The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-08-23
Mary Thorne's Cousin.

"MaTy, I am astonishedw
OF course the grave elder sister was as
tonished, In truth and in fact she lived
in chronic state of amaZement, for
Mary Thorne was always doing some-
thing to astOnish her friends and rela-
tlves. Miss Ruth could hardly credit
the evidence of her own senses, in the
haZy glow OF the August morning, when
sne came out of the clematic shadows OF
the little south porch, and discovered
that yonder moving object halfway up
among the outrageous branches of the
huge old pear tree was not a spray of
leaves nor yet russet-plumed robin,
nor a clHster Of sun-cheeked pears
swinging in the blue empyrean, but
Miss Mary Thorne, comfortably perched
IN the crook of the gnarled tree, her
curls all fiecked with the sifted rain of
sunshine that came down through the
shifting canopy of leaves, and book in
her lap.
II don't care" said the little damseI.
laughing saucy defiance. "It's the nice
est place in all the world up here. I
feel just like a bird, with the leaves fiut-
tering against my face, and the wind
blowing so softly, and / intend to STAY
here. Wouldn't you like to come up
here, Ruthy? 1t is easily done. Just
put your foot on that knot, and them
Ruth, who was thirty, and weighed
one hundred and sixty pounds. briSfIed
up with amaZement
Mary Thorne, are you crazy? Come
down this instantu
Il shan'tn' said naughty Mary. toss I
ing the silky shower of curls away from .
her forehead, and glancing down with /
eyes that shOne and sparkled like two
blue jewels
tBut we are all going-u
"1es, / understand; you are all going
in triumphal procession TO the depot to
render an ovation to the great Professor |
la Place, the wisest, sagest, and grand ]
est Of mankind, to whom the Thorne Z
family have the unutterable honor of
being second cousins, and to escort him
sOlemnly to a months sojourn at Thorne
Hall. Oh, dearn' calculated Mary, II
wish l could run away somewhere and
hide. l hate this paragon of prime pre-
cisiOn. i shan't marry him if he asks,
and mean 10 behave so badly, that he
won't dream of it. No, I am not going
with you, / hate the close barouche,
and it's too warm to ride on horseback.
shall stay at hOme.n
And Mary settled herself snugly, with
one tiny, slippered foot swinging down.
and her pretty head close to a nest of
gave it up with a sigh of despair
"Well, then, have it your own way,
you incorrigible r0mp. ] wish YOU
weren't too big TO shut up i'm a dark
closet, or have your ears well bOXed.r
''It IS a pity, isn't it?n said Miss
Mary. demurely.
''Of course it is, Mary. If cousin Tom
Bradley comes this mofning, be sure TO
explain to him why we are absent, and
behave like a young lady, mind'
"All right" said Mary, dauntless. 81
always liked Tom. We used to have
grand romps together when we were
children
She sat there in the old pear tree pret-
tier than any hamadryad that ever
might have haunted the messy old vet
eran of the garden, her cheek, touched
with sunshine and carmine, herdimpled
lips apart now reading line iOr two
from the book in her lap, now looking
up rapt in girlish reverie into the blue
sky, as it spar5led down through ever
moving leaves, and now breaking into
a soft little warble of song, that made
the very robins themselves put their
heads on one side to listen.
The carriage had driven away long
since-she had watched il bevond the
curve Of tie winding road; the dark
DlAnAlE OA AlAt HlaeAAADA ID t-n NAUM IN 4OlA0M-
ing the creeping sun-glow across the
velvet lawn below, and the old church
spire among tbs far-off woods had
chimed out eleven. And still Mary
Thorne sat there in those forked branches
Of the giant pear tree.
Suddenly there floated up into her /
leafy sanctuary a pungent, aromatic .
Odor, which made her lean curiOusly
forward, shading her eyes with one hand .
the better to penetrate the green foliage .
below. Not the late monthly roses, not .
the amethyst borders Of heliotrope, nor
lhe spicy geraniums-nOneO Of these bios
SONS ms distilled that peculiar smell.
MY patiencew said little Mary; 'ips
A cigar it was, and the owner thereof
o,,5 eoul9 Just see a white liner coat,
ahI tail head covered with bIoclr u-ax,YJ
e,l,ll-;,9'ou Seoou ON the porch stems ouieflv
9ti4ohlusi ana indulgino In a 49, I,.,,.51
view Of the garden-slo1es - ieis 'ileiieu
lnat Tom Bradley y so;1 N
tieL9elL. = = oWl II he thinks Inn oe,,.SS;sS, "
80 a., st,o;,iit i'ti9 ueiielous cool Olaea 10
mistaken. rOmm She 1 coll,l;1 l;1ilor, he's
silver accent of Imperative s',.utl IN a
and then Durst into merry lonr-I,4iIIouhs,
the evident amaZement with ,r6iNI1ei at
stranger gaZed round him. vaini,. ~ n the
to conjecture whence the cali 6adSilg
ceeded. "You dear, stupid cousin ,Torl pro, ,,
she calculated, "don't stare ofrto W.,
theeabbage- beds. Look straight nm iero
You may come up here if you please.
there's plenty of room for both. You
are cousin Tom, aren't you ?1 she con-
tinued, as a sudden misgiving crossed /
her mind.
"Of course / am; and you are Mary, l
Suppose?"
Mary herself Up with you, Tom
Jast catch hold of this branch-therei