The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-03-26

i
member visiting some rich cousins o
fathers in the city once; and all the tim
/ had a consciousness that they hated 4
have their friends see me on the front step
: i'm nv shabby clothes that looked wei
enough at home; and when we were in
vited out one evening, | overheard then
disputing as to who shouldn't 90 with me
sin that old-fashiOned blue silk, which |
in my ignorance, had thought quite sty
lish And coming out of dressmaker'
room one day with one of my cousins,
"Dear me!" said she; 4" that hair -clotl
furniture just gave me the blues; it's wOrs'
than any nightmare; it's so vulgar anC
bar-r0omytr Now we had nothing bu
hair-cloth in our parlors, and had felt very
lucky to get it; but never offered a chail
to a caller after that without a qHalm.
"YOu shall see what style is, one of thes'
days, my friends" promised them, men
tally; "yOu will not be ashamed of me
when I'm Mrs LHcius Glover - for, apoI
my wortl Twas weak and foolish enough
to make up my mind on the way homt
that | would marry Lucius ii he asked me
and let John Jordan take care of himself
Well, when reached home, found that
! father had taken John to board with us,
and we We're having a roast every day, and
dessert; but fOrall that, the hair-cloth fur
niture was heavy on my heart; | was such
a wretched little materialist in those days
| wondered if John thought as meanly of il
too; though of course, | reasoned. he
hadn't been used to anything better. Mrs.
/ Scrutiny said it looked as if we were going
| to make Mr. Jordan one of the family
and John smiled. and twisted his mus
tache, and said he wished we would.
About this time Lydia Glover was attack
ed with sudden friendship for me; she
really seemed to prefer our hair-cloth sofa
to her own velvet cushions. Lucius usu-
| ally came with her. and while he occupied
| himself with me, Lydia naturally fell to
! flirting with John; and more than once
caught myself answering Lucius absently,
because | was trying TO hear what John
was saying to Lydia. Sometimes Lydia
declared she could stay no later, and Lu-
cius insisted that it was only the edge OF
the evening; and then John would get his
hat and walk home with her. | know |
had queer sensation the first time this
happened, which didn't improve as wait
ed for him, lowering over the falling en-
bers after Lucius had gone, on pretense OF
locking up the house. "Seems to me it
takes you some lime to walk up to the
Glovers' and baC I,'' said l, when he came
at last.
"Oh, you needn't have waited for me :"
he vouchsafed; 9 l couldn't get away be-
fore. The GloverS have fine place :" at-
ter pause, in which | couldn't think OF
anything disagreeable enough to say, d"
wonder how shall bear it when | go there
to see Mrs. Lucius?" IT, s.f.f..4
''That can't be the person you 90 there
to see now,'' assured him.
He laughed, and hummed the old-faSh-
iOned round,
&c Go to Jane Glover and tell her I love her;
And by The light of the moon | will come to
her.
That's what they call a catch, isn't it?n
lighting his candle. Don't sit up for me
again when go to Miss GlOver's, Sleepy
Eyes, for | may stay late ~
Its small thanks you give me for keep
ing the fire alive for yOu," complained.
He turned back, with his hand on tine
door, all the mischief fading from his face
II give you instead" he answered,
:" that which naught enriches you, but
makes me poor indeed. Why should
thank you for keeping the fire alive, when
you mean that it shall die out untended at
last?''
Come, You are waxing sentimental ~
| cried, raking up the Goals. 4" You've mis-
taken your listener. Good night
Seeing that nothing had come of his
dancing attendance at our house. folks be-
gan to whisper about John and LYDIA, as
they must have something to worry over
| used to hear them, coming out of church,
between comments on the sermon: and it
made my cheeks burn, and gave me a
sinking sort of sensation, that must have
been akin to dying, that was bliss and
pain, as the poet says, all at once. But |
would have died first, indeed. before Civ
ing sign. When they turned TO me, as
one who should know, being intimate with
Lydia, and Johns landlady, smiled indif-
ferently, and answered.:
* If girls will marry, they must take
such husbands as are going" The trouble
was, | coveted Johns love without being
able to renounce the good things Lucius
had to offer.
Well, about this time father had his
stroke, you know-nOt exactly a stroke of
luck-and was away from the bank for
three months, with every prospect of be-
ing laid up the rest of his days; and |
can tell you, if it hadn't been for John
JOrdan's board, we should have had short
commons indeed. began to be more
convinced than ever that it was my duty
to marry LueiuS when he should ask me.
We weren't able TO lIave any new gowns
that year, because the money all had to go
for doctors bills and drug stuffs and l
was so worn out with watching and wOr-
rying. and the unending struggle to make
both ends meet, that was losing all my
good looks, and growing wrinkles across
my forehead. ,,.-..... -...
"rm sure it's enough to prevent any
body in her senses from thinking of mar
rying poor man, reflected out loud,
one twilight, believing that had the par
lor to myself.
"Were you thinking off it?n asked John
Jordan. out of the depth of fathers
sleepy-hollOw chair. where the shadows
hid him.
"Iwasn't thinking at ALL | answered,
ready to cry with low-spiritedness: for |
felt in my dusty old alpaca. with the un-
natural lustre across the shoulders, as if |
fully warranted the contempt of my
rich cousins. Il never think" IasSured
him. CO. u p i..t lt...
"Those who can think and won't think
must be made 70 Think" he parodied.
''Just as you please, Sir Oracle" l
said. ''We'l defer il, though, till after
tea," and he gave me mis- arm to the dining
room.
Father got able to hobble out to the
bank, and things began to get easier
though Mrs. Scrutiny said he looked to her
as if he would never be himselfagain and
after that | lived in hourly dread of a sec
ond stroke, and the future wasn't alluring,
unless should marry Lucius-nor then
either. - .e
They were to have a masquerade party
at the Growers Thanksgiving-night, and
for a fortnight before Lydia and | were
busy as moths, -buroying in. the cedar
wood trunks iR1the- attic that eaJle-eser
from Holland with her reat-grandmoth-
er's wedding-clOthes, and were full Of old
fashioned finery, brOcades and laces, and
shoe-bucsies. Ne hai araretime trying
them on before the beveled mirror IN
Lydia's room and whenever John Jordan
happened in, she would rustic down TO
him, shaking out glamour of maqnifi-
eeIiee from every fold. and shining like a
star in her ancient splendor. We PROM
ised ourselves an Arabian Nights enter
tainment. And the promise was fulfilled.
The house was one blaze of lights and
blossoms, and the atmosphere was one pull
sation of music and fragrance. You
seemed to be walking through an avenue
of tall Towering shrubs in some enchanted