BRINGING THEM TO THE POINT.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1893, 18 March 1880, Page 3

BRINGING THEM TO THE POINT.

There is no foolishness about some of the fathers of Dubuque county, lowa, who have marriageable daughters, and they know how to precipitate bu-iness when the fruit is ripe for plucking, and hangs, wasting its sweetness, when it should be plucked. Matters were brought to a climax with a rush at a certain farmer's residence in Vernon township recently. A young tiller of the soil had for months been paying most assiduous attentions to one of his daughters, but he was such a bashful, modest chap, never having been much in the company of girls, except this one, that he had never been able to raiße his courage sufficiently high to pop the question. He had gone to the house in which the lady lived upon at least twenty different occasions, resolved to know his fate, but when ushered into the presence of the fair one in whose keeping he had placed his heart, Ma courage would invariably " go back on him," and he would return to his lonely room in greater suspense than before. Upon the evening in question, he had determined that, come what would, he would tell his Mary that he loved her. He would once for all decide the matter, but, as upon each former occasion, he could not get the proposal further than his throat. There it stuck, and he had just determined to gulp it down and give up the siege, when the door opened, and in walked the girl's father, who advanced to where they were sitting, and thus addressed them—"l came to put a stop to this here foolishness. It ain't countin' expenses that I'm lookin' at, for coal oil is cheap, an' wood can be had for the haulin', but I'm sick and tired of this billin' an' cooin', like a pair of sick doves, keeping me awake of nights, and it's got to be stopned right here. Mary Jane look up hero. Do you love John Henry well enough to marry him ? " " Why, father, I—l—you must! " " Stop that silly foolishin', yelled the old man. " Answer yes or no, and quick too. It's got to be settled now or never." " Well—but, father, don't you know—if you'll only wait, and—- " Dry up; answer yes or no. Speak! " roared the old gent. " Well, then, yes! There now," and Mary again hid her face. " That's business ; that's the way to talk. New, John, look here—look up here, or I'll ehako you ail to pieces. Do you want that gil o' mine for a wife ? Speak out like a man, now." '• Why, Mr , ain't this rather a—l mean can't you—" " Speak it out, or out of this house you'll go, head foromoßt. I won't wait a minute longer. There's the gal, and there ain't a likelier gal in the State, an' you just heard her say that she wanted you. Now, John, I won't stand a bit of foolin'. Once for all, yes or no?" " Well, yes, sir. I have been presumptious enough to hope that I—" " Oh, stop your soft talk, the thing's settled now. You two fools would have been six months more at that job that we have done in five minutes. I never saw such foolin' as there is among young people now-a-days. Ain't like when I was young—an' now, good night. You can talk the thing over, an' you an' me John, 'll go up to town an' get the license to-morrow. Soon be time to get to plowin'; no time for love-makin' then. Good night, good night; I hope I wasn't too rough, but I was determined to fix the thing one way or t'other," and the old man went back to bed.

Now that the ice was broken, the young people laid all their plans for the future, and John felt just a little bad at the comfort he had lost when Mary looked up at him shyly, and said—

" This would have been all right months ago, J'>hn, if you hadn't been so skeery. I knowed all the time that you wanted to ask me ; but it. wasn't my place to say anything, you know."