Year: 1876

Nobody at klngsboro knew what Il
make OF it. Deacon Turner, the eldes
inhabitant, said that during his earthly
pilgrimage he had sojourncd at numerou,
towns, but in no one of them had any
young man who dressed nicely and did
no work turned out well. Captain Brown
who worked hard but managed so badly
that he was never out of debt, glared
savagely whenever he met handsome Jo
Madison, with his hands In the pockets
OF his neatly Citing coat, and took occa-
sion to remark to tho first person he met
that he wished the old days in which
people who had no visible means of sup.
port were prosecuted would return again
Squire Beaten, who kept the post-otlico
admitted to certain astute questioners tina
DO Madison never received letters, S,
that it was impossible that any ono wa
sending him money with which to supper
himself in idleness. Suspicion oven rar
so high that Bill Bridger, who was the
only apothecary and candy seller ut
|
quite steady customer, made it rule tc
examine very carefully every bank-not,
that 10 offered in payment, lest happy tn,
handsome do-nothng might bo circulating
counterieits. The married women al
Kingsboro, who had to work as hard as
married women almost always do in new
towns in young States, carefully pointed
out 10 to their sons as an example to be
Stunned, except SO far as personal neat
ness was concerned.


But the Kingsboro girls differed from
the rest Of the community in their osti-
nation of 10. He might bo indoent-n
fact they knew he was, for he might al
most always be seen on the main street of
the village, sauntering along while other
men were at workout he was handsome
and he dressed with real taste, and his
breath never smelt of liquor or tobacco,
and he was always polite, and he never
was awkward or i'll Mt ease or presuming
when in the society of ladies', and he
seemed to understand all his fair compan-
ions so well. In all these respects he was
quite different from most of the Kings
boro boys, so that when good mothers
warned their daughters against young
men who could only give fine words in
proof of affection, the damsels experionc-
cd strong misgivings as to what they
would say if Jo Madison were to propose.


But 10 saved them the necessity of de-
Gliding any such question. He proposed
to nobody he made love to nobody h,
seemed to have no special favorites among
the girls of Kingsboro. He never even
llirted he seemed to heartily enjoy him
self when with ladies', and to express his
gratitude so deftly as to leave no one n
word upon which to base n suspicion Of
any stronger sentiments. And no did
not stop with conquering the hearts of all
the kngsboro girls. Without any seem
ing intention to do so, he won the hearts
OF a few of the elderly women in the town.
They did not mean TO give countenance
to snowy idlor, but somehow, when Jo
would coax some bad or fretful child to
take walk with him, and then send the
child home with n head full of Bible sto.
ries and mouth full Of pretty songs, the
mother of the child would reluctantly ad-
nit that the handsome young do-nothing
did have real good heart.


But still 10 did no work, nor did he try
to do any. He boarded at the only hotel
in town, paid his bills, avoided the bar
room, never played cards, always went to
church on Sundays, and even formed one
Of the scant score Of faithful souls whc
Wednesday evenings used to hold pray
er-meeting in n corner of the Kingsborc
church.


There was not at Kingsboro any club,
that institution SO ndustriously hated by
all good women, but there was n gather
ing-place which fulfilled all the require
ments OF club, and that was the post
office. The mail stage was nominally due
at seven in the evening, so half the male
inhabitants congregated in Bill Burth's
saddle-shop, which formed the ante room
to the postoflice, Immediately after supper
and :hey usually enjoyed two-hours
season Of conversation before the arrival
and distribution of the mail gave them n
hint TO go home. Subjects for converse
tion were not very numerous at Kings
boro, and AS the few native characters
with any salient points had been very
thoroughly discussed during the many
sessions of the men who waited for tho
mail, the arrival of 10 Madison was
perfect godsend. 1t is hardly necessary
TO say that 10 found but few companion,
among the Kingsboro men. The young
men hated him for estranging their sweet
hearts, and each of the older men was
afraid that 10 might marry his daughter
and come under the paternal root for
support. Theories about 10 were plenty
among the men who talked about him,
but none of them were Aattering TO the
young mans character counterfeiter
burglars accomplice, confidence man
horse thief, fugitive from justice-thert
was some one TO prove that 10 deserved
each Of these unpopular appellations,
while the only theory in the least degree
tolerable was that of scatter Drained
youth who consumed quarts of hair oil
and read the New York Romancer-h
believed 10 was an exled prince in dis
guise but even princes were unpopular
among the hardworking population O
Kingsboro.


One cool night, several weeks after Jo'i
appearance at Kingsboro, the opposing
theorists as to JOS character INDUCED il
many -cornered and very lively duel