The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1869-04-08
JAR, and WHAT CAME on IT.

| remember it as though it had
happened yesterday. Ii was the
biggest row we ever had in our
family.
1t ives one cold, rainy evening
in the early part OF December, W.
all sat down TO the supper table as
usual, but not, apparently, in our
usual good humor.
By "alI," | mean our family
which. consisted Of father. mother,
my two sisters,- Cara and Lizzie,
Bob and myself.
Bob Carver was one of our fam.
lily, as he said, by brevet " His
mother and my mother had been
friends in girIhood, and had never
outgrown their intimacy Ever
since Bob had lived in the city he
had boarded at our house, and he
seemed like one OF as
He was jolly good fellow, and
appeared % think good deal OF
US all, especially Clara, who, by
the way, dld not seem to care par
ticularly for him, though, ofcoarse,
she liked him "well enough" as
we all did.
The relations between these two
had caused mo some painful con
sijeration. / liked Bob very
much, and would have been glad
to have him in the family mole
fully than by "brevet." Beside
this my regard for him made me
feel a warm sympathy ior his un.
reciprocated affection for Clara.
was in love myself, and thought
that if Maggie Cranston showed as
mach Indifference to me as Clara
did sometimes toward Bob. that l
should have been inexpressibly
miserable.
Beside this. Clara seemed to take
good deal OF pIeasurein the cons
pany of that stupid Jim Baync,
whose chief delight seemed TO con
sisl in talking about religion, pol
itics and other subjects, which Dor.
ed me intolerably. l was nine
teen, and poetical.
1t always seemed to me that
Lizzie would have suited Bob bets
ter than Clara, anyhow, They
were both fond Of music, and often
played and sang together; but
they never got along smootblyto
gether They did not appear to
agree about anything but music,
and they quarrcled about that
Yet they would sill practice to
gethcr. Their voices harmonized
well, and | supposed they tOlcra'
ted each other for the sake of The
music.
/ 1 could never understand Liz
Zie's conduct toward Bob 1t was
absurd. Some Of his ideas that
she argued ugainsl with all her
might, when ho stated them, she
us warmly defended IN conveNsa-
tion with the rest of us. | believe
she delighted in being contrary.
Mother sometimes rebuked her
tor her petulance to Bob, but faith
or SAID il made no difference, ii,
was customary for musical people
Ito quarrel He was quick temper
ed himself, and Lib was more Iike
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 rea
son, / suppose, the boy had failed
toleaye the evening paper.l
When father came in, he asked
for the paper, and said, "Coniound
Tie boy
When Bob came in, he asked
for the paper. and went up s'airs
to change his boots, grumbling OUT
something about hanging The boy
tolthe nearest lamp post. r
The girls were in bad humor,
because they bad been unable TO
get on, shopping that afternoon on
Il holiday shopping expedition
while mother was worried because
the bread had not turned out well,
and the buckwheat cakes showed
a tendency to become sour.
Mother Raid something about
the bread--said she had been over
the baking nearly all day. and il
seemed as though itnever would
rise She SAID, "I-think either the
-four or the yeast is bad"
Father. just to be disagreeable.
suppose, said, "a bad workman al
ways complains of his tools"
Mother flushed up instantly :
Shc was good bread maker, and
she knew il. She said, THAT don' I
apply to me. We generally have
as good bread as any one. Don't
you think so, RobertP"
Bob, who looked as though he