Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1912-01-17


so. He may have been engaged to
me, but I wasn't to him! He insists
that l came to inspect his family, but
it was the other way round,
Frankly, l was scared to pieces"
related the girl who had been married
a year. 81 did want to make a good
impression, because, even If l decided
that Dick wouldn't do, it would have
been comforting to have had the fam
lily eternally regretting my loss.
wanted to make them feel that If all
the girls they had ever fancied for
Dick were combined into one the prod
uct couldn't begin to equal me. l had
just got back from a year and half
in Europe, and had the latest things
in clothes and hats, so l had some
reason to hope that l should make a
hit.
81 arrived late at night and beyond
the impression that the house was
huge and the family numerous l reach
ed no conclusions. The next morning
at breakfast l began to distinguish
myself
while l had been abroad they had
invented several things in the United
States, among them one particular
breakfast food that was a stranger to
me, and when found the maid offer
ing me a fine assortment of little
bales of hay took one at random be-
cause l seemed to be expected to do
so. l took it nonchalantly and depos-
tied upon the plate before me. Then
1 was offered cream and sugar.
$50 l began with cream. poured
and poured, and the cream disappear
ed from sight Where 1t went, l can't
imagine, but l know l did begin to
think the thing must be sort OF
sponge
Sat last when l ceased to pour on
cream Precipitation was standing on
my brow. Then it was that saw all
the members of Dicks family solemn
ly engaged in tearing their mattresses
to bits. They faxed the stuff off and
made airy little mounds of it, amid
which the cream circled, as it should
have done with mine and didn't. They
were trying to look no more panied
than they could help at my display
of ignorance. nearly choked on the
stuff, but I swallowed it.
when We arose from the table
dashed to the piano to relieve the ten.
sion and burst into particularly lively
ragtime. l could play, and l played
until I found the whole family lined
up most apparently waiting politely
for me to finish so they could proceed
to the business Of the day.
"Dick was nearest to me, and he
was terribly embarrassed.
"'Would you care to join us?' he
stammered when l paused, startled
Father always has Scripture reading
after breakfast was much inter
ested after got over my perturbation
until it came my turn to read-and
got come verses filed with the most
complicated proper names in the whole
book, over which stumbled and
choked and disgraced myself.
II had to have air after that, so ]
put on some things and rushed out
for walk-and stumbled and fell
the full length of the steps!
"They carried me in and stayed In
bed a week with a wrenched ankle
while the whole family waited on mo
like slaves, and simply scorched in
the realization that I had disgraced
myself utterly and absolutely.
But somehow or other Dick and
got married finally in spite Of it. In
a few years I'm going to get up my
courage sufficiently to ask my in-laws
what they really thought of me that
time and what arguments they used
to try to dissuade Dick from marrying
me. l confess that they have been
beautifully resigned about me since
they discovered that was inevitable. y
Il wish | was through with it!''
mourned the newly engaged girl. I'm
entirely convinced that it's worse