The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1874-09-24
NO. IL.


to see to her, SO that she made it up
by staying evenings, against her usual
rules. Now about the middle of that
May, Doctor Parker's scapegrace son
Ned came home from sea,-a great,
lazy, handsome fellow, who had run
away from Deerfield in his fifteenth
year, because it was SO "darned stu
pid," to use his own phrase. Doctor
Parker was old, and Mrs. Parker was
old, too, but she called it nervous
and home was stupider than ever
to Ned, particularly as he had broken
his ankle and was laid on the sofa for
a good six weeks at least. About the
second Of those weeks, Content Scran-
ton came to edo over' Mrs. Parker's
summer-gowns, and put her caps to-
gether after their semi-annual starch
ing.
Of course 'Tenty sat in the "keep-
ing-room." where the old sofa was
and Of course Ned had nothing better
to do than to watch the gay, good lit
tie bee at her toll, hear her involun-
tary snatches Of hymn-singing, laugh
at her bright simplicity, and fall in love
with her, sailor-fashion,- on,-"here to-
day, and gone tomorrow"
'Tenty stayed a long time at Mrs.
Parker's that summer she seemed to
get on so slowly with her work, but
as Mrs. Parker said
"Why, the fact Of tits she's so handy
and so spry, I can't see how to spare
her. Ed'ard, he wants sight Of
waitin' on; and I am so nervous, and
husband is afflicted with neurology
beside that he is considerable in years
so we can't be around as we used to
be; and 'Tenty steps about and gets
Ed'ard his books, and his victuals
and fixes his pillows, and keeps the
light out Of his eyes, so't he isn't con.
tented moment of time without she's
right there"
! And while Mrs. Parker was con
veying these ideas to Miss Why
they were being illustrated in her OWL
house after this fashion,
"'Tenty," (three weeks had abolish
ed the Miss,) won't you give me that
blue book off the shelf"
'Tenty sprang up and handed the
book, and went to her work again, be
ginning under her breath to hum
"sweet fields beyond"-
"Dear me! this pillow has slipped
away. 'Tenty, won't you fix it?'
Jump the second the pillow i
put straight under Ned's dark curls
though he is so helpless she has t<
raise his head with one arm and ar
range the cushion with the other
then the seam and hymn recommence
"sweet fields beyond the swelling"-
81 wish I had a drink of cold wa
ter"
Jump the third ;-'Tenty fnishe:
her hymn on the way to the we'll, anc
brings the water, and holds the inval
id up to drink it, and then the pill
lows fall again, and the book Slip
down, and everything goes wrong ane
has to be re-arranged, and at length
'Tenty goes back to her place by tn
window quite indisposed to sing, bu
glowing with a new, shy pleasure
for Ned had looked up at her will
those great gray eyes that said 81
much more than his lips did, and laie
his cheek against the stubbed hane
that arranged his pillows, and said
-"Oh, 'Tenty! how good you are =
in tones that meant, chow I low
you~ as we'll, though he did not sa,
| it.
So matters progressed from day t.
day, Ned needing more and NOR
care, till he made his first progres
across the room with cane and tn
help Of 'Tenty's shoulder; after whic]
experiment he began to recover rapid
ly, impelled by the prospect of gel
ting away from that house and beinI
free to 20 where he chose again.
For 'Tenty had ceased to amuse o
interest him as much as she ha
, done; six weeks had done away wit
} the novelty of her deepening colo
! and shy dropping eyes; beside, sb
: laughed less, almost ceased to sinI
: sighed softly, and looked quiet an
grave, instead of gay and unconsciou
, 1t was the old fable of sport to th
boys and death to the frogs. Sh
thought he was in earnest : he kne'
/ he was amusing himself
Miss Why noticed the change i
her darling, but she was a woma
who had acquired wisdom by experi
ence, and she said nothing; she onl
grew more exacting of 'Tenty's pres
ence, wanted her earlier in the even
ing, found fault with her food, an
behaved generally so unlike her usv
} al stern patience, that Content Wa
really reused out of her dreaminess t
wonder what allied Aunt Why.
As soon as Ned Parker was able
get out of doors again, he was hear
Of in every house in the village, mai
ing himself agreeable after his ow
fashion,-drinking hard cider wit
, the old farmers, praising their wive
gingerbread and spruce-beer, holdin
, skeins for the girls, going on picnic
huckleberryings, fishing excursion