Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1911-04-05
Needles and pins,
Needles and pins,
When q man marries
His trouble begins.
CHAPTER !.
Ak Least \ Meant We'll.

ao iAJuolSo VI IL uuAI luo mOSl-
They said I got up the dinner, that
asked them to give up other engage.
ments and come. that promised all
kinds OF jollifcation, If they would
come; and then when they did come
and got In the papers, and every one
but ourselves = laughed himself
black in the face, they turned on me!
I, who suffered ten times to their one!
shall never forget what Dallas
Brown. said to me, standing with a
coal shovel In one hand and a-well.
perhaps 1t would be better to tell 1t
all in the order 1t happened.
It began with Jimmy Wilson and
conspiracy, was helped on by foot
square piece Of yellow paper and a
Japanese butler, and 1t enmeshed and
mixed up generally ten respectable
members Of society and a policeman; |;
incidentally, it developed a pearl col
Lar and box of soap, which sounds
incongruous, doesn't It?
1t Is a great misfortune to be stout,
especially for a man. Jim was ro-
tund and looked shorter than he really
was, and as all the lines of his face,
or what should have been lines, were
really dimples. his face was about as
flexible and full of expression as a
pillow In a tight cover. The angrier
he got the funnier he, looked, and
when he|was raging and his neck
swelled up over his collar and got
red, he was enhancing. And every
body liked him, and borrowed money
from him, and laughed at his pictures
Che has one in the Hargrave gallery
IL. London now, 80 people buy them
irstead), and smoked his cigarettes,
and tried to steal his Jap. The whole
story hinges on the Jap.
The trouble was, ] think. that no
one took Jim seriously. His ambi-
ton IN life was to be taken seriously,
but people steadily refused to, His
art was q huge joke-except to him.
self II be asked people to dinner.
every one expected a frolic. When
he married Bella Knowles, people
ehuekled at the wedding. and consid.
cred It the widest prank Of Jimmy's
career although Jim himself seemed
to take It awfully hard.
We had all known them both for
years, ] went to Harrington with
Bella, and Anne Browne was her ma.
tron' Of honor when she married Jim.
Ny first winter out. Jimmy had paid
me q lot Of attention. He painted my
portrait IN oils and had a studio tea
to exhibit 1t. It was a very nice pic.
ture. but It did not look like me, so
stayed from the exhibition. Jim asked
me to. He said be was not e pho
tographer, and that anyhow the rest
Of my features called for the nose he
had given me. and that all the Greuze
women have long necks. have not
After had refused Jim twice he
met Bella at a camp IN the Adiron!
dacks, and when he came back he
came at once to see me. He seemed
to think would be sorry to lose him.
and be blundered over the telling for
90 minutes. OF course, no woman
likes to lose a lover, no matter what
she may say about 1t, but Jim had
been getting on my nerves for somo
time. and I was much calmer than be
expected me TO me.
"It you mean,n ! said, finally IN des.
perat!on, that you and Bella are-are
in love, why don't you say 80, Jim?
I think you will find that stand It
wonderfully"
He Frightened perceptibly,
"I didn't know how you would take
It, Kit" he said. land ! hope we will
always be bully friends. You are alb.
solutely sure you Cont care whoop
for me?"
Absolutely" replied. and we
shook hands on It. Then he began
about Bella: It was very tiresome.
Bella is q nice girl, but had room.
cd with her at school, and was under
no illusions. When Jim raved about
Bella and her banjo, and Bella and
her guitar, had painful moments
when recalled Bella learning her
two songs on each instrument, and the
old English ballad she had learned to
play on the harp. When be said she
was too good for him, I never batted
an eye. And / shook hands solemnly
across the tea table again, and
wished him happiness - which was
sincere enough. but hopeless - and
said we had only been playing a game.
but that It was time to stop playing.
Jim kissed my hand. and It was really
very touching.
We had been the best OF friends
ever since. Two days before the wed.
ding he came around from. his tailor's
and We burned all his letters to me-.
He would read one and say: Here's
a crackerjack, Kit" and pass 1t to
me. And after ! had readit we would
lay 1t on the frelog. and Jim would
say, "I am not worthy Of her, Kit.
wonder II ! can make her happy?" Or
Did you know that the duke Of
Belfast proposed to her in London
last winter"
OF course one has to take the
woman's word about thing Ike that.
but the duke Of Belford had been
mad about Maude Richards all the
winter.
You can see that the burning OF
the letters, which was meant to be
reminiscently sentimental. sort OF
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES oc-
casion. became actually two hours
auloey of Bella. And lust when !