Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-10
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ks&aa& love Henry was. | had been keep
lXSWSBI ing company with him for about six
months but / never was quite certain
in my mind that Henry wanted until the
words were said. 1 had no doubt after that.
Now, Joshua Gibson he had way of asking me
to marry him, sort of free and careess-lke, every
week or So and I'd answer him mo, not at
present" as if twas all joke. He was jolly
sort of fellow, with red hair and blue eyes,
real good company, though not handsome.
Henry used never to take his dark eyes off
my face, no matter whom I talked to, but he
never said much He was very tall, and thin
and little yellow, because he hadn't any dges
ton, and was never without pain. He would eat
crullers, because / made em though 1 knew it
hurt him awful
He quiet a general thing-except for
signing which he did sometimes incessant-that
/ wasn't prepared for the burst of eloquence he
let forth when once he'd made up his mind to
ask me. He brought in the moon and the stars,
the plants and creeping things, Leviathan that
great beast, and the whole book of Job (for he
was great reader of Scripture), to prove
how much he loved me; and when he got through
he wept like babe, and did I.
He was so overcome that he didn't even kiss
me until the third day was passed. and then he
trembled so from top to toe that / thought he'd
faint, and wanted to go for bottle of salts to
use if twas necessary But the action seemed to
revive him instead, and after while he got so
that he'd Just hold my hand and kiss it when
he found himself going off, and it always brought
him to.
Henrys mother and sisters came to see me;
they We're all tall and dark, like him, but yel
lower, and they all worshipped him. They were
from the South; their Gamble, and
IL A. .-Lk e Al
that no Gamble had ever married Yankee be-
fore, but that Henry's bride should be welcome.
Aunt Martha was polite could be to them,
but we were both glad when they went.
Henry couldn't bear to live away across the
town from me, so he took room just opposite
us, where he could my goings out and my
eomings in. He always came over before break
fast to find how I'd slept, and then afterwards
on his way to work. and when he came home,
and of course after supper.
Sometimes we asked him to meals, but it was
sort of uncomfortable because he was always
afraid I'd choke or something He made me
promise not to eat fish, he that afraid of
bones and if had glass OF lemonade he'd ask
me dozen times if ! was quite sure there were
mt any seeds in it. (He never ate much himself,
unless it was lobster or cheese, his appetite was
so delicate If ] raked down the stove, he was
afraid I'd set myself afre, and if l ran upstairs
he thought it might give me heart trouble and
if | ran down it scared him, for fear I'd fall and
break my neck, | never saw any one so careful
about everything and would get all in shake
after a while with taking such extra pains to
keep from what was dangerous
He gave me a ring, but | was Just little dis
appointed ior 1 had set my heart on a solid gold
one, with a stone in it. This was black ring
which he had cut out of rubber button when
he was ten years old; he thought a sight of it,
because he had made it himself, and / tried to-
He was always bringing me presents of things
he had when he was boy-pieces of old stones,
and birds nests, and willow whistles, and twist.
ed nails, and aeorns, and broken jaek-knfe, and
a potato his mother made him carry once for
rheumatism. One day cleaning out my
bureau drawers, and Aunt Martha came in, and
when she saw all Henry's treasures that he d Civ