The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1875-01-28

III WOulu' nj DC ridiculous To m . =
a circumstance Of buying quarter o
a yard of tape if l was particular il
tape" mildly interpOsed Aunt Mat.
''But Aunt Mat, why don't you get
delaine? ? You are deceived by thil
etherea, mildness into thinking /;
calico is warm enough for winter
That's the way you get your colds"
LOB; | always wear a thick under
jacket with one"
"And you make your figure all of ;
bunch l don't believe Uncle Matthi
as will have anything to say to sue.
figure when the ship comes in"
"0b, 90 along ~ said Aunt Mat
"Well, if must. 1 must. I can set
those clerks all grianing at me now
dare say they have a nickname fOI
me-they c1ll ne Rags, or Scraps
orr
"Nonsense. They say there's {
sensible girl, who looks ahead, anC
ism t going to buy thing that won
wash"
"Isn't going to run the tremenGou!
risk OF investing a dollar and g
half"
"a dollar and a falf is"
| huOm-d kOOu uEdl
laughed Ida ''I suppose you won
go any higher than the l1ine-penny
prints?"
"Well, if there are any at ten cents
you may look at them, and bring vi
a few, too"
"Oh Lord ~ said II6a.
'You ought TO be thankful. Ida
that you can afford to buy even a ter
cent Calico" said Aun Lucy, severe
| ly.
SIT will Ge the day of small bless.
ings when I'm thankful for tbat,'
said Ida and off she went, just as il
happened, assLawrence Frink came
round the corner. There always ap.
pears to be kind fate in the happen.
ings of girls and boys.
Well, after Aunt Mat had looked
cut of the window some twenty
times, wondering what kept Ida, l.
da came back, and-she had forgotten
all about tile patterns! L was sure
she would.
"rhats just the way !" cried gentle
Aunt Mat, in almost as much veXa.
ton as Aunt Lucy had been in ever
since the outrage of the rag bag. "Ii
Lawrence Frink had wanted Those
patterns"
"He'd have got them himself" said
Ida in indignation.
81 will go down and get mine my
self" replied Aunt Mat, with majes-
ty, and as If she could intiic. no fur
ther punishment.
"No, you WON'T" said Ida, putting
an arm round her neck and bringing
her rosy roguish face so near that
Aunt couldn't help kissing it. "What
would Uncle Matthias say if he came
ashore and met yeu begging little
scraps of calico ?"
Then Aunt Mat boxed her ears gem
tly, and we were all gOod-natured
again. Uncle Matthias, by the way,
was suppositious loyer of our con-
juring, who was always coming home
from sea, but who never came, and
whom we always kept hanging in eff
| figy over Aunt Mats head, so TO say /;
and whether our impertinence veXed
her or not, she usually ended by
laughing with US. 1t, wasn't so pre-
! posterous to think she should have a
lover, for she was q sweet, smooth
faced woman, still under fifty, with q
soft shell pink on her cheek, and shi-
ming dark eyes, and if there were
some few threads of silver in her hair,
they only showed bow black the rest
of that hair was. We two girls often
used to say to each other what a pref
ty bride Aunt Mat would make but
then nobody else seemed to be of our
opinion, and the suppositious Uncle
| Matthias still remained suppOsitiOus.
Before tea that same day Ida had
run down town .again, and had
come home with dozen patterns and
hid them under Aunt Mats plate, ex-
pecting to give her a pleasant sur
prise.
Doubtless Aunt Mat was pleased.
But after glance, az don't think
they are very pretty Ones" said she.
Couldn't you find anything bright
er ?"
"You wouldn't have been satisfied,
Aunt Mat, if they bad been cloth OF
geld ~
'sNot unless they were pretty cloth
of gold. 1 don't want to be ungra.
cious, dear but 1 dofl't want to make
a guy of myself. MY calico must be
as pretty in It's way as my foulard.
"Well, perhaps these will be prettieT
by daylight. L thought they were
pretty.
"I want something that will be
pretty by candle-light and daylight
too. Sometimes-marmalade and pre-
serve and catchup days-I wear my
calico till after dark. 1 shouldn't like
to have Squire Melbourne coming in
to pay me the rent of the Longacre
/ field, just as he always does, at an un-
expected time, and find me in a har-
lequin's dress. Or Doctor Nelson
either. don't knOW-I think you'll
have to try again."
The next day l was going down
town, and l went to another store and
brought back fresh handful of pat
terms.
az wonder if they'll wash" said
Aunt Mat. That's pretty-rather.
And I like that polka spot. But then
people are going to wear plaids, they
say. That black vine on the chOeo-
late ground is good"
Meat but not gaudy," said Ida.
"rhey are all very much prettier
than those Ida brought up" interpo-
lated Aunt Lucy.
''But sombre; yes. sOmbre,r said
Aunt Mat, her finger on her lip and
her manner sibyiine. mo, I don't
like the rose-bdd-il's too young
nor the daisy, nor the morning-glory
on the back ground"
"I don't care what they say of Will
liam Morris and bis school," ex-
claimed Ida there; ''calicOes and
Wallpapers are no places for realistic
/ designs aud / wouldn't bring auy
up"
Nobody asked you to bring any
wallpapers up" said Aunt Lucy, de-
! lighted.
"You are quite right" said Aunt
Nat. ''Ibe repetition of positive
shapes tires one to death. There
should be only hints and suggestions
of objects there"
"Oh, Aunt Mat, if you're not carry,
ing high art and the ideal into 8 nine
penny calico ~ said. ''You'll be
running them into the ground next. y
"Begin right with your ninepsnny
things, Louisa, and you'll come Oui
right with your hundred-dOllal
things" said Aunt Mat.
II never had any hundred dollar
things"
"You would, . said Aunt Lucy, "f
you wore calieos instead of silks every
day"
"Why, Aunt Lucy" 1 exclaimed
''lo0k at this silk 1 couldn't wear i
any where else except at home. And
I didn't wear it weekdays till it wa.
impossible to wear it holidays. Why
it's been turned aud sponged and cour
plastered, and it's all slits now in th'
gathers"
"Then you ought to be. ashamed z
wear it at all. Rags ~ shifted Aunf
Lucy.
"Oh, siiks's a silk, G1d shows, a
any rate, that you have had some
thing"
"And a calico shows you viii havt
something. think I'll go down my
self and bring up some patterns TO
morrow. Matilda"
Go she did. And she came home
very tired and very eros, and with,
out any patterns. She h-td seen moth
ing pretty at all in the Common cali
cos but the English prints were love
Ny.