Michiganensian. [1897]

"Not but that Billy was all right, you know, solid and
decent and clever and all that, but he didn't have any
style nor go. I guess we each of us privately held the
notion that it was just as well for Billy's chances and
peace of mind that she hadn't met us.
"Once in awhile one of us would make a break and
ask him to take us to call. He'd smile in a kind of a shy
way and put us off. We all agreed he was wise, but we
did want the worst way to see that girl. We were sure
that she was a la-la from all Billy said. Jove, I wish I
could describe her as he did! Billy never used a bit of
slang, every sentence was as smooth as silk, and you
always kept wandering if his talk wouldn't scan. He said
she was tall and slim, with smooth, brown hair that waved
close down over her ears, and big, blue eyes. Her skin
was white, oh awfully white, you know, and her lips likelike you read about. Billy used to say that her hands
were long and cool and white like sprays of locust blossoms. I used to think that the stuff he talked was usually
awful goo, but I've made up my mind since that he
wasn't a fool at all, only a poet.
"I asked him one night if she was sweet. He turned
round at me with the funniest look that ever you saw. It
wasn't sickish nor silly, it was, well, almost holy, and he
just said the one word, 'Yes' in a kind of church way
that made me feel peculiar.
"He was awfully devoted to her. Every night, rain
or shine-moonshine-he went up to that blooming library
about a quarter to ten, and got back about half-past, with
his eyes as bright as dollars, and his cheeks as red as
radishes, and even when he had settled down to work
again he'd look kind of absent, and go to studying on last
week's lessons.
"We used to tag sometimes, and try to spot him and
the girl, but we never could. We thought Billy must
be awful smart to fool us so, and it made us kind of
respectful, and by and by we stopped trying to catch them, it didn't seem just
square.
g "Billy wasn't the kind to blow much
JdI L dough on himself alone, but he used to

FT \'C