The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1917-07-19

No Fool Like
An Old Fool
And In Love Young People
Are Not Overwise
By ]. BERRY CRAPO.

my father one morning called me
into his study and said to me:
Frank, / have letter from your
Uncle Mark, in which he offers to
take you to live with him and leave
you all his property at his death.
You know that, being poor clergy
man, I have nothing to leave you,
and by going to your uncle you will
eventually be rich"
''Do you advise me to accept the
offer?" | asked my father.
"There is Il certain important rea
son for my not wishing you to do so.
Your uncle is a monomaniac. He
has had love affair which has turn
ed out badly and has conceived what
he fancies to be a hatred of all wom-
en-. He declares that he will never
marry, and his spleen is SO great
that he wishes 50 far as possible to
prevent any woman from enjoying
his property, He therefore makes
it a conditi0 with you that you
shall bind yourself never to marry"
Being too young to settle such an
important matter for myself, my ac-
tion was decided upon in a family
conference, or, rather, by my moth
er, who, being the last court of ap-
peal in all matters pertaining to the
household, decided that | should ac-
cept the offer. She gave no reasons
in support of this decision, but it
was supposed that she fancied my
uncle might find new love and his
antagonism to women would vanish.
In this case l would at least be edu-
Gated by him.
When went to live with my un-
Gle he was forty years old. At that
age a man, especially if soured by
the miscarriage of love affair, is
not likely to fall into another one.
Instead of softening toward the op-
| posite sex his antipathy increased.
Had my uncle desired to bring me
up to break my contract he could
not have placed me in position
better calculated to bring about
such a result. An old housekeeper
was the only woman in our home
except the negro cook. We do not
covet what we have, but what we are
deprived of. l went to school with
boys and never associated with girls.
From the time | was fourteen till
was twenty l did not know what it
was to have a girl friend. When l
saw them on the street going to
school 1 would turn to follow them
admiringly with my eyes. One day
when / was about sixteen, walking
with my uncle, one of those 1.-the
creatures whose skirts extend only
to their ankles passed me. He OBJ
served me turn and look at her.
"You have remarked, l see," he
said to me, "that innocent looking
creature. She is very pretty to lool
upon, I admit, but under that grace
and beauty is poison-poison of thu
most virulent kind. She will grow
up to womanhood without a sparl
Of that sense of honor which is bor1
, in us men and which l and YOU
schoolmasters are endeavoring tt
stimulate in you"
Nevertheless, Uncle Frank"
replied, "she's mighty pretty"
A deep sigh was his only response
This girl used to meet every da,
i as we were going to school. Sh
| must have seen admiration in m,
+ eye, for after awhile she would pas
! me with a very conscious look, cast
ing her eyes in every direction ex
cept toward me, hitching her shoul
l. ders, brushing back curl that hum
on one of them or in some othe
way indicating that she was awar
! that a youngster of opposite sex wa
v interested in her. In one of thes
meetings she was sufficiently agitat
ed to drop several of her books.
took them up and handed them t
her, she avoiding looking at me as
were an ogre, a glance at who's
face would turn her to stone.
4 Not having any assurance and dt
string to give her a flower, on
morning upon meeting her droI
ped it on the pavement shortly bt
fore we passed. I turned, dreadin
d to see her walk over it with he
head turned contemptuously VI
'e ward, and when l saw her stoop an
pick it up my heart beat like tri
hammer. considered that l hs
been a marvel of bravery. l wol
lf dered how had dared do it.
Il From the moment | saw her pic
t. up the flower I had not the couras
to hand her openly l was change
s. man-boy. l grew bold as a lilo,
A few days later l went to scho
with bunch of violets in my haI
and on meeting her did not fear
, marvel of courage that l was
D toss them to her. She caught ther
W and the smile she gave me set n
heart aflame.
a And so Dame Nature went c
v. with her work as quietly as if an o
curmudgeon was not attempting