River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-03-30
How a Scandal
Was Averted q
BY w. NEWMAN FLOWER
MIR. JOSIAH WAGsTAFF made a

MIR JOSIAH WAGSTAFF made
IVI pretense of being something in
| the city This he did purely as hob
by. because he had realized large for
tune out of pork, but finding idle re-
| tirement rather monotonons he began
| TO &C to the city again with the earli-
| est, and only reached home at night
when most people would have thought
of going to bed.
| What his occupation consisted of no
one knew, not even his wife and fam
| lily, and no one who knew Josiah
Wagstaff cared to ask.
| Wagstaff was the autocrat of his own
home. When his brow appeared puck
cred the whole family trembled, and it
was very puckered just now, SO that
Mrs. Wagstaff, the three Misses Wag-
staff, and Master Timothy, aged IA, sat
underground the breakfast table at the
prospect of coming storm.
Kitty" he began, lowering his cof-
fee cup into the middle of the saucer
with mathematical precision. Your
conduct has astonished and amazed me.
Last evening a youth can call him
| little else, although he's 25-called to
see me, and actually-yes, actually
asked for my permission to marry you.
"Of course, should have granted his
request could he have satisfied me as
! to his prospects. He is one of those
writing chaps, and turns out novelties
to turn out sausages.
But that is not the greatest trouble
which you have been the means OF
bringing upon me. Not only do you fall
in love with supplemented idiot
whose sole ambition is writing senti-
mental trash, but | actually find you
reading one of these driveling rags, the
publication of which any sensible gov
eminent would at once suspend.
81 found this in the pocket of your
macintosh last evening. The name
The Lovers Companion is very ap-
propriate, and, no doubt, your lover
Herbert Grant, is a contributor to it,
Yes, he is, and he makes $4,000 year
by writing, at any rate replied Kitty
doggedly.
well let him go on making it, but
you shall not add to the success of such
journal by reading it. And, bear this
in mind, my GIRL that il / catch you
reading such piff1e again, / shall not
only stop your pocket-money, but take
very stringent measures to prevent
your reading anything but your Bible
and catechism in future. AS for this
Herbert Grant, the sooner you forget
all about him the better, for such q
union will never have my sanction
The family began to breathe again
But Timothy, the Wagstaffs son and
heir, was up in arms at his sisters dis
comfiture.
Il say, pater," he said. Its BIZ
rough on sis, because when she wrote
to the editor for advice he told her to
stick to her lover through thick anC
thin. and that her pater would knuckle
under if her chap was really decent
young man. And Grants all that,
can tell you. Why, | saw him knock q
cad down yesterday because he made q
Joke about his height, and asked him il
it was cold up there"
Timothy, leave the room!' said Mr.
Wagstaff, who had paled somewhat, in
a voice of thunder. when | wish yoI
to be master here I'll say SO. And now
Kitty" he said when the lad hat
closed the door behind him, Il asl
you if you dared to drag the family
name into paper like that by writing
10 the editor
Il had to take nom de plume, sc
even the editor didn't know who was,
confessed Kitty.
Very WELL l will say no more about
ii this time, but bear in mind my warn
ing, that's ALL"
And just then Mr.: Wagstaff discov.
cred that he had five minutes in which