The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1877-03-29

took from her bag carefully loloe'
slip of paper, on which was written leg
IDLY:
This Is to certify that Mary Murphy is
member, in good and regular standing, o
the Fourth Presbyterian Church.
Tsignedl JAABs ELLSWORTH,
Pastor
"But this does not qualify you fol
homework, said l, laughing a little q
the novelty of the recommendation.
"No'm, {" replied Mary, with another
of her smiles; "but l can do house
work, and 1 think 1 could suit you. Per
haps you wouldn't mind trying me, i
you have no girl at PRESENT."
1 telegraphed to Brunhilda, "What
do you thinkP" and she photographed
back, "Take her," and the result was
that in very short time pretty Mary
Murphy, who really looked better suit
ed TO the parlor, was established in oul
kitchen, and running the domestic ma
chinery with an ease and rapidity that
made housekeeping perfectly idyllic.
Never had we been SO respectfully
served, nor accomplished the. fact OF
three meals day and various other
necessities of living with so little creak-
ing of machinery and rasping against
the higher nature; and we found our
selves wondering how life had ever
progressed with US hitherto without our
kitchen fairy. Every one told us that
we had treasure" and her very
manner of opening the door to visitor
was bewitching; while grocers' young
men and the milk-man. and butcher
seemed to linger entraneed when they
came to deliver their wares. Mary
took their compliments calmly, and had
a ready smile for them all, without de-
parting from the quiet dignity of her
ways, and we felt no shadow of CON-
ing evil, until matters began to look
serious with the one-armed postman.
This same postman had delivered our
letters regularly for the last two years,
always in the same business-like way,
never lingering for moment, never by
any possibility smiling or exchanging
a word with either of US, and yet we
looked upon him quite in the light of a
friend, and speculated about his his
tory, as lonely women will about those
with whom they come in contact. He
had been in the army and had lost an
arm; this was all we knew about him,
except that he was evidently German,
and quite good-looking-not to say
scholarly in his aspect.
"Were you aware, " asked Brunhilda
one morning, with an ominous express
sion, "that Miss Murphy speaks Ger
manP"
"SpeabS Germant" I repeated, in
amazement. Sand pray how did you
find it out?" For Brunhilda's knowl-
edge of German matches Shakspeare's
Greek and Latin. -sr
SPY hearing her address the post
man in that delightful musical and east
ly acquired tongue" was the reply.
Sand what did he say?" continued,
excitedly.
GAS nearly as could make out, this
was his rejoinder;'' and Brunhilda
obligingly perpetrated a series of
growls, with squeal a. the end of each
one, which, so far as ne were concern
ed, effectually illustrated .Talleyrand's
definition of language. r..
We both laughed, but with chilling
sort of presentiment that this was no
laughing matter.
al shall nip this in the bud," said 1,
severely. But presently better thoughts
came to me. l remembered my own
youth, and / remembered Crawford,
where Miss Matte, after the death of
an old lover, softens to Martha and al
lows followers"
A week or two passed, and was at
tending to my preserves one day in the
kitchen-it was pleasure to do any
thing in Mary's kitchen, every thing
looked so immediately clean, almost
poetical, thought-and l approached
the subject uppermost in my mind by
saying, carelessly, F.. Ar az
$50, Mary, you know German, ii
seems. How does that happen?"
Mary's pretty face was overspread by
a rosy cloud as she replied, in low
tone, g picked it up by myself. 1 had
some German books once.'' o..
Then she sat down and cried, very
much to my bewilderment; and pres
emily she exclaimed, al should like to
tell you something, Miss Darlingford
l shall feel better when you know ALL
81 hope" said 1, with a vague ex-
pectation of dreadful developments,
"that ALI is not very bad, Mary?"
The flush deepened on the pretty
face, but for answer she took from hel
bosom a black ribbon to which wa:
fastened a plain gold ring. 1 dropped
my preserves in amazement; the CIR
looked so young.
"You are a widow, then?" said L
with feeling of tender pity. "Pool
child!" ...... .-..
al don't know whether am or not, ;
was the reply, with fresh burst of tears
"and that is what troubles me So"
turned to my preserves again, witt
smile, as thought of the cookbook
ing German postman.
"Miss Darlingford," continued thu
girl, more composedly, 81 want to tel
you every thing, and am sorry nov
that didn't do this at first. But fel
that it would be against me, and l hqt
to get a place. 1 have boy six year
old"
"In the name of wonder" i exclaim
ed, show old are you yourself?"
"I am Twenty-Five" she said, littl'
proudly; and Mr.. Blumenthal prom