The Van Buren press., 1861-03-27

thae nave liked 1t from my pianofores !;
anu surely, under such circumstances, it
must have been agreeable. The compli-
mentary speech recorded above, was follow
ed by an awkward pause, during which
time We blushed to the rims of our ears.
Nelly he continued, 80 you know /
have no sister. Sometimes i am very lone
| iy My dear and valued mother is becom-
ing aged. and my nature Graves a younger
companion
Horrid At that moment an odor of
burning meat came most unpleasantly to
my oiisctories. l begged 20 be excused,
and hastened into culinary quarters, to find
the beef | had SO carefully prepared, aim ost
spoiled. Nervously caught a holder from
the shalf, and in SO doing, succeeded in
knocking dcsn mas fasorite cut-k.iass
pitcher. which fell with loud crash, break
ing int" thousand fragments. Phillip
| smiled provokingly.
Nelly" he added, q want a wife.
Home will lack nothing. then to render it
the happiest place this side of heaven.
know = little girl. who is as precious to me
as life"
oh J" just then disturbance in
bridget's apartment. obliged me again to
leave had careleSsly left open the door /;
| and dame grunter hai taken the liberty to
enter and tsste OF the pudding had set to
COOL
1t WAS in no enviable frame of mind that
1 hauled out the dining table, and laid the
dishes. As i looked at the warm. heavy
| biscuits. unpalatsble meat and burned po-
| tatoes, my pride and self-confilence van
| ished. should not have cared SO much,
hAh YpnfL
and notable housekeepor airs. Dean was.
besides, In the matter Of the palate, Philip
, had been al epicure from his cradle, and ev-
erybody knows that men think more of
| their stomachs than their s'veetheartS. To
add still more to my trepidstion, Philip
regarded me curiously when / invited him
to dine. As he eyed the viAnds before him
l thought he was going to say grace by the
| sudden elongation OF his visage l poured
some muddy coffee, and, notwithstanding
my secret discontinue. l took malicious
pleasure in seeing him sip the beverage He
was an inveterate coffee drinker, but, some
how. his cup did not lower much.
hat rare fun l should have had, if
had not been Dinah. We came to dessert
at last, and when l handed him the haky
crusted pie, relieved expression stole over
his eountenance, which one tasting. chang
ed to perceptible grimmsce. What could
all my highest efforts? Alas had for
gotten to sweeteI the apple
Were vexations never to cease: By
chance caught glimpse Of a reflection in
the glass. Was it mine My faith in
spotless robsd heroines was gone at once.
and black. Troubles heaped themselves
up strangely. WANTED to throw myself
on the carpet and cry like very child l
did nothing of the kind. Instead | burst
into laugh as the whole scene came be-
fore me in its ridiculous light. l laughed
till the tears rolled down my cheeks and
as Phillip became more disguised my mer-
riment increased. l laughed when he went
| away, though l knew he would never finish
the offer SO unluckily began.
Thee weeks later he was united to Jenny
| Wheeler. Soon atterward j attended a
party at widow Deans. and had the happi-
ness of overhearing Phillips Indifferent re-
mark to Fred Lee, kind of explanatory
apology for the Irritation between us &" 4
dear little girl, but a poor cook"
In time my parents returned and l was
only toe glad to put off a responsibility OF
which was heartily tired. shrewdly sus
pected that my father had an eye on Phil
lips Golfers. for he was cross to me fol
three whole days after hearing of the we'd
ding.
just as though could have helped it.
learned two lessons that young ladies may
profit Firstly it is a different thing tc
play kitchen maid. with mother for over,
seer, than to play the same without her. In
the former case, if you torgt sugar, saler-
atus or the oven. she will not. Secondly
never allow lover, which you wish to cal
husband, declare his passion ct breakfast
dinner or supper-time. especially if you
are forced to prepare the meals yourself
Be too busy, be skittsh be anything
rather than allow it.