The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-05-15

dance down to Angels"
said the Old Settler, ian
Reub Bannerton. bein' kin
der lonesome, c'ncluded he'd go. He
was a mighty modest man, Reub was,
an ne was sittin 0y the wall. not
calclatin' to dance, when a girl he
never saw walked up to him. She was
big girl with square shoulders, an
anybody could see she didn't need
much male perfection. Reub looked at
her an then looked away, an she says:
Hey the mex waltz with me, pard-
ner?
"Reub was new in this country, then,
an didn't know much bout the ekality
Of the sexes. So he sorter shuffled his
feet aroun' an Gn'ly says:
I'm mighty sorry. but don't know
how ter waltz which was lie due to
his bashfulness but Is'bel, which was
her name, didn't know it then.
"'Oh, come on she says, that
needn't make 10 difference; l can swing
you
80 lie went, al if you'd seen the
subsekent proceedin's you'd hov
thought she could swing him. More'n
half the time his feet never touched
the floor, an his face shone so with
perspiration that it looked like one Of
these new-fangled indecent lights. Bur
he kept thinkin', Wal, itll be over
pretty soon; l won't hev to stand It
long,
THE waltz ended at last, an Reub
was wonderin' whether he orto thank
her for the pleasure or she orto thank
him, when she says:
If it don't make no difference to
you Wen go out on the verandy an sit
out the mex dance. I'm tired
ut did make a difference to him. for
he was gittin' Uneasy, but when he
come to look at her he couldn't think
Of any way out Of it, so he went.
"The frs thing she did after they got
on the verandy was to grab his hand
Reub tried to pull it away, but she
grabbed it firm an unyieldin' an says
in pleadin' tones:
"'Oh, my b'loved one"
81 amt neither your b'loved one,
says Reub, soothin'ly, but firmly. q
amt never done nothin to encourage
these unman - unwomanly perceedin''
of yours. l never saw you fore to
night
You are, too, my bloved one. 70,
may not know it, but you are my souPt
'fnity that I've been waitin' fer, an
felt it JUS as soon as l saw you Oh
my 'dored one"
WAL, Reub sot there more'n ffteel
minutes tryin' to convince her that h
wan'tt her 'dored one, an that prob'l,
her souls 'fnity'd be long on the mex
emigrant train, but she only grabbet
his hand tighter an tried to pull hi
head onto her shoulder. He asked he
to think how his mother would feel /
she knew how he was bein' led on. bu
she sill chung. She was hit hare
Isbel was.
"Finly she let go Of his hand t
brush a fly off her ear, an Reub TUI
Is'bel looked after him, sayin' so tina
Bill Hawkins heered it, lie ylt shall b
mine my b'loyed one; he yit shall b
minep
Mex mornin' early Reub started OF
propectin' He said he felt zif he wa
ha'nted man an recl1oned he'd bette
seek s'clusion
The second day he was out, bot
evenip, he was sittin' by his cabi
door when a horse an his rider con
aroun' the big rock by his cabin, an
tender voice says:
I have found you, OH my b'loved
"Reub didn't look UP, but he says:
4 amt your bloyed, l tell you, c.
ycu octo know It by this time
"Reub says her voice was low a
ecstatic, though somewhat bass.
Is'beIs voice alters is, when she aga
says: I have found you, oh, II
bloved" he kinder hesitated Then !
says:
Wal, s'posin' you have found m
though I amt any such thing, what {
you propose to do about it:'
Oh. the delicious bliss of this he
moment when l again found my SOU
'fnity.
"'You may have found yoIr sou
'6nity, but il is due to you for me
suggest that It has not found you, q