The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1878-11-07


disappearing altogether, "By George!
Prim," he exclaimed at last, iit's those
confounded hens of yours!"
Now contumelious mention of the
hens, I confess it, touched sore spot.
They were the prettiest creatures that
ever stepped as if the earth were not fit
to tread on; black just busted with
white, and with the loveliest green
cropple-crown of feathers hanging all
over their eyes. To be sure, had had
them now six months, and they had
never laid an egg, nor shown any dis
position to hatch a chicken, and had
eaten whole bags of grain; but they
were of grand family, and every body
knows that Black Polands seldom Law,
and never set; it's enough to be per-
mitted to look at them. These in par
ticular seemed the very fairest of fowls;
and the rooster, with his long plumes
that sometimes tipped him backward,
his dainty ways, and delicate outlines,
never reminded me of any thing but
Oberon. l admit that Isshould have
liked to see some little Poland chickens,
but perhaps shouldn't have thought
half as much of those hens if they had
condescended to any such common
place things as eggs. "Oh!n l cried,
"oh, my hens!"
eyes," said he, "your hens. If
those hens were worth rap," cried
Royal, severely, "do you suppose
they'd leave these things on the vines P"
and he held up a branch of potatoes
thick with great brown Shiny creatures.
81 suppose that's what's destroying
the pear-trees too," l exclaimed, break
ing off twig.
"It's just inattention," he cried. " If
there'd been any oversight at all, this
would have been nipped in the bud.'
'In the bug, you mean. But whose
inattention is this?' and l tossed him
the twig of the pear-tree, covered with
just as nasty brown slug. 81 don't
suppose I'm to climb trees"
You mean to infer it is mine?'' he
exclaimed. "I who have to be in town
all day long in order to get enough to
keep up this internal expense and luxu-
ry, coming home tired out with my day. s
work, must hurry out here, and toll like
swinking laborer!"
Well, if you think I've nothing to do
bat to spend my life picking bugs off
plants, you-How-how utterly outrage
Gus! Oh, l never imagined you'd expect
any thing of the sort. When you mar
ried me you said the winds of heaven
| never thought wouldn't have be-
ieved-" and I burst into tears, and
flounced out of the garden and into the
house, and hid myself in my sewing
room, and didn't speak to Royal all
night, and he went off to town in the
morning without his breakfast.
Of course the first thing I did after
that was to send for quantity of Paris
green, and 90 to the district-school and
beg half-holiday for all the small boys,
that they might be turned into my gar
den armed with tin pans, for crusade
ON the beetles. They trod down every
other row of the potatoes, to be sure,
but they didn't leave beetle on the
place, nor penny in my purse. Yet,
for fear of an accident, sifted the Paris
green over the vines thoroughly, and
then procured ashes from the house and
paid my respects to the pear-tree slugs
A strong wind was blowing at the time
and although I destroyed the slugs, l
destroyed my gown as well, the ashes
clinging ineradicably to the fiber. And
as the stupid servant had brought them
from the range, hot cinder blew into
my eye and fastened itself, and when
Royal came home at last he found the
house in confusion, with the doctor just
coming, and the people running this
way and that, and my eyes, already in
famed with a mig hts crying, in condi-
ton with that cinder before which the
eyes of Leah would have had to pale in
effectual fires. Of course it was all his
fault, and he acknowledged it like man,
and we had a reconciliation that made
it seem as if we had just become engag.
ed, and had never been married at all
"Well, Rose,'' said Royal, " if a re.
conciliation is like marriage. quarre
is like divorce, and the fewer we have
the better"
"Then you mustn't call me names, ;
"I never called you names, Prim,' ;
said he.
ooh, how can you say SOP" cried
And suppose we should straightwaJ
have plunged into another skirmish bu
for the little servant, who ran in ant
begged me to 60 out to the garden.
1Garden be-" began Royal. But
tied handkerchief over my aching eye
and we went; and there lay my six hem
and their lovely little lord and master
on their backs, with their dropping
claws in the air They had eaten th'
Paris green, and had been exterminated
must say that l shed tears owe
their little corpses, but not very bite
ones, as they dried themselves on tn
discovery that the golden pippins wer,
ripe---a cream-colored apple with blacl
! seeds and delicious flavor. What love