The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-07-07
FROM THE INDEPENDENT, N. Y.
OUR BEAU.
BY JAMES RAYMOND PERRY.

/ By JAMES RA1MONU fEhhls
"I'm eight and Marian is seven
teen. She says she's eighteen, but
she isn't; her birthday is in January
and it's only June now. Marian is
my sister. She wears her hair up,
but 1 remember when she wore it
braided down her back. Sometimes
she wears it down now-mornings,
but afternoons she puts it up; and
then she thinks she's a young lady.
"She's got an awfully pretty hat
this summer. When she gets her
hair up and that hat on she looks like
young lady; tho wouldn't tell
her so. It's coarse straw and got lots
of flowers on-white and pink.
"The way she treats me you'd
think she thought she'd always been
young lady. But the first doll /
ever had she wanted herself, and kept
dressing and undressing it, pretend
ing she was showing me how. I told
her about it the other day, and she
said twas no such thing. But twas.
"She's got a new dress, white,
trimmed with pink, and it's got short
sleeves, so you can see her arms up
to her elbows. It's all fluffy. I
don't remember what they call it;
but it's real pretty.
"Her hairs yellow. Sometimes it
looks real shiny, as if the sun was
shining on it, when it isn't. I don't
know what makes it look that way.
Mine don't. My teacher says I ought
to say doesn't instead of don't, but
I'm not going to. I don't want to be
different from everybody else. She's
got blue eyes; but she was telling
mama that M. Darcy thought they
were black. That's funny, because
they're blue, plain enough. Mr..
Darcy's sweet on her. But she don't
care anything about him, and never
did. He's got a wart on his cheek.
Besides, his hairs kind of light red,
and he don't let it get more than
quarter'f'n inch long before he has it
cut again. heard him say so.
"She's got some of the prettiest
stockings; open work, with But
you d think twas Marian I'm telling
about, when 'tisn't at all. cts Mr..
Kensington. He's got black eyes
and brown hair, and's lots nicer look
ing than Mr.. Darcy; Mr.. Darcy's
eyes are kind of light drab. He's
taller than Mr.. Darcy, too, and talks
deeper. Mr.. Darcy laughs every
time he says anything. Mr.. Kensing-
toms names Kenneth. You'dthink
twas name out of book, but 'tisn't.
He and I got acquainted before the
others knew him at all.
"I was swinging down in the yard
one morning when he came along,
and he said Your names Wadsworth,
isn't it?' Then he wanted to know
my first name, and said he'd swing
me. He jumped the fence and swung
me way up till my feet almost touch
ed the branch, and he said he knew
US if he hadn't ever seen us, because
he was Kenneth Kensington, and his
folks lived in the next house. He'd
lived somewhere else ever since he
was boy, but his folks had told him
about us. He's got a sister older than
Marian. She's been to the house lots.
She isn't as pretty as he is. Her
nose turns up. He said he'd only
just come, and he was hurrying up
and getting acquainted. He said
didn't / think he was hurrying up
when he introduced himself to young
ladies the way he did to me. 'Twould
have made Marian mad to hear him
call me young lady. But that's
what he said. He gave me longer
swing than anybody ever did, and
wanted to know if Marian ever swung.
wonder how he knew her name. I
didn't tell him.
"When he jumped back over the
fence he said: 'Good-by, Josephine ;
I'm coming again pretty soon, and
I'll swing you again if you want
me to-
Marian was on the piazza when I
went up, and I told her I'd got beau.
She said 1 wasn't old enough and 1
said was, and I'd got one and she
couldn't guess who. I said his name
began with * and his other name
began with K, and she said she knew
who twas, and 1 said 'who?' and she
said 4 know, and I said 'who?' and
she said, oh, know and she
wouldn't tell who. Then I said,
Has he got blue eyes?" and she
shook her head, and 1 said, Has he
got light hair p and she shook hei
head and said rs he short :" and
she shook her head, and said, Is il
Mr.. Darcy?' and she shook her head
So guess she knew, if she hadn't
ever seen him.
s'I went down to the swing in the
afternoon, and pretty soon he came
and took off his hat, just as Mr.. Darcy
does to Marian, but never to me.
And he jumped the fence and said
he'd swing me, and he hadn't swung
me more than minute when Marian
came down. She had on her new ha,
and gown and open work stockings,
and looked terribly fine, and she call.
ed Josephine 7 and pretended she
thought was alone, and then she
said: oh. 1 beg your pardon and
! he took off his hat and laughed-he':
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