The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1869-04-22
AFaKILY JAR, AND WHAT CANE OF 1T

ever mad In our family.
it was cold, rainy evening in the early
part of December We all sat down to
the supper table as usual, but not appar-
emily in our usual good humor.
By "all," l mean our family, which con-
sisted of father, mother, my two sisters,
Clara and Lizzie, Bob and myself.
Bob Carver was one of our family as he
said, ''by brevet." His mother and my
mother had been friends in girlhood, and
had never out-grown their intimacy Ever
since Bob had lived in the city he had
boarded at our house, and he seemed like
He was n jolly fellow, and appeared to
think good deal ofus all, especially Clara,
who, by the way, did not seem to care par
ticularly for him, though of course, she
liked him ''weil enough" as we all did.
The relations between these two had
caused me some painful consideration. I
liked Bob very much, and would have been
glad to have him in the family more fully
than by ''brevet" Besides this, my re-
gard for him made me feel warm sympa-
thy for his un reciprocated affection for
Clara l was in love myself, and thought
that if Maggie Cranston showed as much
Indifference to me as Clara did sometimes
toward Bob, that should have been in ex-
pressbly miserable.
Besides this, Clara seemed to take a
good deal of pleasure in the company of
that stupid Jim Bayne, whose chief de-
light seemed to be in talking about reiig-
ion, politics and other subjects, which bored
ME intolerably. 1 was nineteen, and po-
etical
1t always seemed to me that Lizzie would
have suited Bob better than Clara, anyhow.
They were both fond Of music, and often
played and sang together but they never
got along smoothly together; they did
not appear to agree about anything but
music, and they quarreled about that.
Yet they would still practice together
Their voices harmonized well, and { sup
posed they tolerated each for the sake of
the music.
could never understand Lizzie's con-
duct toward Bob. 1t was absurd. Some
of his ideas that she argued against with
all her might, when he stated them, she as
warmly defended in unrsation with tI.-,
rest OF us. L believe she delighted In be-
ing contrary.
hOilCGlIIlCS EeUuhCu HCT DSlu-
lence to Bob but father said it made no
difference, 1t was customary for musical
people to quarrel. He was quick temper
ed himself, and Lib was more like him
than any of the rest of us were
But to return to that December evening
AS have said, the weather was bad For
that reason, L suppose, the boy had failed
to leave the evening paper.
When father came in. he asked for the
paper, and said, "Confound the boy
When Bob came in, he asked for the pa
per, and went up stairs to change his boots,
grumbling about hanging the boy to the
nearest lamp post.
The girls were in bad humor, because
they had been unable to get out shopping
that afternoon on a holiday shopping ex-
pcdition: while mother was worried be-
cause the bread had not turned out well,
and the buckwhea. cakes showed a tend
ency to become sour.
Mother said something about the bread,
said she had been over the baking all day,
and it seemed as though it never would
rise. She said, II think either the -four
or the yeast is bad"
Father, just to be disagreeable, I sup
pose, said, "A bad workman always com
plains Of tools"
Mother flushed instantly She was a
good bread maker, and she knew it. She
said, ''That don't apply to me. We gen.
orally have as good bread as any one, don't
you think so, Robert?"
Bob, who looked as though he was work
ing out some problem in mental arithme-
tic, answered, 81 don't presume to criti-
else the fare at my boarding house"
This was improving things rapidly, Bob
calling our house his boarding house
After supper Bob went up to his room
and smoked cigar, and afterward came
down in a more social humor. In accord
ance with a previous arrangement he and
Lizzie sat down to practice an instrument
al duet
l sat in the parlor reading, and, so long
to it; but suddenly there was
discord, and then it ceased.
''You made mistake there" said Bob,
pointing to the music.
''No, it was you" said Lizzie, ''and
there is what it was" pointing at one Of
the hieroglyphics with which composers
disfgure paper
II beg pardon" said Bob "but l could
not have made such mistake, as | am
quite familiar with the piece. played
with Miss Peterson the other evening,
and she made the same mistake you did,
only she saw it when pointed it out"
'sOh, yes +; she would see that BLACK was
white, if you pointed it out. What las
Miss Peterson to do with me p
"I surely thought that you and mad
lived long enough in the same house to-
gether, and were sufficiently intimate-if
not friendly-to allow me to differ with