Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-06-15

IT'S Biddy o'Flailgsn as will do ,hs,
same /; but will it not be afther squaz-
ing the illigant breath out Of yer body,
mavourneen p" M
ooh, no, Biddy I think can bear
it fer this evening, and it will give
way, you know, after it is fastened"
replied Florence, with q gasp. y
Biddy's could Irish blood" paid q
visit to her freckled face several times
in succession, ere the victory was final
~ won, and when all was secured,
Florence sat as in o vice, or a lunatic's
straight jacket
In due time, the guests began to ar
rive, and Florence, to do her justice,
received them with graceful politeness
considering her dress. Lawyer FL
bert and his family honored the enter
tainment with their company, and with
them came gentleman, some thirty
years old, Of distinguished bearing and
handsome face, who was presented to
the assembly as Hon. Mr.. Birmingwell,
of South Carolina. Of course, the
debut of so distinguished parsonage
created quite an excitement in our. lit
tie up country city, Of / may be allow
ed the expression, and tho eclat of
Mr. Birmingwell's reception would
have satisfied more pretending per-
son than our hero. ..
He was, as matter Of course, intro
duced to Miss Earnton, and led her out
to dance after few minutes converse
ton. They were in the midst ofAan
animated quadrille, when the continued
strain which the vigorous exercise
brought to bear upon the cheap stitch
es in Florence's dress proved too much
for their fabric, and forthwith the satin
asserted its independence, and played
ventilator beneath the arms and one
shoulder. Poor Florence came very
near swooning, and, as q matter Of
course, leaned heavily on the arm Of
the Senator. That gentleman's quick
eye saw all, and with praiseworthy zea
he hurried her from the room, and re-
turning, sent Mrs. Farnton to her
apologizing to the company that Miss
Farnton had been overcome by the hea
of the rooms, and had retired a, mo-
ment for air. l# +e.ss,
Florence met her mother ct the dool
Of her boudoir with her blue eyes full
of tears. Mrs. Farnton sympathize(
in her daughters misfortune-but whe1
did sympathy cure the wound of injur'
ed pride ? 8,
"That he, of all others, should Sc,
me thus !" she said, as her mother was
industriously plying the needle in tn
frightful rents, "the most elegant gen
tleman in the room - and SO kind a
heart, too! Dear mother, I shall bt
ashamed to look him in the face !"
Thanks to Mrs. Farnton's agile fin
gers and busy needle, the refractory
| waist was once more in order, and no
without some difficulty, Florence wa'
cncased in the robe, and by the assist
ance of a little cologne and a great eff
fort Of courage, she returned to the
guests. r =.
Supper was served shortly after, and
all went we'll till the lemonade. was tast'
ed. This had been left for Biddy to
concoct- she having expressed herself
qualified for the duty by the experience
she had had "that same in Ould Ire
land" and Florence saw, with dismay
that each one, as they tasted the con
tents of their glass, set it instantly
down with strong symptoms OF disgust
She hastily caught up her own tunbler.
and touched her lips to the beverage.
Shades of Bacchus Z! She recognized
the compound in moment as some
| water with which she had that very
morning mixed coarse sugar to attract
the flies, which were exceedingly troub-
lescme. A flush of notification suf.
fused her face. Mr.. Blrmingwell, who
sat near her, noticed the blush, and
turned upon her a look of inquiry
She looked at the lemonade. His read
mess saved her Frank Birmingwell
had not studied law for nothing.
ssAh. YOU were going to apologize
for the lemonade? You employ Irish
servants, l suppose, none others can
be procured at present. Really, their
blunders are quite ludicrous - shall l
have the pleasure Of helping you to
blanc mango, Miss Farnton % z
Thanks to the Family Recipe Book,
the blanc mango was excellent, but the
'narmalades and jellies, which had been
home prepared-it is best to pass light
y over them, as the guests did.
There was large cake-thc crown
ING effort Of all - in the centre Of the
table, and with saint-like patience and
IN incredible amount OF labor, Flor.
ence had frosted and ornamented the
top with really great deal Of taste,
and of course, she looked forward with
pleasure to its division. But, alas !.
for the fallacy Of human hopes!
The cake itself had been made by
Blddy, under Florencc's supervision,
and on applying to its fair proportions,
10 and behold! out rolled egg after
egg, s'large as life,'' and unmutilated
by the beating stick, until the lucky
number Of seven appeared! Florence
was on the point Of performing tragedy
in the drama Of Mysteries, when the
lnimitable Mr.. Birmingwell came to the
rescue. -, "a
CHA ha ha! Mrs. Farnton-Miss