Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1870-09-29

| sI'll settle it, wait minute erie
Lizzy dexterously peelng an apple in
way that left the rind one entire chain il
her hand see, I will fling this over m
head. if it fall in an S. aunt Patty shal
tell US the story about her city lover,
it forms any other letter we will pronis
not to tease her: will you agree to this al
of you 2
Certainly yes-yes, we exclaimed al
at once, very willing to stand the test
for as both ends of the rind were curlet
opposite ways it was next to impossible
that any letter except an s could b
formed by it.
And you, aunt, Patty said Lizzy
holding up the crimson rind, and swing
ing itslowly round her head-do you
agree to it
Yes, said aunt Patty, innocently, 'ou
of twenty4four letters stand a gooG
chance. If it comes an S I'll tell the
story
Before she had done speaking, Lizzy
swung the apple skin over her head fol
the third time, aud it dropped at aun
Patty's feet, perfect S, and very pref,
ty S.
Now did you ever 7 exclaimed the old
maid, bending forward and gazing at the
phenomena. 1t beats all who would q
thought it
There, [ thought how it would be,
said Lizzy, sententiously, come girls let
us take our knitting work while aunt
Patty begins
We sat down, gathered our work
together, and in a few minutes there was
no sound to interrupt aunt Patty in her
story save the click of our needles around
the hearth, and the storm raging without.
WELL commenced aunt Patty. thrust
ing her needle in the crimson sheath at
her side, and winding the yarn round her
finger if you must hear it, the sooner
it is over the better but | never saw such
a set of torments in my life-when you
take thing into your heads there is no
getting rid of you.
well, as I was saying, it was-let me
see-yes. it was the very next summer
after my visit to New York when par
received letter from young Mr.. Smith
saying that bis health had been delicate
for some months, and if par would like it
he thought of coming into Connecticut
and making his home with US awhile.
L could hardly breath while par was
reading the letter when he got through
and laid it among bis old papers in the
desk, I went and took it slyly away and
read it over thousand times before |
went to bed. | slept with it in my bose
all that night, but instead Of dreaming |
lay awake till broad day thinking of him {,
and almost crazy with the hope of seeing
him once more. I don't believe that l
had been an hour without thinking of him
since my return home, and yet it was
with sort of sorrowful feeling as if had
buried friend but now, when he was
coming-when the paper his hand had
touched lay against my heaFt-you
needn't smile girls, wasn't half SO feshy
as am anw-Tell, it seemed as if every
line vas playing ever it like flashes of
FIRE, and as if my heart neser would beat
regularly again. Did he come to see me!
| kept asking mysely that question every
ten minuets for fortnight.
BY and by another letter came-he
would be at our house in few days-l
thought I should have died, it made me
feel 50 dreadfully when. the time drew
near. began to get anxious about the
way we lived, and tried to persuade par
into buying some Lew things for the
house, but par was awful sot when he
took notion into his head, aud, says he,
every time I mentioned the subject, says
he
Patty, child, don't make fool Of
yoursely. The house is good enough for
your mother and me, and rather guess
it will have to answer for our comnany.
Besides that, Patty, if I have to spend
all Pm worth on the old ho,.se, you could
no more make it appeas: like cousin Smith
than you could MIKE cheese of chalk -
Act natural, patty-act natural and If
you've good heart and pretty tolerable
COMMON sense, there is no danger but the
tigbest Of them will respect you, and, and
a great deal more than if you tried to be
what you was never brought up to 2
Well, par would not help me mite,
SO [ was Obliged 10 get along as we'll as
I could've put out the dimity curtain to
bleach for the bed in our spare room, and
I took the skirt to mars wedding gown.
whitened up and Sufied it round one Of
cur smallest kitchen tables, and set 1t
under the looking glass, just as Ed seen
one at cousin Smiths. Louisa knit a
new fringe for the window curtains, and
without letting par know it took this great
china Understanding here just now
with the cider in it-and the punch. bowl
still in the cupboard yonder, and set them
on little table for Mr.. Smith to. wash
in, for l was afraid be might think We
had been brerght up in the woods if ht
had 10 wash in the stoop and wipe on the
roller towel with the work hands, every
morning as we did. | cus off half the
piece of hard soap from paris shaving
box, though knew he would make AZ
awfal noise when he found it out, and SO
it on the table in one of mars best saucer'
and after I covered the table up with on:
finest home-spun towel it looked as wei
as new, can tell you. We scrubbed th'
floor till it was white. as snow, and wher
Louisa had pine and wild honey suckl'
branches, and had woven heap of as
paragus all heavy with brio'.s berries
among the cuagicues over the looking
glass, the chamber was nice enough TO
a king, can tell you-there was not I
spcck of dirt from one end to the other
every thing was span clean, and as whit
| as half blown lilv-but Louisa Away
mt tho Gnishinr fnuch ON every thine