Newspaper Page Text
COURTED
tfndWON
tn the
WATER
CHAMPION
CIRL
SWIMMERS
ROMANCE
BOSTON. —Love finds the way, but
the gentle god is put to extrem
eties at times to enable his
chosen to woo. For instance, here’s
the story of two loving hearts, sundered
by a stern parent, who yet managed to j
have rapturous meetings—in the
ocean. It was a swimming courtship.
Doubtless there have been others, but
this is the first formal record of a pro
posal in bathing costumes half a mile
out in the briny.
The joke of it was that the question
•was popped while the stern parent
■watched the proceeding from the
ehdre.
The heroine was Alsie Ackroyd,
one of the girl swimming champions
of Boston, and the young man who
[won her heart and took her hand —
for that was about the way of it —was
Daniel O'Rourke, better known as
Danny, also of Boston and as fine,
[virile and upstanding a young six
footer as any proper young woman
iwould want au a lover. And just why
'Papa Ackroyd objected does not ap
pear from the record. Perhaps it was
^because an indiscreet neighbor hinted
at the love story before either Alsie or
Danny was ready to tell their secret
themselves.
One night this gossip, who had prob
ably dropped over there for the very
purpose, remarked to Papa Ackroyd:
“I suppose you’ll be losing Alsie
boon, won’t you?”
And the fat was in the fire.
-’What?” demanded papa. “How?"
fexclaimed mamma.
“Haven’t you heard of Danny?
(Why, he’s the captain of a basketball
team at the Boston High School and
he's the boy who ran the baseball
.team last season, and he plays on the
football team; all the girls are crazy
about him and Alsie.”
And at once they summoned Alsie
and sternly interrogated her about
Danny .
“He’s not the man for you to
marry,” papa shouted.
“He has not asked me —yet," re
plied his daughter with a toss of her
head and a snap of her lively brown
•eyes, “but I’ll marry the man I choose;
nobody’s going to pick out my hus
band for me.”
Then the storm was on. Alsie sent
back to her room, mother in tears.
Next day Papa Ackroyd found
there was basis enough for the report.
Every one knew that Alsie and Danny
were in love, for they were together
[Whenever possible, especially in the
water, for both were fine swimmers.
And at home that night the irate par
ient issued orders that there should be
no more of the affair. Alsie must not
go out unless her mother went with
jher, except, indeed, when be went
along as guardian in her place.
Rather foolish, it sounds, doesn’t it,
In these free days, especially so when
neither papa nor mamma had ever
seen Danny, and so wouldn't know
him if he passed them on the street?
Summer soon came again and with
it the swimming, and not even Papa
Ackryod’s displeasure went so deep
as to bar his mermaid daughter from
her keenest pleasure—a long swim
and a strong swim in the waters of
Boston Bay. To the beach he could
take his girl, but no further, for he
could not swim and didn’t care to row.
Then came the day of days—a lazy,
warm and sunny Saturday afternoon.
Papa, seated on the bench, saw his
lithe, graceful young daughter step
from the bathing pavilion and strike
out into the blue water. He watched
the dimpled shoulder half showing as
she cut swiftly and vigorously through
the wavelets in true professional
style.
She was heading for a small boat
anchored half a mile out, and well
might papa be proud of her speed and
style, for his Alsie was quite as swift
and strong as Annette Kellermann
herself. As he lazily followed the
red cap growing smaller in the dis
tance he noted a young man heading
after her with a husky crawl stroke.
“That chap swims well,” he mused,
“but he’ll have to put on more steam,
I guess, to catch my Alsie.” That it
was Danny he watched —the Danny
he hated so cordially—he alone of
those on the beach did not know, and
actually he sat there quietly as his
Alsie climbed into the boat, and a few
minutes later the young chap hauled
himself alongside of her.
“The old man nodded to me down
there on the beach,”’ said the lover
to his lass. “Won’t he be sore when
he finds it was Danny O’Rourke he
spoke to?”
“Oh, he won’t find it out,” Alsie re
plied with a saucy toss of her head.
“He’s got to know sometime,” pro
tested Danny, "because I’m geing to
marry you.”
It was Danny’s proposal—perhaps
more proposals than you think are
made just this way. And Alsie blushel
and hung her head. She knew he
would in spite of all the irate fathers
in Christendom.
On the beach it was hot and the soft
murmur of the wavelets lulled to
sleep an old man whose purpose it
was to see that the very thing that
was happening on the boat hal a mile
from shore did not occur. And cut
there the twain sat on the gunwale,
their feet dabbling, and talked.
A chill in the air quite late awoke
papa and he looked out to sea. The
two were still on the boat. He bor
rowed a mariner’s glass and saw—the
daring fellow had his arm around
Alsie’s waist.
Then he hallooed and waved his
arms.
“It’s all night for me,” said Danny.
“Let’s get ashore.”
"Who’s that fellow who had his
arm around you out there?” demanded
the old man wrathfully.
“Why, father, that’s my Danny”—
Danny O’Rourke —the man I’m going
to marry,” she laughed coquettishly.
And as the storm broke Aisle darted
into the bath-house to escape the
thunder and lightning of parental
wrath.
After that the water courtship lan
guished. Papa Ackroyd’s redoubled
precautions were hard to beat, yet
Alsie swam and swam, and gradually
they began to talk of her t.s one of
the real mermaids of Boston Bay.
She was one of the bold group who
undertook the great swim out to the
Boston Light, breasting the chops and
cross tides of the great bay. It was
a supremo effort, and she did the
heart-breaking course in seven hours
and five minutes, the third to finish
this formidable undertaking, and be*
hind her in a boat was the faithful
Danny to give her milk and egg re
freshment and to shout her messages
of love and encouragement And he
was there at the light to help her
ashore and persuade the lighthouse
keeper’s wife to minister to the needs
cf the tired mermaid.
And when she emerged Danny
begged her to run over and marry him
then and there, but the girl, faithful
to her parents, still refused.
THE BULLETIN, IRWINTON, GEORGIA.
“No,” she said, “not yet, but I will
some day.”
Alsie was now among the great
swimmers, and, withal young, graceful
of figure and as pretty as the prover
bial Sea Lady. The theatrical people
tempted her with offers to enter the
lists with Annette Kellermann. She
agreed for a good, round sum and
traversed the country round, doing
daring diving stunts in stage tanks.
But whenever she was in New Eng
land Danny came to her every Sun
day, and he and her succtess made
her happy as a girl can well be.
The season over, Alsie came home.
But not for long. Papa Ackroyd was
still adamant. So Alsie left again,
this time to her Aunt Mary, who
sympathized and gave Danny the run
of the house by night while she
helped Alsie sew on certain filmy gar
ments by day. At last the wedding
day was set.
“You will never swim again except
with me for fun,” Danny said that
night.
"Oh, Dan, you can’t mean that,” pro
tested the girl.
‘Sure I do;” he said quietly. “Your
folks say I want to marry you to ex
ploit you. You can choose between
your swimfning and your sweetheart."
Alsie chose.
They were married at Mount Car
mel church. East Boston, ore week
later. But they are still unforgiven.—
New York World Sunday Magazine.
MOST UNIQUE OF LIBRARIES
That of the Poet, Robert Southey,
Probably Has the Greatest Claim
to Distinction.
The library of Robert Southey, the
English poet, consisted of about 14,000
volumes. That is probably the larg
est number of books ever collected by
a person of such limited means. His
son writes that many of the books
were in vellum or parchment bindings.
His brother, Thomas Southey, was a
skillful letterer; he painted the backs
of the books in some bright color, and
put the title on this colored back
ground in large gold letters of the Old
English type.
Another fancy of the poet's was to
have all the books of lesser value,
which had become ragged and dirty,
covered, or rather bound, in colored
cotton prints, for the sake of making
them clean and respectable, since he
could not afford to have so many put
Into leather bindings.
His daughters, aided by any female
friend who might be staying with
them, performed that task, and they
bound thus, at different times, some
1,400 volumes. The}’ filled one room
completely, and Southey called it “the
Cottonian library.” He took great
pleasure in watching and directing
this work. The ladies would often suit
the pattern to the contents; they
would clothe a Quaker work or book
of sermons in somber drab, poetry in
some flowery pattern, and sometimes
they would contrive a sly piece of
satire at the expense of some work by
their choice of its binding. There was
one convenience about this mode of
binding, for the books were identified
by their conspicuous dress, and very
easily found. —Youth’s Companion.
NOW TO PURSUE PLEASURE
Since Wise Men Have Disagreed,
There Seems Nothing to Prevent
One’s Own Ideas.
The American Medical association
tells us that ozone, has no hygienic
value, which seems too bad considering
how carefully we have been trained
to believe in its efficacy. But perhaps
there is hope for us yet, since Dr. Hill,
who is professor of physiology of the
University of London, takes issue
with his American colleague. Dr. Hill
says that ozone has a distinct value,
not because it kills germs, but be
cause it removes odors and the like
that are injurious because they
are unpleasant. Now here we have a
distinct indication of better things ia
medical practice. We have long been
of opinion that whatever is unpleas
ant is bad for us, and we have endeav
ored in our humble and unscientific
way to rule our lives accordingly.
That is why we object to cold mutton
and to be contradicted. They are bad
tor us. We felt it was so without
knowing the reason. And now here
comes the new medical science to con
firm our convictions and to urge us—
unnecessary as it happens—to the pur
suit of pleasure. —San Francisco Ar
gonaut.
Spectacles Bring Death.
Raymond Barnes, twenty-two years
old, of this city, died from the effects
cf being shocked by electricity two
weeks ago.
While working on a transformer at a !
powerhouse of the Wilmington South
ern Traction company, near Newcas
tle, his spectacles slipped partly off
and caught on a heavily charged wire.
As he was standing on the ground a
connection was formed.
'An electrical flash burned him from
the face almost to his waist. He also
inhaled the flames.
He had hovered between life and
death since the accident. Had Barnes’
spectacles fallen completely off he
would not have been hurt. —Wilming-
ton (Del.) Dispatch to the New York
Sun.
Bear^to Replace Dogs.
Bears for transport purposes are be
ing employed instead of dogs in north
polar exploration by a Russian explor
er, Lieutenant Sydoff. Though bears
require much “breaking In,” they are
sometimes used to draw troikas (a
Russian vehicle generally drawn by
three horses abreast) In the Archangel
region of Russia.
Health Certificates Firs -
1
Before Marriage Certificates
4
The question of eugenics is a vital
one.
Has it ever occurred to you that a
life insurance policy is the very best
kind of a health certificate ?
And—it is also a bond that wife and
children may not suffer the humiliation
and bitterness of dependence upon rel
atives or becoming a public charge af
ter the death of the husband and father.
His death is certain—only the time is
uncertain.
It would be a mighty good thing to
have a law requiring every person ap
plying for a marriage certificate to have
a life insurance policy in a standard
company.
In life insurance you want absolute
security at a minimum of net cost.
THE PENN MUTUAL LIFE has
been serving its policy holders faithful
ly and economically for 66 years. It
has more insurance in force in Georgia
than any other company.
PENN MUTUAL LIFE premium
rates, less dividends, are lower or guar
anteed values higher than those of any
other standard or any sub-standard
company.
THE PENN MUTUAL LIFE writes
a form of policy to meet every heed
and to fit every purse. Tell us your
need. We won’t importune you.
Bagley, Willet & Paine
General Agents
Georgia Life Building Macon, Ga.
We help our agents.
Members Chamber of Commerce.
J.J.RAGAN,Agt
IRWINTON, GA. ,
