Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1843-08-25
THE POOR RELATION.
by ABBOTT LEE.

by ABBOTT LEE.
Everybody was freshly dressed and sat as
stifily rs possible for the preservation Of their
good looks. 1t was the freezing, cutting,
chilling hall hour before dinner, in which
the only amusement consists in personal crit
icisms. The ladies looked at each others
sleeves, and investigated their shape, spccu-
lating upon the genuineness of their gems
whether the diamonds were real or only
paste wondered how each other could con-
trive to spend so much money, and how she
could manage to get it, and yet make uch
figure of herself The gentlemen pulled up
their shirt collars, and put their ringcd fin
gers through their perfumed hair; stole looks
at themselves in the mirrors; and yet time
seemed to stand still. The hands of the
time-piece must certainly have been station
airy; il had stopped; it was backward it
was much later than it indicated. Pity that
time, so much more valuable, should ever be
heavier than gold.
For our own part we are oven in this late
date of our own life, still astonished at the
philanthropy of the world. People may talk
Of its unkindness, and want of benevoIenco,
and hardness of heart, aud so forth, but arc
say that its urbanity and tenderness are quite
wonderful. There was not one of the guests
that day assembled in the drawing room at
Swan Vale, who had not privately declared,
that it was the greatest bore and trouble to
them in the world to accept the invitation of
Hs ..''.'. 49, =" "i'''~. "~d M-- N--l.:u.r
tho lady hostess. had positively affirmed in
stric.est confidence to every member of her
family, that it was the greatest expense, and
the greatest annoyance, and the greatest la
Dor, and the greatest nuisance to have them:
and vet when they met, every one of the in
vited guests individually and collectively de-
clared that it was the greatest pleasure on
earth TO visit Mrs. MackIop; and Mrs.
Mackillop positively asscvcratcd that she
had not a satisfaction in the world so large
as that ofSceing her dear friends assemble
round hel table. Now this is what we call
an emulation in magnanimty and generosi-
~, considering how particularly dsagreea-
BILE it must have been on both sides.
Now we know that if the preluding min
utes Of the half-hour before dinner are not
honey drops to the guests, they are certain
ly poison drops to the hostess. She IS so
afraid that the cook will make a mess of
things, that what ought to be hid will be
shown, and what ought to be shown will be
hid; that her visitors will spy out some cor
ner of nakedness, and that she may not well
have spread out her field of plenty that they
will by mistake call her poor, and mean, and
shabby, instead of rich, and liberable and
hospitable that, poor thing, she suffers a We
ry miserable sort of martyrdom, indeed.
Thus sat Mrs. Mackiop, of Swan Vale.
in her drawing-room, in the midst of about
twenty guests, trying to smile and smile, and
getting all the while most particularly un-
comfortable red face for, in addition to the
nuisance OF having so many guests who had
come, she had the additional nuisance of ex-
pcctng two more who had not come, and
she knew that her dinner was frIzzing and
burning, and soldering, and drying and
spelling; and she knew that her cook was
in a most terrible passion, being, like all her
profession, of most pepperish tempera-
ment; and she felt the mercury of her own
nature rising very high, and indexing itself
in her face, and yet she persevered in smil-
ing and smiling on.
Tho two guests Mrs. Mackillop was ex-
led were pair of oppositions. The ono
rich, the oths:- moor; the one masculine and
the other feminine lie one conferred hon
our, the other receiving it.-i'r.e hrst, TO be
explicit, was certain large landed rroprle-
aor, Square narrowly, who, having once
casually said that Rachel Mackillop, the ell
dest ofthe Mackillop brood was rather pref
~, it had been repeated that she was pretty,
very pretty, interesting, beautiful, divine, and
SNOWFALL fashion, when the rumour had roll
ed up to the doors of the matronly mamma,
it had swelled into the magnitude of noun
tain of love, and requiring, as the lady tho't,
her most especial attention; thereupon had
originated this invitation to the dinner.
The second in this duet of invitations be-
ing of the feminine gender, was neither more
nor less than Poor Relation whom Mrs.
Mackillop thought might be made gcner-
ously, that is gratuitously, useful. Consld-
ering that it was one of the mislortunes of a
family to have poor relations, since even OF
the boys it was impossible to make docturs,
and lawyers, and clergymen, or even clerks
of them all; and that the long continuance
ofpeace, until the lucky Chinese and Afghan
wars, prevented them being killed of hall
fast enough; and that finding wife-placcs
for all the girls was utterly beyond hope, Sc
few vacancies occurring for upper servants
of that class, the club>houses also helping to
carry on, the Malhusan manifestations, Mrs
AIackiuop considered herselfougaged In work
9fmos, perfect charity, 10 striking ont ans
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