
and scorned the idea of an afternoon out
However, on this grizzly day there was
a surprise, a great surprise, for Eta was
discovered holding an open letter tightly
! grasped in one hand. But when she
found herself regarded it was hastily
thrust into yoluminous pocket in hel
skirt.
| Now, this pocket was marvel in itself,
as it could hold myriads of things Why,
one day saw her produce a pillowcase,
workbox, scissors and brass thimble
at one fell swoop; at another time-but
am wandering far away from the letter
and its consequences. ,s.. -g
The mysterious epistle was seen several
times again, and these glimpses showed it
to be worn and rumpled with much read
ing. No doubt it would have been read
and reread out of existence had not an
other, fresh and clean, replaced the first,
| This | took from the postman and so
had chance to see the uneven, chaTac-
terless writing, the Christiania postmark
and Norwegian stamp. 1t was followed
a week later by another, then another.
/ became interested, for felt was on
the track of a real live romance.
The pale, tired face seemed to grow
brighter in those days, and for the first
time Eta made frequent trips to the city,
returning laden with bundles of every
size and description. All her spare time
( was now employed in sewing. Calicoes
and prints were made and laid aside. For
some reason or other Eta was replenish-
| ing her clean but scant and somewhat
| dilapidated wardrobe.
/ Another link in the chain, thought l,
and began to imagine the arrival of a
stalwart Norwegian lover left in Nor
way two years before, when she had
come to try her fortune in America.
Letters came more frequently, and
Eta grew correspondingly brighter and
cheerier-she even seemed to try to hold
herself more erectly, for often the bent
shoulders were suddenly Strengthened as
she went about her work. Her voice,
formerly so tired and hopeless, took on a
more cheerful tone. a-H
! Not the least remarkable of Etta's
peculiarities was her manner of speak
ing. Slowly and lispingy came the
broken English, which was at first so
hard to understand. Such sad mixture
of her mother tongue and this new,
strange language, such verbal compliea-
tons and misplaced plurals, were never
heard before.
About this time l mentioned my ro-
mantle notions to my mother, but she
only laughed, being entirely unable to
connect Etta's sad appearance with
lover, Norwegian or of any other land.
She called me romancer, but | still felt
sure l was right.
Sooner than | expected came the
chance to vindicate myself, for the next
day as sat idly by the window watching
the passersby my attention was attract
ed by a queer little figure way down the
street which came on toward the house
at a rafting pace, gayly swinging huge
cane and putting vigorously at man.
moth cigar. At a distance it was impos-
! sible to tell whether he was a boy or
man, such a comical little figure he was,
dressed in a snuff colored suit, with
rose in his buttonhole and the tiniest
derby imaginable tilted over one ear.
Gazing Iaughingly at him, i was just
| telling my mother to look at that absurd
little creature when what was our sur
prise to see Eta. the staid, the quiet,
dash wildly across the lawn, rush wildly
to the gate and, throwing her arms
|
first on one cheek and then on the other.
The man, after a few quiet but earnest
struggles, managed to free himself from
her long, thin arms and looked up into
her face, so high above him, with pleas
ure surely, but without trace of lover
| like ardor.
On closer inspection it proved to be
such a funny, rosy, childish face that it
was impossible to look at it without
laughing. Eta seemed to find it so, for,
smiling happily, she escorted him back
to the house. her long arm linked in his
short one, almost lifting him from the
ground at every step, and presently we
heard the low monotone of their voices
In the kitchen below.
! Not the least queer thing about this
uueerest of queer men was yellow
shock of hair plastered down in carefully
arranged scallops all around his chubby
face. / suppose it never occurred to
him that the back of his head was ever
seen, for there the hair stood straight out
In bristly points. ~.
Soon Eta appeared and, blushing and
hesitating, said, My cousin hat coined
from Christiania."
That was all, but my theory was prov
ed. and l made use of that timeworn and
Rggravating phrase, What did tell
you"
Days came and went and so did the
little Norwegian, but nothing was said of
an approaching marriage. Parcels pour
ed in upon us, and Eta sewed steadily
on Each afternoon Auguste 1--WE learned
his name) appeared, apparently propelled
by the regular motion of his cane. Some
how he always appeared like piece Of
machinery, for his appearance never,
changed-always the snuff colored suit,
the little hat and the buttonhole bouquet.
And he seemed to go and come mechan-
ically, enveloped in cloud of smoke
pulled from the big cigar.
Eta owned one thing strangely out of
keeping with her other possessions. 1t
was a large gold watch attached to an
old fashioned chain from which dangled
two or three odd foreign looking charms
of fine workmanship. She was very fond
of it, as 1t had belonged to her mother,
and wore it always, till at last it seemed
almost a part of herself. Seeing her
without it one day | exclaimed immedi-
ately, as l thought she must have lost 1t.
She waited moment before replying
and then said slowly, Il hat lend it to
my cousin"
She then told me that Auguste was a
barber by trade and had come to America
with money she had sent him for the
| trip,