Year: 1873

looking, and folks may say what they please


about handsome is that handsome does,


and all that sort of thing, but pretty faces


have fooled men from the beginning of time,


and will to the end of the chapter, reckon.


So had chanches enough to be married, in


spite Of my tongue but dear me ! I'd sooner


have been choked and done with it than to


have married any one of them. till-well. we


will call him George perhaps that was his


name and perhaps it was not-till George


came along. ] used to find myselftalking to


him as | Reyer talked to ANYBODY else he


frightened me up till hardly knew myself,


we liked the same books-I read more than


do now-and the same sort of music, and


both enjoyed good argument and by and


by the evenings he didn't come began to be
stupid, and Just about the time | made a


discovery he seemed to make it too, and after


that | had nothing to complain of on that
score. In fact, | used to think sometimes


I'd just like to tryan evening or two without


him, Just to see if | would miss him much ;


for whether | went out or stayed at home, a


bird Of the air seemed to carry the matter to


him, and there he would be had my
second wish gratifed in the course of time,
too, but several things happened first | knew


he had high temper, and didn't enjoy being
cOntradicted, and though was not any too
much given to self-examination, had some
times suspected myself of being little bit
like him in those respects but iflove doesn t
make a-man civil, then nothing ever will,
and perhaps it toned me down a little, too


At any rate, you'd have thought to see US
that neither Of Us knew whats a temper was ;
everything went Us smooth as glass, and we
were engaged to be married before we knew
it, almost. No, I'm not going to tell you
what he said, you Parcel Of geese, you. Do
! YOU suppose / remember, when it's thirty-six
years ago to-day? Now giggle, do: its
| lady-like | found an old letter to-day that
| posted me as to the date, So | hope you all
feel better for that


Well, the weddingday was fixed, and
father bought me house, not very large, but
| pretty and convenient, and near enough TO
| Georges place of business. One day, when
father and | were starting out together to
choose some of the furniture, We met George
near the store, and father, poor, dear man,
asked him to come along, and Just then re-
membered that he had an engagement, too,
! though ii was 4 different sort from ours, so
! George and | went into the furniture store
together. laughing and chatting, and he
quite agreed with me about everything |
| chose until it came to one unlucky bureau


Ii was lust what wanted, and so, although
! saw 1t was little scratched | thought
that could be fixed, and said I'D take it.
Stop minute, says George, very wisely


you didn't see that scratch, my dear child,
did you?' Now. perhaps | was unreasona-
bic, but somehow that provoked me fan
fal aorr ha H. 10 .,
self, though he was as polite as a fish-hOok,
too, and tried not to look as if he noticed
To be sure, our engagement was well known,
and nothing to be ashamed Of, but | felt as if
George was putting on airs a little too soon.
So just said, very quietly. Yes. | saw it,
hat like the bureau better than any of the
others, and think that can be fixed 1t
would show through any amount of fixing,
said George, mimicking my tone ever so lit
tle-hed corrected me forty times, if he had
once, for saying fix instead of some other
word, 50 that didn't soothe me; hut | man
aged to keep cool outwardly, and said


Even if it should show, / prefer this bu-
reau to any Of the rest. I'll take this
added, turning TO the salesman, and then |
pulled ont my watch in a great hurry, and
found | had not time to choose anything
more that day, and walked cut of the store.
George strutted after me. as stiff as poker,
and soon As we were fairly in the street, he
began That fellow mnst have been edi-
fed. | should think. I'm afraid he was,
| answered, coolly. You might at least
have pretended to YIELD lie went on, even
if you had fought it out afterward' I'm
not good at pretending, | said, and as to
yielding, its matter Of opinion whose place
it was to Weld There's certain little
form of sound which will have to be altered
a one point. before you can subscribe to it.
| should imagine, and then he laughed
Now, when | thought it over afterwards. it
came into my head that he saw he was un
reasonable, and was trying to make things
pleasant again without saying so-catch a
man apoiogizing, if he can help himself
but was angry, and somehow his laughing
Jared, and before thought what | was say
ing, blurted out You seem good deal
surer about my subscribing TO it, as Won call
it. than do myself lie looked straight in
my face, and shut his lips together tight,
thea he said No, ! am sure Of nothing
an hour ago, 10 earthly power could have
made ne believe that You would act and
speak as YOU have done this morning. If
YOU consider that I've deceived You as to my
true character. | said. there's time neough
vet TO escape the consequences. you're a
free man. for anything ! shall do 10 bind YOU
to Your words He turned as white as a
sheet. Do You mean that p he asked,
very low. generally mean what | say
answered, as indifierently IS could. / com
forted myself afterwards with thinking |
hadn't told lie but after that again Icon
cluded that had. We had come to our
gate by this time-mY gate, mean-and he
opened 1t for me without asword. Then he
put out his hand, and | thought he was 90
ing to make up. You'll at least say good
bye he said, in the same low, strange tone
and had Just sense enough left to shake
hands and say it By that time next day
there had been an exchange Of notes and
things. and he was gone. / never saw him
again after that morning when | left him at
the gate. | knew, when | thought it all
over that night, that he was sorry enough
then. and that a word from me would have
brought him back, but something seemed TO
tell me that first quarrel is hardly ever a
last one and | thought that very likely if |
married him he would be hectoring me be-
fore he knew it, and then | should answer
back, and we would have cat-and-dog life
of it. And when | heard, six months after,
of his marriage to pretty little doll with
out temper or will, considered had made
a good escape Every time | have heard Of
him since he's been spoken Of as a sort of
good-for nothing, changing about from one
business and from one city to another, and
never seeming to know his own mind So
that has gone long way towards reconcil- |
ing me, can tell you, for n man like that
wonld have set me crazy in no time. Bat
bless your hearts, I've left out the best part
Of the story, or what you'll think the best
part. / bought the bureau after all |
thought it would do me good to have it in
sight-keep me from crying over split milk,
maybe And when heard he was going to
be married, had one made 50 like it, YOU
couldn't have told them apart, and sent it to
him for 4 wedding present. | did not forget
the scratch, either, and though don't know
much about deceiying, | made a pretty cor
rect copy of that scratch, and | have no
doubt he thinks to this day that it was the
identical bureau that parted us!''


And Aunt Sally had stopped, as much for
want of breath as because She had come to
the end of her story, and nobody said any
thing for several minutes. Then Notify re-
marked


"Aunt Sally, don't You think didn't you
ever think-that perhaps it was because
George was unhappy, that he turned out 50