Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-12-22

did you ever feel the hot blush of
shame mantle your cheek for something
you had done in your youth?" asked the
man with the grizzled mustache.
Never" answered his corpulent
friend, promptly.
Perhaps you wouldn't" said the
muStached veteran, thoughtfully !;
"some never do.''
ooh, it would mantle all right if there
was any occasion for it," said the man
of comfortable proportions. 1.-THE rea-
son that it doesn't is that my youth
was exemplary. 1t may seem a little
like boasting, but 1 suppose you want
the plain, unvarnished truth when you
ask. But why?"
81 was looking at a photograph Of
myself at the age of 20 or thereabouts
last night" explained the man with the
grizzled mustache. my wife dug it out
of a batch of family pictures she had
slowed away somewhere and she hand
ed it over to me and asked me If rec
ognized it. Honest, didn't. / wouldn't
believe her at first when she said it
was me, but it grew on me by degrees
sort of came back to me. l wish
had it here to show you. Say, I'd kick
any boy now that came around me look
ing like that, but suppose 1 was rath-
er proud of it then or I'd have sup
pressed the prints and broken the
plate"
'What was the matter with it?'
Everything. The collar principally,
perhaps. 1 was wearing very low
turned-down collar, with a very wide
and flowing bow. 1 suppose ] thought
it a rather picturesque and romantic
sort of an arrangement, but, great
a1ns it made me sick at heart to look
at it. When 1 got to thinking it over
remembered that very tie and the suit
Of clothes was wearing. remembered
my shoes. They were patent-leather
shoes, low cut, with elastic sides and
dove-colored uppers, decorated with
very small pearl buttons. Yes, sir,
half too small for me at that"
The man with the grizzled mustache
elevated his foot with some slight diff
ficulty and regarded the rOOmy, square
toed shoe of unadorned black calf that
he was wearing. 81 remember the girl
l was chasing at that time, too" he con-
tinued.
"Yes? ?" said his fat friend.
"NIy goodness, but l had taste! What
kind providence prevented me from
marrying 1 don't know, but do recol-
lect that 1 was madly, passionately in
love with her and that 1 thought her
a paragon of feminine charm and beau
ty. But what got me was the express
sion of entire self-satisfaction in that
face. 1 won't say in my face, because
that complacent young idiot wasn't me.
l have had to stand for his fooIishness,
Of course. I'm still carrying the corns
he left me, for instance, and feel the
effect of his carrying on in college. I've
got broken finger that he acquired IN
a cane rush. See that?"
That's nothing. You can be thank
full that it wasn't a broken neck"
ct would have been if l could have
got hold of him at about that time"
said the veteran, savagely. Staying lip
to all hours and undermining my CON
stitution, too! That's what he did.
there's no question about it. I'd have
been in my prime to-day physically if
it hadn't been for the way he conduct
ed himself. But it was never any use
to talk to. him. He knew it all. 1t was
just a matter of form and convention
sending him to any educational institu-
ton Why didn't he store my mind