The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1876-11-15

they recovered themselves they al
turned to me.
Well, Sebastian" said my father
this Is a chance for you ; mind yol
make the best of it.
You know, Sebastian" chimed il
one of my brothers, "you have yer,
pleasant way with old ladies when yot
choose, and now is the time for showing
! it."
q" Yes, indeed, remarked nv eldest
brother; g it will all depend upon voul
/ pleasing her or not, whether you come
IN for the money"
" OF course Sebastian will please her.
retorted my mother, taking my part
against them. Then, not wishing tc
lose the opportunity of little advice, on
her own account, went on " But do
mind, Sebastian, that you are particular
~ nice to her, and very attentive and
deferential, and"
p" Oh, please don't give me any more
directions, mother" answered, stopping
my ears. . shall get so confused |
shan,t know what to co at all. :" So say
ing | left the room and went to tell Clar-
lbel what was about to happen.
This important letter had come on a
Wednesday. The day intervening be-
tween It's arrival and my aunts was
spent by my mother in thoroughly clean
ing our already thoroughly clean rooms,
and III preparing all sorts of nice things
for the expected guest. In looking back
now upon all these preparations and re-
membering why they were so carefully
attended to, | can't help thinking that
we were rather of the nature of toadies
but still II happened, and in my charac-
ter Of faithful historian / must tell the
truth.
At last the time when the important
visitor might be looked for had come,
and we were all in Il futter of expecta-
ton. My mother had put on her best
trimmed with cherry colored ribbons,
that was supposed TO suit her better than
anything she had. | had yielded to the
advice and entreaties of my surroundings
and had dressed myself very carefully in
Il new suit | had just had made.
We all lowered about near the door,
trying to look unconcerned, but failing
signally. After time the sound of APP
preaching wheels told us that the person
for whom we were looking was near at
hand. Another moment and the omnibus
which piled in the neighborhood drew up
before our garden gate, and a lady, that |
rightly supposed was my aunt, alighted.
She was small, spare woman, with
somewhat severe expression of face, and
a sharp, piercing eye, that seemed at
once to take stock of everything within
mile of her, and that had the effect Of
anything i'll the world rather than that OF
setting you at your ease. 1t was with al
inward trembling by no means concealed
from one another, if hidden from her
eyes-that we went forward to receive
our newly arrived relative; but we man
aged it pretty well, and before long she
was safely installed in the smaller parlor.
Tnen, after the interval of d few mo-
ments, my mother suggested that she
might like to go to her room and remove
her travelling dress, and as she at once
took this suggestion the rest Of US were
left with little breathing time.
As far as | was concerned, however,
this respite was a very short one. In
drawing up plan of the course of action
to be pursued, which had been done In
family conclave with the utmost amount
of care and deliberatiOn, it had been ar
ranged that as my aunt might like
private interview with me, | should be,
by accident, in the best parlor
when she came down stairs again, and
that my mother should adroitly withdraw,
of course, also, by accident, and leave us
there together.
Accordingly, not long after the two
ladies had gone up stairs, | went to the
appointed spot and assumed what seemed
to me the position of a spider III web
looking for flies. The position was by
no means pleasant one to me, but
consoled myself with the reflection that
ON this occasion at least the fly was by no
means an unwary one.
| had not been waiting many minutes
before the ladies came down again. l
went to the door of the room as graceful
" as l could, and my mother, upon See
ing me, remarked, with an air of i'm
promptu that really did her credit:
ooh, here is Sebastian will you excuse
me for a few moments If L leave you to
him."
Ny aunt, little suspecting that this
was part of deep laid plot, bowed with
old-tashioned politeness, by no means
wanting in stateliness, and surrendered
herself to my care
There was something in the solemnity
of the whole proceeding, coupled with
the knowledge of what designing humbugs
we all we're, that made keeping properly
grave very difficult to me, but with an
effort l managed to repress the smile
that tried so hard to rise to my lips,
and wen. forwad to take possession OF my
aunt.
On each side of the fire place, whic h
was filled at this moment with galiy
colored pape1-f0r the time of the year
was summer-stood an arm. chair, very
old fashioned, like the rest of our furnl-
ture, with thin, spindley legs and wide
seats covered with chintz. As these
were the most dignifed looking objects
in the room, | thought the best thing
would be to offer one of them to the lady
to whom | was doing the honors. Ae-
cordingly, l led her up to one OF Them
turned away with the most courtly bow
| could manage, and going to the one
opposite to her, sat down.
But. oh horror In the course OF the
rummaqe that had taken place IN this
room to prepare it for the expected guest
the seats of these two chairs had peen
taken out. and, little as we suspected II,
mismatched. No sooner had my weight
come upon it than the treacherous toun-
dation on which l had hoped securely 10
repose gave way, the seat tilted up, and
IN an instant | found myself sitting
through the framework, my knees and
- -, almost in contact, and utterly