Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1873-12-25

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/ her motherin law, a woman of sturdy
will of her own, died, Mrs. Ardory at
/ tackled the old man, who was of an easy
/ temper, and besought and besieged him.
/ for the sake OF her delicate and refined
/ sensibilities, which were so shocked by
I his course, to yield to her entreaties, sell
/ his old truck, put faithful old Bob up at
( auction and come and live with them. Il
made people ask so many questions, YOU
! know, about the why and the wherefore,
4 for the old man to live alone Questions
! that reflected upon her character for be-
neyolence were dreadful shock u Mrs.
/ Ardory's sensibilities And so the old
man, unwilling to quite cut down
the bridge behind him, hired out
| his horse and truck, put "To
| Let, Furnished' over the door of his
| shabby little house, and became a sort of
| chore- boy in his sons family; he rolled
| the baby-carriage and hoed in the garden
and was a misuellaneous-utility man
about the house. All for the sake of Mrs.
| Ardory's senSibilities.
But Mrs. Ardorys sensibilites Were
more than ever shocked by his lack OF
| polish. She did not like to have her
| iathcrin-law in the house when there
! was company; he was sure to do some
thing very shocking. So the old man,
! who had too much sense to mention his
| senSibilities, who had never used the
word sensibility in his life, and who real
/ " thought ii meant some fearful disease
| when his daughter-in law used 1.-THE old
man, having sensibilities, nevertheless,
staid out of the parlor when there was
company, only went TO the table to keep
| from shocking Mrs. Ardorv, by staying
away, and Wien at the table swallowed
but Il little dinner awkwardly and in
silence, taking pains to shovel his pota.
toes up with the back of his knife for fear
Of not being polite, cooling his coffee by
blowing on it in his saucer, as his master
! taught him, and yet feeling that, do what
he would to be well.mannered, lie was
somehow shocking the sensibilities of his
daughter-inlaw all the time.
Without any soCiety-tOO high up for
the servants, too low down for the family
the old man had nothing left for him to
do but go on shocking sensibilties all the
time. Perhaps there is no way Of passing
ones lifetime more unpleasant than to
spend it in being an object of dislike.
| People who are stumbling blocks always
| feel it more keenly than those who stub
their toes against them. 1t is far worse to
| be in the way and know it, than it is to
have somebody in your way. And 50 the
| old man, conscious Of being in the way,
! fidgety in his half-genteel rig, longing
/ again for the cOngenial society OF his ''ole
! woman, " aching for the petty cares of old
| occupation, enVylng every man whom he
| saw rolling barrcl--what should he do
! but seek comfort where there were no SEN
! sibiities that could be shocked, in one
! corner of the nice warm saloon which
| bore the name Of the House of Lords"
| where he could sit in the shady corner on
! the sawdusted tloor-so much better than
velvet carpets, you could walk without
! timidity here--he could sit in shady
corner with an old crony who would gen.
! orally forgive his cheap, fine clothes, and
| play sevenup and drink whisky with him
until he felt his humiliation all gone, and
| talked as though he were indeed mem
| Der Of the House of Lords, owning his
| son and all his property, but always con
! tiding to his friend that his darter-'nlaw
was dretlle fine woman-and troubled
| with the whatvou-may-c call lem, the sensi-
! blities--didn't jest know what that might
be-but it was disease as made you have
to be keerful when she was around or
she'd take on YOU know.
And when the old gentleman had come
home several times little too full of the
nectar of the gods, and actiQg as if he
were Jupiter himself Mrs. Ardory con
fded to her intimateS, those who came
right upstairs when they called, that her
husbands father hadn't any sensibilities
at all-not a single sensibility. He never
seemed to care for anybody but himself
ate like hog, poured his coffee into the
saucer and COsled il with his BREATH and
--and-wcll, she wouldn't say anything
against her husbands flesh and blood,
| and besides, she'd promised her husband
not to tell, you know. But if they could
only have seen-O my if they could
only have seen and heard him when he
came home last night at eleven o'clock
well, she wouldn't say anything, OF course
But they could imagine what a sacrifice
she had made in receiving him under her
roof and how one of her delicate sensibil-
tiles must suffer. They could guess, at
least. All!
CHAPTER IT,--MRs. ARDoRY's SENSIBLE
TIES.
Yes, the second chapter will be about
them, too. Mrs. Ardory's scnsibiities
were too acute to be disposed Of in one
short chapter.
MIS-. AldOry sat, On the very day before
Christmas, at the window, lo.king over a
| perfumed package of old letters, and talk
ing in her tragic way to friend who sat
! by her.
"Memoriesw whispered she in a tone of
/ fathomlcss sadness. memories, my
/ dear-sad, sad memories that stir my
heart to the very bottoml Whenever
unite this pink ribbon, and see these
4 letters III nv spnsibilifipS are rOuy.
memory is too much for mcm Here Mrs
Ardory shed few we'll considered and
appropriate tears. "Ahl who can ever
know-who can ever know the bitterness
have suffered - Then, after an interval
Of choking emotion, in which Mrs.
Ardorys eyes-and, for that matter, her
L.-.--l