Waterbury Democrat., 1902-11-29
On the Beaver s
Banks
BY EDWARD D. cIARks

~ FORGE SCHUYLER belonged to
7 an old New York family. Perhaps
the name tells that, and enough said.
Helen Ganzevoort also belonged to
an old New York family, and here
again the name speaks for Itself.
Georges branch of the Schuyler fam
lily was poor Helen's branch of the
. Ganzevoort family was rich.
The parents Of both young people
had been the stanchest kind of
friends since they had been old
enough to know what friendship
meant, and friends had the ancestors
been for generations back to the
time of the stump-legged~s Peter.
George Schuyler was five years older
than Helen Ganzevoort. There was
enough of the Dutch idea left in
George to make him a dutiful son as
there was ugh of the same Dutch
III Helen to ina4Ne her dutIful daugh-
ter. George Schuyler had been
brought up to believe that one day
he must marry Helen Ganzevoort,
and Helen Ganzeyoort1 had been
brought up to believe that one day
she must marry George Schuyler.
The Schuylers were not rich, as has
been said, and when George was 10,
instead of being sent to college he
was shipped west to see if he could
pick up fortune. Helen was at that
time IL years old, and she did not
feel lseenly at all the parting with
her prospective husband, and it must
be confessed that George didn't shed
many tears when he said good-by to
this plain little girl with her hair
in pigtails. -s ~.
George Schuyler went to San Fran
cisco, and there in the course of nine
years he did manage to pick up what
the farmer calls ''tidy bit of
money" George went east twice dur
ing his San Francisco stay, but both
times Helen Ganzevoort was abroad.
They wrote to each other once every
three months, and while there wasn't
a line of affection in the letters on
either side, there was enough in them
to show that each felt that the old
marriage arrangement made by the
parents still stood.
y
His income now was large enough to
justify him in marrying, and in feel
ing that he wouldn't have to go to
the bureau drawer every Monday
morning to find his wife's purse.
George was going back to take a
bride that he hadn't seen in nine
years, and it's just barely possible
that he didn't feel overly comfortable
at the prospect. As a matter of fact,
George Schuyler liked bachelorhood
No woman ever as yet had stirred his
pulse. His gun and his rod were
more to him than all the women in
the world. But George had been get
ting letters from his aged parents.
who said that it was time he came
east and went to wooing in earnest
He wrote that he would start in a
week, but that on his way he was to
stop for a few days fishing with an
old friend on the Beaverkill, that idea
trout stream which tumbles down til
southern slope of the Catsl1ills on is
way to the Delaware.
George Schuyler took his fly boo
and his split bamboo rod on the frs
morning after his arrival at HI
friends wilderness lodge and start
out to whip the stream for specl1le
beauties. He was n wading boo
hip high and down the stream hi
went, dropping his ''coachmano lure
On the surface of every pool wher
it looked as though trout might
Turk.
Luck was only fair and the sun was
!, l. 81 Z.
glare Of the midday sun and they
keep away from the surface, no ma t.
ter how tempting the morsel offered
for consumption. George Schuyler
was thinking about reeling in and GO
ing back to the lodge, when suddenly
at place where the Beayerkill
broadened he saw country girl, ii
calico dress and sunbonnet, sitting
at the waters edge. She was listen
ing to the song of a brown thrasher
that, fitting on low tree top. was
pouring forth his melody for the
benefit of his snnbanrefad friend
George ~ in mid
stream. He did not wish to disturb
the birds solo, upon which the listen
ing girl seemed so ii .ent. He stopped,
buI 5APPSu Oh lounu sIohO anu
splashed the water. which was calm
and still just there. The thrasher went
into the thicket like flash andthe girl
turned her head just as quickly.
George Schuyler saw a face under
the shadow of the huge country bon-
net that was much more than pretty
and which had in it that which men
rightly call character. Geoge's fish
er1nan's cap was off in an instant.
'.Good mornings are allowable in the
wilderness without the formality Of
an Introduction