Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-03-12
LIGHTS AND SHADES.

room in New York cheerful with the
merry CLEAN of freight, and the chin
ing tick of musical clock, and thu
half-uttered twitter of the gold-plum
aged carary, who was composing him
self to sleep in his cage among the &C.
raniums- very sort of room which
the wearied business man would long tc
call honse-always provided there was
a sunshiny little heart somewhere
about, to set all the household ma
chinery going tremendously!
Yet there wasn't an expensive article
the.c-no rosewood chairs, cushioned
in satin-no malachite stands, or mo-
sale rugs, or costly agate vases-only a
neat little mahogany tea-table all set
with plain blue ware, as shining as the
most transparent of gold-veincd china
could be, and a sober-pattern carpet,
which seemed to say, IL know I'm not
velvet-I make no pretence-but here
am, and I mean to be us serviceable
as possible y Everything else was just
as neat and as plain: and if there had
been one solitary grain of dust any.
where within the four walls, it must
have pinned away and evaporated out OF
sheer loneliness
Little Mrs. MILFORD fitted busily
around in her snug domains, now
placing her husbands slippers where
they could warm nicely, wondering
parenthetically, why he didn't come
now setting tiny bouquet Of roses and
geranium leaves in a small vase i'll the
center of the tea-t,lble-now pulling an
oblique corner Of the snowy cloth into
line pl,lmmet-exactitude and now lis
tening, with her pretty petite head
against the mantle-shelf, to the merry
song of the shining tea-kettle, as il
bubbled joyously OH the fire, breathing
ont dense white vapor-cloud from its
liquid lungs-until ut length the foot.
steps sounded below, the key turned
and clicked in the door-and he came.
But not alone. There was good
deal Of very excusable pride i'll his man.
ner, as he presented his fair wife to al
old school friend whom he had not met
for several years, and who was doing Il
prosperous downtown business.
1t had been casual encounter OF
Broadway, such as oftentimes happens
They had walked along together, con
versing cordially until ut length the
corner was reached where their paths
diverged. But their say was not hall
said, and in the warmth of his heart
MILFORD invited his friend "home tt
tea with him. Mr.. Maynard accepted
the offer. Six o'clock was his owl
fashionable dinner hour but he did MOI
say 50 neither did he mention that hi.
wife was ut u,otinc, and probably
wouldn't be home at present.
And the cordial manner of his frient
made him sigh and think of the oil
times, when he had been wont to si
down to dinner just as the creeping
sunshine reached the "noon mark OF
the old kitchen floor, and when "sup
per" wasn't an association Of ga
lights, champagne, sugar-tcmples, ant
spicy game, but IL quiet meal, takel
inst when sunset Redeemed the crest o
the tall poplar trees OH the hill All
the good old times
It was long since he was in such
tiny, unpretending room as that wher
he now sat, accepting the cup Of fra
grant tea from Amy Wilford's dexterou
little hand. Yet everything was s.
bright, so neat, so exquisitely tasteful
the fire glowed SO red, and til
rosebuds in the vases gave such Il re
fined grace to the little blue tea-service
and the common painted waiter, tina
he felt ut once that he was in the al
mospherc of home!
He never missed the silver urn, g
the goll-ban.le.t china Of his own state
ly table never noticed that his feet iii
not rest among the velvet crimso
shades of his own Wilton carpet nc
perceived the wide difference betwee
Amy's linen collar and shilling dclain'
and the EIonitons and broca,le that h
n fashionable helpmate wore; but i
knew there was some charm here wllic
was lacking at his own hearth-stonc.
1t was Il genuine ol.l-fashioned "tea
|-lot biscuits, amber preserves, del
n cate pink shading of dried beef, al
+ cake that would make even IL dyspept
smack his lips. Maynard could IL
n help complimcnting the cdi''l"s. +
+ didn't get any such ut his rcstaura
k where lie lunchctl, and his wife's Iri:
f kitchen corps had an altogether iii
s fercnt idea of things.
Il "Oh!" said Amy, laughing,
l. made them myself"
IS "Did yon?'' He looked ut her ha
: amused. II did not know ladies' cv
r employed themselves nowadays"
|, 81 am Il capital cook" said Am
G We are obliged to study economy som
It what, and SO am my own houscmal<t
l. "Then you don't belong to the ros
= leaf sort Of ladies', who think it horril,
:, to touch their white fingers to cookil
Il utcnsil?"
g ono, indeed :" she said, opening Il
!, blue eyes in establishment. cit kee
e me- healthy ind happy; and rs Charl
y hra to work hard in the store all day,