The Republican. [volume] (Maryville, Tenn.) 187?-187?, 1875-03-06
MARYvuLE, TENNESSEE. SATURDAY MARCH g. 1875

declared "the garden had moved in
DOORS" rapsacked the orchard for
choicest fruits and helped the cook ge:
up many and various dainty supper
dishes. AT O'Clock sue went to array
herself III the freshest of muslins, and
came down perfect picture, with her
white draperies and tea roses and hello.
trope crowning her brown braids. She
was pardonably proud of her appear
ance. Even Will thought "there
wasn't R girl in the whole country who
could bold a candle to Milly in that
rig" How he liked to tease her, SO
now he said; "I know you don't al
low spittoons in the parlor, Milly, but
you'd better have enc hunted up. III
bet my head your editorial friend chews,
and, with the eccentricity of genius, he
may take your new screen for substi-
tute."
Horrors What proclamation 1t
would be unworthy Feejee Islander.
No, sir; whoever else allows it, my face
is set against it for all time. But hush /;
there he comes" And sure enough,
punctual to a minute, across the lawn
rolled a shining buggy, and from it
alighted the dapper and disting,te Rural
Quill.
When Milly recovered from the en-
barrassed first greeting, she found her
self tete-a tete with an undersized, mid
dle-aged person, whose noticeable
points were general wrinkled yellow
ness of complexion and pair of dark,
kindly eyes. He was fluent, courtly,
polished, none of your self-made mep,
but the carefully manufactured article.
Like his letters, he was extremely
complimentary. Had he not been a
little less than call her fancy painted
him." Milly would have declared him
splendid" but nothing so disposes
to captious criticism as uufulflled ex.
pectations.
Milly breathed more freely. Supper
was over, and with it all danger of in
terruption. Papa Weyman slept the
sleep of the tired. Will sat ON the
porch, whence he could see and hear
"The Mutual Admiration Society"
| don't know what was in his heart,
His mouth was full of tobacco. Sup
per had been over an hour, and Rural
Quill, ESQ.,, was hard beset with the
peculiar craving teeth-on-edge sensa-
tion born of abstinence and eating,
known to all tobacco -chewers. He
strove against it valiantly, but who
can master the giant, Habit ? Milly
went for the writing desk to show him
her last poem. She might be away ten
minutes He would quiet his nerves
with chew. But she was not. She
recrossed the Threshold almost before
the precious morsel was settled in place.
There was very becoming tremor in
the white hand that held toward him
the fairly written sheet. He gave it
back with a most superlative bow.
She must read it to him. Even its
music would be enhanced by her lips.
Milly did read it, then wandered on
into discursive review of her favorite
poets, which, | am bound to say,
abounded more in quotations than COM
mon sense-for woman's memory is
always ahead of her judgment-but was
not wholly destitute of that invaluable
article. 1t was almost a monologue,
and her wonder grew and increased over
the sudden quenching of editorial bril-
lance. Perhaps he was bored, but too
civil to interrupt her. She would
change the subject by a question to
which he must make direct and
lengthy reply. She began
"By the way, Mr.. Quill, are you
ready to give me that critical and ex-
haustive analysis of my poetic powers
which your letter promised me when
we met
"POor Mr.. Quill. Just then he was
neither critical nor analytical. His
chair was on the hearth-rug; between
him and the white draped window sat
Milly, seeming embodiment of the
pure, cool room, intently regarding
him. His mouth was full, yet speak he
must The screen caught his eye.
Here was a way ont of bis dilemma.
The next moment tobacco juice went
splashing over moss and fern, and Rural
Quill was bimself again, brimming
over with facts, fancies, and compl-
ments. With them we have naught to
do. Milly listened with decent grace,
but the gloss had departed, the magic
had Hown." Indeed, it were not too
much TO say that the trail of the ser
pent was over them ALL"
Rural Quill, Esq, never came back
to Brier Wood. Milly did ask him to
call a7ain," but so indiherently that