The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-12-14
NUMBER 46-
An Extraordinary 4Hutr.

I. certainly was an extraordinary affail
and the parties interested will remembe
it as long rs they live. The youhg lady
was shopping in the evening. On her Way
home she was overtaken by young man,
an acquaintance, who asked the pleasure
of escorting her home. The offer was
cepted, and the two proceeded, he carry
ing her bundles, and making himself gen
orally agreeable, as is the custom in such
cases. Arriving at her home she took him
direct into the sitting-roonl, as the parlor
stove was not yet up. The father and
mother were sitting there, enjoying, evil
IDENTIFY, the genial warmth of the fire. On
their entrance the young man noticed that
the mother blushed deeply, and at the
same time her husband laughed outright.
1t was a most boisterous laugh, without
evident premeditation, and appeared TO
owe its origin 20 no assignable cause
The laughter gave no explanation after
the explosion, but continued to look very
much amused, while tie color in his wife's
face deepened. To the young man this
was a most embarrassing reception. Nat
urally enough he felt that it WAS something
in his appearance that excited the mirth of
the one and caused the bushes of the 9th
er. 1nvoluntarily he took hasty SUI vey
of his appearance as far as the circumstan-
ces would allow, but could perceive moth
ing therein calculated to upset the risibili
IltS VI diy uitn OI Lne DO
som of any woman. Still he vas not at his
ease, and the young lady discerning it, and
failing to understand the action of ber
parents, proposed euchre as an offset. So
the two played, and the old gentleman
continued TO look amused, occasionally
varying this accomplishment by facetious
winks at his wife, whose countenance was
alternately red and white. The young
man became so absorbed in the game that
he forgot The peculiarity of his reception,
and the young lady, dividing her attention
between the cards and his face, lost sight
of the trouble. And so they played and
| played, while the silence Of the parents
| grew really oppressive had the players but
known it. They played on, and all inter
ests were swallowed up in the game. An
| hour passed, and then a half hour more.
| 1t was now ten O'Clock. AS The hour
| struck the old gentleman looked up from
! his paper, in which he had been absorbed
| for some little time, glanced at the players,
| then upon the face of his wife, and imme-
/ diately went off into such fit of suppress
( ed laughter that an effort to control il
/ very nearly precipitated him into a case of
! apople1y. Fortunately, or rather unfortu-
Dately, the players did not notice this agi-
tation. Had they looked up they could
! not have failed TO have noted the terribly
distressed expression of the mothers face
I in which case the young man would
nave unUetSIOOu IldI sNinH IaNlllN nfStnr-
tune made the presence of an outsider very
unpleasant. a half hour more passed.
! The young man threw down the cards aud
said he must GO. The young lady having
thoroughly enjoyed the game felt mpelled
to say to him, Don't be in a hurry il is
early yet,' and had almost uttered the
fatefDl words when her glance encountered
the stony expression upon her mothers
face, and the words died upon her lips,
while thrill of fear shot through her
heart. The young man took his hat,
turned to bid the family pleasant good
night, when his gaze also fell upon the
face of the mother, and the same thrill
pierced his heart. He withdrew without
went up the street to his home in a dazed
state of mind.
He learned accidentally few days later
the cause Of 1t all. The old lady, having
a severe cold, had taken the precan ion to
soak her feet in hot water before retiring,
aud her feet were in the pail receiving tn
proper treatment when the young mar
was unexpectedly ushered in. As heI
skirts fell over the vessel he failed to note
the fact and consequently proloI ged hi
stay two solid hours. What the tempera
:ure of the water had become at that houl
can easily be imagined, but what were til,
thoughts that passed through the misera
ble woman's distTac ed mind during thos.
two hours no one can fathom. Even sh,
finds herself unable to clearly define ther "a
although she has talked of but little els,
since the awful ight.-DdH6urg NeUs.