The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1871-06-01
John HarJO,o's Choice.

name of John Harlow in New York.
He told his partner that he wanted to
90 home for a week. He said he want
ed to see his father and the boys, and
his sister, but that he especially want
ed to ride old Bob to the brook once
more, and to milk Cherry again, just
to see how it felt to be a farmers boy
again.
"John," said the old lawyer, "be
sure you fix up a match with one of
those country girls; no man is flt for
anything till he is well married, and
you are now able, with economy, to
support a wife. Mind you get one Of
those country girls. These paint and
powder people here aren't fit for a
young man who wants a woman"
The next morning John had a letter
from his sister, part Of which ran
thus:
.'Pve concluded, old fellow, that if
you don't marry you'll dry up and
turn to parchment. Pm going to
bring home with me the smartest girl
IknOw. OF course she don't know
what Pm up to, but you must prepare
to capitulate."
III NAAG bAA AADAAAE lAAGN hElC AuOhALAA
for the son. The family proper con-
sisted of the father, good Deacon Har-
low, Johns two brothers, ten and
twelve years old, and Huldah, the
"help." This last was the daughter
of a neighbOring farmer, who was a
poor and hopeless rheumatic, and
most Of the daughters hard earnings
went to exc out hescanty subsistence
at home. Aunt Judith, the sister of
Johns mother, ''lOOked after' the
household affairs of her brother-in-
law, by coming over twice a week
and helping Huldah darn and mend
and make, and by giving Huldah such
advice as her ineXperience was sup
posed to require. But now Deacon
Harlow's daughter had left her hus-
band to eat his turkey alone in BoS-
ton, and had brought her two chill
dren home to receive the paternal
blessing. Not that Mrs. Amanda
Holmes had the paternal blessing
chiefly in view in her trip. She had
brought with her a very dear friend,
Miss Janet DuntOn, the accomplished
teacher in the Mt. Parnassus Female
Seminary. Why Miss Janet DuntOn
came to the country with her friend,
she could hardly have told. Not a
word had Mrs. Holmes spoken to her
on the subject of the matrimonial
scheme. She would have resented
any allusiOn to such a subject. She
would have repelled any insinuatiOn
that she had ever dreamed that mar
riage was desirable under any con-
ceivable circumstances. She often
declared, sentimentally, that she was
welded to her books, and loved her
leisure, and was determined TO be an
old maid. And all the time this sin
cere christian girl was dying to confer
herself upon some worthy man of
congenial tastes; which meant, in her
case, just what il did in John Har-
lOw's-some one who could admire
her attainments.
Mrs. Holmes and her friend had ar
rived twenty-fOur hours ahead of
John, and the daughter of the house
had already installed herself as tenn
poTary mistress by thoughtlessly up
setting, reversing, and turning inside
out all the good HHldahis most cher
ished arrangements. Ali the plans
for the annual festival that wise and
practical Huldah had entertained
were vetoed, without thought that
this young girl had been for a year
and half in actual authority in the
house, and might have some feeling
of wrong in having a guest of week
Overturn her plans for the next month.
But Mrs. Holmes was not one of the
kind to think of that. Huldah was
hired and paid, and she never dream
ed that hired people could have any
interest in their work or their home,
other than their pay and their food.
But Huldah was patient, though she
confessed that she had a feeling that
she had been rudely "trampled all
over" l Isuspect she had good cry
at the end of the first day. I cannot
affirm it, except from a general
knowledge of women. 20 L--- ~
When John drove up in buggy
that the boys had taken to the depot
for him, his first care was to shake
hands with the Deacon, who was glad
to see him, but could not forbear ex-
pressing a hope that he would "shave
that hair off his upper lip" Then
John greeted his sister cordially and
was presented to Miss DuntOn. In
stead of sitting down, he pushed right
on into the kitchen, where Huldah, in
a calico froek and a clean white apron
was baking biscuit for tea. She had
been a schOOlmate of his, and he took
her hand cordially as she stood there,
with the bright Western sun half
glorifying her head and face.
Why, Huldah, how you've groWn!'
was his first word of greeting. He
meant more than he said, for though
she was not handsome, she had grown
exceedingly comely as she developed
into a woman.
"Undigni6ed as ever Fn said Amanda