The Kenna record. (Kenna, Roosevelt County, N.M.) 190?-1924, 1913-08-08

Copyright. 1919 by the Mcclure News
paper Syndicate)
Anything between the ridiculous and
the sublime probably would have left
John Moran with very uncertain
appreciation of the Fourth OF July
celebration. Neither the one nor the
other. in his opinion. could have been
very fruitful of results. But when the
ridiculous followed close on the sub
lime. the two operated after a fash
lon peculiarly unealculated and
brought Susan Duvau to an instan-
taneous decision on matter affecting
John, wherein all the p's and qs she
had fingered over so long never be-
came finally resolved In her mind to
a syllogistic nicely.
OF the two extremes, the sublime
had been deliberately planned; It was
premeditated. The ridiculous wasn't.
The former was the result of a clever
scheme and weeks of hard work The
latter was the chance of minute. un-
foreseen, unexpected, and. some might
have said on the spot. unpropitious.
For several years John Moran had
wooed Susan Duvau, but, 30 far, he
seemed to himself no nearer the matri-
monial goal than he had been at the
beginning. All her people had been
assisting him without apparent avail
He had pleaded with her; he--had
coaxed and cajoled and even assayed
to coerce after a mild fashion, his
threats reaching that superlative pro-
portion where he promised to identity
himself for life with the sublime or
der OF bachelorhood. But, to all this,
she merely cast down her eyes de-
murely and asked him to walt awhile
John calculated that he had waited
long enough. At first he had been
patient. but now he was growing des-
perates
A score and one-half years had
come and gone around the life of
Susan AS her thirty-first birthday ap-
proached. John, who had schemed un-
I'll his hair was beginning to fall out.
decided on bold stroke. He spent
the afternoon with her that day, and,
In the evening, they had dinner to-
gether downtown.
That night he sat with her ON the
front porch. after the family had re-
tired. Over them a dim light shining
from the parlor window, cast a pale.
glow. John sat quietly, waiting for
the silence he depended on for the
furtherance of his plan After awhile
1t came. and then, when the stiffness
had locked the night in its embrace.
he began to hum. "Silver Threads
Among the Gold" When he had
drew his chair closer to hers, reached
ceased. tears stood in his eyeS. Hell
out for her hand again. and asked her
to become his wife But 1t was the
same old prosaic answer"
Walt awhile. john" she insisted.
"W&it awhile. Do something grand. |
Show me that you can rise to the oc-
casion."
Rise to the occasion, he would He |
resolved that firmly as he stood up
forthwith and bade her good night.
He resolved 1t all the way home. The |
next morning he still resolved 1t. But
how?
A happy thought struck him. John |
had a penchant for happy thoughts.
He would make a speech at Fourth
OF July celebration. It would be SO
grand and so eloquent, couched in |
such rich expressions and so laden
with noble sentiment. that she could
not help but feel the appeal. He
would show her that he could rise
to the occasionl"
John got out his old. school die
tionary and brushed the dust from its
covers. Then he borrowed an i'm
mense volume Of masterpiece orations
from a friend and read every speech
he could nnd that contained any pa
triotic reference or expression For