Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-10-30

| ers and flowers, like Birnam wood coming
to Dunsinane, advancing down our gar
den walk.
"Oh! we'll" said John, ~ like to see
them about, and hear them when they
don't want mc u entertain them, You
know, and that younger one Is certainty
pretty"
Pretty she was, with golden hair and
white dress; SO much we could see as she
| fitted in and out between her mother ana
sisters. Indeed, they were all pretty. The
mother, plump, matronly, easy-going; the
| two elder girls, brownhaired and stately,
and this fairy of a"Lill," whom everybody
was calling on from morning to night :,
That was one day. II was the second
day that they made my acquaintance ana
| l theirs. 1t began with the coffee.
| had established myself in the quiet,
| pleasant hours that como midway between
breakfast and noon, with my writing desk
on my lap and my inkstand on chair
beside me. That's woman's way OF be-
ing COW and confidential with her paper
when She writes letter. A man sits
straight up with his bath.note or his com
mercjal on the desk or the table, writes
his one page or his four, and has done
with it, A woman takes her dainty
French sheet, with the faint suggestion OF
perfume, mignonctte, or hclioirope cling
| ing To it, and selects her pen daintily; and,
| IL her letter be to a friend she cares Tor,
some absent, precious darling, her heart
| fingers over and caresscs the words as she
writes them, and the missive, inconse-
ouent and diffuse and feminine as posi-
Bile, goes out full freighted with tender.
ness. Now do hate TO be interrupted
when Pm writing such letters as ] was
that day. My slender stock OF patience
deserts me utterly If people will persist IN
coming with all sorts Of questions Just
when Pm overlooking with bright
thoughts and loving epithets. "But what
has this to do with my narrative you
ask.
Well, this: | was just in the midst OF a
sparkling sentence when voice broke on
my ear:
please, Miss Elizbeth, send Miss LIN
two Jumps o. sugar TO feed her bi,uy Her
sugar all done used up"
How on earth did the mite learn that
my name was Elizabeth!
Two Jumps Of sugar Nobtesse obttge.
NV mothers daughter was not brought
up to count sugar by Jumps. | sent
misguided creature that / was ! sent a
cupiul.
Well, began again on my letter and |
finished 1t and began another l was
half through that one when again there
came the soft voice, and looking up, there
met my own the great, velvety, appealing
eyes again, black as Erebus, through the
surrounding blackncss OF that child's
dusky face.
"Please, Miss Eliz'b beth, se,sd Miss Con
stantia sheet of note paper and a en-
relop'y Her done dropped dc key OBJ her
trunk down de well, and her want to write
Il letter to "a frien."
"Im afraid you are coming upon er-
rands Of your own" | answered with
severity of aspect. mis- Constantine never
sent you"
"Yes, indeed, her did" persisted Black.
eyed Susan, as in my mind ! had named
this young person.
"Well, here it is, then; but when see
Miss Cons,antia I'll ask her about it,"
A week later we called. Cousin John
was SO pleased with the glimmer of Miss
Lilies curs in the distance, that he
actually so far overcame his native shy
ness as to consent to be my escort. What
he wore | don't know-a coat and vest
probably, pantaloons and shoes of some
sort, Of course, and necktic and gloves
also a shirt A gentleman's costume adj
mlts of 50 little variety. was in all the
glory of a new suit-lavender silk and
Brussels point lace, and my lovely black
lace shawl, shawl that haunts my re-
gretful dreams, though long ago il left me
for parts unknown, borne away by u
burglar on the war-path. You may break,
You may shatter the vase if you will, but
the thought Of past laccs will hang round
il still
Mrs. Vernon and her daughters received
us with cordial empressemeat. They were
elegant women, all of them, with society
manners and sort Of graceful, high'brcd
air that charmed me and utterly capt..
waited and enthralled Cousin John.
forgot to say wore pearls. We always
dressed in our very bestest best when
we made calls in --- town, having no
other way in which to display our goods.
1t was the thing TO be en- gra,,de toilette
when you made call. Ours was de.
lightful. The gray-haired waiter brought
us lemonade, and Mrs. Vernon compli
mented us on having fruit in abundance
in our garden Literally under your own
vine and fg-tree," she said. Whereupon
/ ut once gave her the freedom Of berries
cherries, peas, beans, plums, pears, and
| all, telling Dcf whenever Sne ucSlFcu JO
help herself freely. She accepted my
courtesy in the same spirit in which II
was offered, and we parted the best OF
friends.
Constantine, Katherine and Lille re.
turned the call next day, and staid two
hours. Katherine tried my piano, and
Lille made love to my birds. As for Con
stantia, she was suave and winning, and
if do say it, made love to Cousin John
l was delighted to find that he was blind
as bat to her, however, and had eyes
only for little Lille
A few days after | decided TO make
plum preserves. Henry" said, "whcn
you have returned from market please
gather the plums."
"The plums are done picked" he said
ooh! very WE'LL" said /. "Then I'll
go right ut my preserving"
"But, Miss Elizabeth, Paul gathered the
plums yesterday for Miss Malvina Yer
non, and Aunt Hester am busy preserving
them for her"
"AU the plums ?" said, amazed.
"Ebery plum" said Henry, solemnly
The Bible tells about spelling the
Egyptians and spelling the Philistines.'
had never felt any special sympathy