Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-10-21

no pretensions, and not in the least
dangerous to a man like Mr.. Jeffreys.
For in truth, Miss Katherine Sparsley
had tender regard for said Benedict,
which her elder sister fostered and
furthered-a' regard which nourished
itself on very scanty nutriment, to be
sure; on tickets to concerts and lectures,
on an occasional seat behind his gray
steed, on Christmas gifts and birthday
tokens, and a little kindness which it
was as natural as breathing for him to
offer toward whoever came in his way.
In return, he possessed small valise
full Of embroidered slippers, braided
smoking caps, watch cases. ETC., of
Katherine's handi work; the walls of his
room were hung with poor daubs in
water-colors, reminders of birthdays and
holidays; and there were tides on every
arm chair, and his sofa-cushion had
been purloined in order to reappear
in a splendid toilette of Gala lilies and
ivy leaves All these attentions might
have given him hint of Miss Rather
ines "open secret" if Mr.. Jeffreys had
lent any thought to the language, and
had not been to we'll used to lady like
attentions In fact it was due to this
amiable weakness on the part of Miss
Katherine that the house was filled only
with elderly widows and Anticipated
spinsters and clergymen who had out
lived their usefulness, and that they
had been induced to take Miss Drexel
merely because Mr.. Jeffreys had urged
it, and had proposed giving up his own
room, and finding lodgings at the
hotel, in order that they might accom-
modate her. Of two evils they natu-
rally chose the lesser; it would be
possible to rid themselvesof Miss Drexel
# she proved troublesome, but if Mr..
,;effreys departed it might be for years,
and it might be forever.
Miss Drexel, having put Ally at school,
began to make acquaintance with her
home. Mr.. Jeffreys brought his friends
to call, others followed suit; the Misses
Sparsley were surprised to find her
quite the fashion in cliques from which
they had long been omitted. These
were new, rich people in Marathon who
knew not Joseph, who made much of
Miss Drexel, and little of Misses Spars-
ley, because Mr.. Jeffreys had intro
duced her, and because they had found
out her talent, and wished to enrich
| their fetes with her musical skill. The
Sparsleys were not prepared for any
such awkward situation, though they
could have borne it, had it not come
about through Mr. Jeffrey's influence.
Why had he not lent himself to their
establishment in society, as well as to
that of strangers Had she already
bewitched him? Perish the thought !
"Your parlor looks like an oasis
among the sands of Sahara," Miss
Katherine overheard him to say to her,
as he left it one day. 81 believe you We
appropriated every atom of sunshine
| there is in the house. / always thought
my own room was charming, till you
came and disenchanted it, And indeed
comiums. It overlooked the country
through four broad windows, whose en-
brasures were filed with Towering
plants; here and there were little treas
ures saved from the week of a once
luxurious home; writing stand of Eng
lish-lacquer work, antique chair, a
few family portraits of ladies in satin and
jewels, and grandfather by Copley; an
ormolu clock, with chime like distant
cathedral bell; Dresden china vase;
and Pompeian lamp, which illuminate
ed the ordinary boarding house furni-
turing, and lent the room an air of
quaint picturesqueness The sun heaped
great bars of gold on the dingy carpet,
which made amends for its depressed ex-
preston, and touched and intensified
every bit of color with its m1gic, till the
place made one dream Of painted win
i dows and the flash of tropical wings,
while the flowers in the Dresden vase
paIpitated like gems, and the odd fig
ures of the lacquer-work seemed start
ing out from their dull background,
and the geraniums and fuchsias burned
like torches III the acknowledges. Miss
Huldah suggested that she should shut
out some of the glare after this, palpa-
bly, limiting an injury to the carpet.
''Too much sunshine is bad for eyes and
carpets, Miss Drexel." she said. She
did not care farthing for Miss Drexel's
| eyes; she was merely afraid of the effect
on Mr.. Jeffrey's. The room was getting
| too pleasant to him. It was aggravat-
ing enough, no doubt, to hear Mr.. JEFF
freys and Miss Drexel chatting on the
stairway going up and down, and in the
hall; to know that the conversation
sometimes dropped into such an under
tone that it was impossible for the best
regulated ear to catch the import; to find
that when they went out in different di-
rections, they almost invariably return
ed together, as if under the influence Of
some magnetism hardly understood by
their land-ladies. It was surely little
annoying that Mr.. Jehreys should spend
evening afte. evening in Miss Drexel's
parlor at the whist-table, especially as
he had excused himself from the game
on previous winter evenings on the score
OF ignorance.
"Oh, I thought you didn't play
whist essayed Miss Huldah, with
feigned surprise.
"Tve been learning" he answered,
"with the help Of Miss Drexel, Pole,
and Cavendish. I'm a partner fit for a
queen.
"Then come down and play with
| Katherine and me sometimes And