The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-05-14
Beating About
THE Bush

lOrtginaLl
''Why didn't ye ever marry, Mr..
Parker2 If ye'd "a taken a wife ten
years ago ye'd "a had nice family
now instead Of liyin' alone on yer fine
farm"
Il came very near marryin' onct,
Sally. I mismanaged the thing at the
start"
Flows thatf'
Il was workin' fur Mr.. Noble at the
time, and one day he said to me, says
he; Parker, wish ye'd git married.
cause a woman would be handy about
the place. I don't mean a servant; one
to call on occasionally for job
Il was jest a-startin' out to trim the
hedge and stood with the shears In my
hand thinkin' on what he'd said.
81 reckon that's good idee, Mr..
Noble / tole him, an idee that's oc-
Cured to me quite frequent Of late.
Fact is, thurs a young gal been
thinl1ln' Of askin' to marry me fur some
time
"Haye ye done any courtinr he
asked.
why, no. l haint no good at
courtin' nohow. Anybody marries me
II hey to do it without courtin''
"'Well, Parker, in some cases where
practical women are concerned / don't
know but it's just as well to tell yer
story offhand as to beat about the
bush. Who's the girlY
. The young schoolteacher that start
ed in last fall--Miss Field
'Whatv he says, surprised like.
Miss FieldT
Yes, l says. Dye think she's too
good fur meY
s'she's the one tosdecide that, Parker.
It wouldn't be right fur me to express
an opinion The only way ye can do
Is to put the case to her and let her tell
We herself"
eHe went into the house loolih' sort
O. queer, and | worked on the hedge
all day. That evenin' 1 concluded to
try my luck with the schoolteaeher.
SO / puts on my store clothes and
starts roun to Deacon Weeks, where
she was boardln' The twilight was
still on, and she was a-slttin' on the
porch all alone. Thur was smell O.
roses in the air and a half moon in the
sky. she was a-readin book, but
when she see me she laid il down and
give me d welcomin' smile.
How a do, AFR Parkery she said,
with the sweetest voice in the world.
II stood kind o awkward-like, and to
help me on she asked who I'd come to
see, and when I tole her I'd come to
see her she asked me to sit down.
Then, rememberin what Mr. Noble
said about not beatln' round the bush,
I begun.
"'AIiss Field says, I was a-talldn'
with Mr.. Noble bout my takin' a
wife, He thinks one d be handy bout
the place. He advised me to 90 right
to the girl | wanted and tell her,
tole him that you was my choice, but
that / thought you might be too good
fur me He said you was the one to
decide that
s'Fust off she turned sort o pale, then
the color come rushin' up into her
cheeks Il IL a cock he'd been turned on
inside her Gurus, thought, how
some wimmen II be taken aback by
anything student. After all, it might
"a been better to "a done little pre-
v'us beatin' bout the bush.
81 hope I haint said nothin' that
shouldn't a. said, stammered.
"sNot at ALL she answered me, gath
erin herself together You have paid
me very high compliment, but ! con-
TESS I don't like Mr.. Mobiles taking 1t
upon himself to instruct you in the af-
fair
"Tm sorry mentioned him.
.@There's no harm done After all,
Mr.. Noble has nothing TO do with the
matter; nothing at all You have made
me a proposition and are entitled to
an answer You can tell Mr.. Noble
who has thought proper to attempt to
secure. me for a handy person, that q
previous
Il thought ye said Mr. Noble hed
nothin' to do with It,"
you're right; so he hasn't. Well
then, while feel very much compli
mented, must decline your PROPOSE
ton. ! shall always think Of you kind
~ and remember how you have hon
ored me-"
Then went away was dead GER
tain that I'd made her mad by bringin
in Mr.. Noble. After ALL that was beat
in about the bush. The next mornin
as he was drivin' out O the place toll
him I'd done the job. He pulled in ant
asked me all about it. repeated VIVA
..-nIl n l.c..,lI ram Anl