Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1878-07-11

TIL our heads grow wise and hoary;
And after 1t all, the sun goes down,
And the sea-'tls an old, old story.
That Little Place OF Browns.
The place was mine, and we lived as
cozily there, my wife and little daughter
and I, as birds in a nest, until the
Blacks, some old friends Of ours from
the city, came to live in our neighbor.
hood.
We were at supper one night when my
wife told me. =,
They're going to take the Frech
rooted house around the corner" said
Sally, "with the big extension and con-
servatory, ana as happened to be walk
ing out Just as the trucks came down.
couldn't help seeing that the. parlor
furniture is of crimson satin damask and
ebony-I think it's ebony, but at any
rate it's inlaid.'
'Well, that's a comfort, any way
said I. IF you're positive it's inlaid,
Sally, you can perhaps go on with your
supper"
"Yes," she said, so preoccupicd with
her theme that she hadn't eaten mOrsel,
land there's the handsomest bedroom set
for Jane that most ever laid my eyes
on; it's one of these dressing bureaus,
Joe, with magnificent plateglass that
reaches down to the floor"
"That's good" said I. "You can run
around there when you have your next
gown fitted, and see the hang Of it,
Il don't expect to run around there
said Sally, craning her neck up stitfly,
turning up the and of her nose, and
drawing her lips down.
"Why, what's the matter2' said I
"Wasn't Jane friendly I've done many a
good turn for Black IN my day, and l
hope they're not going to turn the cold
shoulder now"
ooh, she was friendly enough" said
Sally; "but we can't expect, Joe, that peo-
pie living in that kind of style can be up
on terms of intimacy with people that
live as we do. There are certain restric-
tons in society"
"Restrictions be hanged!" | cried.
I'm as good man as Black any day in
the week."
you're as good as the President, for
that matter" said Sally; "but it's all like
a pair of scales, Joe, when one goes up,
another goes down, and, from the way
things look, it'll take a pretty heavy
weight on the Backs side to bring them
down to our position" F:
must own this kind OF logic vexed
me little. l knew pretty we'll how
Black stood commercially. and I told
Sally there wasn't feathers weight on
his side, so far as the favors Of fortune
ho hoo "a
live above his means,' said I, 'he can do
it and take the consequences"
He has just as good right to live
above his MEANS" said Sally, ''as you
have to live beneath yours"
This was her Parthlan arrow as I went
out door, and it ranked little all the
way down in the train, the more sharply
that found Black the center of an adj
miring bevy at the depo: He had quite
an imposing makeup and glib tongue,
which he used in inveighing against our
system of paving. He complained Of the
condition Of good many things in our
young township, and seemed to gain
popularity with every fault that he found.
At.last he spied me, and was exceedingly
loud and ELUSIVE in his salutation.
"Hallo, Brown!'' he said, shak-
ing my hand again and again, and de-
clairing to the people about him I was
an old friend whom he was glad to IN
earth. i've run you down, you sly fox.
That's a snug little place around the
corner-very snug indeed"
wouldn't have believed it possible I
could have been such an ass as to feel
aattered by this familiarity of Blacks,
but found myself sinking and nod
ding with great complacency. Here
were at least half dozen of the gentry
about me who lived in big houses in
my neighborhood, that l had been going
up and down to the city with for years,
yet scarcely knew them we'll enough for
an exchange of civilities, and here was
Black already hand in glove with the
finest of the them. It makes me sick
now when I remember that turned my
back on poor old White, and went toady-
ing on with this aristocracy.
White lived in even smaller house
than mine, and bad hard enoug h work
to pay for that. He had failed in bust
ness some years before, and I don't know
what they would have done without their
boy Bob. He was with me IN the city,
and I knew that goodly portion of the
lads earnings were given over to, the
support of the house. 1t was ratherghard
for Bob, but he bore his lot with great
resignation. He came over pretty often
to have game of cribbage and talk over
business matters with me, and I found
him sharp enough at both. Then he had
pleasant way with the women. Our
little Resale was little more than child,
l>,1% Ool1.- r,coI ~, brin h+on xuhou ,ROh
came in, till she got into that kink about
the Blacks.
you'll stay here with Rosalie, won't
you, Bob, till we come back?" said to
young White, and as spoke I felt Sally
give savage pinch to my arm, No soon
er were we outside the door than she be-
gan about poor Bob. = '.", s.
off you. have no regard for your
daughters future, and choose to throw
her away on. poor miserable beggar
like Bob White" began Sally.
why, my dear" I broke in, "Rosal-
ie'sa mere child. Don't begin to plan
about her future, I beg Of you. She's
scarcely left off her, pinafores, and if ever
there was maiden meditation, fancy
free,' any where it lies in the brown eyes
of our 'Rosealie." e.. .. :.'':i -
s.. BY this time we had reached the i'm
posing portal of Blacks house. and we're
soon ushered into, the presence Of the
satin, damask and ebony. Blacks chill
: dren were none of them grown, but were
precocious enough to take the lead in
conversation; and VIC sat for whole
mortal hour and listened to the eldest girl
hammer out upon the piano what Mrs.
Black called ''reverie." I was glad
when Black took me into his library.
ID But a goodly quantity of poision was
infused into Sally's system and mine be.