Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-05-16
TAXING 1T FOR GRANTED.

With marks of II rough, stormy life
all over him, rough man of about
fifty years, gray and sunburnt, sat
in my office. found him there
when went in one morning not
long ago.
"Here is somebody waiting for
Elwell," " said Mr. Bigelow.
| looked around and the man rose
and held out his hand.
"Ayerill-my name is Averill, "
said he, looking sharply at me out of
a pair of shrewd, gray eyes. 81 am
an old friend of your mother; but |
have not met her for a matter of
five and twenty years. S" l thought
I'd call and ask after her and her
fam ly."
Il am glad to see you," said L.
care You a relative of my mother?"
"No," replied Mr. Averill. "We
were of the same name, but not con-
nected-unless it may be very dis
tantly. l used to know her and her
folks, as well as / did my own sisters,
and better, too. Let's see--where is
your Aunt Augusta now?"
'She is living with her children in
Portland" said l.
"Pretty well, is she, do you
know?" asked Mr. Averill.
every well when we heard last,
Aunt Augusta has good children and
apleasant home, and seems quite
happy"
"Um-m-m-m! That is NICE" said
Mr.. Averlll, fumblirg at a rough
budget of gold that hung as charm
from his watch chain.
hadn't much to do that day, So
| talked off and on with my visitor
till it was time to go home, and
then took him along with nc. left
him in the sitting-room and went to
find mother. She was mixing bis
cults for supper, looking through her
glasses, and singing snatch of some
old half forgotten love dity of her
youth.
"Mother!' said l, breaking in up
on her song. "Come in the other
room. An old friend of yours wants
to see YOU"
Mother looked up over her glasses.
can old friend? 'Tisn't any of
the Maine folks is it?" she asked.
Because if it was so much as a
dog that had trOtted across a corner
of the State of Maine, on his four
legs, mother would have run, with
her arms out and a smile of We
come, without stopping to even
wash the dough off her hands. As
it was, with only an indefinite thought
of seeing san old FRIEND" she went,
with a dust or her nose, and with
out any company cap.
As soon as she stepped inside the
sitting-room door, she stood and
looked at her guest, and he stood
and looked at her
at is Sam, as true as you are
born" she said, at last.
They both laughed, and then they
both wiped their eyes. though
they didm't seem like that sort of,
people especially Mr. Avelill.
| never knew mother to forget
her housekeeping before, but this
time she let the biscuit burn till
they were black as my shoe, and she
mixed some more and put in sugar
instead of salt, and left ont the sal
eratus altogether. But her cheeks
grew pink, and her cap strings flew,
and she nor her guest seemed to
know the difference.
"Oh my honey!" cried my mother,
hopping up from the tea table as
soon as she was seated. "You
haven't lost your sweet tooth, haye
you, sam?"
"How You do rememberT" return
ed Sam admiringly.
81 should think l ought to-" an.
swered my mother with a girlish
laugh. "The way you used to pick
up walnuts to carry to the cross
roads store and trade for molassos
and make candy of Speaking of
the cross roads store, wonder if you
know our old houskeeper's daughter,
she that was Sarah Curley, has lost
her husband2"
'cNo, has sheG Strange never
| ksSvd Os II" replied NJ AvsyiIl, sp'