The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1873-12-18

Moore as she sat sewing by the fire
that frosty night. She had, just be.
fore supper, INDUCED in what q
Southern girl would call ga fixing up.''
A neat fitting dark chintZ dress, look
ing as fresh as when it lad first come
out Of the village store, dainty white
linen collar and cuffs, a coQuettish
frilled apron of white muslin, and q
blue neck ribbon, tied in q cunning
bow, were the items of Annie's toilet.
But she looked as sweet and pretty as
if hours had been spent in donning
satin, lace and jewels.
Her rich, wavy, gold brown hair
was carried in shiny folds away from
her warm red cheeks, and caught mp
in the meshes of silken net at the
back.
Eight o'clock and past Worthy
Mrs. Moore was doing over her knit
ting. Her shadow on the opposite
wall bobbed about in grotesque mim-
icry as she nodded to and fro-now
crushing the voluminous white satin
bows on her spruce cap against the
back OF her cbair-now almost falling
forward, while her fat hands atlength
dropped lIstlessly in her lap, and her
ball of yarn rolled down upon the
hearth. Pussy, espying it, was soon
busy in unWinding and converting it
into all sorts of GOrdian knots.
All at once came a double rap-at
the dOor-an audacious double rap
which said ''let me in" so loudly and
impatiently, and in so self-assured q
manner, that Annie, rendered ner-
vOus by suspense, started up with q
little scream and set her foot on Mad
anne Puss' tail, who in turn gave vent
still more loudly to her amaZement
and displeasure.
All these three combined, or rather
rapid, successive noises aroused Mrs.
Moore, and she started wildly into an
erect posture, rubbing her eyes, set
ting her cap border, and eXcIaiming I:
"Bless my soul, Annie What was
all that? Somebody at the door
What time is it, anyhow, and who
can it be? So late as this, toow
a little aftery aftef s,EaS' isse' p9qthsSn nuo9legg
who it is" said Annie demurely, at
the same time taking the one candle
from the table
"No! Here, Annie, you wind up
my ball and brush up the hearth
while 1 go to the door. Drat that
catU
For the old lady's feet were all this
while struggling in the perplexing
meshes of the unraveled yarn.
In her hurry Mrs. Moore forgot to
take the candle with her, and as she
stepped out into the small, unlighted
front entry she unwittingly closed be-
hind her the door of the room she
had just left. Almost at the same
moment she put her hand on the ham
die of the outer door, and opening it,
she suddenly found herself in the ar
dent embrace of pair of stout arms.
A whiskeIed face was brought into
close proximity with her own, and
before she could fully realize her po-
sition she received q prolonged kiss
q hearty smack given with signifi-
cant gustO, which indicated that the
unknown was taking revenge for
some past slight-paying off some old
score; for it said as plainly as words
could have done, "There, take that ~
And all this fell upon her unoffending
matronly lips!
"Ohl Murder! MurderI 'Tain't
Joshua, neitherm
For she had by this time divested
herself of the impression that it was
her usually sober spouse returned
home in a strangely exalted condi-
ton, thus to indulge in such unwOnt-
ed demonstrations Of conjugal afiec-
ton.
"Git out! Git out, 1 say! Murder!
Fire! Thievesi Annie! Annie, do
come here Here is a man kissing
me like madw
But the intruder had by this time
discovered his mistake; and it did not
need the indignant pummeling and
pounding of the old lady's respectable
fist to make'him Telinqulsh his hold,
and race off as if pursued by some re-
venged spirit.
Annie, nearly cbOked with smoth,
cred laughter in spite of her trepida-
ton, now came to the rescue.
"Oh, 1 Deyer was SO took back
in all my born days! The mean
Annie, have you any idea"
But the dutiful daughter was to all
appearance as innocent and ignorant
as an infantile dove. She tried to
soothe that it might have been o. one
of the neighbors, who, under the in
fluence of wee drop too much, had
mistaken the house and-the house
wife! She searched the entry for the
missing spectacles, arranged the rum
pied cap-ribbons, wound up the tam
gled yarn, stirred the fire-all in the
most amiable manner possible-and
at last had the satisfaction of seeing
her mother subside into her rocking
chair and her usual tranquility of
spirits.
But Mrs. Moore was fully awake
now.
She had got a new idea into her
head and, instead of settling herself
for another nap, she pursued her train
of thought and her knitting, both to-
gether, with wonderful rapidity. At
length, stopping and looking keenly
at Annie over her spectacles, she
said:
"IG may be a queer notion of mine,
Annie, but I've 3 fancy that man was
David Winthrop"
Oh but If Annie's face didn't catch
fire then! You might have lit any
number of candles by it.
These suspicious symptoms did not
escape the eye of the skillful inquisi-
tor, who calmly continued: -.-
'HPears so to me; cause them big
whiskers put me in mind of his'n ;
and the awkward way he gripped me
with his big paws l'
No answer. But Annie was won
derfully busy. She bent over her
work and drew her needle through so
quickly that the thread snapped, and
then she didn't have time to talk, she
was so taken up with the trying to
coax the thread through the eye
again J
Infiexible Mrs. Moore went on. az
don't believe that kiss was intended
for me after all. Do you, Annie !?
Well, of course we know it wasn't.
But then do wonder who il was in
tended for? And / wonder II you
don't know something more about it
than you seem fit to tell ~
"Me, mother ?"
"Yes, me mother! You was mighty
anxious to get pap and me off to
Aunt Ruth's tonight but l noticed
you was slieked up extraordinary for
all you weren't going"
Here Annie lost her needle, and
went down on the floor to find il.
"Now, Annie" her mother went on,
tI'm gittin' old, / know that, but I
haven't quite lost my eyesight yet,
nor my hearin' neither. I've surmised
- =, ~