Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1876-01-26
MIFFILNTOWN, COUNTY. PENNA. 1876.

! "Who do you think? Nobody, bul
that little absurd woman there-thai
Mrs. Jim. But I never had such q les
son. Drive slow, please, and let me
tell you all about it-this horse does
throw the gravel in your face 30! I'm
expecting every moment 70 see the
spokes fly out Of the wheels. There,
now, that's reasonable. This horse il a
perfect griffin-has legs and wings too. y
"well-steady, Frolie, steady !-now
let's have your lesson. II there's any
one can read you a lesson, Mrs. Fanny
Mulgrave, should like to hear it,"
Snow, Lawrencei However, you
know | came up to look at the house,
for I've been having my misgivings
about that room. And when l went in
it did look so big and bare! l was dis
mayed. l paced it off this way and
paced it off that way, and thought abOu.
what l could put in the corners; and
how that window with the sea view
would be as a picture: and how the
whole mantel-piece, with its white mar
BILE carvings and gildings and mirror,
was perfect illumination; and how l
must confront il i'm that great square
alcove with mass of shadow; and we
haven't thing to go there, and how
magnificently an ebony and gold cabinet
ike that Mrs. WatrOus and saw at the
exhibition-the one went into ecsta-
cies over, you know, that goes from
floor TO ceiling-wOuld fill the place.
Aud the more thought of it the more
indispensable such great ebony and
gold cabinet seemed to be. And knew
it was perfectly impossible"
''H W did you know it, may I en-
guire?''
"Oh, they cost-oh, hundreds Of dol
lars. And, Of course, the house itself
.akes all you can spare. But felt that
it would be utterly out Of my power to
make that room look anything like
what | wanted without it. And l kept
seeing how beautiful it would be with
those gold-cOlOred satin curtains of your
aunt Sophy's falling back from the
windows on each side of 1t. And | sat
down aud stared at the spot, and felt as
if 1 didn't want the house at all if 1
couldn't hsve that cabinet. And 1
thought you might go without your
cigars and your claret and your horses
a couple of years. and we could easily
have il"
''kind of you, and cheerful for me-"
''Oh, l didn't think anything about
that part of t. just fancy! thought
you were the most selfish man il the
world, and 1 was the most unhappy
woman: and all men were selfish, and
all women were slaves; and-and that
ebony and gold cabinet was obscuring
my whole outlook in life. l felt so an
gry with you, and with fate, and with
everything, that hot, scaldiDg-hot tears
would have shaken down If you had
happened TO come just then. I'm so
glad you didn't, Lawrence dear; l
couldn't have spoken to save my life,
and should have run directly out of the
room, for fear, if did speak, l should
say something horrid."
'Should you, indeed? And do you
imagine shouldn't have followedf"
"Oh, should have been running"
"And whose legs are longest, puss?"
"Well, that's nothing to do with it.
just then the whiriwind came up. and
the windOw-places being open, all The
dust of the building, all the shaving and
splinters and lime and sand about,
seemed TO make sudden lurch into the
room, and couldn't see across 1t. And
there | was in my new hat. And |
made for the door as fast as my feet
could fiy."
''Silliest thing you could do"
"I suppose SO; for when l was out
doors, the boards OF the scaffolding were
pitching through the air at such a rate
that could neither stay there nor go
back; and saw that little shanty just
around the corner, and ran in."
"That was sensible"
"Thanks. And there she was, pots
and pals about the door, and hen just
blowing i'm before me, and a parcel of
dirty faced, barefoOted children tum-
bling round. And such place! 1t
fairly made me low-spirited to look at
it. ] was i'm mortal fear of getting
grease spot on nv dress. But l was in
before knew it, and there was no help
for it, and the wind was blowing so 1
had to stay"
"And the lady of that house read you
a lesson?'
.'Such a lesson! You'd have thought
to begin with, that 1t was palace. She
did the hOnors like little duchess. IL
didn't occur to her, apparently, that
things were sgualid. And that made 1t
so much easier than if she had apollo
gized, and you were forced to tell polite
ibis and make believe il was all right,
you know. She was a trifie vexed be-
cause the face of one of the children
wasn't clean, and afterward she repent
ingly gave him the molasses jug to keep
him quiet; but another of the children
was such little darling! Well, pres
emily her tongue was loose"
"Humph!'
"Humph? Didn't you want to hear
about it? Oh, l know the WHOLE story
of my tongue, but 1 find you like to
listen to it!'
$50 l do, my dear; so 1 do. And
then.''
"Well, as l was saying, presently her
tongue was loose, and l had the benefit
of her experience And know she has
a good-for-naught of husband, whom
she loves great deal better than love
you-oh yes, she does, for she seems
never to have thought one hard thing
concerning him, and was thinking SO
many of you, you know! And there
she is, and has been, with her cooking
stove aud table, her two chairs, bed,
and crib, with contented spirit and
a p ,tient soul, and her highest ambition
and her widest day-dream just to have
-
"An ebony and gold cabinet?"
s'Oh no, no, Do drive faster, Law
renee. How this horse does crawl! l
want to get it up to her tonight. A
bureau. To think of it, only bureau!
You needn't laugh at me. I've an aw-
ful cold in my head. And l mean she
shall have it, if it takes every cent you
gave me for my new jacket. I'll wear
the old one. 1 think l can get what
she'll consider a beauty, though, for
for twelve dollars or thereab0uts. Drive
to Veneer's please, dear. 1 do feel in
such hurry, when it takes such
little bit to make woman happy"
"An ebony and gold cabinet, for in
stance"